Images & Ideas FLINT INSTITUTE OF ARTS VOL. 1 NO. 2 NOVEMBER 2006

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1 FLINT INSTITUTE OF ARTS VOL. 1 NO. 2 NOVEMBER 2006 Images & Ideas Have you ever heard the saying, A picture is worth a thousand words? Artists use pictures paintings, sculptures, and prints to tell us about people, places, things, and ideas. In this self-portrait by Rembrandt, we see the artist drawing. What is Rembrandt telling us about himself? Rembrandt has shown himself drawing by a window. Sometimes artists use self-portraits as a kind of advertisement, telling us about their skill as an artist. Does Rembrandt look like he is a good artist? Based on the size of the drawing tool and the angle it is held at, we think that Rembrandt is working on an etching. An etching is a type of print. When making a print, an artist transfers an image from a prepared surface, like Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, Dutch, , Self Portrait Drawing at a Window, etching, drypoint, and engraving on laid paper, Courtesy of the Syracuse University Art Collection, Gift of Mr. Cloud Wampler, metal or wood, to paper or fabric. The process can be repeated, allowing artists to make multiple copies of the original artwork. This is not the same thing as a reproduction of an artwork, since a reproduction is a photograph of a print rather than an actual print. Visit us on the web at com/flintartsed

2 Vocabulary Etching: a print whereby marks are bitten into a metal plate by acid. The plate is then inked and printed. Rembrandt van Rijn, Abraham Entertaining the Angels (L-copper plate, R-print), 1656, etched copperplate with drypoint, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ladislaus and Beatrix von Hoffman and Patrons Permanent Fund a E tching An etching is made by coating a metal plate with a layer of wax. Using an etching needle or sharp tool the artist draws a picture into the wax. This exposes the metal underneath. When the drawing is finished, the plate is placed in acid. The wax protects the plate from the acid, except where the metal has been exposed. When the acid comes in contact with the metal, it eats away some of the metal. When the acid has bitten out enough of the metal, the plate is removed from the acid and the wax layer is cleaned off. At this point, the artist rubs ink onto the plate and then wipes it off. All of the ink is removed from the surface, but remains in the places bitten out by the acid. Once the plate is inked, a sheet of damp paper is placed over it. Then the plate and the paper are run under the rollers of a printing press. The pressure from the press transfers the ink from the plate onto the paper an etching is made. The artist can repeat the process to make multiple prints from the same plate. In the example above, Rembrandt s copper etching plate still shows traces of black printing ink in the bitten areas of the plate. One of the prints made from the plate is shown on the right. Notice that the image on the print is the reverse, or mirror image, of the image on the plate. D Print: an original artwork made by transferring an image from a prepared surface to paper or fabric. Reproduction: a photograph of an original artwork, rather than the original artwork itself. id you know? Self portrait: a portrait an artist makes of himself or herself. Rembrandt s father s name was Harmen and he owned a mill in the Rhine River. Rembrandt s full name was Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. It means Rembrandt son of Harmen of the Rhine. Rembrandt was born 400 years ago, on July 15, 1606, in Leiden, Holland. Rembrandt originally signed his artwork with the initials RHL (Rembrandt Harmenszoon of Leiden) or Rembrandt van Rijn. Once he became known as an artist, he signed his work Rembrandt f. The f stood for the Latin word fecit, which mens he made.

3 On your own How To Draw the Head This activity will show you how to create a portrait using the techniques of proportion and modeling. Materials 9 x 12 white paper charcoal kneadable eraser newsprint Procedure Let s take a look at the proportions of the face. Look at the diagram at the right. Note that: 1. The head is oval. 2. The eyes are located in the center of the face (see A). 3. The end of the nose is halfway between the chin and the eyes (see B). 4. The bottom of the mouth is halfway between the nose and the chin (see C). 5. The ears start at eye level and continue to the end of the nose (see D). 6. Also notice the location and width of the eyes, nose, and mouth. You can expect variations as you compare actual features to the diagram. D C B A Now let s do some drawing. 7. Cover the top of the table you are working at with newsprint. 8. Coat your drawing paper with a layer of charcoal. For best results, hold the charcoal on its side while coloring. 9. Select a classmate to draw. 10. Use a kneadable eraser to sketch the basic proportions of the face. Adjust these proportions to fit the actual proportions of your classmate s face. If you want to make any changes, simply color over the area you wish to change with the charcoal and start again. 11. Model your portrait by erasing the light spots or highlights of the face. Squinting may help you see the highlights more easily. When your eraser becomes dirty, simply knead it until you find a clean spot. Before making your charcoal drawing, use the box below to practice drawing a head. Closure There is an old saying, A picture is worth a thousand words. While it is true that we can learn a lot from portraits, sometimes words are more effective. Use words to create a written portrait of yourself, a family member, or a friend.

