home

Collecting Lesson 3: Contemporary Artist Examples

Explore Personal, Professional and Institutional Collecting through Art

05142012_EDU_Whitfield-Lovell,-Hand,-1995-_main.jpg

Whitfield Lovell, Hand XIV, 1998, charcoal, graphite, and pastel on paper

Students are introduced to artistic practices that use personal, professional and institutional collecting, as well as a wide array of contemporary artists employing these practices. Symbolism, anthropology and archival information are presented and discussed.

Subjects: Art, Anthropology, Museum practices, Aesthetics

Suggested Time Frame:

Personal Collecting: 90 minutes*
Professional Collecting: 90 minutes*
Institutional Collecting: 90 minutes*

Total time: 3-6 class periods over one week
*less class time if readings are done as homework

Based on your curriculum, focus and time available, select one, two or all of the three of the following types of collecting to cover with your students.

Objectives:

Personal Collecting

Students will read essays on artistic practice
Students will compare and contrast artistic form and content
Students will review brainstorming webs of collecting

Professional Collecting

Students will explore how professionals in other fields utilize collecting methods
Students will compare and contrast artistic and anthropological practices of collecting
Students will discuss aesthetic questions and form opinions in relation to works of art

Institutional Collecting

Students will read information about artists and museums
Students will describe and discussing ideas as they relate to museum displays
Students will compare and contrast museum displays from historical perspectives
Students will examine cultural beliefs about ownership and value within institutional collections

Procedure

Stefan Hoderlein, Matching Jacket and Pants, 1996, Slide projection, 3 views, Installation at Gallerie Fricke, Berlin

Personal Collecting

Most people have a personal collection. Whether it is fine art, Beanie Babies or baseball cards, humans have an instinctive desire to gather objects that have personal meaning to them. Many artists also have personal collections; some find ways to use these collected objects in their work. Artists Stefan Hoderlein and Whitfield Lovell both integrate their personal collections in symbolic ways to convey ideas about the world. The media or art forms in which they work differ, affecting what is communicated to the viewer.

Handouts:

Artists who collect: Stefan Hoderlein

Artists who collect: Whitfield Lovell

Hoderlein/Lovell Comparison Chart

Present Stefan Hoderlein and Whitfield Lovell handouts.
Print or project reproductions of artists’ works for class viewing.
Research New Media at www.artlex.com.
Use the handout (Hoderlein/Lovell Comparison Chart) to discuss the artists’ work and practice.

Portia Munson, Pink Project (detail), 1994, Installation of found pink objects, Courtesy of the artist

Professional Collecting

Many professionals rely on a collection as a part of their practice—forensic scientists rely on extensive databanks of specimens and fingerprints to help solve mysteries of identity; meteorologists collect data on weather patterns to predict the paths of oncoming tropical storms; and anthropologists spend hours, weeks, even years "in the field" gathering information on a certain culture. It is from the fastidious, sometimes meticulous, procedures of anthropologists who gather extensive archives of cultural objects as a part of their practice that artists Portia Munson and Karsten Bott glean inspiration. Portia Munson and Karsten Bott’s practice of collecting can be compared to anthropologists and other professionals whose work strives to reveal new information about culture.

Handouts:

Artists who collect: Portia Munson

Artists who collect: Karsten Bott

Rem Koolhas LeAlan Jones

Revisit Brainstorming Webs from Lesson 1.
Review and discuss Other Professionals who collect: LeAlan Jones or Rem Koolhas.
Compare and contrast the artistic practice of collecting and the anthropological practice of collecting.
Anthropology is the study of humanity—our physical characteristics as animals, and our non-biological characteristics collectively referred to as culture. Anthropology has four sub-disciplines: biological or physical anthropology, cultural or social anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics.
Present and explore an Anthropological Study.
Suggested Websites:
http://varenne.tc.columbia.edu/hv/at/at_set.html
This on-line book, by an anthropology professor at the Teachers College of Columbia University, focuses on the lives of people in a small town north of Chicago called Appleton. Harve Varenne’s work studies how the microcosm of a small town reveals larger themes about Americans’ self-image.
http://www.sussex.ac.uk/library/massobs/introduction.html
This website contains the archive work of Mass-Observation, a social research group founded in 1937 in Britain. The founders’ aim was to create an “anthropology of ourselves.” They recruited a team of observers and a panel of volunteer writers to study the everyday lives of people in Britain.
http://library.osu.edu/sites/rarebooks/japan/about.html
This website contains photographs taken by anthropologist John W. Bennett while he was in occupied Japan, 1948-1951.
http://www.andaman.org./index.htm
This website contains extensive information about a study of the Andaman Island peoples.
Determine the following criteria for the study:

- Who is enacting the study?

