Explore. Engage. Experience. 901.544.6215 Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey On view February 2‐April 28, 2013 Curriculum Guide Romare Bearden, Home to Ithaca, Collage, 1977, Courtesy Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, Massachusetts. Gift of the estate of Eileen Paradis Barber (Class of 1929) “…ALL OF US, from the time we begin to think, are on an ODYSSEY ” ‐Romare Bearden Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in cooperation with the Romare Bearden Foundation and Estate and DC Moore Gallery. The exhibition is supported by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Art © Romare Bearden Foundation/ Licensed by VAGA, New York. Explore. Engage. Experience. 901.544.6215 Dear Teachers, Thank you for scheduling a tour at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. This curriculum guide is designed to help you connect the Brooks’ special exhibitions with your classroom curricula. Inside you will find useful background information on the exhibition as well as resources you can use in the classroom before and after your visit. Please use your discretion when determining the appropriate content for your class. We look forward to seeing you at the Brooks! Sincerely, Brooks Education
Grade Level 1st‐12th Suggested Tennessee State Standards in Visual Art 1‐12th grade Standard 1.0 Media, Techniques, and Processes Standard 3.0 Evaluation Standard 4.0 Historical and Cultural Relationships Standard 5.0 Reflecting and Assessing Standard 6.0 Interdisciplinary Connections Suggested Common Core Standards 1‐12th grade English/Language Arts: Literature English/Language Arts: Speaking and Listening Exhibition Overview In 1977, Romare Bearden (1911‐1988) created a series of collages, watercolors, and drawings based on Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey. Rich in symbolism and allegorical content, Bearden’s Black Odyssey series created an artistic bridge between classical mythology and African American culture. Bearden cast all the characters in this ancient Greek saga—whether gods or mortals, villains or heroes—as Black. Born in Charlotte, N.C., Bearden moved with his family to Harlem as a young child, part of the Great Migration of African Americans from the South to greater opportunity in the North. Throughout his career, Bearden created images of the lives of travelers on their way to and from home, a theme no more powerfully explored than in the Black Odyssey. Throughout the series Bearden explores many universal themes such as traveling home, reuniting with loved ones, overcoming obstacles, and the quest for knowledge. The artist’s unique images draw upon many visual traditions, ranging from bold, stylized forms adapted from the French painter Henri Matisse to the visceral, sculptural forms of West African masks. Explore. Engage. Experience. 901.544.6215 About the Artist: Source: Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey by Robert G. O’Meally Romare Howard Bearden was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 2, 1911. He studied at Lincoln University, Boston University, Columbia University, The Art Students League of New York‐where he thrived under the tutelage of George Grosz‐and New York University from which he graduated in 1935. In the same year, he joined the Harlem Artists Guild and began contributing political cartoons to the weekly Baltimore Afro‐American. In 1938, he became a case worker with the New York City Department of Social Services‐a vocation he would continue through the 1960’s. His career as a painter was launched in 1940 with his first solo exhibition in Harlem; a solo show in Washington, D.C. followed four years later. In 1942 he was drafted into the Army, and in 1950 he traveled to Paris on the G.I. Bill to study philosophy at the Sorbonne. After returning to New York, he married Nanette Rohan in 1954, and the Beardens moved to Canal Street. In 1962, Bearden, Charles Alston, Norman Lewis, and others formed the “Spiral Group,” a New York based artists’ collective dedicated to supporting the work of emerging black talent in painting, as well as to explore ways of contributing, as artists, to the ongoing black freedom movement. It was again with these aims that Bearden, Lewis, and Ernest Crichlow would later establish the Cinque Gallery in New York City. Bearden was also a founding member of the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Black Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1964, he was appointed the first art director of the Harlem Cultural Council, a prominent African American advocacy group. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1972. Among his numerous publications are: A History of African American Artists: From 1792 to the Present, coauthored with Harry Henderson and published posthumously in 1993; The Caribbean Poetry of Derek Walcott and the Art of Romare Bearden (1983); Six Black Masters of American Art, coauthored with Harry Henderson (1972);The Painter’s Mind: A Study of the Relations of Structure and Space in Painting, coauthored with Carl Holty (1969); and Li’l Dan, the Drummer Boy: A Civil War Story, a children’s book published posthumously in September 2003. Recognized as one of the preeminent artists of the twentieth century, Bearden’s work appears in many major public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Studio Museum in Harlem. He has had retrospectives at the Mint Museum of Art (1980), the Detroit Institute of the Arts (1986), as well as numerous posthumous retrospectives, including at the Studio Museum in Harlem (1991) and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (2003). He received honorary doctorates from Pratt Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Davidson College, and Atlanta University. In 1984 he was awarded the Mayor’s Award of Honor for Art and Culture in New York City. In 1987 President Ronal Regan presented him with the National Medal of Arts. Bearden died in New York City on March 12, 1988. Explore. Engage. Experience. Exhibition themes 901.544.6215 1.
Physical and personal journeys. 2.
How The Black Odyssey fits into the life and work of Romare Bearden. 3.
Universality of myth and the life experience. For example: love, loss, or war. 4.
