DIANE ARBUS: AMERICAN PORTRAITS Be an art detective and spell out the mystery words with this fun activity for kids and parents to do together. Follow the directions and use the clues to discover the answer. Suitable for children and parents of all ages. DIRECTION SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT CLUE ANSWER 1. Enter the gallery and turn to your left. Look for a photograph of a clown with a peg on his tie. Weegee had a career as a street photographer and worked so fast he even had a darkroom in the boot of his car to develop his photographs! He also had an interest in photographing circus performers and other interesting folk, and was an influence on Diane Arbus. Write down a word to describe the expression on the clown s face. The middle letter is your first clue. Write this letter in the grey box to the right. 2. Turn and face the opposite wall and walk diagonally to the far left artwork. Look at the photograph to the right of this artwork of a very muscular man. 3. Walk quickly to the other end of the wall of photographs and stop just before the opening to the next room. A young girl with an American flag is waiting for you in the end photograph. 4. Turn to your right and look into the distance. You will see a single photograph of a young teenage couple on the end wall, left of the doorway. Diane Arbus was fascinated with unusual people of all shapes and sizes and there has been much discussion around the meanings of her photographs. A photograph is a secret about a secret, she said. The more it tells you the less you know. Diane Arbus grew up in a wealthy family in New York. Her family owned a fancy Fifth Avenue department store and she was looked after by nannies and maids. Her family even had a cook and a chauffeur to drive them around. Diane Arbus loved to wander the streets of New York City. She was always on the lookout for interesting people to photograph. What do you think these people were doing before they met Diane Arbus and had their picture taken? What is the man holding? Write this below. The last letter of this object is your second clue! (Hint: The name of this object is in the title of this photograph) Write down the name of the park the girl is standing in. The third letter is your next clue. _ What is the name of the famous New York City street they are standing on? Write this below. The second letter is your fourth clue!
DIRECTION SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT CLUE ANSWER 5. Now look through the doorway into the small room nearby. You certainly can t miss the woman singing in a photograph on the rear wall! Lisette Model took portraits of rich people on the French Riviera and poor people on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. She was also Diane Arbus teacher who encouraged Diane to find her own distinctive voice as a photographer. What is the lady singing into? Write down the name of this device below. The first letter is your fifth clue! R N The woman in this photograph, titled: Café Metropole, New York City 1946 is having a wild time singing into the device you guessed above. Below: Draw a funny item that she could be singing into instead!
DIRECTION SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT CLUE ANSWER 6. Leave this small room and go through the large room you started in. Next, walk through the opening on your right taking you into the second large room of the gallery. On the big grey wall in front of you, look towards the right side for a photograph of two smiling ladies dressed up in floral hats. People have mixed opinions about whether Diane Arbus is exploiting the people in her photographs as some people might make fun of their appearances. Other people say that it s great that she photographed different types of people because it shows the many ways we are all human. One of the ladies in this photograph has glasses on. She is also missing her two front: _ The repeated letter in this word is your sixth clue! 7. Speaking of repeated things, on the same wall follow the photographs along to your left until you find yourself looking at a set of twins! Diane Arbus photographs appear very simple, but her skills as a photographer are masterful. From the mid 1960s she modified her equipment to produce a black border around her prints and later, she used strips of cardboard to blur the edges. These techniques made her work distinctive and unique. There are two types of twins; Fraternal twins do not look alike, but these twins do look alike. This type of twin is mentioned in the title of this photograph. Write down the name of this type of twin below. The fifth letter of this word is your seventh clue! L 8. There is a smaller room on your left. Go inside this room and look at the photographs on the wall to your right. Among them is something you could ride. William Eggleston portrays rural and roadside images of American life and his photographs have a feeling of loneliness and isolation, even though the subjects in his photographs are ordinary, everyday objects. How do these pictures make you feel? Do you know the name of a three-wheeled bike like this? The repeated letter in this word is your eight clue! T Y L
9. Turn around and look in the glass cabinet behind you. At one end you will see some books with photographs, including one showing a burlesque comedian. Mary Ellen Mark, like Diane Arbus chose to photograph people who are on the fringes of society, especially those who spend a lot of their time in bars. She also worked as a unit photographer on movie sets taking the pictures that were used to advertise the movies. The title of this work is also the name of an item you need to take if you are travelling overseas. The sixth letter of this word is your ninth clue! R Draw the expression on the Burlesque Comedian face below!
DIRECTION SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT CLUE ANSWER 10. Leave the small room you are in and head into the small room on the opposite side of the gallery. Near the centre of the right hand wall you will see a photograph of three people and a dog. Milton Rogovin made friends with a lot of the people in his photographs and worked with them to discuss how they would like to be photographed. His photographs focus on family and events that bring communities together. What is the name of the musical device the man on the right is holding? The letter that appears three times in the name of this instrument is your tenth clue! D 11. Look at the wall to your left and seek out a photograph that appears to have person holding up a blank white square on it! This photographer, Lee Friedlander, often used reflections in glass doors, windows and mirrors to make his photographs more interesting for the viewer to look at. Above this square is a former President of the United States of America. Write down his last name. The second last letter of this president s name is your final clue! John. F. K (Hint: His name appears in this photograph) Write down the letters you have collected, unjumble them and use them to answer the question on the next page. (We ve put some letters in already to get you started!)
QUESTION: What style of photography did Diane Arbus practice? (Hint: It is also a style of film making) ANSWER: D _ C E Y BONUS CHALLENGE: On the same wall you were just looking at you will find a photograph titled: Philadelphia Pennsylvania, 1965. There is a man taking a photograph in this artwork. Draw a picture of who he would see if he pushed the button RIGHT NOW!