LAURA PAULK
ARE6450
DECEMBER 1, 2010
The use of Themes in
Contemporary Art
Identity, Place, Language, and
Science
Curriculum should “investigate big questions
about the uses of art and other images in
shaping our interactions with the world around
us” (Gude, 2007, p.6).
“Good multicultural curriculum introduces us to
the generative themes of others-helping us to
see the world through the eyes of others”
(Gude, 2007, p.9).
Identity
CARRIE MAE WEEMS
•“My work has led me to
investigate family
relationships, gender roles,
the histories of racism,
sexism, class, and various
political systems.”
•Same woman in all
photographs, always at same
table with different people
and props
•Social history represented
by photograph of civil rights
leader Malcolm X on wall
The Kitchen Table Series, 1990
•What stereotypes does this
image conjure up?
•The phone in the
foreground adds suspense
and tension of woman
waiting for it to ring.
•Weems is exploring gender
roles and relationships
•Series of photographs tell a
story of this woman’s
identity
Implications
• Students will become familiar with contemporary
work of Carrie Mae Weems
• Students will explore their social and cultural identity
• Students will examine their identity in terms of
relationships, gender roles, and social history
• What roles do you play at home, at school, at work?
What groups do you belong to? Who are we as
members of groups?
Place
LIZA LOU
Kitchen Installation, 1991-95
“I’m referencing
women’s experience in
the piece. The
requirement is to have a
really fastidious clean
house. And, in today’s
culture, to be a babe at
the end of the day. You
have to be cute…The task
never ends.”-Liza Lou
•The kitchen is literally
sparkling clean
•Satirizes and celebrates
the notion of woman’s
work
•Took 5 years to make
Backyard
Backyard detail
Security Fence 1, 2005
Steel, razor wire and glass beads
Cell, 2006
Wood, fiberglass and glass beads
Maximum Security, 2007-2008
•Created in South Africa with help of Zulu artisans-she worked with a
nonprofit organization to provide jobs for those who needed them
•Chain link completely covered in tiny beads
•Beautiful, but scary at the same time when you realize it is a cage
with no way to escape
•Lou’s comment on confinement and imprisonment
Implications
• Students will become familiar with work and
processes of contemporary artist Liza Lou.
• Students will be asked to examine the importance of
place in their lives, reflecting on memories and
current environments.
• Consider how places evoke feelings.
• How does the material effect the art work?
• How does place relate to your identity?
Language
SUE COE
Modern Man Followed by the Ghosts of His Meat, 1990
•Coe grew up around bombed out areas, a slaughter house, and a
factory farm attached to her house
•She feels that “living among innocents who were about to die, and
the war memorials of the dead” have a large impact on her art
today (3x3)
•She is an animal rights activist and champion for the weak
•She connects the abuse of animals to the exploitation of the weak
by the strong (Brown, 2002)
Poultry Plant Fire, 1991
Untitled,
2002
Factory Farm, 2004
Thousands Try and Escape the Superdome, 2006
Graphite on white Strathmore Bristol board
Auschwitz Begins Whenever Someone Looks at a Slaughterhouse and Thinks, 2009
Woodcut on kitikata paper
Implications
• Students will become familiar with Sue Coe’s work as
an investigative artist
• Students will explore the theme of language and how
it appears in her work
• Gain understanding of the story telling process
• Students will consider ways to bring about social
change
Language
NINA KATCHADOURIAN
Book Sorts
•Katchadourian is the child of
immigrants and grew up in a
multilingual, multiethnic household
•Ongoing project since 1993
•Book titles, color, size, and thickness
taken into consideration when creating
book sorts
•Poems created provide insight into
interests and thoughts of institutions
and private collectors
•She is working with materials that are
often found in everyday life
•Interrelates people on packaging of common grocery store products in a large family
Plays on fantasies of lineage & heritage that the products provoke
“My Italian grandmother made this pasta sauce for me”
Genealogy of the Supermarket, 2005
Wanted, 1996
Implications
• Students will learn about the work of Nina
Katchadourian.
• Students will explore the use of language in her
work-how does she use it to make meaning and
develop content?
• Students will experiment with creating book sorts of
their own that tell stories.
Science
ALEXIS ROCKMAN
The Farm, 2000
Oil and acrylic on wood
•One of the first
contemporary artists to focus
on environmental issues,
from evolutionary biology
and genetic engineering to
deforestation and climate
change
•Rockman engages with
critical issues facing our world
today using fantasy, parody, &
irony
•The demands of agribusiness
override the integrity of
animals and plants
•Shows genetic modifications
that have already occurred:
square vegetables, mouse
with human ear on its back
Soccer, 2004
Washington Square, 2004
Capitol Hill, 2005
Oil on wood
Gerbera Daisy, 2007
Oil on Wood
•Show devastation of potential
natural disasters provoked by
climate change
•Destructive effects of natural
phenomena on the built
environment
•Relevant images in wake of
recent natural disasters
•What is the relationship
between humans and the
natural world?
Maui, 2007
Oil on gessoed paper
White Plains, NY, 2008
Oil on gessoed paper
Implications
• Students will become familiar with work of Alexis
Rockman.
• Students will explore the theme of science and how
it is represented in his work.
• What is the impact that genectic engineering can
have on us & the environment? How far is too
far?Consider how climate change can effect the
environment?
• How do you envision the environment in the future?
MEDIA STUDY
Political Campaign Ads from 2010 Florida
Governor’s Election
Rick Scott commercial
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z8NMHz0PHk
Alex Sink commercial
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QwbNordDwM
Implications
• Students will evaluate political campaign ads in terms
of power, ideology, and representation
• Consider how viewers negotiate meaning and
employee interpretation (Duncum, 2010)
• Students will consider what message image-makers
may have intended and reflect upon their own
interpretations (Duncum, 2010)
• How is ideology represented in visual form? What
viewpoint is being represented?
References
Carriemaeweems.net
www.ninakatchadourian.com
Duncum, P. (2010). Seven principles for visual culture education. Art Education, 6-10.
Gude, O. (2007). Principles and possibilities: Considerations for a 21st-century art & culture curriculum. Art
Education, 60(1), 6-17.
Robertson, J. & McDaniel, C., (2010). Themes of contemporary art: visual art after 1980 (2nd ed.). New York, NY:
Oxford University Press.
Coe, S. (1990). Modern man followed by the ghosts of his meat. Retrieved from
gseart.com/coe/artshow.asp?MedID=PR&cur=1
Coe, S. (1991) Poultry Plant Fire [image of mixed media]. Artstor. Retrieved from
library.artstor.org/library/live2.html?parent=true
Coe, S. (2002). Untitled (The 20884 ton ship…sank below the waves) [image of mixed media]. Retrieved from
gseart.com/coe/artshow.asp?MedID=XX&cur=27
Coe, S. (2004). Factory farm [image of mixed media drawing]. Retrieved from
gseart.com/coe/artshow.asp?MedID=XX&cur=46
Coe, S. (2006). Thousands try and escape the superdome [image of drawing]. Retrieved from
gseart.com/coe/artshow.asp?MedID=XX&cur=72
Coe, S. (2009). Auschwitz begins whenever someone looks at a slaughterhouse and thinks. [image of artist proof[.
Retrieved from gseart.com/coe/artshow.asp?MedID=PR&cur=10
Katchadourian, N. (1993). Composition [photograph]. Retrieved from
www.ninakatchadourian.com/languagetranslation/sortedbooks.php
Katchadourian, N. (1996). Special collections (photograph). Retrieved from
www.ninakatchadourian.com/languagetranslation/sortedbooks.php
Katchadourian, N. (2001). Akron stacks (photograph). Retrieved from
www.ninakatchadourian.com/languagetranslation/sortedbooks.php
Katchadourian, N. (2001). Shark journal (photograph). Retrieved from
www.ninakatchadourian.com/languagetranslation/sortedbooks.php
Katchadourian, N. (2005). Geneology of the supermarket (photograph of wall installation). Retrieved from
www.ninakatchadourian.com/chartssystems/geneology.php
Katchadourian, N. (1996). Wanted (photograph of installation). Retrieved from
www.ninakatchadourian.com/misc/wanted.php
Lou, L. (1991-1995) Kitchen [image of installation]. ARTstor. Retrieved from
library.artstor.org/iv2.html?parent=true
Lou, L. (1995) Backyard [image of installation]. Retrieved from
Lou, L. (1998). Closet [image of installation]. ARTstor. Retrieved from
library.artstor.org/library/iv2.html?parent=true
Lou, L. (2005). Security fence I [image of installation]. Retrieved from
Lou. L. (2006). Cell [image of installation]. Retrieved from http://www.log24.com/log/pix06/060325-CellLizaLou.jpg
Lou, L. (2007-2008). Maximum security [image of installation]. Retrieved from
Rockman, A. (2000). The Farm [image of painting]. Retrieved from alexisrockman.net/projects/wonderful-world
Rockman, A. (2004) Washington square [image of painting]. Retrieved from
alexisrockman.net/projects/american-icons
Rockman, A. (2005). Capitol Hill [image of painting]. Retrieved from alexisrockman.net/projects/american-icons
Rockman, A. (2007). Gerbera daisy [image of painting]. Retrieved from alexisrockman.net/projects/half-life
Rockman, A. (2007). Maui [image of painting]. Retrieved from alexisrockman.net/ projects/weather-drawings
Rockman, A. (2008). White Plains, NY [image of painting]. Retrieved from alexisrockman.net/projects/weatherdrawings
Weems, C. M. (1990). The kitchen table series [photographs]. Retrieved from
carriemaeweems.net/galleries/kitchen-table.html