Integrating Art History…

the smart way!Kelly W. GuyottePh.D. Candidate, University of Georgia

Goals

1. To set the foundation for art history integration2. To introduce meaningful and engaging lesson ideas3. To provide helpful resources that will compliment your

curriculum4. To give you the confidence to bring art history into your

classroom5. To answer questions and promote dialogue about art

history

What is the smart way?

• Makes art history relevant for students• Engages students deep into art history content• Makes art history instruction manageable for teachers• Is seamlessly integrated into the visual art curriculum as

an essential component• PROMOTES EXCITEMENT & ENGAGEMENT!

Teaching Art History 101

• Examine artworks in CONTEXT• Look for THEMES within artworks• Select art SPECIFICALLY for each course• Be INCLUSIVE not exclusive• Explore CONNECTIONS that arise • Select artwork that RELEVANT & MEANINGFUL to

students• Allow opportunities for individual EXPLORATION

Why incorporate art history?

• Provides a foundation for art study• Exposes students to a variety of cultures, beliefs, and

time periods• Provides more opportunities for engagement• Inspires the way students create art• They tell us we must! • Georgia Performance Standards

Georgia Performance Standards- Middle School

VA7CU.1 Discovers how the creative process relates to art history. a. Identifies and analyzes universal themes, symbols and ideas from diverse past and present cultures and interprets how factors of time and place (climate, resources, ideas, politics, and technology) influence meaning of artworks. b. Uses a variety of resources (including technology) to investigate artists and artwork from many cultures and time periods as a source of inspiration and development of own vision. c. Recognizes the unique contributions of past and present artists, art periods, and movements (e.g., Asian regions, African regions). d. Recognizes the varied reasons for making art throughout history, how history and culture have influenced art, and how art has shaped culture/history. e. Synthesizes influences from art history into personal art making.

VA7CU.2 Investigates and discovers personal relationship to community, culture, and world through creating and studying art. a. Examines how forms and styles of visual and media arts are found in own community. b. Articulates ideas and universal themes from diverse cultures of the past and/or present. c. Recognizes the relationship between personal artistic contributions and one’s relationship to the world at large. d. Participates in activities (e.g., discussion, reading writing, art making, art events), that promote personal engagement in the community and/or study of art history.

GPS Breakdown

• Diversity• Research- technology• Questions: Why do we make art? How has art shaped

culture/ history? How has culture/ history shaped art?• Synthesizes learning in artmaking• Community• Universal themes

Georgia Performance Standards- High School

VAHSPACU.1 Articulates ideas and universal themes from diverse cultures of the past and present. a. Identifies universal themes that appear in paintings throughout time and discusses how those themes connect to the human condition. b. Identifies how the issues of time, place, and culture are reflected in selected art works. c. Compares the ways in which the meaning of a specific work of art has been affected over time because of changes in interpretation and context. d. Discusses how understanding the original context of an artwork affects a viewer’s connection with and interpretation of the artwork.

VAHSPACU.2 Demonstrates an understanding of how art history impacts the creative process of art making. a. Develops a repertoire of contemporary and historical art exemplars. b. Demonstrates an understanding of art history and investigates how it shapes contemporary life. c. Creates art work that explores ideas, issues, and events from current and past cultures.

GPS Breakdown

• Diversity• Universal themes• Context- • Interpretation and value• Original vs. current

• Impact on artmaking

Getting started

• The Annotated Mona Lisa, The Annotated Arch by Carol Strickland

• Art History by Marilyn Stokstad• Gardner’s Art Through the Ages by Fred S. Kleiner• Discovering Art History by Gerald F. Brommer• World Views: Topics in Non-Western Art by Laurie

Schneider Adams

Project IdeasLong-Term

Project Idea

• Art History Travel Agent• Choose a location that has art historical relevance. Take on

the role of a travel agent and “sell” your peers a trip to visit important monuments/artworks in the location. You must research at least three artworks from your location and discuss in them detail. Create a video and a brochure advertising your location and demonstrating your knowledge on the artwork.

• Note: Works well as a collaborative project towards the end of the semester so students can synthesize their knowledge.

(Example Removed)

Project Idea

• Art Songs• Select an artwork that you find meaningful. Research the

context of the artwork and compose a song which incorporates information from your research. Your song may be original or to the music of a preexisting song (think carefully about the connections between the new song and the original one).

• Extra: Design a CD cover for your new single that incorporates themes from your artwork but moves beyond the initial image.

(Example Removed)

Alfred Eisenstaedt

Project Idea

• Detailed Examination• Choose an artwork that you want to learn more about.

Research the artwork looking for symbolic elements (s), observable formal elements (o), and new information (n). Paste the artwork on a blank Power Point slide and “point” out the new information within the artwork. Put all slides into one Power Point and allow students to present their artworks to the class. (AP Workshop 2009)

Duane Hanson, Supermarket Shopper, 1970. Polyester resin and fiber glass polychromed in oil, with clothing, steel cart, and groceries, life

size.

Period: Art of the Later 20th Century Style: Superrealism

http://graham.ipsd.org http://www.nrw-museum.de/

Hanson was influenced by Pop artist George Segal and German artist George Grygo who introduced Hanson to polyester resin and fiberglass (N).

