Pre-Visit Activity: Art Talk

Please view the two reproductions with your class and lead a discussion using the following questions as guidelines. There are no “right” answers. The questions are meant to guide the group discussion. Students will revisit and discuss the original works at BAM. The vocabulary in this packet will aid discussion.

Research and experience have shown that students feel more comfortable when they can connect with something familiar once they arrive at the Museum. The students are excited to find “their” works of art while they are at BAM. They enjoy sharing their insights from the classroom discussion with the docent and making valuable comparisons between the textbook-like reproductions and the original works of art.

Idaho Artists

In this tour students will explore the 2010Idaho Triennial and discover how artwork from across the state reflects the landmarks, issues and history of Idaho. The 2010 Idaho Triennial is a juried exhibition of artwork from artists living and working in Idaho and represents a wide range of subject matter and media. Students will discuss the theme of this year’s Triennial, Sustain + Expand, and discover the varied meanings of these words and how the works of art reflect them. Many of the works of art in the exhibition are based on landmarks and landscapes from around the state. By viewing and discussing work from a variety of artists, students will investigate the connections between artists and their communities.

Do you recognize this image? Where do you think it might be? The artist took a photograph of the Capitol Building in Boise, Idaho. Have you ever been to this place? Why does Boise have a Capitol Building? What happens at the Capitol Building? Who can explain what a symbol is? A symbol is something that stands for something else. What could the Capitol Building be a symbol for? Have you ever taken a photograph of a place before? If so, why did you photograph this place? Why do you think the artist took a photograph of the Capitol Building? Maria G. Essig Capitol Quiet , 2010 photograph on silk

Vocabulary
Idaho Artists

Curricular Connections
Constructing Curriculum with Idaho Artists

Social Studies, History, Geography

• Discuss definitions of the word “community”. Discuss what elements make a community. As a class, make a list of all of the things that might be a part of the students’ communities – people, buildings, activities, history and traditions. Compare and contrast. Students can write and share descriptions of their communities to help better understand their classmates and connections they have to each other. This can also help start pen-pal or classroom exchanges with schools from other states or countries.
• Explore the recent renovation of the Capitol Building in Boise. Visit this website for information and images of the renovation: http://www.capitolcommission.idaho.gov/ Have students research other historical buildings in your area and document what is happening to them today through images or timelines. Compare current images to historical photographs of these structures.
• Investigate the historic cultures and traditions in communities within Idaho such as the Basque community, different Native American communities, Mexican community, etc. Look at photos from the different cultures and traditions. Then discuss how details in the photos can give clues about different time periods, lifestyles and environment.
• Have students research Idaho’s state symbols such as the state bird, state gem, state tree, state flag, etc. using the website http://gov.idaho.gov/fyi/symbols/symbols_index.html. Students can make their own collages, postcards, or drawings using the Idaho state symbols or make their own image or design of something that they feel is a symbol for their community.
• Learn about the history of gold rush and mining in towns such as Atlanta, Idaho and Idaho City, Idaho. Have students learn about the people who lived in these towns and where they came from. Students can make a timeline or chart that shows how the population fluctuated during peak years and compare this to the population of these towns today. Visit Idaho Public Television’s website about the gold rush in Idaho and ghost towns for interviews with historians and more information: http://idahoptv.org/outdoors/shows/ghosttowns/
• Have students brainstorm a list of inventions, people or products that have come from Idaho such as the TV (invented in Rigby, Idaho by Philo Farnsworth ) or frozen French fries (first developed by The Simplot Company). Also discuss people who may have come from Idaho and been involved in famous events or historical landmarks, such as the artist who worked on Mount Rushmore (Artist Gutzon Borglum was from St. Charles, Idaho).
• Many artists use symbols and objects in their subject matter. As a group, identify local symbols that students may or may not have seen before such as the Basque Lauburu symbol, Idaho Native American symbols, or the Star Garnet (state gem). Ask each student to select a symbol and research the history and the meaning of the symbol.
• Have the students create a community project as a class. Begin with a table covered in green or brown paper. Working in groups, have students create roads, bodies of water, mountains and landmarks. (These can be based on real landmarks or made-up.) Then, have each student create a house, a building, a store, a business, etc. to add to the community. (These can be made out materials such as popsicle sticks, toothpicks, tissue boxes, egg cartons, cards, etc.) As they work, ask students to think about what kinds of facilities are required in a community. Does a community need schools, fire stations, police, and parks? Take pictures as the community grows throughout the length of the project and discuss with the students how they are affecting the community and environment by adding to it. What are the pros and cons of their choices?

Technology

• Using a program like Adobe Photoshop, have students alter a photo of a place from Idaho. Combine images from rural areas with images from urban areas. Discuss how altering the photo with images from urban and rural areas changes the environment. How does this reflect Idaho’s changing population?
• Learn about subjects such as technology, biotechnology, engineering and energy innovations. Have students research how Idaho labs and research centers, such as the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, are contributing to these fields.
• Discuss how Idaho industries have changed with recent technology. How have traditional industries such as logging and mining given way to industries in science and technology and how has this changed Idaho? Research when technology companies starting coming to Idaho and make a technology timeline showing the history of these changing industries.

