Above: David Driskell, artist and curator of "Two Centuries of Black American Art." (Photo Credit: Center for Maine Contemporary Art)
New Buffalo Area Schools had the day off school on Monday, January 17th, 2022 in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The next day, my high school students had an Art History lesson in reflection of Dr. King's legacy and recognizing the work of Black American artists. Students began in conversation discussing Dr. King and what he envisioned for the future. Some of the responses they shared with the class included how Dr. King wanted equality for all peoples and peacefully protested during the Civil Rights movement to end segregation and the discrimination of black people. My students knew a lot about MLK and were eager to share what their thoughts.
After we discussed the impact of MLK, we honed in on the topic of representation in American museums:
Most students thought it was between 10-20% and a few people thought there might be about 50% of work made by black artists represented in major museum collections. The actual number shocked them:
"Why?!?" my students wanted to know. We considered how artwork gets chosen as having historical value and who might be making these decisions.
This was a great segway into our art history focus of the month with the documentary "Black Art in the Absence of Light." (HBO, 2021) I gave students a preview of the film with the trailer that introduces David Driskell who curated a show in 1976 that displayed 200 years of artwork contributed by black artists to American Art History ranging from anonymous slaves to known artists of the 20th century. Almost fifty years later, black artists are still creating relevant, innovative work regardless of the amount of recognition they receive from the art establishment spotlight.
With the context set in place, I introduced the work of a contemporary artist from the documentary, Amy Sherald, with an art criticism activity. With a partner, students analyzed her painting, "All American," reflecting on its visual properties and meaning.
"I'm an American painter painting Americans."
-Amy Sherald
Here are some of the responses from my students:
"She confronts stereotypes by painting everyday people doing normal things." (9th Grade Student)
"I like that Amy Sherald paints black people in a positive way." (10th Grade Student)
"Her paintings are incredibly detailed! And also colorful." (9th Grade Student)
"She addresses that being accepted as American shouldn't depend on what you look like." (9th Grade Student)
After group discussion, the students were asked to apply what they had learned with a little research on artists who are featured in the documentary. Each person chose 3 artists to look up their work and put together a slideshow presentation. The next day, they presented their findings with their table groups sharing who they found, what they're known for, and why they were drawn to their artwork.
It was exciting circling the room as students shared their research with their groups and asking questions of each other. Thinking critically about artwork, making a claim about your findings, and presenting your work to others are essential skills that support students subjects across the curriculum.
It is important to build an appreciation and understanding of perspectives that are different from our own to broaden our cultural understandings and worldview. Culture informs how students communicate, think, learn, and interact.
There is also much to be learned from the practice of Art Criticism for students to describe, analyze, and interpret what they see. Learning to analyze the artwork of artists with a critical eye can better equip students to more effectively evaluate their own artwork with a fresh mindset and more confidently contribute to their classmates' work in class critiques.
These are a few of my students' slides on their artists:
Following group presentations, I had students reflect and write about the process and their take-away thoughts from the lesson. Students shared that they had never heard of many of these people and were interested to learn about artists who created more than one art form from photographs to sculptures. One student said they noticed that while some black artists created artwork about their identity, others created art of all topics that wasn't specifically focused on race. Another student wrote that it was interesting to see how there are many ways to express meaning in artwork from an individual's unique, personal, and authentic point of view.
Here are some quotes from my students:
"I learned a lot about Kara Walker's art process. She uses cut paper to make silhouettes of people, and she uses a bunch of other materials that I didn't expect." (12th Grade Student)
"I learned that David Butler was almost 100 years old and during this time he was still making art pieces despite his old age. It amazes me how focused and passionate he was about his work that he was working till the day he died." (10th Grade Student)
"Every artist has their origin story." (10th Grade Student)
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