This ArtsConnectEd Set was designed for teachers and middle school students (grades 7-8) who plan to visit the The Living Years exhibit at the Walker Art Center. It can be used to prep visitors for the tour theme of "Identity," with a look at the varied ways in which identity is communicated through art.
The ArtsConnectEd Set contains a sampler of works from the exhibition as well as outside resources. It can be considered a sneak preview of the kinds of ideas and artworks students will see during their visit to the Walker Art Center.
It also includes questions adapted from a technique called Critical Response Protocol, which can encourage critical thinking, both during the preview and during the tour itself.
Poets, songwriters, artists, and students. All have explored the nature of identity throughout history: Who am I? Of which culture am I a part, and what does that culture stand for?
Identity is sometimes a changing idea. Throughout our childhood, teenage years and adult lives, we naturally and repeatedly think about our identity and sense of place, and the identities of those around us. To question, define and express one's identity is part of being human.
For this discussion, the term "identity" will refer to distinguishing characteristics by which a person is a recognizable and unique individual.
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What makes you unique? Think about what you would tell a pen pal, or what information you would share on a social networking site, so others better understand something about you. Here are some thought starters:
Where do you live?
Where do you go to school?
What language(s) do you speak?
Do you study a particular religion?
What are your hobbies outside of school? Interests?
What article of clothing best expresses your personality?
What stickers are on your locker? Posters in your bedroom?
What else would you like them to know?
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What do you notice about this group?
How are they expressing something unique about themselves?
How are they alike? How are they different from each other?
What tools do they use to give us these clues?
The photograph features members of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic gymnastics team, 2012.
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Here is another Olympic athlete.
How is he expressing something unique about himself?
What clues is he using to tell you about his identity, or personality?
How is he different from the gymnastics team? How is he the same?
The photographs feature gold medal-winning snowboarder Shaun White, 2010.
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These are photographs from a Cinco de Mayo parade and celebration in Minneapolis.
What do you notice about the participants?
What clues might help you understand their identity, or heritage?
What other things might have been part of the celebration?
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You've started to think about how you'd express your own identity and looked at some examples from everyday culture.
How, then, do artists help us tackle questions about identity? How do contemporary artists express identity in their work? Your upcoming tour at the Walker Art Center is designed to explore how artists today are working with the notion of "identity".
The exhibition you will see is called The Living Years. It features contemporary artists whose art was created between 1989 and the present.
The following slides give you a sneak preview of the types of art you will see on your tour.
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Spend a few minutes looking at the detail of the sculpture in this photograph. What do you notice?
How would you describe this piece to someone who is not here to see it?
What do you think the artist might have had in mind when he made the sculpture?
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The title of this work describes how the artist made it.
Why do you think he chose these materials?
What do the materials tell you about the artist's identity?
Huang Yong Ping grew up in China during the Cultural Revolution. He moved to France in 1987 and currently calls that country his home.
Artist: Huang Yong Ping
Date: 1987/1993
Medium: Sculpture
Size: overall 30.25 x 19 x 27.5 inches
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What's going on in this picture?
What does it remind you of? What do you see that makes you say that?
If this were a movie, what do you think happened prior to this frame? What do you think will happen next?
The "actress" in this photograph is artist Cindy Sherman. She often appears in her own photographs dressed differently, representing seemingly different people.
Title: Untitled
Artist: Cindy Sherman
Date: 1981
Medium: Photographs
Size: 24 x 48 inches
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Here is a 'regular' photograph of the artist, Cindy Sherman (left), next to another photograph she staged (right). This artist has created an entire series of photographs in which she is dressed, stylized or made up to look like someone else.
What might her intent be in creating such a series of photographs?
If she is the model in the photo on the right, is it a self-portrait? Or a portrait of someone else? Could it be both?
Artist: Cindy Sherman
Date: 2000
Medium: Photographs
Size: framed 31.125 x 24.1875 x 1 inches
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(If you have a live internet connection, be sure to use the "zoom" and "scale" features to more closely examine the attributes of this artwork.)
What is going on in this painting?
What does it remind you of?
The name of the painting is Analog. The term 'analog' refers to the fact that everything we see and hear is a continuous transmission of data to our senses.
Why do you think the artist might have chosen that title?
Artist: Mark Bradford
Date: 2004
Medium: Paintings
Size: overall 125.5 x 125.375 inches
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The artist Mark Bradford is an African American artist who lives in an urban neighborhood in Los Angeles. His neighborhood is an important part of his identity. His painting is meant to give us clues and a sense about that neighborhood.
If you were to make a collage about your neighborhood, what might it include?
Artist: Mark Bradford
Date: 2004
Medium: Paintings
Size: overall 125.5 x 125.375 inches
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You've now previewed some images from everyday life and a variety of artworks that show how people express their identity.
You've started to consider the many possible ways in which artists might communicate their ideas, and their feelings, about identity. You will explore even more artworks on your tour at the Walker Art Center.
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