This part of the unit offers a description of the strategies necessary to elicit questions from the students about the slides. Therefore, it is a valuable guide for any teacher looking upon this as unfamiliar ground. It should answer questions for him as to why the artist were paired according to theme, and why a particular slide was used for comparison to exemplify that theme. Hopefully, the slide will act as a visual stimulus for the students and generate the proper questions from them about the art. The more they see the slides, the more they sharpen their ideas as to what they look for in the art.
The purpose for this section is to put formal analysis techniques into action. It will aim at focusing on issues which the themes suggest. There will be a total of five analyses based around five pairs of artists. The following is an excerpt from Professor Jules Prown’s article “Style as Evidence” about the importance of objects as cultural data. It gave me insight into the value of formal analysis for purposes of comparing objects in both still lifes.
The argument of this essay is that style is inescapably culturally expressive, that the analysis of style can be useful for other then purely art historical studies.... Where function and form are partners, as in architectural and the decorative arts, it is easier to perceive form if the function is not too complex.
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The lesson format will be as follows:
Lesson 1:
Formal analysis for slides 1 and 2.
Lesson 2:
Studio art for lesson 1.
Lesson 3:
Formal analysis for slides 3 and 4.
Lesson 4:
Studio art for lesson 3.
Lesson 5:
Formal analysis for slides 5 and 6.
Lesson 6:
Studio art for lesson 5.
Lesson 7:
Formal analysis for slides 7 and 8.
Lesson 8:
Studio art for lesson 7.
Lesson 9
: Formal analysis for slides 9 and 10.
Lesson 10:
Studio art for lesson 9.
Lessons 11-15:
Creating the mural.
Lesson 1:
Formal analysis for still life
slide 1: Clara Peters (1594-1657)
Still Life with Flowers, Goblets and Shells
slide 2: Audry Flack (1931- )
Leonardo’s Lady
Aim
Comparing two still life paintings, slide 1 a seventeenth century artist and slide 2 a twentieth century artist.
Objective
To find out what objects are common in both still life paintings. How do they inform us differently about the artists?
Procedure
This is a formal analysis of slide 1 and 2. We will compare the slides for the objects that they have in common and try to answer our objective. The first set of questions is descriptive. The second set asks the student to look for meaning within the painting. The third set of questions is conclusion by deduction.
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A.
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First set of questions for slice 1:
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1. Describe slide 1. What objects do we see?
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2. What materials are they made up of? e.g.- Goblets made of pewter, coins made of copper.
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3. Describe the arrangements of these objects.
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a. How many heights of objects do we have?
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b. What objets are closest to one another? Farthest apart?
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4. What colors are these objects?
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a. Are they bright or dull?
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b. Where is the brightest part of the painting?
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5. What kind of space are these objects in?
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a. Is the table cluttered or do the objects have their own space?
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B. Second set of questions for slide 1:
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1. What do these objects have in common?
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2. Do the shells belong on a dinner table?
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3. Do you see any, other objects that relates to the sea? (such as the figurines on top of the goblets)
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4. How does the figurine of Neptune holding a pitchfork relate to the figurine of Venus. (They are directly diagonal and they face one another.)
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5. Does the artist paint her face in the goblet of Venus or Neptune?
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6. How many times did the artist paint her face in the goblet?
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C. Third set of questions for slide 1:
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1. Is Peeters sitting at the table painting the goblet?
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2. Is Peeters dining at the table with someone for her reflection to occur?
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3. Why didn’t she paint the reflection of the other person as well?
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4. What does the relationship between the male figurine Neptune and the female figurine Venus have to do with the painting?
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5. Is there a romantic theme in this painting?
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6. Does the painting suggest the artist is a woman?
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D. First set of questions for slide 2:
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1. Describe slide 2.
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2. Name the objects in slide 2.
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3. What materials are they made of?
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4. Are they objects from the present or the past?
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5. Describe the objects which are similar to the Peeters painting, such as a rose, a wine glass, a Cupid figurine. Since their subject is femininity we can say both paintings have something in common.
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6. What objects are closest to us? What objects are furthest away?
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7. How is the space different in the background and the foreground?
E. Second set of questions for slide 2:
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1. Which of the objects we have mentioned are from the past? Which are from the present?
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2. Do the objects from the past use a different space in the painting?
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F. Comparing slide 1 and slide 2:
The objects which both slides have in common are treated differently. For example, in the Flack painting, the rose is a single rose. While in the Peeters painting it is a vase of flowers. In the Flack painting, there is one wine glass and in the Peeters painting there are two pewter goblets. In the Flack painting, the Cupid figurine applies to a romantic theme just as Neptune and Venus in the Peeters painting. Even though both artists are saying something about femininity, who is the better artist? Who is the quieter artist?
Conclusion
The Peeters painting only reflects an earlier period with its dated objects. The Flack painting mixes new and old objects. It is also saying something about
Leonardo’s Lady
and compares that to the modern lady with the bold objects that make up the foreground.
The Peeters goblet has a reflection of the artist’s face which advertises her presence. The colors are dark, the images are small and the mood is austere.
