Shifting Perspectives / Visual Arts
Title: Revealing Missing Perspectives: History Painting
Artists: Kerry James Marshall, Kara Walker, and Romare Bearden
Teacher Overview and Preparation
“One of my primary interests as an artist, as a painter, has always been to show
things that are rarely shown, to reveal things that are hidden, to see the unseen.”
–Kerry James Marshall, 2008
For thousands of years, artists have depicted historical scenes and events.
Today, many artists use aspects of their own personal histories as source
material for their artwork. The three African American artists introduced here—
Kerry James Marshall, Kara Walker, and Romare Bearden—reveal missing
perspectives that have not traditionally been presented in art. Marshall’s largescale paintings use visual games to reveal slavery at Monticello and Mt. Vernon,
the homes of American presidents Thomas Jefferson and George Washington;
Kara Walker’s large-scale paper silhouettes present complex, untold stories that
draw their roots from slavery in the deep South; and Bearden’s collages not only
represent daily life for African Americans during the mid 1900s, but also express
his affinity for jazz. By studying these three artists, students will understand how
artists re-tell, re-shape, and re-imagine historical narratives. Once they explore
the artists’ work, students will make their own “history painting,” telling a story
that reveals a missing perspective.
The “Big Idea”
 How can art reveal missing perspectives?
 How do artists reflect upon their racial, cultural, and national identities in
order to represent historical narratives?
To introduce the activity
01. Review: Go over the activity overview and “big ideas” with your students.
Post the “big ideas” in the classroom during the unit. Refer to them often to
check for understanding. Keep track of what students say to see how their
perspective grows or changes.
02. Journal option: If you plan to do more than one activity from this theme, ask
students to create a journal. The journal will allow them to organize their
research notes, brainstorms, projects, and reflections on multiple activities.
03. Explore online: Research the three artists in ArtThink and answer these
questions:
 What can you see clearly in Kerry James Marshall’s work? What seems
to be hidden? How would you characterize the style of these murals?
What different visual devices does Marshall use to tell his story? How, if
at all, did your perspective on Jefferson and Washington change?
 Kara Walker uses silhouettes, a 19th-century visual form that goes along
with the panoramic format of the piece (it is installed in a circular room
with life-size figures). What story is Kara Walker trying to tell? How does
the use of silhouettes and the panoramic format help convey that story?
www.sfmoma.org/artthink
Shifting Perspectives: Revealing the Missing Perspective History Painting
Why do you think Kara Walker is so unafraid to discuss this tough
subject?
 What are the stories Bearden is telling through his art? What artistic
methods does he use to convey those stories? The nature of collage is to
juxtapose different elements. How does Bearden use juxtaposition to
express ethnic identity?
 What do these three artists have in common? How are they different?
How do they each use art to reveal missing historical perspectives?
04. Pre-activity class discussion: This unit is about how historical
narrative surfaces and/or represses particular details and stories or
excludes certain types of people. Ask students to reflect on their own
racial and cultural heritage. Some suggestions for discussion:
 What is race? If race is based on skin color, how does it differ from
culture, especially in a multi-ethnic society? Race is not racism.
 What is culture? Culture is different than race. What defines your
culture? What influences your culture? Do you have more than one?
If so, what are they?
 What is nationality? Where were you born? Is where you were born
different than where you are growing up? How does your nationality
help define you?
 What stories do your families tell you about your race, culture and
nationality and how do those stories shape your understanding of your
own identity?
05. Quick sketch: Ask students to make one quick sketch using text and
images of who they are racially, culturally, and nationally. This exercise will
help them see that everyone has many different identity markers.
06. Artmaking: See the Student Overview and Activity
07. Critique: Use the thinking routine “See, Think, Wonder”1 from Harvard
Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero Visible Thinking website,
www.pz.harvard.edu/vt.
08. Ongoing Assessment: Use reflection questions and the eight Studio Habits
of Mind2 to find out what students think about their artistic process and the
unit’s Big Ideas. The 8 Studio Habits are: Understand Art World, Develop
Craft, Express, Observe, Envision, Stretch and Explore, Engage and Persist,
and Reflect. You can find out more about the Studio Thinking Framework at
Project Zero’s website, www.pz.harvard.edu/Research/StudioThink.htm.
