TEACHER S RESOURCE GUIDE

Transcription

1 MACKENZIE ART GALLERY SCHOOL TOURS TEACHER S RESOURCE GUIDE WINTER 2016 CORE FUNDING PROVIDED BY: School Tours are supported by: To sign up for our MacKenzie education newsletter for information about upcoming school tours and other great programs please sheri.mceachern@mackenzieartgallery.ca mackenzieartgallery.ca 3475 Albert Street, Regina SK Anthony McCall. Line Describing a Cone, 1973, during the twenty-fourth minute. Installation view, Into the Light: the Projected Image in American Art , Whitney Museum of American Art, Photograph by Hank Graber. Anthony facebook.com/mackenzieartgallery

2 CONTENTS Introduction...2 Exhibition Overview...3 Curricular Connections...7 Before Activity...9 After Activity...10 Online Resources...10 lation view, Musée de Rochechouart,

3 INTRODUCTION The MacKenzie Art Gallery s current exhibitions are varied and powerful in content. The two main exhibitions focus on the artistic practice of the Group of Seven and Norman Mackenzie s desire to collect their work, as well as the work of contemporary artist Maria Hupfield and her exploration of the omission of First Nations identities in the Group of Seven and Canadian art history. Other exhibitions tackle themes of the process of art, the birth of modern dance in Canada, the juxtaposition of art forms, and the mysteries of light and shadow. Students will be given the opportunity to analyze variety of art works, including paintings, films, sculptures, installations, photographs, literature, and dance. In addition, the students will experience a series of processes to create and think about art. TOUR OBJECTIVES Students will explore diverse historical and contemporary relationships with landscape and environment. Students will examine the historical canon of landscape painting, including multiple readings and perspectives within Canadian art history. Students will broaden their understanding of visual art through a multidisciplinary gallery experience including contemporary dance, installation, and design. INTRODUCTION 2

4 ABOUT THE MAIN EXHIBITIONS Expanding Horizons Collecting the Group of Seven The Group of Seven are arguably the most influential Canadian painters in the twentieth century. The Group s members changed over the years but included Lawren Harris, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, A.Y. Jackson, J.E.H. Macdonald, Frederick Varley, Franklin Carmichael, A.J. Casson, Edwin Holgate, and LeMoine FitzGerald. Their work has been collected around the world, including by the MacKenzie Art Gallery. In the case of founder Norman MacKenzie, however, it was all about the one that got away. When MacKenzie approached the artist Arthur Lismer to purchase Pine Tree and Rocks, he was disappointed to learn that the painting had already been sold. Months later, to his surprise and delight, the sketch, Study for Old Pine Tree, arrived in Regina a gift from Lismer. Expanding Horizons unites, for the first time, the original sketch and finished painting as part of a wider discussion about the motivations for collecting and studying the Group of Seven. The Group s influence on our collective perception of the Canadian landscape is felt even in Saskatchewan through the work of Illingworth Kerr, Ruth Pawson, and Kenneth Lochhead. Expanding Horizons considers the Group of Seven s enduring legacy. Clockwise: Franklin Carmichael, Untitled (La Cloche landscape with Pines), circa (detail), watercolour on paper, 27.5 x 33.5 cm. Collection of the MacKenzie Art Gallery, gift of John R. Mastin, J.E.H MacDonald, A Northern Home, 1915 (detail). Arthur Lismer, Study for Old Pine Tree, 1920, oil on board, x cm. MacKenzie Art Gallery, University of MAINEXHIBITIONS 3 Regina Collection. Gift from Mr. Norman MacKenzie,

5 Maria Hupfield East Wind Brings a New Day Maria Hupfield is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice includes performance, object and imagemaking, and is grounded in a combination of Indigenous and Western art practices. Born in Parry Sound, Ontario, she is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Hupfield is of Anishinaabe (Ojibway) heritage, and a member of Wasauksing First Nation, Ontario. East Wind Brings a New Day translates the windblown pine tree from Tom Thomson s The West Wind and sets it alongside various elements reflecting Hupfield s own Anishinaabe culture and connection to place including the full-decked, double paddle canoe which she built under the mentorship of her father and master boat builder, John Hupfield. The exhibition considers the exclusion of First Nations in national narratives an exclusion often perpetuated by dominant accounts of Canadian art history. Hupfield gives equal presence to the Indigenous and European narratives of the natural and urban world. By creating a more inclusive and multi-layered representation of home one that acknowledges people on the land and local Anishinaabe nations she allows us to recognize historical inequalities and forced co-existence. In a refusal to disappear, Hupfield s canoe and the painted edges of the boards jut from the wall and into the space, pushing against this history. Together they point towards the work that still needs to be done if we are to move forward. Images: Maria Hupfield, East Wind Brings a New Day, Installation at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, Hupfield gives equal presence to the Indigenous and European narratives of the natural and urban world. MAINEXHIBITIONS 4

