CONTEMPORARY ARTIST FINAL POLITICAL STATEMENTS ANDPOPULAR CULTURE IN THE VISUAL ARTS

ARE 6450

Chrystal Henry

December 1, 2010

PresentationOverview

Political StatementUnit OverviewArtists

Wang GuangyiAntoine WilliamsKaren Fiorito

My Thought Popular Culture

Unit OverviewArtists

Leah TinariKehinde Wiley

Media CritiqueCriticism of Social Trends

My Thought

POLITICAL STATEMENTS The following unit objective is to instruct students about

political statement in the visual arts and to teach them about how to create an image that will communicate their point of view.

Students will be involved in meaning making by asserting a clear voice about their political stance on an issue that is deemed important by each individual.

Gude (2008) states that creating artworks whose hybrid nature evokes a fascinating and uncomfortable awareness.

Through this unit, students will be pushed to converse content that evokes thought and understanding about personal worldviews.

The following artists will be used as informational and visual aids in instructing students on making meaningful images.

Wang Guangyi

Importance: . Guangyi images are significant due to its use of powerful imagery and bold text that convey a message that at times went against the norms and views of society. Gude (2008) explains the importance of that by noting that by not fitting the mainstream normative subjectivity, artists have painstakingly constructed artistic voices without relinquishing identification.

Curricular Plan Skill Objective: is to learn how to create a composition that is clear and

visually striking or appealing to the intended audience. Also students will learn how to use color and bold lines to create emphasis in their compositions.

Content Objective: focus on what propaganda is and how the use of images and text together can communicate meaning in a work of art.

Application: Students will create or analyze propaganda and investigate its effects on society. The students will have the opportunity to add content to their visual image to convey meaning to the viewer.

Implication: Result in open questioning of images and text used in contemporary culture and how it influences ones beliefs and understanding of society.

WANG GUANGYI

Title: "Great Criticism" Date: 2004Medium: Oil on CanvasSize: each canvas is 27 1/2 x 23 1/2 inches

Wang (2006) use of brand names like Coca-Cola and Nokia are explained by stating the following: From as far back as I can remember materialism and idealism were opposites, antonyms, even antagonistic.

Title: Materialist’s ArtDate: 2006Medium: Oil on canvasSize: 300 x 400 cm

Title: Art Criticism- ArtDate 2006Medium: Oil on CanvasSize: 78.7” x 63”

Title: No ArtDate: 2006Medium: Oil on CanvasSize: 31.5” x 39.4”

Title: GilletteDate: 2002Medium: LithographSize: 35.5” x 27”

Title: Time WarnerDate: 2005Medium: Oil on CanvasSize: 23.6” x 27.6”

Antoine Williams Importance: Williams’ artwork is a significant part of this lesson

because it uses both the figure and symbolism to convey its content to the intended audience. The figures intense expressions and the symbolic imagery work together to create a visual image that is complex and insightful.

Curricular Plan Skill Objective: will explore various ways to construct and to

show expression through the use of the human figure. Content Objective: learn what symbolism is and how it can be

used to convey a message in a visual format. Application: students will consider the power behind symbolic

images and how they can be used to enhance the content of their artwork. Students will be encouraged to include images that have personal meaning in their work as a way to broaden their visual vocabulary.

Implication: The use of Antoine Williams’ work will lead to the discussion of the importance of symbolism in political art.

Title: I Wanna Kill Sam Date: 2005Medium: mixed media on boardSize: 30" x 40"

Williams (2008) elaborates on this images by saying that I never thought when I first painted I Wanna Kill Sam back in 2005

that it would be at the Mint. The piece was made out of pure anger, frustration, helplessness, and hope. Maybe that's why

over the years so many people have related to this piece. Maybe we all want to kill Sam.

Title: Rupert's warDate: 2010Medium: mixed media on woodSize: 24"x36"

Title: They're Gonna ReapDate: 2010Medium: Mixed Media on canvasSize: 36"x48"

Title: Not Louder than Reality Date: 2010 Medium: Mixed Media on WoodSize: 40"x40"

Title: Freedom of Spee...Date: 2010Medium: Acrylic on canvasSize: 72"x48"

Title: Manifest DestinyDate: 2008Medium: N/ASize: N/A

Karen Fiorito Importance: Gude (2008) explains that artworks attract multiple

interpretations and it is not the goal of interpretation to arrive at single, grand, unified, composite interpretations. Fiorito’s artwork is significant because it connects to Gude’s idea of multiple interpretations because students can arrive at different conclusions after critiquing her images.

Curricular Plan Skill Objective: to teach the steps of art criticism: Describe, Analyze,

Interpret, and Evaluate. Students will understand and be able to apply steps to presented artwork.

Content Objective: students will understand how visual images can serve as modes of criticizing contemporary society.

Application: The students will have the opportunity to apply their knowledge through the use of critical thinking skills. Students will demonstrate their understanding of description, analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating visual forms.

Implication: students will tackle artist intent and gain a better understanding of how visual forms can be used to critique ones society from multiple and unique perspectives.

