instructional resources: contemporary art: familiar objects in new contexts

National Art Education Association

Instructional Resources: Contemporary Art: Familiar Objects in New ContextsAuthor(s): Vas PrabhuSource: Art Education, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Jul., 1990), pp. 25-32Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3193213 .

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INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES

Louise Nevelson (1899-1988), American. Sky Cathedral- Southern Mountain, 1959, Wood painted black. 114 x 124 x 16" Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. MOCA: 85.14

Art Education/July 1990 25



Contemporary Art: Familiar Objects in New

Contexts

Vas Prabhu

ARTISTS AND ARTWORK FEATURED:

Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) American (b. Soviet Union) Sky Cathedral

Southern Mountain, 1959 Wood painted black

114x 124x 16" MOCA: 85.14

Claes Oldenburg (1929-) American (b. Sweden)

Coosje Van Bruggen (1942- ) Dutch

The Knifeship II, 1986 Wood, steel, latex paint, II electrical motors

35'6" x 83' x 31'10", fully extended MOCA: Gift of GFT, USA

Betye Saar(1928 - ) American Record for Hattie, 1975

Mixed media 2" x 14" x 13-1/2"

Collection of the Artist (Printed with artist's permission)

Mitchell Syrop (1953- ) American

Treated and Released, 1985 Oil and photo mural

9 panels: 38-1/2" x 48" each MOCA: The El Paso Collection

86.46

Introduction We are surrounded by objects. Our daily lives are dependent upon our familiarity with the functions of hundreds of objects. We learn to "read" objects in our daily environment, and know a lot about their pur- pose, how to use them, what they cost, where we can acquire them, and so on. The skills we apply to reading these everyday objects can also be applied to reading works of art.

In this instructional resource we will first discuss objects from our daily lives and then analyze works of art by four contemporary artists, whose works make use of familiar objects. By relying on our familiarity with these everyday objects and by presenting them in new contexts, these artists have transformed them into Contemporary art objects.

Format for Instructional Resource This instructional resource is written in four steps.

This sequence will assist the students to view artworks by four artists (Nevelson, Oldenburg, Saar and Syrop) and to analyze the four artists and analyze the topic, Contemporary Art: Familiar Objects in New Contexts.

Step 1: Students will view everyday objects and discern how these objects convey information about the maker of the object, the owner of the object, and the culture that produced the object.

Step 2: Students will learn about label format and content. Students will have the opportunity to discuss and compare their impression of four artworks, and build on the skills practiced in step one.

Step 3: Students will view the four artworks as a group and analyze the diverse ways in which the artists make use of everyday objects in their artwork.

26 Art EducationJuly 1990



Students will read background material on the artists and discern other themes that may exist in the artworks.

Step 4: Students will pursue art and research activities that will build on the ideas introduced in the first three parts.

Advice for the Teacher 1. Become familiarwith the Instructional Resource.

Make changes. Tailor it to your needs. Improve it! 2. Be creative when introducing the Instructional

Resource. 3. For example, place questions and reproduc-

tions on the bulletin board and ask students to re- spond in writing or by drawing.

4. Organize the students to work in small groups to encourage participation.

5. Divide the class into two groups. Set up a debate about the ideas introduced in the Instructional Resource.

6. Ask students to come up with a question about Contemporary art that they would like to explore.

7. Contact the education departments of muse- ums and browse in museum stores for resources such as postcards, videos, teacher's guides, gallery guides, and exhibition catalogues.

8. Most of all, enjoy introducing the Instructional Resource and make time in the calendar to try out the next one!

Step 1: Everyday Objects *Begin with one everyday object such as a styrofoam cup or a baseball card.

1. Identify the object by its name(s). 2. List its characteristics. 3. What materials were used to make this object? 4. How was it made? 5. Who made this object? 6. Where was it made? 7. What kind of person uses or owns this object? 8. What does the object tell us about the culture

that produced it? 9. What does this object reveal about cultural

values?

10. Ask the student who brought in the object to share information about the object. How did s/he acquire it? Why does s/he like it? An object's personal history can motivate the viewer to look closer and discuss it further.

*Place two everyday objects on the table. 1. What qualities are similar? Different? 2. Which object has more "value"? Discuss.

*Continue in this manner until the discussion centers around several objects. Group objects according to the following categories:

1. Natural materials to "high" technology 2. Hand made to machine made 3. Impersonal to personal 4. Least functional to highly functional 5. Positive cultural valueto negative cultural value

Step 2: Viewing Artworks: Nevelson 1. What is the first thing you notice about this

artwork? the second? 2. Draw a section or detail of the sculpture and

give it to a classmate. Can s/he find it? 3. Nevelson assembled found objects: How many

objects can you identify? 4. What tools could Nevelson have used to as-

semble this artwork? 5. What words describe this artwork? 6. Describe the relationship between the title and

the artwork.

Step 2: Viewing Artworks: Oldenburg 1. Humor is integral to the Pop Art movement. Is

there humor in this artwork? Discuss. 2. Read the title of this artwork. What othertitle(s)

could be given to this art work. 3. What does a Swiss Army Knife represent in our

culture? Who uses them? Why? 4. If the Knifeship II has a companion piece, what

would it look like? Design and draw it. 5. Is there a large-scale sculpture in your town?

