Visit Leeds City Art Gallery Yuko Surashi Index on Colour season Leeds City Art Gallery 2003
Visit Leeds City Art Gallery Leeds City Art Gallery is on The Headrow in the centre of Leeds, within easy walking distance of the train and bus stations. Admission is free. Outside, when the weather is nice, people eat their lunches and play chess on a huge board with large pieces. Leeds City Art Gallery is conveniently located next to Leeds Central Library and near to the Town Hall. Five minute walk from both the rail and bus stations Leeds City Art Gallery The Headrow Leeds LS1 3AA Tel. 0113 247 8248 Email city.art.gallery@leeds.gov.uk Opening Times: Mon - Sat 10am - 5pm Wed 10am - 8pm Sun 1pm - 5pm. Closed on bank holidays Admission is Free Tel. 0113 247 8248 Rt/E3.1 Sld/E3.2 3
Before You Go Where to? Look at the map below. Find Leeds City Art Gallery. Find the Central Library. Follow the four sets of directions. Start at the City Art Gallery. 4 Rt/E3.9a
1) Leave Leeds City Art Gallery and turn left into The Headrow. Go along The Headrow. Turn right into Vicar Lane. Turn left into George Street. What is the name of the shopping area on your right? 2) From Leeds City Art Gallery turn left and then turn right onto Park Row. What is at the end of Park Row, the bus station or the train station? 3) Leave Leeds City Art Gallery and turn right and right again. Walk along Calverley Street. If you were feeling poorly, the place you need is on your left, what is it? 4) Leave Leeds City Art Gallery and turn left and left again. Walk up to the crossroads. Turn right onto Great George Street. Walk to the T junction at the end. What building is in front of you? What can you do there? Rt/E3.3a Rt/E3.9a 5
Language of Art Art has its own language. We use words and phrases especially to talk about art. Below are some of the words we use to talk about art and their definitions. word gallery painting painter sculpture portrait landscape artist photography curator artwork definition A building or room with art in it A picture or design in paint A person who uses paint to make art A piece of art which is made from stone, wood, metal etc and is not flat A picture of a person Paintings about the environment we live in A person who makes any kind of art Using a camera to take pictures A person who works in a gallery Any piece of art Higher level vocabulary Here are some more words and their definitions. word contemporary collection exhibition sculptor sensory stimulating mood explore sketch definition Art made in our time Several things with something in common, all grouped together A formal display of things of interest A person who makes sculptures Using the senses sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell Making you think, interesting The feeling or emotion of something To discover or find out about something or somewhere A drawing, usually done in pencil 6 Rw/E3.5a Rw/L1.2a
What do we see? Images in our world. Today we see lots of images everyday. They are there for different reasons. TV images to entertain us Billboard images that sell products Graffiti art expressing fashion and opinions Can you think of any others? Each image brings about a different response within us. Look at the images below. Discuss the following questions with a partner: What can you see? What colours are there? Why is the image interesting? Would these images make you buy the product or entertain you? In some countries art is painted on the sides of houses, inside sacred buildings or, like tattoos, on people. Talk about these questions: Where do you find art in your country? Have you been to an art gallery in the country you are from or another country? If so, what was it like? Art galleries are full of images, sounds and ideas. What is an art gallery and why do we have one in Leeds? Discuss this with your group. Sc/E3.4f Sd/E3.1c Sd/E3.1d Sc/L1.3e Sc/L1.4b Sd/L1.1a Sd/L1.2a 7
Visiting the Gallery Make sure you have a pen and paper on your visit for writing notes. Where are you? Art is not always in galleries We have many works of art in the streets around Leeds Look at these photographs. Where are these places? Look at the area of Leeds around the Leeds City Art Gallery. Can you spot any of these places? 8 Rs/E3.1a Rt/E3.9a
Describing Art Activity 1 As you walk around Leeds City Art Gallery, choose a word to describe some of the artworks you see. Write down the name of the artwork and write the words you have chosen to describe it. You can use more than one word to describe a painting or sculpture. Here are some words you might use: happy angry lonely busy frightening peaceful quiet friendly beautiful sad funny calm fanciful strong energetic personal striking confusing emotional mysterious lively colourful Wt/E3.1b Sc/E3.4f 9
Activity 2 Walk round the rooms in the Leeds City Art Gallery. How did you feel when you look at the different artworks? Which do you like the most? Which did you like the least? Talk to your group and find out from two other people: What is their favourite artwork and why? What is their least favourite artwork and why? Activity 3 Now look again at an artwork you liked or didn't like and write some sentences describing it. Think about: What you can see What the mood of it is How you feel when you look at it What colours are used and why Why you like it or why you don't like it Compare it to another artwork. Think about differences and similarities. 10 Sc/E3.4f Sd/E3.1a Sd/E3.1c Sd/E3.1d Sd/E3.2a