Audrey Flack on the other hand uses bold colors and splashy images so we can read her message as if it were an advertisement in a magazine.
Can we say something about the identity or personality of each artist? Even though they both paint feminine subjects, one is a lot bolder and noisier? Whom? After looking at the Peeters painting, can you say something about how women artists saw themselves differently at an earlier time?
Lesson 2:
Studio art for lesson 1
Objective
To draw two symbols for the still life slides 1 and 2.
Materials
Drawing paper and pencil, slides of two paintings by the two artists, slide projector, still life object, xeroxed biographies of the two artists.
Procedure
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1. Teacher brings in a still life objet which looks similar to object in the paintings.
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2. Teacher places the object in the center of the class for all to see.
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3. Teacher asks class to draw object.
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4. Teacher asks class to write ten words describing the object the just drew.
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5. Teacher asks class to read their list of words and show their picture.
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6. Teacher shows slide of first woman artist and asks the following questions.
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a. How many of the words that you have used to describe the object can be applied to the object in this painting?
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b. In what kind of environment would you find this kind of object?
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c. In what kind of culture would you find this kind of object?
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d. In what country would you find this object?
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e. How did this artist use the artist in the painting in a unique way?
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f. How did the object add to a greater understanding of the painting?
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7. Teacher shows slide of the second woman artist and asks the same questions of the first slide.
Lesson 3:
Formal analysis for the figure
slide 3: Sofonisba Anguissola (1532-1635) Self Portrait
slide 4: Rosalba Carriera (1675-1752) Louis XV as a Child
Aim
Comparing two portraits which deal with the subject of nobility.
Objectives
To compare the political portrait of Louis XV as a child with a self-portrait of Sofonisba Anguissola.
Procedure
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A. First set of questions for slide 3:
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1. Describe slide 3 in ten words.
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2. How many words have you written that are positive and flattering?
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3. What figure in the painting is mysterious?
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4. Can you describe the other figure in the painting?
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5. Describe how both figures are dressed.
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6. Where are they located in relation to one another?
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7. What colors are used?
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B. Second set of questions for slide 3:
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1 . From what social class is the younger woman? The older woman?
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C. First set of questions for slide 4:
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1. Describe slide 4 in ten words.
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2. How many positive words did you use?
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3. What is his expression?
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4. Does this look like a typical portrait of a ten year-old boy?
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5. If he looks feminine, what makes him look that way?
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6. Was it stylish for boys to dress femininely at that time?
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D. Compare slide 3 and slide 4.
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1. Which portrait did you describe as stylish?
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2. Which portrait was more mysterious?
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3. Why does the portrait of Louis XV appear noble?
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4. Would a flattering portrait of the young king help his popularity?
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E. Conclusions:
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1. What conclusions about beauty have we come to?
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2. Is it true that the more noble person is more beautiful?
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3. Does that apply in the paintings?
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4. Even though the artist described in her diary that the young king was spoiled, why did she paint him to such perfection?
Lesson 4:
Studio art for lesson 3
Objective
to compare two portraits, slides 3 and 4.
Materials
Drawing paper and pencils, slides of two pieces of art, slide projector, two xeroxed biographies.
Strategies
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Questions to ask students.
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a. Describe what you see in slide 3?
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b. Pick ten words to describe the portrait. Write them down.
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c. What else does the artist include in the painting besides the portrait?
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d. Do these details tell us anything about the sitter?
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e. Do the colors in the painting tell us about the nature of the sitter?
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2. Draw a silhouette of the portrait.
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3. Describe what you see in slide two?
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a. Ask the same questions as in part 1. Draw a silhouette as in part 2.
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4. Compare slide 3 with slide 4.
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a. How do the words of each paintings differ?
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b. How do your silhouettes of both slides give us a message about the portraits?
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5. Hang up the students work and ask them which silhouettes best describe the portrait?
Lesson 5:
Formal analysis for the figure
Slide 5: Marisol (1930- )
Self Portrait
Slide 6: Harriet Hosmer (1830-1908)
Zenobia in Chains
(sculpture)
Aim
To compare two Women sculptors: a social subject Vs. a political subject.
Objective
To compare the social attitudes of two women sculptors: one working in the late nineteenth century, the other in the twentieth century.
Procedure
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A. First set of questions for slide 5:
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1. Describe slide 5 in ten words.
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2. How would you describe Marisol’s “Self Portrait”?
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3. What material is the portrait made up of?
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4. What is a quality of wood?
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5. How would you describe the faces next to her face?
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6. How does Marisol distinguish her face from the others?
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B. Second set of question for slide 5:
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1. If her’s is the only beautiful face, what is she saying about other women?
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2. What is she saying about all woman? About herself?
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C. First set of questions for slide 6:
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1. Describe slide 6 in ten words.
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2. What words have you used that might apply to the figure of Zenobia?
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3. What material is the sculpture made up of?
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4. What is a quality marble?
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5. Does her stature appear weak or strong? Why?
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D. Second set of questions for slide 6:
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1. What does her dress and crown suggest? What do the chains tell us? Read the bibliography.