- What are they studying?

- What do they collect in their study?

- What does this collection reveal?

- Why are they studying the subject?

- What is the end product of the study?

- How is this study seen, shared, and/or displayed?

Present Portia Munson and Karsten Bott.
Hang up reproductions of work by Portia Munson and Karsten Bott:
Discuss the Aesthetic Response Questions found on each artists' page.

"Raid the Icebox with Andy Warhol", 1969-70, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design

Institutional Collecting

Institutions are often responsible for collections. Libraries create and maintain collections of books, while institutions like local municipalities collect and archive information about births, marriages, and deaths. A museum is one of the earliest forms of institutional collecting. Museums collect objects, which are put on display for the study, interpretation, and enjoyment of audiences and ultimately for the preservation of heritage. Mark Dion and Andy Warhol are two artists whose work questions institutional collecting and display in natural history and art museums

Handouts:

Other Professionals who collect	Museums and Cultural Change
Artists who collect: Warhol, Raid the Icebox	Artists who collect: Mark Dion

Present text on Early Museums.
Describe and discuss:

- Cabinets of Curiosity

- Early Museums

- Dilemma Labels and problems in museum display

Use the Analysis Questions to further discuss issues related to institutional collecting.
Present handouts for Andy Warhol's Raid the Icebox, and Mark Dion.
Project or display reproductions of work by Warhol and Dion.
Explore these artists and ideas using the Analysis Questions in the handouts.

Assessment

Warhol Education Rubrics

Click the Warhol Rubric headers below to reveal associated rubrics to which this lesson applies.

Critical Thinking

	Developing	Emerging	Proficient	Advanced	Exemplary
CT.1	Integrative: Able to identify, and integrate personal experience into one's thinking process	Sees little or no influence that their feelings and values have on their artmaking or critique of artwork.	Is increasingly more aware of how their own bias affects their artmaking or critique of artwork.	Possesses a concrete awareness of how their own preferences influence their art making or critique of artwork.	Adapts their personal perferences of artmaking and artwork based on an analysis of opposing viewpoints.	Integrates personal experience and formal critiques to examine the creative process or critique of artwork.
CT.3	Connective Thinking: Able to think critically across professions/practices	Sees little or no connection between art making and other professions and or subject areas.	Identifies some practices that are shared in artmaking and other professions/subject areas.	Makes important connections between art making and other professions/subject areas.	Compares and constrasts artmaking processes with processes in other disciplines.	Applies knowledge of cross-disciplinary practice to create innovative work.
CT.4	Investigative: Able to conduct research and ask questions, know forms of arguments, inferences and fallacies.	Solicits information that may be superflous and draws inappropriate conclusions.	Highlights some relevant and useful details thorough research that support interpretation and analysis.	Acquires reliable and persuasive information from a variety of sources to support their interpretations.	Ranks the quality of information researched and develops nuanced interpretations.	Acquires new information that supports highly sophisticated analysis or revision of previous ideas.

Aesthetics

	Developing	Emerging	Proficient	Advanced	Exemplary
AE.1	Personal Aesthetics: aware of perceptual preferences in relation to a work of art and how their own interpretations affect how they experience a work of art	Difficulty in communicating personal opinions and feelings about an artwork.	Possesses a beginning recognition of how their own interpretations affect how they experience a work of art.	Analyzes personal feelings, likes/dislikes, values and associations as part of the process in interpreting works of art.	Deconstructs an artwork's formal and expressive qualities along with their own preferences as part of the process in interpreting works of art.	Formulates an analysis of works of art that combines formal, expressive and personal intepretations.