6 ABOUT THE OTHER EXHIBITIONS Anthony McCall Line Describing a Cone 2.0 Anthony McCall is a projection-based artist combining light and haze to create solid light films. This art incorporates a slow moving beam of light that gains a close-to-physical presence as it passes through a haze-filled room. As the light from the projector describes a circle, the space between the projector and the wall is occupied by an ever-changing sculptural form. This exhibition invites Gallery visitors to inhabit the space of a solid light film. Françoise Sullivan Les Saisons Sullivan In 1947 Françoise Sullivan began a series of outdoor dance performances based on the four seasons. Danse dans la neige (1948) was a revolutionary performance, crystallizing the vision of an artist who was to profoundly influence the future of dance, art and film in Québec and Canada. Françoise Sullivan: Les Saisons Sullivan pays homage to her pioneering contributions through an exhibition that traces the artist s vision one that traverses traditionally defined boundaries of media in dance, photography, film, painting and sculpture. Presented alongside, and as part of, the MacKenzie s inter-disciplinary and collaborative residency project MAGDANCE 3: art + dance, this exhibition offers compelling insights into an artist who opened wide the doors between art disciplines in a passionate embrace of new forms of personal expression. Rodney LaTourelle The Stepped Form Rodney LaTourelle is a Canadian artist and architect based in Berlin. His works investigate the complex relationships between light, colour, space and the body using site-specific interventions. The Stepped Form installation addresses the nature of institutional common spaces typical of colleges and universities that were built in Canada in the 1960s and 1970s. Anthony McCall. Line Describing a Cone, 1973, during the twenty-fourth minute. Installation view, Into the Light: the Projected Image in American Art , Whitney Museum of American Art, Photograph by Hank Graber. Anthony McCall 5 OTHEREXHIBITIONS Images: Françoise Sullivan, Les Saisons Sullivan, Photograph by Marion Landry, Collection of Université du Québec à Montréal. Rodney LaTourelle, Stepped Form, Installation at the MacKenzie Art Gallery, 2015.

7 CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS CONNECTIONS TO ARTS EDUCATION CURRICULUM Grade 1 and Patterns: The Group of Seven focused on their repetitive use of brushstrokes and colour to creative interpretations of the Canadian landscapes. These larger paintings were created by repeating the elements found in an en plein air sketch. Grade 3 and Environment: The Group of Seven focused on painting their natural environment and discovering Canada s varied environments. Françoise Sullivan s Danse dans la neige was part of the Seasons series, which focused on dances created from a space and a season. Grade 6 and Identity: The Group of Seven strived to create a distinct Canadian Art identity. Maria Hupfield questions the omission of First Nations and Métis Identity in the Group of Seven s landscapes and national narratives. Grade 7 and Place: The Group of Seven realized the need to focus on the Canadian landscape. Maria Hupfield questions the nature of the Canadian relationship to the land and landscapes. ART 10, 20, 30 and Expanding Horizons: The Arts in Canada The Group of Seven is a historical group of Canadian artists that still play a key role in the development of art in Canada. Maria Hupfield s work challenges the history of Canadian art and considers the development of diverse art styles. CONNECTIONS TO SOCIAL STUDIES AND HISTORY Grade 5 and Canada: Maria Hupfield s work considers and challenges assumptions about First Nations and Métis cultures. Grade 8 and The Individual in Canadian Society: Françoise Sullivan and her companions created their art as a revolution against identity based on cultural stereotypes and societal expectations. Grade 10 and Social Organizations: Françoise Sullivan and her colleagues challenged social and cultural organizations to think about art differently. Maria Hupfield works within galleries and museums to challenge their understanding of art and its connection to First Nations and Métis people. Grade 12 and Canadian Studies: The Group of Seven were influential landscape painters who left an enduring cultural legacy. Maria Hupfield is an Anishinaabe artist who travels the world promoting the art and culture of her community. CURRICULARCONNECTIONS 6

8 CONNECTIONS TO ELA CURRICULUM ELA A10 and The Mysteries of Life: Anthony McCall s work appears mysterious as the cone is constructed over time through light, yet it suggests a solid form. ELA B10 and Equity and Ethics: Maria Hupfield challenges the current standing of equity for First Nations and Métis people within Canada and within art. ELA B10 and the World Around and Within Us: Françoise Sullivan challenges the concepts of dance by playing with locations and the meanings inherent in dance. ELA 20 and Moving Forward Establishing and Realizing: Maria Hupfield s continued practice of translating her culture as a First Nations woman into art that challenges and engages viewers. ELA A30 and Canadian Landscapes Diverse and Dynamic: The Group of Seven challenged the norms of landscape painting while celebrating the grandeur in the Canadian landscape (while introducing a new narrative about Canada and how it is seen). CONNECTIONS TO PHYSICAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM Instructional Physical Education 20/30 and Rhythmics/Dance: Françoise Sullivan creates choreography based on the effects culture has on dance and dance has on culture. New Dance Horizons performances at the MacKenzie Art Gallery highlight connections and shared visions of different contemporary cultural institutions. Images: Françoise Sullivan, Les Saisons Sullivan, Photograph by Marion Landry, Collection of Université du Québec à Montréal. CURRICULARCONNECTIONS 7