Connections between Homer’s Odyssey and the African American experience. Main goal of tour Younger students will examine the exhibition as a physical journey and discuss different experiences Odysseus had along the way. Older students will examine the exhibition as a universal journey that contains common themes relevant to all human beings. What to Expect/Objectives Established with Bloom’s Taxonomy The learner will… REMEMBER UNDERSTAND APPLY Draw on prior knowledge to discuss the terms “journey” and “odyssey.” Older students will distinguish between a physical journey, such as traveling to the Brooks museum, and a personal or universal journey. For example, learning a new skill or falling in love. Examine artworks in the exhibition and discuss the story being told. Younger students will be introduced to general background information about the artist, media used, and the events that took place during Odysseus’s’ physical journey in The Odyssey. Older students will focus more on universal themes present in the artworks such as the journey of life, war, or love. Other topics such as collage, watercolor, Romare Bearden, African American history, and Homer’s Odyssey may be introduced depending on students’ interests. Use new vocabulary and knowledge to discuss and interpret select artworks. Consider background information about the artist, the materials used, the idea of physical vs. metaphorical journeys, and universal themes present in myth. Explore. Engage. Experience. ANALYZE 901.544.6215 Compare and contrast two works of art or other related things. For example, younger students can compare Bearden’s Odyssey to their own life experiences. Older students can compare and contrast Homer’s Odyssey to Bearden’s Black Odyssey. What are the differences and similarities between the two? Make judgments or interpretations about selected objects based on the discussion and criteria established. For example, Do you think the watercolors or collages illustrate the story better? Why? Which part of Odysseus journey in The Odyssey do you think was most significant to Bearden? What do you see that makes you say that? EVALUATE CREATE Students in grades 1‐3 will use a variety of papers to create a collage that depict a physical journey. Students in grades 4‐12 will use a more limited color palette to create a collage that depicts a personal journey. Pre‐Visit Activities Share Chaperone Guidelines with chaperones and review Museum Manners with students. Identify your objectives for the tour experience and communicate them to the Brooks Tour Coordinator. Elementary Teacher Idea: Introduce your students to the concept of “journey” by reading your class a story about a journey. *See Books in Teacher Resources. High School Teacher Idea: Discuss Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey with your students. Vocabulary Odyssey A long and eventful journey. Explore. Engage. Experience. 901.544.6215 Journey The act of “traveling” from one place to another or growing in some way. An example of a physical journey: traveling to the Brooks Museum of Art. An example of a personal journey: learning how to read. Myth A traditional story that retells events in early history ‐also known as a legend or fable. A myth may or may not be true. The Odyssey An epic tale composed by Homer between 750‐650 B.C.E. The Odyssey begins with the fall of the city of Troy and crafts a new epic around the hero Odysseus. The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus’ journey home to Ithaca in northwest Greece during a ten‐year period. It’s a tale of wandering that takes place on fantastic islands and foreign lands. Odysseus The protagonist of the Odyssey by Homer . Odysseus fought among the other Greek heroes at Troy and now struggles to return to his kingdom in Ithaca. Collage A type of art created by gluing pieces of paper on top of each other. In a collage, paper overlaps. Watercolor A painting medium created with pigments diluted in water. Watercolor paintings are typically on paper. Teacher Resources Websites: To learn more about Bearden’s A Black Odyssey, visit the Smithsonian Institution for Traveling Exhibitions Service website at: http://www.sites.si.edu/romarebearden/ For images of Bearden’s artwork, lesson plans, online activities for students, and more, visit the Bearden Foundation at http://www.beardenfoundation.org/education/education.shtml Apps: Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey‐An audio tour that contains information on Romare Bearden and artworks in the exhibition. Download at the iTunes store for FREE. This audio tour is also available through the Brooks app. Romare Bearden: Black Odyssey Remixes‐ Allows you to create your own collages based on Bearden’s work. Dowload at the iTunes store for FREE. For the iPad only. Explore. Engage. Experience. 901.544.6215 Elementary Level Suggested Books: About Romare Bearden My Hands Sing the Blues: Romare Bearden’s Childhood Journey by Jeanne Walker Harvey Me and Uncle Romie by Jerome Lagarrigue About Journeys Oregon’s Journey by Rascal Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say Bigmama’s by Donald Crews Post‐Visit Activities/Curriculum Connections Language Arts Lower grade levels: Ask students to write a Diamante, a diamond shaped poem, about their journey to the Brooks museum. Students can also write a diamante about the collage they created at the museum. This activity reviews parts of speech. *See Handout #1 for Diamante Worksheet Upper grade levels: Visual Art Activity Artists, writers, and musicians throughout time have explored universal themes present in myths, each bringing their own unique perspective. What can you say about love, loss, or war in contemporary culture? Create a work of art that expresses your ideas about one of these universal themes. Language Arts Activity: Bearden’s artworks are like illustrations of Homer’s Odyssey. Ask students to write a story to accompany the collage they created at the museum. Assign grade level expectations for writing. Explore. Engage. Experience. DIAMANTE 901.544.6215 *Verb = verb ending in –ing HANDOUT #1 _________________________ My journey _______________________ Adjective ______________________ Adjective ____________ ________ ______________________ ____________________ Verb Verb Verb __________________ ________________ __________________ ________________ Noun Noun Noun Noun ____________ ________ ______________________ ____________________ Verb Verb Verb _______________________ Adjective ______________________ Adjective _________________________ Noun