Communication

	Developing	Emerging	Proficient	Advanced	Exemplary
CO.1	Reading: Comprehension of textual information	Comprehends the literal meaning from a range of texts about a work of art, an artist or concept but is still working to grasp big ideas and varying points of view.	Identifies some big ideas in various texts and is beginning to distinguish between fact and opinions within the text.	Identifies significant big ideas and is able to makes connections between the themes of texts and more complex cultural issues related to a work of art.	Taps into prior knowledge and supports thinking beyond the text with specific evidence from the text or personal knowledge about a work of art.	Displays original thinking about ideas in texts and makes these ideas relevant to the work of art or concept at hand.
CO.3	Listening and Speaking: Ability to express ideas and listen to others.	Somewhat organized, but off topic. Unable to respond adequately to questions from others or summarize others' conclusions or viewpoints.	Answers reveal a partial understanding of material. Misses some aspects of the topic and inconsistently comments on others statements.	Expresses ideas well. Listens and responds to peers thoughtfully and respectfully. Grasps concepts well enough to ask questions about what is still not understood.	Responds to questions accurately and with supporting facts that are engaging. Established eye contact and demonstrated an awareness of audiences’ needs. Demonstrates additional curiosity in subject.	Explores topic thoroughly providing multiple details, examples and supporting facts. Answers convey a deep understanding of topic. Highly responsive to audience. Active participation in discussion brings group learning to a higher level.

Creative Process

	Developing	Emerging	Proficient	Advanced	Exemplary
CP.6	Observation: Experiencing works of art.	Description of visual data is inaccurate and is unaware of an artist's methods and creative intent.	Recognizes an increasing number of formal elements in works of art and attempts to interpret them using a wider range of perceptual methods.	Identifies significant qualities of an artwork and employs a wide range of sensorial and aesthetic methods to explore their own intuitive and aesthetic responses.	Compares and contrasts the aesthetic qualities of an artwork or visual data to infer meaning in a sophisticated manner. Is able to express own experience of visual data or a work of art creatively.	Conveys a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of an artwork. Able to hypothesize about the artist’s intent and to ask relevant questions for further research or inquiry.

Historical Context

		Developing	Emerging	Proficient	Advanced	Exemplary
HC.1	SocioCultural and Political: Understands how art relates to social movements, political events, or historical figures.	Interprets works of art as having limited influence or relationships to social movements, political events, or historical figures.	Increasingly recognizes that artworks can be shaped by or can express social movements, political events, or historical figures.	Explains how culture impacts artists and/or art through political events, historical figures and cultural contexts of an artwork.	Interprets, constructs opinions, and draws conclusions about an artwork based upon analysis of historical, political and cultural contexts.	Combines all previous knowledge about socio-political contexts to create new predictions, questions or insights about the relationship between art and history.
HC.2	Biographical: Understands how historical events influence an artist’s life and work.	Has limited understanding of how historical events influence an artist’s life and work.	Able to identify moments in time that are significant in the artist’s biography.	Describes the scope of an artist’s work in duration, quantity and influence.	Applies information from an artist’s biography in the illustration of larger historical, conceptual and philosophical ideas.	Compares and analyzes the ways in which the work of past artists have affected the work (both physical and conceptual) of contemporary artists.
HC.3	Analytical: Ablility to evaluate the historial importance of artwork using primary and secondary sources.	Unable to distinguish among various pieces of information to evaluate the historical importance of an artwork.	Can identify diverse materials as: primary documents, material artifacts, and historic sites to examine the historical importance of a work of art.	Analyze a work of art from its historical and cultural perspective using primary and secondary sources.	Compares and contrasts how artists, historians or other professionals use source material in their work.	Evaluate the significance or impact of source material in works of art.

Media and Related Items

Presentation

Collecting Lessons Powerpoint

Jump to:

procedure
assessment
media

Share + Print

Language

Language translation services provided by Acclaro.

Checklist

Pennsylvania Visual Arts Standards

National Visual Arts Standards

21st Century Skills Standards

What is this?

Related Lessons

Lesson Images

Whitfield Lovell's collection of hands on display at The Andy Warhol Museum

Click the image above to view a slideshow of images for this lesson.