Materials Needed
01. Access to computers to view ArtThink
02. Writing materials for taking notes
03. Paper, canvas, or cardboard for painting/drawing
1
See, Think, Wonder is a thinking routine from Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero
Visible Thinking website, http://www.pz.harvard.edu/vt
2
The 8 Studio Habits of Mind are from Lois Hetland, Ellen Winner, Shirley Veneema, and
Kimberly M. Sheridan, Studio Thinking: The Real Benefits of Visual Arts Education (New York
City: Teachers College Press, 2007).
www.sfmoma.org/artthink
Shifting Perspectives: Revealing the Missing Perspective History Painting
04. Paint or pastels, brushes, clean-up supplies
05. Optional resources: Art21 video on Kerry James Marshall (Season 1) and
Kara Walker (Season 2) www.art21.org; SPARK video on Kerry James
Marshall http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/spark
Time Needed up to five class periods
01. One to introduce the activity and view ArtThink screens
02. Three to five to create the history painting
03. One to conduct group critique
Assessment
Students will be graded on:
01. Effective use of color to convey meaning in the artwork
02. Integration of figure in a complex background to surface an untold story
03. Ability to discuss artistic choices in composition
04. Participation in group critique
05. Written self-assessment using the Studio Habits of Mind and reflection
questions in the lesson.
www.sfmoma.org/artthink
Shifting Perspectives: Revealing the Missing Perspective History Painting
“Revealing the Missing Perspective: History Painting”
Student Overview and Activity
“One of my primary interests as an artist, as a painter, has always been to show
things that are rarely shown, to reveal things that are hidden, to see the unseen.”
–Kerry James Marshall, 2008
For thousands of years, artists have depicted historical scenes and events.
Today, many artists use aspects of their own personal histories as source
material for their artwork. The three African American artists introduced here—
Kerry James Marshall, Kara Walker, and Romare Bearden—reveal missing
perspectives that have not traditionally been presented in art. Marshall’s largescale paintings use visual games to reveal slavery at Monticello and Mt. Vernon,
the homes of American presidents Thomas Jefferson and George Washington;
Kara Walker’s large-scale paper silhouettes explore the complex, untold legacy
of slavery in America; and Bearden’s collages represent daily life for African
Americans during the mid 1900s and express his affinity for jazz. By studying
these three artists, you will understand how artists re-tell, re-shape, and reimagine historical narratives. Then, you will create a “history painting” of your
own expressing a missing perspective.
The “Big Idea”
 How can art reveal missing perspectives?
 How do artists reflect on their racial, cultural, and national identities in
order to create historical narratives?
In this activity you will:
01. Look at the art of Kerry James Marshall, Kara Walker, and Romare Bearden
02. Identify your race, culture, and nationality, and create a drawing that reveals
your identity
03. Create a painting that reveals a missing perspective
04. Present your painting to the class; participate in critique
05. Reflect on your work
You will be graded on:
01. Clear use of principles of design
02. Effective use of color to convey meaning
03. Integration of figure in a complex background to surface an untold story
04. Participation in group critique
05. Written reflection
New term: history painting: a painting that tells the story of a historic event. See
examples below:
www.sfmoma.org/artthink
Shifting Perspectives: Revealing the Missing Perspective History Painting
Jacques-Louis David
The Oath of the Horatii, 1784
Oil on canvas
326 cm x 420 cm (128 in x 165 in)
Collection Louvre, Paris
Emanuel Leutze
Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851
Oil on canvas
378.5 cm x 647.7 cm (149 in x 255 in)
Collection Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
Activity Steps
01. Research: Study the artists in ArtThink. Be sure to listen to every video and
audio clip, read every text, and zoom-in on each artwork.
 What do you see clearly in Kerry James Marshall’s work? What seems to
be hidden? How would you characterize the style of these murals? What
different visual devices does Marshall use to tell his story? How, if at all,
did your perspective on Jefferson and Washington change?
 Kara Walker uses silhouettes, a 19th-century visual form that goes along
with the panoramic format of the piece (it is installed in a circular room
with life-size figures). What story is Kara Walker trying to tell? How does
the use of silhouettes and panoramic format help convey that story? Why
do you think Kara Walker is so unafraid to discuss this tough subject?
 What are the stories Bearden is telling through his art? What artistic
methods does he use to convey those stories? The nature of collage is to
juxtapose different elements. How does Bearden use juxtaposition to
express ethnic identity?
 What do these three artists have in common? How are they different?
