SPECIAL EXHIBITION RESOURCE GUIDE FOR TEACHERS The Luminous Landscapes of April Gornik May 2 - July 5, 2009 April Gornik, Fresh Light, 1987, Oil on linen, 74 x 96 in. Collection of April Gornik. What s Inside... Page Exhibition Summary...1 About the Artist...1 Exhibition Artwork Images...2-8 Summary Vocabulary Exhibition-related Vocabulary, Books, Websites...9 Pre- Pre- and and Post-visit Post-Visit Activities Activities...10 Artwork images Upcoming Visit www.heckscher.org Exhibitions for free access to all the Museum s Special Exhibition Resource Guides for Teachers. (see back cover) 2 Prime Avenue Huntington, NY 11743 631.351.3250 Tel 631.423.2145 Fax www.heckscher.org
EXHIBITION SUMMARY This exhibition features 12 large-scale paintings by artist April Gornik. A resident of Suffolk County, Long Island, April Gornik can be firmly situated in the distinguished American landscape tradition. Devoid of people, her paintings portray the majesty and allure of nature but in a carefully composed manner that draws on diverse sources of inspiration, including photography. The result gives the viewer a sense of the surreal and transcendental. Light plays a powerful role in her paintings, creating a sense of mystery, whether it is sunlight or moonlight. About APRIL GORNIK April Gornik was born April 20, 1953 in Cleveland Ohio. She attended art school when depictions of nature were distinctly out of fashion. After a brief period as a conceptualist, she found herself, much to her surprise, painting landscapes. A few curators and critics have compared her majestic scenes to panels by the likes of Frederic Church and Thomas Moran. But her work is decidedly modern and far more indebted to the Abstract Expressionists. Based in New York and Sag Harbor for many years, she now lives and works in North Haven. At times, Gornik s colors are subdued and muted, even verging on monochrome. This allows her to stress other aspects of her pictures. To be sure, they aren t as symmetrical or as tidy as you first think. Above all, as she puts it, light is the prime mover. Her work can be found in the collections of the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, the Brooklyn Museum, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Jewish Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. She is represented by the Danese Gallery in New York. 1
April Gornik, Mirror Lake, China, 2004, Oil on linen, 74 x 104 inches. Collection of Michael Young 2
3 April Gornik, Suspended Sky, 2004, Oil on linen, 75 x 100 inches. Private Collection
April Gornik, Turning Waterfall, 1997, oil on linen, 76 x 76 inches. Private Collection 4
5 April Gornik, Lightning at Twilight, 1993, Oil on linen, 67 x 20 inches. Private Collection
April Gornik, Red Desert, 2008, Oil on linen, 68 x 72 inches. Collection of April Gornik 6
7 April Gornik, Field and Storn, 2004, Oil on linen, 74 x 95 inches. Collection of Neda Young
April Gornik, Storm at Sunset, 2000, Oil on linen, 72 x 99 inches. Private Collection, NYC 8
VOCABULARY landscape. A work of art of an outdoor place. composite. A work of art made up of numerous distinctive components. horizon line. The line in a landscape where the earth and sky meet. foreground. The part of a landscape that is in the front, or is closest to the viewer. middle ground. The part of a landscape that is between the foreground and background. background. The part of a landscapes that is in the back, or is furthest from the viewer. luminosity. A quality of some paintings in which a glow seems to come from within; the illustion that there is actually a light coming out of a work of art. scale. The relative size of objects or components in a work of art. mood. The feeling or emotion a work of art conveys to the viewer. WEBSITES BOOKS April Gornik: Paintings and Drawings by Donald Kuspit The first comprehensive overview of April Gornik s paintings and drawings, this richly illustrated volume presents a visual history of her work and tracks the development of her signature style. www.aprilgornik.com Information about the artist and images of her paintings, drawings, and prints. DVD April Gornik: Landscapes (c) 2008, running time: 28 minutes 9
Pre- and Post-visit Activities Composite Landscapes: Making Mood Piece by Piece Grades K-12 (Adjust motivation and procedure as necessary.) Motivation Introduction: View artwork from the exhibition Luminous Landscapes of April Gornik. Introduce the students to the contemporary artist April Gornik. What is a contemporary artist? If desired, compare and contrast more traditional landscapes from centuries past. What do all of April Gornik s works of art have in common? What is a landscape, horizon line, foreground, middle ground, and background? Process: Discuss the definition of composite and the use of source materials to create a landscape. Do April Gornik s landscapes appear to be real or imaginary places, what do you see that makes you say that? What moods do they convey? Procedure 1. Ask students to create their own composite landscapes based on mood. Have each student choose a mood word from a hat (Ex: sad, scary, cheerful). Explain that everyone will create a composite landscape that communicates his or her chosen mood. 2. Have students each select at least three source materials (magazine imagery, photographs or drawings, other works of art) to build their landscape from. 3. Choose one or two elements from each source material to integrate into the final landscape. For example: sky, land, water. 3. Use media of your choice to create the final landscapes. Younger students may create a collage by simply cutting up the source materials, rearranging and gluing them to another surface. Intermediate level students may create a drawing by carefully observing the source materials. Older students may elect to scan in the source materials (if not already computer-based) and use Adobe Photoshop or other software to digitally manipulate and combine the various images. 4. When the landscapes are complete, hold a class critique/discussion. Which works of art do the students feel are most successful? Why? Distribute a set of cards with the moods to each student. Without discussion, have students each assign the moods to the landscapes they feel convey them. Emphasize that this an opinion exercise and there are no wrong answers! When finished, discuss the choices everyone made. Why might they be different? We would love to display your finished artwork on our website! See the back page for details! 10
@ Everything you need www.heckscher.org SPECIAL EXHIBITION RESOURCE GUIDES for TEACHERS Prepare your students before their upcoming School Discovery Program! Guides are developed on a rolling basis and are available free of charge at www.heckscher.org. Simply click on Education and Educator Resources. All guides include exhibitionspecific information including: artist biographies exhibition summaries full-color artwork images vocabulary words pre- and post-visit activities NEW! IN THE KIDS CORNER Each month, the Museum will choose up to 6 lucky young artists to have their artwork displayed in this new online gallery! HOW TO ENTER: Please send a.jpg of your artwork to seekamp@heckscher.org. All entries must include the artist s FIRST NAME, TITLE of the artwork, and AGE of the artist. TEACHERS: SHARE LESSONS & STUDENT ARTWORK Have you taught your students a lesson inspired by an exhibition on view in the Museum? Share it with us and fellow art teachers at www.heckscher.org! Please send a description of your lesson along with.jpg files of student work to seekamp@heckscher.org. All submissions must include teacher s full name, school name, district, and grade level. 2 Prime Avenue Huntington, NY 11743 631.351.3250 Tel 631.423.2145 Fax www.heckscher.org FURTHER QUESTIONS? Please call the Museum s Education Department at 631.351.3214 Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, or email seekamp@heckscher.org and we would be happy to help!