Faces and Places: Art Interpretation

This ArtsConnectEd set was created for the iPad Challenge #3: Support your Substitute!!!

This art collector set is all about understanding the art we are looking at and examining the pieces by using our own interpretations and experiences to perhaps better understand them.

Directions:

1. Each slide includes a work of art that you will have to respond to by following the prompts that will be included. You will need a piece of paper and something to write with to complete the activity. Many of the slides have audio or video to learn from in addition to the image.

2. The teacher will click the presentation forward when the time allowed for each slide is up.

3. You must respond to all the prompts. I am expecting you write using complete sentences and use vivid, descriptive words to convey your thoughts. One word or one sentence answers are not acceptable unless the response calls for such.

There is a specified amount of time given for each slide, so you're going to have to Watch The Clock!!! Do the best you can and get as far as time will allow during the hour. This lesson will take the whole class time and will move at a fast pace. Remember, you can always go back and finish answers you may have not had enough time to cover. Turn in your work at the end of the class period.

Have fun!

-Ms. Tanttila

Anne, Countess of Strafford (c. 1715 - 1785)

Click here to get the Flash Player.

Click to listen to a short commentary on this portrait of Anne, Countess of Strafford, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

After listening, move on to the next slide to answer some questions.

Artist: Sir Joshua Reynolds
Date: 1758-1759
Medium: Paintings, Painting
Size: 30 x 24 3/4 x 3/4 in. (76.2 x 62.87 x 1.91 cm) (canvas)
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 99.63 .

Anne, Countess of Strafford (c. 1715 - 1785)

Meet Anne, the Countess of Strafford.

Watch The Clock!!! You have 6 minutes to answer all the questions. Use descriptive vocabulary and go into detail.

Title this section "Anne, Countess of Strafford"

1. How many sittings did it take to complete this portrait? Why was it important for the artist to be skilled in entertaining his subjects?

2. Imagine that Anne, the Countess of Strafford, had a Facebook page and this was her profile picture. Help fill in some of her profile information based on your perception of her.

*Actvities? *Interests? *Favorite Music? *Political Views? *Favorite Quotes? *Employer? *People who Inspire her?

3. Draw a sketch of a necklace or a pair of earrings you believe Anne might like to wear in another portrait of herself.

4. If you were to have your portrait painted, what would you wear? Would you dress up in fancy clothes? Would you wear sweats? What would you wear so people would remember you for all time when they saw your portrait and why?

Artist: Sir Joshua Reynolds
Date: 1758-1759
Medium: Paintings, Painting
Size: 30 x 24 3/4 x 3/4 in. (76.2 x 62.87 x 1.91 cm) (canvas)
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 99.63

Woman Sharpening a Scythe

Watch The Clock!!! You have 5 minutes to respond the to the following:

Title this section: "Woman Sharpening a Scythe"

1. What emotion was immediately thought of when you first saw this print? What is it about this print that made you feel that? Describe in detail.

2. Who do you think this person is? Write a short synopsis of their life story.

3. Think of a song you know or a style of music that would be appropriate to accompany this piece. Describe why that piece of music matches this work of art.

Artist: Käthe Kollwitz
Date: 1905
Medium: Prints, Edition Prints/Proofs
Size: sheet 11 x 11 inches
Institution: Walker Art Center
Accession #: 1949.35

Spoonbridge and Cherry

Watch the video then go to the next slide for questions to respond to.

Artist: Walker Art Center
Date: 1998
Medium: Documentation
Institution: Walker Art Center

Spoonbridge and Cherry

Watch the Clock!!! You have 4 minutes to respond to the following prompts:

Title this section: "Spoonbridge and Cherry"

1. The great state of Minnesota experiences a wide range of weather conditions. Imagine this sculpture as it is exposed to the different seasons. How would it appear during different times of the year? (hint....in winter, it may look especially "sweet").

2. This sculpture weighs in at around 7000 pounds!!! If you could work with Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen on a large scale sculpture, what ordinary object would you enlarge larger than life? What city would it be located in and what type of environment would it be placed in? Describe it.

3. Draw a little sketch of the idea you would like to see built into a sculpture. Draw a person next to it so the huge scale is understood.

Artist: Claes Oldenburg, Coosje van Bruggen
Date: 1985-1988
Medium: Sculpture, Sculptures
Size: overall 354 x 618 x 162 inches
Institution: Walker Art Center
Accession #: 1988.385

Portrait of Catherine Coustard (1673-1728), Marquise of Castelnau, Wife of Charles-Léonor Aubry (1667-1735) with her Son Léonor (1695-1770) by Nicolas de Largillière

Click here to get the Flash Player.

Portrait of Catherine Coustard (1673-1728), Marquise of Castelnau, Wife of Charles-Léonor Aubry (1667-1735) with her Son Léonor (1695-1770), Nicolas de Largillière

Listen to the audio commentary and then move to the next slide to answer the questions.

Mouse over the image and you will be able to enlarge it to better see the details of this painting.

Artist: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Date: 2008
Medium: commentary
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Portrait of Catherine Coustard (1673-1728), Marquise of Castelnau, Wife of Charles-Léonor Aubry (1667-1735) with her Son Léonor (1695-1770)

Watch The Clock!!! You have 3 minutes to respond:

Title this section: "Portrait of Catherine Coustard"

1. Describe how dressy attire fashions have evolved over the years from the time of Catherine Coustard and her son to the present day and age.