Reading and Writing

• Have students research a landmark or park in Idaho landscape and write a brief paper focused on how this particular area is unique to Idaho.
• Have students read about an artist’s artistic/creative process. Have them write an instructional paragraph about a particular technique and demonstrate it to their classmates.
• Discuss current events. Have students keep journals and respond to specific events in the country with particular focus on how it relates to Idaho or their community.
• Ask students to respond to particular memories they have about living in Idaho or a specific place in Idaho by writing a poem or short prose.
• Document a cultural activity, festival, holiday or other tradition through images and written work. Have students share their family traditions with their classmates through presentations that involve visual elements such as photographs or items they have brought in with parental permission.
• Research small towns in Idaho. Have students write a short story from the perspective of a fictional person who lived in this town based on their research of the town’s actual history and geography and illustrate it.

 
Math

• Have students look at images of recognizable Idaho buildings or landmarks such as the Capitol Building or Craters of the Moon National Park. Challenge them to recreate an image from Idaho three-dimensionally by making cylinders, cubes, pyramids etc. to create the basic structures in the pictures.
• Learn about ratios and scale by enlarging an image. Students can measure the objects in still life pictures and then determine what the size of those objects would be in a larger version of the image. Example: In a picture of an Idaho building and a person, we know the building is 15” tall and the person is 1/3 the size of the building. If the photo is enlarged, and the new measurement of the building is 24”, how tall is the person in comparison? (Answer: 8”)
• Have students calculate statistics that deal with Idaho such as the height of the tallest mountain, number of lakes, variations in temperature (i.e. highest and lowest recorded), population, size of state, etc.

 
 Science

• Have students list the different environments found in the state, both natural and manmade. Students can discuss the differences between these areas and the characteristics of each.
• Explore and experiment with the effects of weather (the elements) on objects that may occur in Idaho. (Examples: sun-bleached wood or rounded river rocks.) Have the students also look up the effects of Idaho’s abundant volcanic territories such as the Yellowstone Caldera, Craters of the Moon, or the Island Park Caldera.
• Discuss the different kinds of minerals and rocks that are found in Idaho. Have students research why Idaho is known as “The Gem State”. Note that Spencer, Idaho is the home of the largest Opal mine in the world. What other kinds of gems are found in Idaho?
  

Arts

• Have students create a sketchbook or take pictures of different things they see in their community; buildings, public art, parks, people, landmarks, etc. Ask students to find a unique perspective from which to photograph their images. As a group, discuss how things they saw every day may be seen differently after this project. Share with the students how to categorize each of their images using the 5 elements of art: light, texture, line, shape, and color.
• Have the students research a person of their choice who is an artist, novelist, actor, singer, songwriter, or playwright that is from Idaho. For a list of names visit http://www.50states.com/bio/idaho.htm.Have the students emphasize how the person they chose was influenced by living in Idaho and how the student might relate to that influence.
• Have the students research Idaho’s history and find a story that they enjoy. Students can adapt the story that they find interesting into a play, musical, book, or comic strip. Their project can include story lines, costumes, props, characters, pictures, etc.
• Go on a public art walk in downtown Boise or visit public art structures near your school. Have students sketch the artwork you visit and learn about the artists who created them and the history of the public structures and their locations. For a list of public artwork in Boise, visit the Boise City Department of Arts & History’s website, http://www.cityofboise.org/ArtsAndHistory/PublicArt/Gallery/index.aspx.

Related Web Sites

Post-Visit Activity: MAKE IT!

To extend the museum experience and connect the tour to your curriculum, please consider using or adapting this suggested lesson

Idaho Artists

Introduction

The artists in the 2010 Idaho Triennial live in communities across Idaho and create artwork that reflects the places around them. Students will discuss similar themes of community and place and create their own artwork that reflects their ideas about the community they live in using found objects and other materials.

Materials

• Drawing paper
• Pencils
• Glue
• Scissors
• Hot glue guns (optional)
• Found and recyclable objects
• Buttons, wire, chenille stems, string, toothpicks
• Construction paper or cardboard for sculpture base
• Scraps of tissue paper and construction paper

Instructions

• Public art often responds to or reflects the environment in which it is placed. Show students images of public art installations and sculptures in your community and other communities. Discuss how the artwork fits within the area and what role it plays. Is it in a park? In front of a building? To commemorate an event?
• Have students draw a design for a sculpture they would make that reflects their own community. Ask students to think about what their sculpture will look like, what it would be made out of, what location they would place it in and why.
• Have students sketch their designs lightly in pencil on drawing paper. Students can add notes about the color, size, function, etc. to make their drawing like a blueprint.
• Ask students to bring in recyclable materials such as plastic water bottles, aluminum soda cans, water bottle or soda caps and popsicle sticks. Provide other materials to supplement these objects such as string or yarn, chenille stems or wire, toothpicks, buttons, paper and glue.
• When their drawings are complete, have students make small models of their sculptures using the material provided. They can bend wire into forms and cover it using paper, or cover large objects made with cardboard or plastic in buttons or toothpicks. Encourage students to take the materials apart and re-shape or re-form them using glue and scissors.
• To finish their sculptures, have students place them on colored construction paper or cardboard as a base. Students can add titles and short descriptions of how their sculpture designs reflect their community and the ideal locations for their sculptures.

