I. Introduction: Object Observation (45 minutes)
"Object Observation" is an exercise that was developed by educators
at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and refined by teachers at The New York City
Museum School as a strategy for honing careful looking and gallery teaching
skills. The exercise offers the opportunity to apply practically the theories
of museum learning or the process of "passionate learning" embraced
by museum professionals-learning that is object-based and requires detailed
observation, extensive research, analysis, and synthesis of information, and
the presentation of new information in a variety of formats.
"Object Observation" is designed to encourage closer looking skills,
and reinforce the adage "the more you look, the more you will see";
increase articulation skills, by focusing on the use of descriptive language;
give confidence in a person's interpretation skills, or the ability to discern
and extrapolate information based on observation and previous experience/knowledge;
stimulate one's curiosity, and the quest for additional information; emphasize
the possibilities of new research, and challenge a person to begin a process
of synthesizing information (from observation, research, questioning, listening
to, and conferring with colleagues) that ultimately leads to new understanding.
In addition, "Object Observation" serves educators by sensitizing
them to the rewards of listening as a teaching and learning tool and to the diversity
of perspectives, interests, concerns, and skills of others.
-
Observation and Recording Procedures
- Select one image from the Van Vechten collection (e.g. Resource
A: Portrait of Billie Holiday).
- Use Resource B: Object Observation
worksheet to individually record observations that are objective
and subjective.
- "Objective" observations describe what is in
the photograph, as perceived without distortion by personal
feelings, prejudices or interpretations. In the context of art history,
context, these descriptions tend to be more "formal,"
relating to the forms and structures, or the arrangement
and relationship of various elements in the work of art.
- "Subjective" descriptions can include personal
judgments, interpretation, and feelings.
- List 3 to 5 questions about the photograph.
-
Sharing Observations
With other members of the group, take turns presenting your objective
and subjective observations. Compare and discuss your answered
and unanswered questions and consider the process for additional
research (closer observation, seeking a labelled copy, artistic statements,
biographical information, etc.).
-
Research about Carl Van Vechten, the photographer
Consult Resource C, Carl Van Vechten
Biography and Chronology, and Resource D, an Occupational
Index of his subjects, to learn more about the nature and scope
of his work. (This abbreviated step substitutes for what would normally
be a longer period of student research.)
-
Discussion
Share with the group information and insights about Van Vechten and
his work and discuss how this additional information altered your
understanding of the selected portrait.
II. Searching for Portraits/Curating a Mini-Exhibition (45 minutes)
- With a partner, search one of the American Memory collections below that
include portraits of celebrities or ordinary people. Some collections feature people
within a particular category or profession (e.g. presidents and first
ladies, baseball players, vaudevillians) and others feature portraits from
a particular event or time period (e.g. mid-19th century daguerrotypes,
Civil War photos, or 1890s travel photos from around the world).
- Just as artists make choices in the creation of an individual image, collectors
and curators make choices in the selection of images to tell a particular
story. After searching one of the portrait collections listed, select 4 to 6 portraits
to tell a particular story. For example, the story could be about the changing nature
of portraiture, changing images of celebrities, changes in the work of
one photographer, or changing fashions. Refer to the suggested themes
for ideas.
- Print out the images or bookmark their Web addresses.
Search tip: Try searching on terms by which portraits are often catalogued
in the collections: portrait, group, man, woman, (men/women) girl, boy,
children.
| Portrait Collection |
|
Themes to Investigate/Tell a story
about |
| America from the Great Depression to World War II: Color
Photographs from the Farm Security Administration and the Office
of War Information (1938-1944) |
|
Documentation or Propaganda? Consider
e.g.,: portraits of tenant farmers (selling the New Deal?); images
of African Americans, women and Japanese Americans on the homefront
in WWII (selling the war effort?) |
| America's First Look into the Camera: Daguerreotype Portraits
and Views, 1839-1864 |
|
Working men & women in the mid-19th century.
Consider e.g., 'occupational portraits' of artisans, laborers, clergy,
etc. |
| Around the World in the 1890s: Photographs from the World's
Transportation Commission (WTC) 1894-1896 |
|
The camera as a roving 'colonial eye'
(e.g., portraits of natives in countries around the world vs. portraits
of WTC staff ) |
| Creative Americans: Portraits by Carl Van Vechten, 1932-1964 |
|
The changing nature of celebrities
(e.g., mass media stars vs. high culture figures). Changes in clothing
fashions, and styles. |
| Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies 1789-Present |
|
Changes in the ways we picture power
(e.g., 18th century / 19th century / 20th century changing images of first ladies) portraits
of presidents. |
| Selected Civil War Photographs the Library of
Congress, 1861-1865 |
|
How photography changes the expierence
of war (e.g., keepsakes from snapshots of soldiers, group images
of camp life; battlefield shots of Confederate and Union dead.) |
| The
South Texas, 1900-1920: Photographs from the Robert Runyon Collection |
|
Ethnic community in the U.S. Southwest
in the 1920s. |
III. Analyzing the Portraits (30 minutes)
- Arrange the portraits to tell a story, applying skills developed in the
object observation exercise.
- Discuss the photographs in terms of what you were able to determine about
the purposes of the portraits, the intention/goals of the artist, and
the intention/goals of the subject.
- Develop a list of the conventions or tools of portraiture
(e.g. busts or half-length, full body, pose, dress/costume, composition,
lighting/light source, facial expression, hands/gesture, surroundings,
props) that communicate information.
Each group will have an opportunity to view the other mini-exhibitions.
IV. Presentation and Reflection (30 minutes)
- With your partner, present your "exhibition" of portraits and
discuss the organizing principles of that collection.
- As a group, consider the appeal of portrait photographs and the kinds
of information revealed about the subject, the artist, the collector/curator,
and the viewers themselves.
- Discuss the value of understanding how choices are made-by an artist,
a celebrity, and a collector/curator, to present a particular idea or
image.
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