2. Draw a quick sketch of how a young boy might be dressed nowadays if he is to be formally clothed.

Artist: Nicolas de Largillière
Date: c. 1699
Medium: Paintings, Painting
Size: 53 1/4 x 40 3/4 in. (135.26 x 103.51 cm) (sight)70 1/2 x 58 x 5 in. (179.07 x 147.32 x 12.7 cm) (outer frame)
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 77.26

Dining chair

Click here to get the Flash Player.

Listen to the audio commentary and then move to the next slide to respond to the prompts.

Artist: George Grant Elmslie
Date: 1910
Medium: Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects, Furniture
Size: 50 3/16 x 20 5/16 x 18 1/2 in. (127.48 x 51.59 x 46.99 cm)
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 99.62.6

Dining chair

Watch The Clock!!! You have 4 minutes to respond to the following questions:

Title this section: "Dining Chair"

1. There are 6 chairs presented at this table. Imagine that this dining set is in your house. You have the unique opportunity to invite 5 guests for dinner, and they can be anyone, dead or alive. Who would your 5 dinner guests be and why?

2. What food would you serve your guests?

Artist: George Grant Elmslie
Date: 1910
Medium: Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects, Furniture
Size: 50 3/16 x 20 5/16 x 18 1/2 in. (127.48 x 51.59 x 46.99 cm)
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 99.62.6

Woman by the Sea

Click here to get the Flash Player.

Listen to the audio then click forward to the next slide.

Artist: Pablo Picasso
Date: 1922
Medium: Paintings, Painting
Size: 23 x 19 in. (58.42 x 48.26 cm) (sight)32 x 28 x 2 3/4 in. (81.28 x 71.12 x 6.99 cm) (outer frame)
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 61.36.24

Woman by the Sea

Watch The Clock!!! You have 5 minutes to respond:

Title this section: "Woman by the Sea"

1. Many times people will use works of art as inspiration for writing. Write a haiku inspired by Picasso's painting.

A Haiku follows a very specific pattern of being 3 lines long, with a set amount of syllables assigned per row. Think of syllables as the "beat" of the words.

Row 1: 5 syllables

Row 2: 7 syllables

Row 3: 5 syllables

Example:

The woman sits still

Contemplating the big fish

Swimming behind her

Artist: Pablo Picasso
Date: 1922
Medium: Paintings, Painting
Size: 23 x 19 in. (58.42 x 48.26 cm) (sight)32 x 28 x 2 3/4 in. (81.28 x 71.12 x 6.99 cm) (outer frame)
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 61.36.24

Frank

Click here to get the Flash Player.

Listen to the audio and then click to the next slide.

Artist: Chuck Close
Date: 1969
Medium: Paintings, Painting
Size: 108 x 84 x 3 in. (274.3 x 213.4 x 7.6 cm)
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 69.137

Frank

Watch The Clock! You have 2 minutes to ponder.........

Title this section: "Frank"

1. What was Frank looking at??? Can you see?

2. This painting is HUGE! (9 feet high by 7 feet wide!) Who would you select to paint a portrait of if you were to create a painting that is so big? Draw a quick sketch of what that portrait may look like.

Artist: Chuck Close
Date: 1969
Medium: Paintings, Painting
Size: 108 x 84 x 3 in. (274.3 x 213.4 x 7.6 cm)
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 69.137

The Birthday Party

Click here to get the Flash Player.

Listen to the commentary and then click to the next slide.

Artist: John Singer Sargent
Date: 1887
Medium: Paintings, Painting
Size: 24 x 29 x 3/4 in. (60.96 x 73.66 x 1.91 cm) (canvas)23 1/2 x 28 1/2 in. (59.69 x 72.39 cm) (sight)32 x 37 x 2 3/4 in. (81.28 x 93.98 x 6.99 cm) (outer frame)37 5/8 in. (95.57 cm) (diagonal)
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 62.84

The Birthday Party

Watch The Clock!!! You have 5 minutes to respond.

Title this section: "The Birthday Party"

1. Think back to when you were a child and had a birthday. Is what you remember similar to what you see here? In what ways is it similar and what ways is it different? What is your favorite birthday memory from childhood?

2. Math Challenge: This painting was created in 1887. How many years before you were born was this painting made? How old is this painting compared to today's date?

Artist: John Singer Sargent
Date: 1887
Medium: Paintings, Painting
Size: 24 x 29 x 3/4 in. (60.96 x 73.66 x 1.91 cm) (canvas)23 1/2 x 28 1/2 in. (59.69 x 72.39 cm) (sight)32 x 37 x 2 3/4 in. (81.28 x 93.98 x 6.99 cm) (outer frame)37 5/8 in. (95.57 cm) (diagonal)
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 62.84

Young Housewife, Bethnal Green, London

Watch The Clock!!! You have 7 minutes to respond:

Title this section: "Young Housewife"

Write a poem inspired by this photograph. Think of a word that relates to this work and use the letters of the word to create lines in the poem using each letter as the first letter of the first word in each line. See example below.

Example: "Work"

Washing the floor helps to clear my mind

On and on, I scrub away

Relishing the sight of the cleanliness below

Keeping a good pace, I don't have much more to go

Artist: Bill Brandt
Date: 1937
Medium: Photographs, Photograph
Size: 13 7/16 x 11 1/2 in. (34.13 x 29.21 cm) (image)20 x 15 15/16 in. (50.8 x 40.48 cm) (mount)
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 98.144.17

Turn in your work!

Make sure your name is on all sheets of paper you wrote your responses on and turn them in!

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Artist: Salvador Dali
Date: 1938
Medium: Sculpture
Size: 8 1/4 x 12 1/4 x 6 1/2 in. (20.96 x 31.12 x 16.51 cm)
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Accession #: 96.2