MemoryPortraitGrades–6-12(withmodificationsforelementary)Time–2-3classperiods

KeyConcepts/Vocabulary/ArtElementsPortraits,altar,memory,displacement,collage,imagetransferMaterialsHeavyweightpaper,suchaswatercolororcardstock(8x10inorlarger),transparencysheets,personalphotograph/print-out(smallerthanbasepaper),water-basedmarkers,paintroller,brushes,bowlofwater,cleanrag,whiteglue,decorativepapers,magazineclippings,lightweightcraftmaterialslikeglitter,gems,string(optional)ArtworkinFocus

- AnnLe,SistersI(2011)- AnnLe,FamilyPortraitI(2011)- AnnLe,Grandparents(2018)

TalkingAboutArtTakeacloselookatAnnLe’sphotographs,SistersI,FamilyPortraitI,andGrandparents.Whatdoyounoticeaboutthem?Dothecompositionsofpeopleinfrontofhousesremindyouofanythingyou’veseenorexperiencedbefore?Canyoufindthesubtlevisualdifferencesbetweenthepeopleandthehouses?Dotheylookliketheyarefromthesametimeandplaceoraretheysomehowdifferent?TheseimagesarepartofaseriescalledHome:FauxFamilyPhotoAlbum.Whatsimilaritiesanddifferencesdoyounoticebetweenthemandfamilyalbumsyouhaveseen?Forexample,youmightnoticethatthephotosdepictfamiliesoutsideoftheirhouses,acommonsubjectamongfamilyphotoalbums.However,theclotheswornbyLe’sfamilyaredifferentthanonesyoumaybefamiliarwith.Somepeoplearewearingloosegarmentsthatresemblepajamas.Whowearstheseinthepictures,adultsorchildren?Menorwomen?Whatobservationscanyoumakeaboutthepeople’sfacialexpressions?Whatabouttheirbodypositions?Whatcanalloftheseelementssayabouttheirfamilyandsocialculture?Arethereanycluesthattellyouwhenandwherethesephotosweretaken?LecreatesherimagesbydigitallymanipulatingoldphotographsofherextendedfamilyinVietnamwithphotographsofmiddleclasshousesinSanDiego,CA,whereshegrewup.ManyVietnamesefamilieshavebeendisplacedandseparatedfromeachotherfollowingtheVietnamWar.Whydoyouthinktheartistcreatesthesefaux,orfake,familyalbums?Doyouthinksheknowsthepeopleinthephotographspersonally?Whymightshenothavecurrentphotosoftheminfrontoftheiractualhouses?

EssentialQuestions• Whatdoesitmeantoknowsomeone?Doweneedtophysicallymeetapersontoknowthem?• Howdopoliticalissues,likewaranddisplacement,impactpersonalandfamilyhistoriesandidentities?

Canyouthinkofotherhistoricaleventsthathavedisplacedfamiliesfromtheirnativelandstoforeignones?Whatdoyouthinkhappenedtotheirfamilyalbums?Thinkabouthowfamilyinfluencesyouridentity.Isthereafamilymemberorrelativewhomadeanimpactonyourlife?Istherearelativeorancestorwhoyounevermetbutwhoisrememberedbyothersinthehousehold?CreatingArtNow,youwillcreateamemoryportraittohonorarelativeorancestorwhohaseitherpassedawayorwhomyouhavenevermet.ThisisinspiredbytheVietnamesetraditionofcreatingaltars,orvisualdisplayswithobjectsandimagestoshowrespecttoadeceasedfamilymember.AccordingtoVietnamesetradition,thealtarisfilledwiththeperson’sfavoritefoodanddrinkontheanniversaryoftheirpassing.Paperofferings,orgifts,areburnedtoensurethedeadcanenjoyacomfortableafterlife.Popularpaperofferingsarefakemoney,gold/silverjosspaper,paperhouses,clothes,accessories,etc.Thesecangetquiteelaborate,withpop-uppapermansionthesizeofadoll-house!Takeamomenttothinkaboutyourfamilyhistory.Istherearelativeyou’venevermetbuthavealwaysbeencuriousabout?Perhapsitisyourgreatgrandmawhowasrumoredtobeadescendantofaroyalbloodline.Ormaybeit’syourdistantfourthcousinwhosupposedlylivedinthewoodsforyearsallbyhimself.Yourfirsttaskistofindoutmoreaboutthismysteryfamilymember.Usewhatyoualreadyknowaboutthem(theirname,whenandwheretheywereborn,theirprofession,etc.)tosearchformoreinformation.Don’tbeafraidtoaskmembersofyourhousehold,searchtheinternet,orpickupthephoneandinterviewafamilymemberaboutthismysteryrelative.ConsiderwhatyouwouldliketoknowaboutthemtofeellikeyouactuallyKNOWthem,(i.e.theirlikes/dislikes,favoriteplace,dreams,personality,favoritefood,color,book,music,etc.)Researchthetimeperiodandlocationwheretheylivedforfurtherinsightintowhattheymayhavebeenlike.Next,trytofindaphotooftheperson.Ifoneisnotavailable,trytogetadetaileddescriptionofwhattheylooklikeandmakeadrawing.Youwillusethepicturetomakeanimagetransfer,whichisthefirstpartoftheproject.DirectionsforImageTransfer(Seevideoin“Resources”sectionforreference):Step1-Placethetransparencysheetoverthephoto(ordrawing)andtracetheportraitusingamarker.*IMPORTANTNOTE:Theimagewillbereversed(backwards)onceitistransferred.Ifyouareokwiththat,thencontinuetostep2.Ifnot,usealight-colormarkertotracetheimage.Thenflipthetransparencyoverandretracethelinesyouputdownwithanotherdarkermarker.Then,erasethelightmarkerdrawinginthebackbeforemovingtostep2.Youcanalsouseacomputertofliptheimagebeforeprinting.Step2-Usemarkerstocolorintherestoftheportrait.Getcreativewithhowyoucolortheshapesandshadowsoftheface.Thecolorsdonothavetobethesameasthephoto.Step3–Placeyourwatercolorpaperonatable.Dipyourbrush(orrag)incleanwater,shakeofftheexcess,andbrushoverthepapertogetitwet.Makesureyourpaperisdamp,notdrippingwet!