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2. If the chains represent captivity, do you think that Hosmer is saying something about womankind in general?
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E. Compare slides 5 and 6.
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1. Do you think that there is any similarity between the twentieth century sculpture and the nineteenth century sculpture?
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2. What materials are they made of?
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3. What qualities do these materials have? Which one is harder?
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4. Since the materials have different qualities do they suggest the different qualities about women?
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5. Does the marble suggest a durability about womankind?
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6. Does the wood have a changeability which is suggested by Marisol?
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F. Third set of questions:
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1. Whose view of woman kind is more optimistic? Which is more humorous?
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2. Since Hosmer worked in the Victorian period when women had few choices, what could Zenobia be telling us?
Conclusions
Are both sculptures about women in bondage?
Even though the periods are different and the materials are different, what did both women have to say about choices and freedom?
Since Marisol is working in the twentieth century, what could she be
saying about her choices compared to the others?
Lesson 6:
Studio art for lesson 5
Objective
Comparing two pieces of sculpture dealing with social issues.
Materials
Drawing paper and pencils, slides of two pieces of art, a slide projector and two xeroxed biographies.
Procedure
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A. Questions asked about slide 5:
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1. How many figures are in the sculpture?
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2. Choose ten words to describe the sculpture.
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3. Describe any figures in the sculpture.
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4. How do they relate to one another?
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5. How does the artist make this clear?
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B. Draw a symbol to represent the painting.
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1. Ask students to draw a symbol for the sculpture.
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C. Questions to ask about slide 6:
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1. Draw a symbol which signifies the sculpture.
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D. Compare slide 5 and slide 6.
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E. Hang up the student work and ask them what symbols best signify each sculpture.
Lesson 7:
Formal analysis for nature and landscape
slide 7: Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986)
Red Hills and Bones
slide 8: Rochelle Toner(1930-)
La Noce
Aim
Comparing a painting and a sculpture drawn from nature.
Objective
To recognize similar forms from nature and in a painting and in a sculpture.
To understand that forms and color can suggest an attitude about life.
Procedure
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A. First set of questions for slide 7:
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1. Describe slide 7 in ten words.
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2. Which words describe the landscape, textures and colors of country?
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3. What is the color and texture of this bone?
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4. What is the brightest part of this painting?
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5. What is the relationship of the bone to the mountains behind?
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B. Second set of questions for slide 7:
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1. What do the bones symbolize in the painting?
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2. What do the colors of the desert suggest?
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3. What do the colors of the bones suggest?
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4. What other relationships could you find between the bare bones and the bare mountains?
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C. First set of questions for slide 8:
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1. Describe slide 8 in ten words.
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2. What kind of shapes are there in the Toner sculpture?
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3. What forms are similar to the ones in the O’Keeffe painting?
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4. What do these shapes suggest, the waInut football shape and the thistle-like shape?
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D. Compare slides 7 and 8.
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1. What are the differences between the painting and the sculpture?
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2. What are the similarities we see?
Conclusions
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1. What are the differences between the relationship of the two forms in the sculpture and the bones and hills in the painting?
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2. Does the sculpture have a different message than the painting?
Lesson 8:
Studio art for lesson 7
For this class, the teacher can bring in an object resembling a bone or a walnut. They can talk about its form and texture as in lesson 2. They can write down ten words describing the object, and then they can draw the object.
Lesson 9:
Formal analysis for genre scene
slide 9: Lilly Martin Spencer (1822-1902)
The War Spirit at Home
slide 10: Judith Leyster (1609-1660)
The Proposition
Aim
Comparing a seventeenth century genre scene with a nineteenth century genre scene.
Objective
To see two different social roles played by women in a domestic scene.
Procedure:
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A. First set of questions for slide 9:
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1. Describe slide 9 in ten words.
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2. How many figures are in the painting?
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3. Describe what the figures are doing?
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4. Describe what each group is doing?
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5. Describe how the figures are dressed?
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6. Describe the colors in the painting?
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7. Where is the brightest part of the painting?
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B. Second set of questions for slide 9:
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1. What does all this ceremony suggest?
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2. Is it a happy or sad mood?
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3. How does the mother reading the newspaper add to the story line?
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4. Does the family have a father? Where is he?
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5. Does everything seem in good order?
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6. What does this say about a household run by women when wartime occurs.
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C. First set of questions of slide 10:
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1. Describe slide 10.
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2. How many figures are in the painting?
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3. What are the figures doing?
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4. What are the ways the artist creates a highlight around the figures?
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5. Where is the brightest part of the painting?
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6. What helps us to see their faces?
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D. Second set of questions for slide 10:
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1. Since the genre scene tells a story, does this painting tell us what is happening?
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2. Can we tell the relationship between the two figures?
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3. Does she like him, Why/why not?
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4. Is he interrupting her work?
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E. Compare slide 9 and 10.
Both are domestic scenes telling a story.
In slide 9, the woman is content to be in the role she is. In slide 10, she is not.
Lesson 10:
Studio art for lesson 9.
For this lesson the teacher will ask the class to make a drawing which symbolizes the relationship between the figures in each slide.