Compare it to this artwork. 6. How could a museum store this artwork?

Art Education/July 1990 27



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Step 2: Viewing Artworks: Saar 1. How old is this artwork? 2. Who owns this artwork? 3. Where could Betye Saar obtain the materials

for this artwork? 4. What kind of mood or feelings does this artwork

convey? 5. If you could speak to Hattie, what would you ask

her? 6. What does this artwork reveal about Hattie?

Step 2: Viewing Artworks: Syrop 1. How old is the artist? 2. How was this artwork made? 3. How is this artwork different from an advertise-

ment? 4. If there was an audiotape to accompany this

work, what would it sound like? 5. If Syrop invited the viewerto "extend" or expand

this artwork, what images and words would you use?

Step 3: All Four Artworks View all four artworks simultaneously. Read the background information on the four artists and then discuss the following:

1. Which artworks are similar in feeling? 2. Which artworks are similar in materials? 3. Which work of art seems the most hand made? 4. Which work of art employs the most technol-

ogy? 5. In which artwork is the everyday object hidden?

the main subject? used symbolically? 6. Which art work is easiest to understand? Why? 7. Which artwork is the most complex? Why? 8. What changes in styles can be seen in these

four works of art?

Step 3: Background: Nevelson Louise Nevelson is considered one of the pioneers of abstraction in sculpture, a movement which devel- oped in the 1950's. She used "found" wooden objects

LABEL FORMAT AND CONTENT

Artist's first name

Title or name of art work Year work completed1

Materials of art work

Who owns the work. If the museum, then the name of the collection.

-Artist's family name

-Year of birth If bl; still

Betye Saar

Record for Hattie, 1975

ank, living - Artist's nationality

(1928-American(b. U. S. A.) (1928- ) American (b. U. S. A.) Country of birth

Mixed Media

Collection of the Artist

- Museum accession number. This is a catalogue system that helps a museum keep track of when an art work was acquired. If blank, the museum does not own it.

30 Art Education/July 1990

I



(pieces of sawed up woodwork, staircases, or furni- ture rescued from destroyed or abandoned houses) which she combined to create art. Nevelson usually created box-like forms which she would then paint a uniform color, such as black. Some of her larger-scale work was assembled by a team of people under her direction. Nevelson felt that art was a direct reflection of the artist.

Step 3: Background: Oldenburg Claes Oldenburg is a Pop artist who takes familiar objects out of their daily environment and transforms them. He is interested in commercial objects which already have meaning for the viewer. By altering scale and materials, he presents them in a way that often elicits humor and irony. Oldenburg claims that he has " always been fascinated by the values at- tached to size." In creating art works he often collabo- rates with the historian and author, Coosje Van Brug- gen.

Step 3: Background: Saar Betye Saar believes that "you can make art out of anything." Her artwork is known for recyling and transformina materials that she finds. Saar calls it "power gathering." She is interested in objects that were once used and had meaning in someone's life. Her works are constructed on a spiral based upon three types of histories: historical, familial and personal and present dualities: gathering vs. presenting; display vs. decoration; physical vs. spiritual; conceal- ing vs. revealing and power vs. mystery. "Record for Hattie" was created from Saar's memories of her great aunt, who died in 1974. Hattie raised Saar's mother and Saar and Hattie shared a close relationship. "A Record for Hattie" acknowledges Hattie's death, but also her life as a woman of tremendous dignity, poise, and wisdom.

Step 3: Background: Syrop As Mitchell Syrop was attending art school, he was influenced by the minimalism and conceptual art movements of the 1960's and 70's. The role of the viewer, the use of non-traditional art materials, the importance of the creative concept over the final

product were some of the notions of art that the artists in this time period questioned and altered. Syrop, like the Pop artists before him, is intrigued by "mass media" and how it affects our familiarity with the products and phrases of popularculture. By juxtapos- ing these products and phrases in his artwork, he provides social commentary on contemporary culture.

Step 4: Related Activities 1. Look in art history books, art magazines and

exhibition catalogues for other examples of artworks by Nevelson, Oldenburg, Saar, and Syrop. Compare them to the artworks reproduced in this article. How are the themes, materials, treatments similar? different?

2. Look in art history books, art magazines and exhibition catalogues for other artists who make use of everyday objects in their artwork. How do they compare to the four artists' works featured in this article?

3. Make a collage about the year in which one of the four artworks was made. Use images and words that describe world events during that year.

4. Create a companion piece to one of the artworks.

5. Write an explanatory label for the new artwork that will encourage the viewer to study the artwork closely by including questions for the viewer to con- sider.

6. Find parallels in the fields of the humanities or sciences. For example, what was popular in literature in 1959 when Nevelson made "Sky Cathedral- Southern Mountain"?

7. Select images from art magazines and create an exhibit, complete with title and explanatory labels.

Resources Clothier, Peter. "Betye Saar", MOCA Catalogue, 1984-1985. "Constructing a History", MOCA Gallery Guide: 1989. The Contemporary, MOCA's Newspaper. Cummings, Paul. "American Artists", New York: St. Martins

Press, 1988. "Striking Distance" MOCA Gallery Guide, 1988. "The Knifeship II" MOCA Gallery Guide; 1988.

Vas Prabhu is Director of Education at the Museum of

Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Art EducationJuly 1990 31



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