Step4–Carefullyplacethetransparencywiththecoloredsidefacedownonthepaper.Takeyourpaintroller(orwoodenspoon,orevenpalmofyourhand)androlloverseveraltimestomakesurethemarkeristransferredtothepaper.Step5–Waitafewminutesbeforepeelingoffthetransparency.Waitforthewatercolorpapertodrycompletely.Voila,youhaveanimagetransfer!Now,gathermagazineclippings,craftmaterials,smallfoundobjects,andpicturesthatillustratethethingsyoufoundoutabouttherelative.Theseitemswillbeaddedtoyourmemoryportrait.Youcanalsomakedrawingsorsmallpapersculptures,suchasorigami,toshowthingstheyliked.Becreativewithyourembellishments!Youcanaddpaint,glitter,craftmaterials,anythingyouthinkwillmakeyourportraitspecial.GradeLevelModificationsandExtensionsLowerElementary–Studentscanmaketheirportraitaboutaknownrelativeorsomeoneintheirhousehold.Skiptheimagetransfertechniqueanduseaprintedphotoforthecollageinstead.Theycanmakealistofwordsthatdescribethepersonandpresenttheirportraittotheclass.UpperElementary–Studentscanmaketheportraitsofhistoricalorliteraryfiguresstudiedinclass,writeshortessaysaboutthem,andpresenttheirworktotheclass.MiddleandHighSchool–Studentscanexperimentwithdifferentimagetransfertechniquesandmaterials,doingtheirownresearchandexperimentation.Theycanwriteanessayaboutthepersontheyselectedfortheportraitanddescribetheirartisticchoicesindetail.Reflection

• Reflectonyourfeelingstowardthemysteryrelativenowvs.beforethelesson.Havetheychangednowthatyouknowmoreaboutthem?Doyoufeelmoreconnectedtothem?Howhastheirstorybecomeapartofyourfamilyhistory?Haveyoudiscoveredanythingincommonbetweenyouandthem?

• Imaginewhatitwouldbelikeifyoucouldmeetthem.Whatdoyouthinkyourrelationshipwouldbelike?Whatwouldyouliketodotogether?

• Whatdoyouthinkpeoplewhoareseparatedfromtheirfamiliesduetowarand/orpoliticsfeel?

• Whatwouldyousaytoachildwhoisfarawayfromtheirlovedonesatthistime?Howmightyou

comfortthem?

Resources

• USCPAMShortDocumentaryonartistAnnLehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=HD17iSVZGQU&feature=emb_logo

• AnnLe’sArtistWebsitehttps://annle.net/• MemoryPortraitVideoTutorialhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p2fvsgtDZg• InformationonVietnameseAltarTradition

https://www.cdm.org/voyagetovietnam/altars.html• InformationonVietnameseDiasporahttps://www.pilotguides.com/study-guides/vietnamese-

diaspora/

EducatorNight@PAM,Spring2020LessonpreparedbyYeuQNguyenincollaborationwithUSCPacificAsiaMuseumEducationStaff

CurricularConnectionsNationalCoreArtStandardsVA:Cr1.2.6a-Formulateanartisticinvestigationofpersonallyrelevantcontentforcreatingart.VA:Cr3.1.7a-Reflectonandexplainimportantinformationaboutpersonalartworkinanartiststatementoranotherformat.VA:Cr2.3.8a-Select,organize,anddesignimagesandwordstomakevisuallyclearandcompellingpresentations.VA:Re.7.2.Ia-Analyzehowone’sunderstandingoftheworldisaffectedbyexperiencingVA:Cn11.1.IIa-Compareusesofartinavarietyofsocietal,cultural,andhistoricalcontextsandmakeconnectionstousesofartincontemporaryandlocalcontextsCCSSforELA–WritingandSpeaking6.2-Writeinformative/explanatorytextstoexamineatopicandconveyideas,concepts,andinformationthroughtheselection,organization,andanalysisofrelevantcontent.7.5-Includemultimediacomponentsandvisualdisplaysinpresentationstoclarifyclaimsandfindingsandemphasizesalientpoints.8.5-Integratemultimediaandvisualdisplaysintopresentationstoclarifyinformation,strengthenclaimsandevidence,andaddinterest.9-10.2-Writeinformative/explanatorytextstoexamineandconveycomplexideas,concepts,andinformationclearlyandaccuratelythroughtheeffectiveselection,organization,andanalysisofcontent.11-12.5-Developandstrengthenwritingasneededbyplanning,revising,editing,rewriting,ortryinganewapproach,focusingonaddressingwhatismostsignificantforaspecificpurposeandaudience.

AnnLeSistersI,2011

ArchivalPigmentPrintCourtesyoftheartist

AnnLe

FamilyPortraitI,2011ArchivalPigmentPrintCourtesyoftheartist

AnnLe

Grandparents,2018ArchivalPigmentPrintCourtesyoftheartist