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“Capturing the Power of Contrasts”
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Additional Resources:
- To learn more about Edward Hopper’s life and work, visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s website feature “An Edward Hopper Scrapbook”.
- For a transcript of a 1959 interview with Edward Hopper, go to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art website.
- For more information on Arthur Dove, read the Smithsonian Magazine article, “The Quiet Man of American Modernism”.
- “Arthur and Helen Torr Dove Papers Online” (at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art website) documents Arthur Dove's life as an artist, and his life with the artist Helen Torr. The website includes biographical narratives, personal documents, an audio recording, correspondence, diaries, essays, photographs, and more.
- For more ideas on how to explore light in the classroom, go to the Smithsonian Institution Libraries’ website feature “Shadow Games”.
“Cycles of Nature”
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Additional Resources:
- To look at a wider selection of Mary Vaux Walcott’s 798 watercolors in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, go to the website feature “Have a Question” and enter “Walcott” in the Last Name field and “Mary Vaux” in the First Name field.
- To see photographs of some of the places Mary Vaux Walcott stayed when she conducted her wildflower studies, visit the Smithsonian Institution Archives feature “Beauty in Service to Science”.
- For information on starting a Nature Journal, visit the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies’ website feature “Introduction to the Nature Journal”.
- Go to the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s website feature “Director’s Choice: Achelous and Hercules” to hear Smithsonian American Art Museum Director Elizabeth Broun speak about Benton’s Wheat in part 3.
- For information on Heikki Seppa’s work, see the “Heikki Seppa Papers, 1944–1996” at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art website.
“That’s Art?”
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Additional Resources:
- Visit the Luce Foundation Center for American Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s website feature “Artist Media Archive” and click on “Go” under “Meet Sam Gilliam” to watch or listen to an interview with the artist. At one point he states, “I discover new things everyday every time I go into a museum and that’s what they’re for.” Ask students what they think is the role of art in a society. When they look at a picture of Gilliam’s Swing, what new thing do they discover? How many of them have ever thought that a painting could still be a painting even if the canvas just hung there unsupported by a frame?!
- Go to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art website for two transcripts of interviews with Sam Gilliam:
- Deborah Butterfield used Hawaiian Okea wood in her original assembled piece for Monekana. Have students research a rare wood and deliver an oral report to the class about where the wood can be found, why it is rare (over-harvested or simply unusual), and why humans value it (strong, unusual color or pattern). The musical instrument industry in particular uses certain kinds of woods for certain kinds of instruments and for the bows of string instruments. Students who enjoy music could explore that angle of the assignment.
- For an interactive activity on sculpture, go to the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden’s website feature “Create a Sculpture”.
“Bonding or Breaking?”
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Additional Resources:
- In Hermia and Helena, Washington Allston captures the two primary female characters in William Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream. Visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s website feature “Director’s Choice” for museum director Elizabeth Broun’s thoughts on this painting.
- Extend the activity by selecting part of the comedy to discuss in class. The two friends find their personal loyalty to each other becomes strained when one woman falls in love with a man who is actually in love with the other woman.
- In Act 1, Scene 1 of the play, Hermia is horrified that Demetrius, the man her best friend Helena loves, is actively pursuing her even though she does not love him. She tells her friend “I frown upon him, yet he loves me still. I give him curses, yet he gives me love. The more I hate, the more he follows me.” Helena responds, “The more I love, the more he hateth me.”
- Ask students to write their own scene involving two friends who must work out how to handle this situation.
- Go to the Smithsonian Magazine (June 2004) article, “A Love Letter Set to Music,” by Neil Amdur and share the story with your class. Ask them to write their own love song.
- For more information about links between literature and art, download the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s education resource on “Art & Literature” (PDF format).
“Citizens on the Home Front”
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Additional Resources:
- Go to the “Resources” page of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s website feature “A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution” for “Classroom Activity 2” about exclusion orders. To help students identify with the camp internees’ experiences, such as Shimomura’s mother’s experience, have them complete the activity on this page.
- First, have them read the “Civilian Exclusion Order” and “Instructions to All Persons of Japanese Ancestry,” which are on the “A More Perfect Union” website. Next, divide the class into groups of four, each group representing a Japanese family of parents and two children.
- After reading the instructions, the “family” members should make a list of items they will take with them. Each “family” has fifteen minutes to make its selections. One person from each “family” will then share their list with the class and explain why they chose the items.
- After completing this exercise, have each student write a paragraph about what they learned and how they felt as they went through this process.
- Go to the “Reflections” page in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s website feature “A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution” and ask students what they think it means to be an American citizen. Have them post their answers on the website. Next, ask them to create a timeline of the history of citizenship in the United States. For example, women did not earn the right to vote until 1920 (19th Amendment) and Native Americans did not earn the right to vote in all states until 1948. And, of course, Japanese Americans were placed in detention camps during World War II.
“Animals in Human Society”
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Additional Resources:
- In Game Fish, Larry Fuente makes playful use of the marlin’s fin. Go to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s website feature “Mighty Marlin” to see an image of a trophy-sized marlin mounted at the Smithsonian. Read the information about the marlin. Ask students to select one of the following “trophy” fish: tuna, marlin, or swordfish. Ask them to find an image and write a paragraph about the diet, range, and general lifestyle of the fish, as well as any threats it faces, such as over-fishing.
- To see Fuente’s fish in more detail, visit the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s website feature “Collections & Exhibitions”. Use the zoom tool to look closely at various details of the artwork.
- Go to Smithsonian American Art Museum interactive game “Meet Me at Midnight”. Students can play the Artist Matching Game and learn more about the technique Larry Fuente used to create Game Fish.
- Ask students to write a poem about an animal. The poem can celebrate what they love about the animal or can draw attention to the struggles the animal faces in a world dominated by humans.
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