Title: "Shop Til They Drop"Date: 2008 Size: 96" X 144"

Fiorito (2010) states that however one feels about the subject, the fact of the matter is this: Art is about life, and politics affects every aspect of life on this planet.

Title: "Shox News"Date: 2005 Medium: Billboard (Santa Monica, CA) Size: 10' X 36'

Title: And Bombs for AllDate: 2008 Medium: Silkscreen Size: 22" X 30”

Title: Prison Industrial ComplexDate: 2006 Medium: Silkscreen Size: 17" X 23”

Title: Dear AmericaDate: 2004 Medium: Billboard (Phoenix, AZ) Size: 10.5' x 40'

Title: GI GeorgeDate: 2005 Medium: Silkscreen Size: 23' x 35” 35"

My Thoughts

As an art educator, it is important to develop a curriculum that addresses authentic learning practices in the classroom. Students should be engaged in lessons that reflect contemporary issues that are relevant to the currents student population.

It is important to encourage students to push boundaries in order to present an image that is expressive of personal views of the current political atmosphere.

Too often, students rely on images that are cliché and lack real significant meaning. Therefore offering instruction on how to add meaning to their artwork will lead to improved visual content.

SOCIAL & POPULAR CULTURE The second unit will cover the use of popular culture

in the visual arts and how authentic instruction can be used with such content.

Students will engage in investigating their own social, ethnic, or personal cultures and how these aspects of their lives form their identities.

Gude (2008) emphasizes the idea that meaning-making is the ability to engage and entertain ideas and images; it is the ability to make use of images and ideas to re-image one’s own life experience.

With this in mind, students will investigate the following two artists and the chosen media critique in order to gain a better understanding of how an individual can use their personal experience as the content for their artwork.

Leah Tinari

Importance: Through the use of Leah Tinari’s work, a different perspective will be given on the lives of the individuals that are actively involved in contemporary popular culture. Tinari’s work is significant because it will help students recognize their connection to contemporary culture and how it is evident in their lives.

Curricular Plan Skill Objective: students will learn how to grid images and enlarge them

for their final piece. The image used must focus on creating movement through the use of the figure in a composition.

Content Objective: emphasize the use of personal events in a composition that gives the viewer a unique glimpse into the student’s world.

Application: Students will have to investigate their own lives to uncover how popular culture has affected their daily lives and convey that content in their artwork.

Implication: When using Leah Tinari’s work as visual example in the classroom, it is important to question how popular culture affects ones views. Would the same scenes of partying and fun be accepted by the former generations? Or has what is seen in contemporary society molded our views on what are acceptable modes of entertainment?

Title: Adbusters Cover Date: 2007Journal of Mental Environment # 73Medium: Illustration

Tinari (2008) states that her paintings are snippets of time that capture moments and function as a visual diary to create my social realism, a documentation of thirty-something contemporary lifestyle and behavior.

Title: A Little EncouragementDate: 2007Medium: gouache on paperSize: 11x15 inches

Title: Sway Becomes Loud and SweatyDate: 2007Medium: Gouache on PaperSize: 11 x 15 inches

Title: Heather and RishiDate: 2007Medium: Gouache on PaperSize: 22 x 30 inces

Title: That’s Right, What of It?Date: 2007Medium: Acrylic on CanvasSize: 40 x 40 inches

Title: The Art of Eating CoverDate: 2006Medium: Illustration

Title: The Art of Eating Back CoverDate: 2007Medium; Illustration

Kehinde Wiley

Importance: Recognizing and incorporating ones identity into visual images is one way of creating an artist voice in the visual arts. Wiley’s body of work is significant because it puts a contemporary twist to historical subject matter. By changing the figures in the composition, the artist has brought art history and popular culture into the forefront of contemporary art.

Curricular Plan Skill Objective: focus on the proportions of the human figure and

incorporating foreshortening to add emphasis to the composition. Content Objective: to understand the contribution art history makes to

contemporary art. Then they will create their own artwork with a historical influence and content which reflects their own concept of personal identity.

Application: Students can compare how the artist took certain aspects of historical pieces and use them to create a whole new piece that spoke to the content that he wanted to communicate.

Implication: It is important to discuss plagiarism in the visual arts. Students must understand that it is not their work if they simply copy it from an art history book.

Title: Commodore Augustus Keppel

Work Date: 2005

Medium: oil on canvas and enamel

Size: h: 60 x w: 72 in / h: 152.4 x w: 182.88 cm

 

Wiley (2008) explains his current work in an interview in Art Interview Online Magazine by stating: The most recent work

I'm doing is exploding the notion of a black American identity in my work, or a type of Afro-American normative gauge and

pushing that out into something is quite a bit more confused and wandering.

Title: LL Cool JDate: 2005Medium: Oil on canvasSize: 243.8 x 182.9 cm (96 x 72 in)

Title: Santo Dumont The Father of AviationDate: 2008Medium: Oil on CanvasSize: 72” x 60”

Title: Sleep Date: 2008Medium: Oil on canvasSize: 132” x 300”

Title: Bernardo O’HigginsDate: 2008Medium: Oil on CanvasSize: 72” x 60”

Title: Santos Dumount the Father of Aviation IIDate: 2008Medium: Oil on canvasSize: 96” x 156”

Media Critique Criticism of Social Trends

Importance: When investigating popular culture, it is important to recognize current trends and its effects on people. Due to the significant influence of African American hair advertisements and the promotion of certain images in contemporary society, this media study is important because it investigates how it has shaped a community’s identity.