How do they each use art to reveal missing historical perspectives?
www.sfmoma.org/artthink
Shifting Perspectives: Revealing the Missing Perspective History Painting
02. Discuss: Break into small groups to discuss how your own racial mix, your
culture, and your nationality help define how you see the world. Do you think
this also affects how others see you?
03. Quick draw: Make a sketch with you at the center. Fill your page with words
and images that identify you.
04. Preliminary drawing: Explore a ‘missing perspective’ of your own choosing.
Think about the setting of your artwork. What is important to say about this
place? Whose missing perspective will you reveal? Make sure you include
these three elements: a place that sets the stage for the figure, a central
figure, and supporting visuals to give us clues about the story you are telling.
05. Check in: Gather with your small group to show your sketches and get
feedback. What is working and what needs refining?
06. Paint: Create a history painting based on your preliminary drawing.
07. Critique: Back in your small group, go through the critique process: “See,
Think, Wonder”. a) See. Take 3 minutes to silently observe the first painting.
Once you’ve quietly observed, state what you see without making judgment.
b) Think. Now evaluate the visual success of the piece: “I think this
composition is effective because the focal point is very strong.” “I think the
colors are a bit distracting, my eye is going all over the place.” “I see that you
really thought about the placement of elements.” c) Wonder. Project
questions to the artist: I wonder how this figure feels about his or her
situation? I wonder if the red you used were blue, how the whole mood of the
composition would change? I wonder what the missing perspective is? I
wonder what you think is the strongest element? The weakest? I wonder
what you would do differently next time?
08. Self-Assess and Reflect using Studio Habits of Mind3: Take time to write
your own analysis of your process. How did looking at the work of Marshall,
Walker, and Bearden help you to get ideas for your own work? How did you
stretch beyond your comfort zone in both the subject matter of the piece, but
the painting medium as well? How did you deal with tough formal decisions to
make a successful composition? If you could do the project again, what
would you do differently? Did you master any new skills or express a point of
view? Which of the eight Studio Habits of Mind did you use: Understand Art
World, Develop Craft, Envision, Express, Observe, Engage and Persist,
Stretch and Explore, Reflect?
Related Standards
Visual Arts Grades 9-12 Proficient
1.0 Artistic Perception
1.3 Research and analyze the work of an artist and write about the artist's
distinctive style and its contribution to the meaning of the work.
1.4 Analyze and describe how the composition of a work of art is affected by the
use of a particular principle of design.
www.sfmoma.org/artthink
Shifting Perspectives: Revealing the Missing Perspective History Painting
1.5 Analyze the material used by a given artist and describe how its use
influences the meaning of the work.
2.0 Creative Expression
2.2 Prepare a portfolio of original two- and three-dimensional works of art that
reflects refined craftsmanship and technical skills.
3.0 Historic and Cultural Context
3.3 Identify and describe trends in the visual arts and discuss how the issues of
time, place, and cultural influence are reflected in selected works of art.
4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
4.1 Articulate how personal beliefs, cultural traditions, and current social,
economic, and political contexts influence the interpretation of the meaning or
message in a work of art.
4.3 Formulate and support a position regarding the aesthetic value of a specific
work of art and change or defend that position after considering the views of
others.
4.4 Articulate the process and rationale for refining and reworking one of their
own works of art.
Grades 9-12 Advanced
1.0 Artistic Expression
1.1 Analyze and discuss complex ideas, such as distortion, color theory, arbitrary
color, scale, expressive content, and real versus virtual in works of art.
1.2 Discuss a series of their original works of art, using the appropriate
vocabulary of art.
1.3 Analyze their works of art as to personal direction and style.
2.0 Creative Expression
2.4 Demonstrate in their own works of art a personal style and an advanced
proficiency in communicating an idea, theme, or emotion.
2.5 Use innovative visual metaphors in creating works of art.
3.0 Historic and Cultural Context
3.1 Identify contemporary styles and discuss the diverse social, economic, and
political developments reflected in the works of art examined.
3.3 Investigate and discuss universal concepts expressed in works of art from
diverse cultures.
4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
4.1 Describe the relationship involving the art maker (artist), the making
(process), the artwork (product), and the viewer.
4.2 Identify the intentions of artists creating contemporary works of art and
explore the implications of those intentions.
www.sfmoma.org/artthink
Shifting Perspectives: Revealing the Missing Perspective History Painting