SOA 2015 Williamsburg Arts Tour Guide 1
Use this packet and the SOA WILLIAMSBURG ARTS TOUR RESOURCE website (use QR or soalitart.weebly.com to get there) as your guide to response assignments for today’s activities. All
SOA students will complete three assignments in this packet, and each instructor will collect them upon your return to SOA. Double-Dippers PICK ONE FIELD ACTIVITY and photocopy assignments to receive credit from both of your instructors.
MUSCARELLE MUSEUM, HAUKOHL FAMILY COLLECTION OF PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURES
( to be completed by all students )
Baroque Art developed in Europe around 1600, as a reaction against the intricate and formulaic Mannerism that dominated the Late Renaissance. Baroque art is less complex, more realistic and more emotionally affecting than
Mannerist art. This movement was encouraged by the Catholic Church, the most important patron of the arts at that time, being seen as a return to tradition and spirituality.
A special section of the exhibition, “Artists, Writers, and Academies,” is dedicated to the lively culture of Florence under the rule of the Medici grand dukes, when more than ten artistic, literary, and scientific societies were founded.
This gallery will be dominated by four painted stucco over-life-size portraits by Antonio Montauti (1683-1746), representing Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo and Marsilio Ficino. The centerpiece will be a treasure of Florentine
18th century painting, a harlequin jester scene by Giovanni Domenico Ferretti (1692-1768), the most gifted Florentine artist of his century. This charming scene from the comic theater of that time is presented in an antique period frame decorated with figures of cupids holding symbols of music, the theater and other arts .
Although the term Baroque embraced a bewildering variety of styles, it was typically characterized by two things: a sense of grandeur (or sensuous richness), plus an overt emotional content. It was through these two elements that
Baroque painters, sought to evoke emotional states in the viewer by appealing to the senses, often in dramatic ways.
YOUR ASSIGNMENT : Choose one of the four painted stucco over-life-size portraits and answer each of the following questions in a few descriptive sentences, using specific details to support your points.
1.
Identify where you see a sense of grandeur
2.
Where emotion is evoked within you in response to the portrait
3.
What that emotion is
4.
Identify specific Baroque style techniques you were shown by the docents.
If you do not attend the trip, use the WM Muscarelle Links SOA Williamsburg Resources website to look at different pieces. The second link is our recommendation for this assignment.
DEWITT WALLACE / ROCKEFELLER MUSEUM
( to be completed ONLY BY UPPER-LEVEL STUDENTS who completed the Architecture Hunt last year )
The CW Art Museums are two distinct collections housed in the same building. The collections center on many examples of DECORATIVE ART and FOLK ART. There’s even a collection of formal paintings we might consider
HIGH ART.
YOUR ASSIGNMENT: Based on your visit with the docents…
1.
Create your own definitions of DECORATIVE ART, FOLK ART, and HIGH ART. Feel free to use your technology as a starting point, and you are welcome to put your heads together.
2.
Choose three pieces from the museum collections that illustrate your definitions—one you would consider
DECORATIVE, FOLK, and HIGH art respectively. Write the name and artist for each piece, and write one clear sentence for each defending your choice.
If you do not attend the trip, use the CW Art Museums Online Collection link on the SOA Williamsburg Resources website to find different pieces.

SOA 2015 Williamsburg Arts Tour Guide
Spend approximately one hour completing only the activity specified for your discipline. Every SOA student will complete JUST ONE of these activities, so Double-and Triple-Dippers should chose and complete just one of the activities listed below.
Theatre Arts I: Sensory Awareness
Find a spot where you are alone and can experience “Public Solitude.” Take notice of your physical and mental state at the start of your observation time. In SILENCE, spend 15 minutes simply observing yourself and your surroundings using your sensory & kinesthetic awareness. Try to “Be Here Now!” If your mind starts to wander, bring your focus back to your breathing and sensory awareness. After 15 minutes of “Solitude” begin writing your thoughts to the following questions.
1.
What VISUAL details did you notice?
2
2.
What sounds did you HEAR?
3.
What SMELLS did you notice?
4.
Describe what you were TOUCHING.
5.
Describe what you TASTED.
6.
Using complete sentences, describe what your physical & mental state (head-to-toe analysis; any tension anywhere??) was at the BEGINNING of your observation time.
7.
Using complete sentences, describe your physical and mental state at the END of your observation time. Did you have trouble calming your mind? Did you have trouble being still for that length of time? What thoughts ran through your mind? Did time pass quickly or slowly? Was this assignment easy or hard to do? Other thoughts…
Theatre Arts II, III & IV: Characterization
In the time you have near the Palace Green, travel in groups of three or four and pick a spot from which you can make observations of historical interpreters and visiting guests. Then, without talking to each other, record the following:
1. Write an impression of the first person you see walk by. What is s/he wearing? What is his/her hair like? Clothing?
What do you think s/he is doing? Why is s/he there?
2. Do the same for at least three more people. Flesh them out as much as possible. How do their walks give them personality? Are they carrying something? Do the looks on their faces say something? Are they talking on the phone or to someone with them?
3. Select one of the people you observe and create a monologue or speech detailing their inner-most thoughts. This should be written in 1 st -person point of view. Your monologue (or speech) should have at least 10 written sentences.
Advanced Technical Theatre: Sketch Exercise
In your sketchbook draw a landscape view of the outdoor restored area. Include the following elements:

Architecture / buildings or man-made structures.

Natural elements: trees, bushes, clouds, fields.

People, dogs, horses, other living creatures.

Incorporate perspective in your composition.

Use line weight, shading, overlapping and aerial perspective to establish ground.
You have compositional license, you can arrange your drawing to suit you. Verisimilitude is not required.
You may not use an eraser. Draw lightly at first when establishing the “bones” of your drawing. Get gestures of people, because they will move… (pesky people). Make sure you have placement and proportion established before going for detail.
This should be a fairly well developed drawing, you have almost an hour to work on it. Select a focus of your drawing and have the shading and line-weight reinforce the focal point. Happy drawing!

SOA 2015 Williamsburg Arts Tour Guide 3
Dance Arts: Field Assignment
In the time you have near the Palace Green, travel in groups of three or four and pick a spot from which you can make observations of historical interpreters and visiting guests. Then, independently, answer the following:
1. Write an impression of the first person you see walk by. What is s/he wearing? What is his/her hair like?
Clothing? What do you think s/he is doing? Why is s/he there?
2. Do the same for at least three more people. Flesh them out as much as possible. How do their walks give them personality? Are they carrying something? Do the looks on their faces say something? Are they talking on the phone or to someone with them?
3. Describe their movement style. How could you draw choreographic inspiration from this movement and interaction? How does the colonial garb & environment affect your choreographic inspirations? What movements can you pull from your observations?
Literary Arts 9: Ghost Story
Colonial Williamsburg is rich in history and in ghost stories. Make sure you have a separate ghost story handout for
a little bit of background. After skimming the stories, find a spot or spots to sit and brainstorm ideas for an original story—based on fact or imagination—in your journal. As you sit, begin to create a rough draft of a story based on a place you visited in CW. (500ish words)
Literary Arts 10: Dialogue Activity
In the time you have near the Palace Green, travel in groups of three or four and pick a spot from which you can make observations of historical interpreters and visiting guests. Then, without talking to each other, record the following:
1. Write an impression of the first person you see walk by. What is s/he wearing? What is his/her hair like?
Clothing? What do you think s/he is doing? Why is s/he there?
2. Do the same for at least three more people. Flesh them out as much as possible. How do their walks give them personality? Are they carrying something? Do the looks on their faces say something? Are they alone or in a group? How do you think the size of the group affects their interactions?
3. Select two of the people you observe (they do not have to be together) and create a scene between the two placing them in the 1700s. What are they doing in the colonial capital? What is their relationship? Are they friends, business associates, farmers in town to buy supplies? Are they in Williamsburg to conduct business at the capital? Are they here to view or participate in a trial at the colonial courthouse? Think about why these people would be in the capital and write your scene accordingly. Your scene should have at least 20 lines of dialogue between the two people, and you should do your best to incorporate words and interactions that show the characters are really listening and responding to one another.
Literary Arts 11: Writing in Nature
Find at least three different places to sit and write for 15 minutes. With Thoreau and Emerson in mind, first use all 5 of your senses to fully describe each setting by painting a picture with your words. Then take a little time to describe the ways humans interact with nature (not other people) in these spaces. I’ll be looking for 45 minutes of writing with vivid descriptions of at least 3 places, and yes, I’ll be eager to read how things taste in these spots. These pieces will be three of your HUMDINGERS for next week.