Project Applications and Extensions

Social Studies, History, Geography

• Have students share their sculptures as a class and how they relate to their community. Were they inspired by history, culture or geography? How did the design of the sculpture or choice of materials show this?
• Have students discuss the ways public art and installations change the environment they are in. Ask students to consider how their sculptures would alter, change or complement the environment if it were in a public space.

 Reading and Writing

• Have students imagine a place in their community where they would like their sculpture to be located. Ask them to write a description of the place in detail. Encourage them to describe the colors, sights, sounds and smells.
• Have students create a list of questions and interview each other about their artwork.
• Keep a class blog or journal about the students’ process of making their artwork. Include documentation such as photographs of the artwork, lists of items collected by the class and the challenges and successes students have in the process of designing and making their sculptures.

 Math, Science and Physics

• Discuss scale and ratio in relation to the sculptures the students have made. How large would their sculpture be to scale compared to the size it is now? Provide measurements in both the metric system (centimeters and meters) and the American system of measurements (inches and feet).
• Discuss geometry and two-dimensional shapes such as circles and squares and their counterparts in three-dimensional forms such as spheres and cubes. Have students identify which forms are in their sculptures.

Art

• Ask students to create renderings of their sculptures in a public space. Remind them to think of the details and to consider shadow and light and how this would affect the way the sculpture would look in an outdoor environment.
• Discuss the history of public art in Idaho. What were some of the first examples of public art and where were/are they located? Make a map of your community and mark the places where public art can be found.

Bibliography
Idaho Artists

Teachers

• Brite, Jane. Art after School. Community Arts Consultants, 2001.

• Harthorn, Sandy. One Hundred Years of Idaho Art, 1850-1950: Boise Art Museum, June 23-August 19, 1990. Pocatello, ID: Idaho State University Press, 1988.

• Hume, Helen D. The Art Teacher’s Survival Guide for Elementary and Middle Schools. Jossey-Bass; 2 edition, 2008

• Richard, Bernard Jr. Promoting the Arts & Sciences (Community Service for Teens) . Ferguson Publishing Company, 1998.

 Preschool

• Quasha, Jennifer. How to Draw Idaho's Sights and Symbols (A Kid's Guide to Drawing America.) PowerKids Press, 2002. 
• Marsh, Carole. Idaho History Projects: 30 Cool, Activities, Crafts, Experiments & More for Kids to Do to Learn About Your State ( Idaho Experience). Gallopade International, 2003. 
• Thomson, Ruth. Places (First Look at Art). Chrysalis Children’s Books, 2003.

Pre-K to 3 rd

• Henry, Sandi. Making Amazing Art: 40 Activities Using the 7 Elements of Art Design. Paw Prints, 2007.
• McNeil, Jean. Boise with Kids: 101 Adventures in Treasure Valley and Beyond. Boise, ID: Alturas Press, 1985.
• Our 50 States & Other US Lands . New York: Collins, 2007.
• Ponte, June. Fun and Simple Western State Crafts: Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, and Nevada (Fun and Simple State Crafts). Enslow Publishers, 2009.

 4 th to 6 th

• Evans, Joy. Creative Thinking through Art: Mixed Media. Evan-Moor Corp, 1993.
• Hensley, Laura. Art for All: What is Public Art? Heineman Raintree, 2010
• Kalman, Bobbie. A Visual Dictionary of the Old West. Crabtree Publishing Company, 2008.
• Idaho Kid’s Count State Data Book: Idaho Community Count State Data Book . Boise, ID: Annie E. Casey foundation: United Way of Treasure Valley, 2003.

 Junior High

• The Contemporary Idaho Artist: A Selected Survey . Boise, ID: Idaho Commission of the Arts, 1991.
• Foote, Mary Hallock. The Idaho Stories and Far West Illustrations of Mary Hallock Foote. Pocatello, ID: Idaho State University Press, 1988.
• Nosanow, Barbara Shissler. Sawtooths and Other Ranges of Imagination: Contemporary Art for Idaho. Washington, DC: Published for the National Museum of American Art by the Smithsonian Institution Press, 1983.

Young Adult/Adult

• Coutts, Glen. Art, Community and Environment: Educational Perspectives . Intellect Books, 2008.
• Folk Art of Idaho: “We Came to Where We Were Supposed to Be .” Boise, ID: Idaho Commission of the Arts, 1984.
• Glazer, Galit. Mosaics: The Art of Reuse: 45 Inspired Designs Using Unconventional Materials . Penn Publishing Ltd. 2009.
• Grande, John K. Art NatureDialogues: Interviews with Environmental Artists. State University of New York Press, 2004.
• Idaho and the American West . Boise, ID: The Council, 1994.