Curricular Plan Skill Objective: to teach students how to use collage and mixed media

techniques to record images that reflect trends that happen in their communities in an altered book.

Content Objective: focus on the students investigating trends in popular culture and then connecting them to their everyday life.

Application: Students will use images found in popular culture as well as drawn images that reflect trends that personally applies to them in their work in the form of collage. By observing the issues presented in Good Hair, students will draw parallels to contemporary trends and the influence they have on an individual’s identity.

Implication: The implication of this media study will hopefully unearth various stereotypes or trends in society that need to be addressed. Furthermore, students will also have the opportunity to learn about issues that affect other communities or cultures.

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810059624/video

Based on Good Hair by Chris Rock Advertisement

Reverend Al Sharpton (2009) states that we wear our economic oppression on our heads. This statement reflects the concern of poverty in many Black communities in the midst of over spending on hair and beauty products.

Entertainment IndustryFashion

Music

Television/ Movie

My Thoughts and Implications As one reflects on the age of adolescence, it is important to

address the influences that shape an individual’s life and development. Peer pressure and media influence has a direct effect on the students that occupy the contemporary visual arts classroom.

To produce active members of society, art educators must encourage students to critically think about the society in which they live.

The study of art history is an important part of developing as an artist. Therefore, it is important to help students will how to examine the images of the past while bring the content of the work into the present.

Ones identity can be influences by messages promoted in the media. Such messages can alter the identity of an entire community. Therefore the media is a powerful tool that should be examined in the visual arts classroom.

ASSESSMENT The lessons offered in this document will be

assessed by a grading rubric that is based on a scale of excellent, proficient, average, and needs improvement.

This assessment rubric will be available to the students at the beginning of the project so that objectives are obtainable at all times.

Students will then be graded on whether they have met the stated skill and content objectives of each lesson.

Finally there will be a summative evaluation at the conclusion of each unit. The evaluation will consist of multiple choice, studio questions, and art criticism to access student knowledge, application skills, and critical thinking skills.

REFERENCES ARTInterview Online Magazine. (2008) Kehinde Wiley. Retrieved on November 30, 2010 from

http://www.art-interview.com/Issue_009/interview_Wiley_Kehinde.html

Artnet. (2010) Retrieved on October 11, 2010 from http://www.artnet.com/Artists/ArtistHomePage.aspx?artist_id=17496&page_tab=Artwoks_for_sale.

Artrealization. (2008) Online Gallery. Retrieved on October 11, 2010 from http://www.artrealization.com/galleries/main.php.

Artstor. (2010) Wang Guangyi. Retrieved October 12, 2010 from http://library.artstor.org.ezproxy.lib.ucf.edu/library/welcome.html.

Catsoulis (2009) Look but Don’t Touch: It’s All About the Hair. New York Times. Retrieved on November 30, 2010 from http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/movies/09hair.html.

Davis, P. (2003). Good Hair and Bad Hair: What This Seems to Say About Us. Multicultural Education, 10(4), 39-41. Retrieved from Education Full Text database.

Eisner, E. (1997). Educating Artistic Vision. Chapter 6: Building Curriculum. 152-178.

Fiorito, K. (2010) Retrieved on October 11, 2010 from http://www.karenfiorito.com/.

Gude, O. (2008). Commentary Aesthetics Making Meaning. Studies in Art Education, 50(1), 98-103.

Mint. (2008). Scene in America: A Contemporary Look at the Black Male Image. Retrieve on November 28, 2010 from http://www.mintmuseum.org/.

Murray, D. (2007). Kehinde Wiley: Splendid Bodies. Nka, 90-101. Retrieved from Art Full Text database.

National Coalition Against Censorship. (2010) Retrieved on October 11, 2010 from http://www.ncac.org/art/art_now/painting.cfm.

Rawlings, A. (2006). PingMag. Pop and Propaganda: Chinese Posters and Wang Guangyi. Retrieved November 28, 2010 from posthttp://pingmag.jp/2006/06/29/pop-andpropaganda-chinese-posters-andwang-guangyi/

Rock, C. Stilson, J. (2010). Good Hair. United States: HBO Films.

Tinari, L. (2008). Retrieved on November 1, 2010 from http://www.leahtinari.com/index.html.

The Saatchi Gallery. (2009). Retrieved October 11, 2010 from http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/wang_guangyi.htm.

Wiley, K. (2008). Kehinde Wiley Studio. Retrieved on November 29, 2010 from http://www.kehindewiley.com/main.html

Williams, A. (2010) Rawgoods. Retrieved on October 11, 2010 from http://rawgoods.org/home.html.

Yang, G., & Suchan, T. (2009). The Cultural Revolution and Contemporary Chinese Art. Art Education, 62(6), 25-32. Retrieved from Art Full Text database.