Stories and Themes Every picture tells a story. The theme of an artwork is the story or subject the artist wants to tell us about. There are many artworks in Leeds City Art Gallery, all about different things. For example some are about war, some are about people. Most importantly, pictures can work on many levels. Retribution, 1858 (oil on canvas) (detail) by Edward A. Armitage (1817-96) This picture is called Retribution. Retribution means to take revenge for a wrong doing. This picture is a British view of the Indian Mutiny in 1857 (you can see a typical Mogul building in the background). The Indian Mutiny is seen by the Indians as their first war of Independence. Great Britain was the colonial power in India, the Indians tried to throw the British out and killed many people (woman and child in the bottom of the picture). The British fought back, also killing many people, and ended the mutiny. In this picture the large figure is Great Britain and the Tiger is India. The picture is called Retribution because Britain is taking revenge for the murders of the mutiny. It is interesting to remember, that when India did finally gain its freedom from Britain in 1947, it succeeded by using non violent means, inspired by the great leader Gandhi. Find an artwork in the Gallery that you think fits each of these themes: work religion war sea city life family death Can you find any other themes? Rt/E3.9a Rw/E3.1a 11
People in Art Look around the Leeds City Art Gallery for portraits. A portrait is a piece of art that looks like a person, especially their face. Some of the portraits in Leeds City Art Gallery are self-portraits. What do you think this means? Choose a portrait or a sculpture of a person. Can you describe the person? Where do you think they are? What are they doing? What are they feeling? Why do you think this? What is their personality do you think? Why do you think the artist made this artwork? The Three Fishers Wives (oil on canvas) by Mrs Henry Harewood Robinson (fl.1879-1901) Family Group: Hilda, Unity and Dolls, 1937 (oil on canvas) by Stanley Spencer (1891-1959) 12 Sc/E3.4d Sc/E3.4f
Landscapes Many of the artworks in the Leeds City Art Gallery show scenery, for example mountains, cities, fields or oceans. These are called landscapes. Choose a landscape that you like in the Art Gallery. Where do you think this landscape is? Are there people? Is it busy or calm? What is happening in the landscape? The Shore, 1923 (oil on canvas) by Paul Nash (1889-1946) Park Row, Leeds, 1882 (oil on canvas) by John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-93) Sc/E3.4d Sc/E3.4f 13
Questions, questions.. Art often makes us want to ask the artist questions; these questions can show us a lot about how the work of art makes us feel For this activity pick five different artworks from anywhere in the Leeds City Art Gallery. Write down the name of the artwork and the artist. Think of a question you want to ask the artist about their work. Write the question down. Find a partner from your group and swap questions. Find the artworks they chose and try to imagine answers to their questions. Feedback your answers to the group. Winter Palace, 1981 (oil on linen) by Bridget Riley (b.1931) 14 Wt/E3.1b Sd/E3.1g Sd/E3.2a
Researching an Artist The artworks in Leeds City Art Gallery are by many different artists. Are there any artists whose work you particularly like? This section helps you to find out about an artist by asking the Curators and by using the Central Library next door. First, choose an artist. You could choose an artist of a painting you like, or one of the following: John Atkinson Grimshaw - a Leeds artist Andy Goldsworthy - a famous British artist Paula Rego - a female artist Start by asking the Curators some questions about your artist. What questions will you ask? Write some ideas down. or put these words together to form the first question you can ask. Excuse me? about this artist you tell can me Now make questions for these sentences and find out the answer by asking the curators. When and where they were born If they are alive now or when they died If they were popular when they were alive How many pictures they painted Why they chose to paint certain subjects Any other info.. Now, for more information about your artist, you can go to Leeds Central Library (next door to Leeds City Art Gallery) and look for information there. Sc/E3.3d Rt/E3.5b 15
This resource pack was produced as part of the Open Doors project in partnership between Leeds Learning Partnership Leeds Library and Information Service Leeds Museums and Galleries The project is funded by MLA Yorkshire. This resource is intended for Skills for Life tutors and library and museums/galleries staff and can be reproduced freely. For more information on the Open Doors project and to download a copy of this resource pack, visit www.mlay-skillsforlife.org.uk