4 In the community Artist Bill Stolpin was born in Flint, Michigan, and grew up in both Wisconsin and Michigan. He is a retired engineer who has been interested in printmaking since he was a child. He still has the linoleum blocks he used to make his first prints Christmas cards! Today, he makes all kinds of prints, including serigraphs (silkscreens) to woodcuts, lithographs, and engravings. William R. Stolpin, Vernors Wall, 1995, serigraph. 22 x 17 inches. William R. Stolpin I make images that are interesting to me, Bill says hoping that others may share his interest to one degree or another. Although he has made some abstract images, his work tends to revolve around four main themes: architecture, fantasy, nature, and space. Bill lives and prints in Holly, Michigan. He was brought up in a many-faceted environment with an engineer/ sculptor for a father and a composer/stockbroker for a mother. This may account for the variety of subjects he includes in his work. William R. Stolpin, Beeston Castle 1996, intaglio, 12 x 7¼ inches. William R. Stolpin For more information on Bill Stolpin and his artwork, visit Flint Institute of Arts Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Flint, MI Permit No E. Kearsley St. Flint, MI

5 FLINT INSTITUTE OF ARTS FIA Education Department 1120 E. Kearsley Street Flint, MI phone: NOVEMBER 2006 Images & Ideas Programs at the FIA Family Activities Family activities are designed for children ages 4-12 and their adult friends. Groups of 6 or more, please call to make a reservation. Celebrate Ancient Egypt Build a pyramid, hear ancient Egyptian stories, carve a Sphinx, make jewelry, and play the ancient game of Senet. Friday, November 24 1:00-4:00 pm Free of charge Holiday Magic Get in a holiday mood during this funfilled afternoon of activities designed for children ages four and up and accompanying adults. Make your own gift wrap, create holiday cards, and assemble snow globes, snowmen, and ornaments, too! I n the galleries It s amazing how artists can share ideas and feelings with clay and glaze or canvas and paint. Here are some artworks to look for at the Flint Institute of Arts. See if you can tell what the artists who created them were trying to say. made in pairs, one representing the man-lion Tianlu and the other a Pixie figure. They would have been placed inside a tomb to protect the tomb occupant s soul as it traveled to the heavenly realm. The figure is coated in the brilliant amber, green, and straw glaze popular during the Tang Dynasty ( AD). Tapestries are colorful wall hangings. They have been around since the Stone Age (12,000 BC). Besides being beautiful to look at, tapestries often tell stories. In a way, they are history s first comic strips. Even though the tapestries in the Bray Gallery were made almost 400 years ago in France, we can read them today. Look for the example below and see if you can tell what s happening. Resources on the Web Resource materials for use before or after an FIA K-12 or homeschool program are available at: Form more information contact the Education Department: phone: fax: arted@flintarts.org Chinese, Tang Dynasty ( AD), Guardian Figure, n.d. Flint Institute of Arts. Museum purchase with funds from the collection endowment, This earth spirit guardian was made in China over 1,000 years ago. The figure is based on images of real and mythical animals and birds. Known in Chinese as zhenmu shou (literally tomb-guardian beast ) figures like this one were generally French, The Legend of Rinaldo and Armida, c Gift of Viola E. Bray, B1961.4

6 This tapestry tells a part of the story of Armida and Rinaldo. You probably wouldn t guess it s a love story from this image. It looks like Armida wants to kill Rinaldo. Armida is from Jerusalem and she wants to keep Rinaldo and his army from taking control of the city. Everything goes according to her plan until Cupid gets involved. Can you find him in the lower right corner? Notice where he s aiming his arrow. Just as Armida is about to stab Rinaldo, Cupid hits her with his arrow and she falls in love with Rinaldo. The other tapestries in the gallery tell the rest of the story. Instead of killing Rinaldo, Armida takes him to her enchanted island until the battle is over. Unfortunately, Rinaldo s friends rescue their leader just before the battle. Rinaldo leads his army into Jerusalem and wins control. Armida is so upset at loosing her city and her true love, she decides to plunge an arrow into her heart. Rinaldo arrives just in time to stop her and they live happily ever after. Sometimes artists like to use lines, shapes, and colors to suggest something rather than show exactly what it looks like. Emil Bisttram used simple shapes and bright colors to suggest the sea in his painting Sea Pattern. Can you find any birds in the painting? Where are they? What else do you recognize? Bisttram also liked to use colors that suggest sounds. What kind of music do you hear when you look at this painting? Joan Miró, Spanish, , Graphisme Concrèt, Flint Institute of Arts. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Keith Davis, Joan Miró wanted to express his inner soul through his art. For Graphism Concrèt, he created his own world of beings and symbols that seem like cartoons from another planet. He based the artwork on images from his imagination. Damien Loeb uses a camera to capture scenes from everyday life. He then translates his photographs into paintings that look like still pictures from a widescreen movie. He even bases the titles of his paintings on movie titles. Fearless shows a woman sitting in an exit row on an airplane. Flight attendants always ask people sitting in exit rows if they are able to open the emergency exit and help the other passengers get out of the plane in case of emergency. If they can t, they move them to another seat. Do you think this has anything to do with the painting s title, Fearless? Emil Bisttram, American, b. Hungary, , Sea Pattern, c Flint Institute of Arts. Museum purchase, Damien Loeb, American, b. 1970, Fearless, Flint Institute of Arts. Museum purchase,