Humans let themselves go which is signified in the blank stare and skin blemishes (S).

A shopping housewife is a repeated theme in Hanson’s work. The Supermarket Shopper was the first of the series (N).

Hanson’s subjects were from his neighborhood. He focused on average Americans like shoppers, readers, and flea market vendors (N).

Hanson’s main focus was capturing true reality through boredom and loneliness (N).

The main figure is a woman whose skin is covered with unhealthy spots. She is smoking while blankly starring off and pushing a shopping cart (O).

Hanson used real models and liquid silicone rubber to mold the sculptures (N).

The Supermarket Shopper makes fun of consumerism because the large housewife is pushing a cart filled to the top with every imaginable item (S).

Advertisements on the packaging are written in loud obtrusive colors (O).

The pink shirt, blue skirt, and yellow necklace echoes popular fashion. However, the terry-cloth slippers, curlers, and the head scarf symbolizes how the whole palette of the world of merchandise is applied to the average person (S).

The family size packages, pre-cooked food, and the cart represent an affluent society (S).

The shopper looks too casual with her shoes that do not fit, runs in her hoses, and a cigarette butt in the corner of her mouth (O).

Project Idea

• Group Curatorial Challenge• Students are charged with an authentic problem in which they are asked to

curate a show around a theme that has personal significance to students and the school community (i.e. Personal Identity). Research and select five artworks that you will include in your exhibition. Create appropriate signage for each artwork that reveals essential information about the artwork and relates it to your theme. Display the artworks and signage and act as docents to present your final exhibition to the class. (inspired by Costantino, Problem Based Learning)

• Extra: Design a poster for your exhibit that is visually interesting, reflects the overall theme, and advertises your show.

• Variation: Create an virtual museum using Power Point, web design, or prezi.com

Prezi.com

Project Idea

• Studio Inspiration• Each student will select an artist that they want to research.

Allow time in the media center for students to find out more about their artist and examine their art. Next, students are charged with creating a work of art that explores the style of the artist without actually copying their work. They must create a new composition that captures the “essence” of the artist’s style.

• During the critique of the artwork, students must articulate their new knowledge of the artist based on their research as well as what they perceive to be the qualities that are most important within the artist’s work.

• Note: This can be applied to a variety of studio areas.

Project IdeasShort-Term

Project Idea

• Interactive Timeline• Students will each draw the name of a work of art based on

the time period or theme of the unit. Each student will have a few minutes to research the artwork using available resources. They must find three facts about the artwork, the medium and the date and then place their information on a timeline template created by the teacher. Lastly, students will briefly present their findings to the class.

• The timeline will be displayed throughout the unit as a visual display of the art history chronology and should be referred to and elaborated on by the instructor as necessary.

20th century timeline

Project Idea

• Art and Law• Art has always been a source of controversy. Select one court

case involving art that relates to the lesson you are currently teaching. Assign half of the class to develop an argument for one side while the other class argues in opposition. Give students adequate resources and time in which prepare before allowing them to present each side to the class. Initiate a class discussion about the court case and pose questions to the class to encourage deeper thinking and engagement.

• Artists: Paolo Veronese, Constantin Brancusi, Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Sherrie Levine

Project Idea

• Visual Journal• Exposing students to new artists does not solely rest on the

shoulders of the teacher. Assign students to find one new artist each week within your studio area to reflect on in their visual journal. Ask them to print or draw a picture of one of the artist’s artworks and then respond visually and verbally to the new artist.

• Note: Give students ideas about reputable internet resources and show students where they can locate books about artists in the school’s media center.

• Variation: Artist of the Week

Project Ideas

• Art in the News• Assign students one week during the year that they are responsible for

finding a news article about the visual arts. Ask the student to briefly present the article to the class and allow for discussion. Start a bulletin board on which the articles can be posted so students can learn that art is not just history, but is living and breathing in the present.

• Art Scavenger Hunt• If you can’t go to the museum, bring the museum to you! Display

numerous poster reproductions in your classroom that span time periods and represent a diverse selection of artists. Create a scavenger hunt that allows students to search for specific aspects of artworks that will test their knowledge on art history vocabulary (i.e. an expressionist painter, a non-objective sculpture). Have students share their discoveries and discuss the validity of answers.

Resources

Use the Experts

• http://smarthistory.org/• Podcasts that contain information about specific artworks from

historians that travel through the collection at the MoMA and the Met.

• http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/• Timelines and thematic essays written by experts in their field.

• http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en• Look under Eye-Openers for resources to accompany your

curriculum.

smarthistory.org

metmuseum.org

louvre.fr

Fun Stuff

The New Yorker

70 million by Hold your Horse

Conclusion

• INTEGRATE: Art history should be an integral part of the curriculum, not an add-on

• EXCITE: Students respond best to enthusiastic and passionate art history instruction

• LEARN: Talk to other visual arts teachers about project ideas and resources

• REFLECT: What do your students respond to? What is working or not working? Think about ways to modify your curriculum to make art history engaging.

Thank you for coming!