9 MACKENZIE ART GALLERY TOURS AND CONNECTIONS TO CROSS-CURRICULAR COMPETENCIES Cross-Curricular Competency to Develop Critical Thinking The gallery experience challenges students with multiple contexts that shape artistic practice and experience. Students are offered opportunities to consider the creativity of others, inspiring their own creativity in turn. The gallery methodology challenges students to critically engage with works of art through peer discussion, analysis, and interpretation. Cross-Curricular Competency to Develop Identity and Interdependence Students are introduced to artists who explore their individual and collective identities through a variety of contexts. The gallery experience engages students critical thinking skills, memory, and senses of independent and collective identity. Students are invited to consider the cultural and environmental responsibilities of artists. Cross-Curricular Competency to develop Literacies The gallery methodology invites students to engage in visual literacy through peer discussion, interpretation, and analysis. Students are introduced to new visual languages, inspiring students to create art and engage in conversation rooted in new knowledge. Cross-Curricular Competency to develop Social Responsibility In addition to art exploration, the gallery experience offers a space for discussions about social change. The gallery experience supports the role of artists and students as socially responsible participants in our city, province, and country. CURRICULARCONNECTIONS 8

10 PRE TOUR ACTIVITY EN PLEIN AIR(-ISH) SKETCH TO PAINTING The Group of Seven followed some of the studio practices introduced by the Impressionists. The Group s members would travel out into the landscapes they wished to paint so that they could sketch small paintings en plein air. They would then take these collected sketched paintings back to their studios as inspiration and models for larger works. The studio space would then allow the Group to take time to craft the brushstrokes and details in their works. Materials Paper (thin paper for sketching and sturdier paper for painting) Canvas (instead of paper for painting) Clipboards or Binders Pencils or Pencil Crayons Paint, Water Containers, and Water Method Take your class to another section of the school that they do not often visit or see. Ask your students to find an interesting landscape or still life in that area. Get your students to sketch that space using pencils or pencil crayons. Do not give them a long time to sketch as this is meant to be a quick sketch that details shapes and colours. This is not the finished art work. Take the students with their sketches back to your classroom and set up to paint larger images. The students can now recreate their sketch through painting. Encourage the students to explore their brushstrokes and colours. The painting does not need to exactly represent the original landscape. This time is when students can play around with how they view their landscape. How do they see that space differently from everyone else? After the paintings are completed, students can explain to the class or to a small group their choices in the process. Encourage the students to explain choices of colour and the choice of framing the space. This is also a time for the class to ask questions about the process. What parts of the process worked? What parts of the process could be adjusted for a better final product? How would this process change if the students went out to Qu Appelle Valley to take their original sketches? Variations The students could switch sketches and try to bring another student s space to life. The students could be allowed multiple sketches in the original space. If possible, an outdoor venue is a great location for the sketch. PRE-TOURACTIVITY 9

11 POST TOUR ACTIVITY NEGATIVE SPACE PORTRAIT/LANDSCAPE Maria Hupfield s East Wind Brings a New Day critically engages the Group of Seven s worldview. Where are the First Nations peoples? Where are the Métis people? What part of this historical narrative is being missed? Hupfield does not advocate a specific solution but tries to encourage critical thinking and reflection, which is inspired by her negative space silhouette. This negative image encourages engagement with humanity and its relationship to the land. Materials Old Magazines Scissors or Exacto-Knives Glue Method Get students together in small groups to discuss their relationships to the land. Allow the students to narrow down their ideas to a single theme or phrase. Prior to starting this project, the students should write down this theme or phrase as a reference point. 10 POST-TOURACTIVITY The students can now search through the magazines for a portrait where the body position reflects an image. Once the image is found, the student can cut the page out of the magazine. Next, the student can begin to cut out the outline of the figure leaving the rest of the picture intact. This should create a negative space portrait with the background of the image clean. The students can then search the magazines again but this time search for a landscape. This landscape should also reflect an element of their theme. The portrait cut-outs will be helpful in narrowing down an image and planning framing. This newfound landscape may also be cut out of the magazine. The final step is to glue the portrait over the landscape. Once dry, the composition can be cut down to develop framing or cleanliness of the composition. The students can now return to their original small ONLINE RESOURCES groups. Share the new images and the original themes. Discuss how the image displays the theme. Feel free to share suggestions on how the process worked or did not work. Variations Creating multiple images or choosing images with multiple figures. The students can use their finished composition as inspiration for artworks using their choice of media. These compositions could create unique paintings or drawings. Students can elaborate on their compositions through additional media; ie: paint around the negative space image, add cross hatching for shadows, etc. Group Of Seven Introduction: Maria Hupfield Visiting Her High School: Françoise Sullivan Interview: Anthony McCall Introduction: