Part 4: Narrative Description & Reflection (Final)

How did you incorporate contemporary art as public pedagogy as you implemented your plan?
I was able to incorporate many contemporary art concepts into my art-making lesson plan by reinterpreting historical images of power. The pedagogy was made public through the publishing and tagging of a hybrid image. It provided an area to challenge established ideas regarding gender positionality.

I began to start working through my lesson plan shortly after I posted my blog two weeks ago (as evidenced by last week’s post). I wanted to focus on the art-making aspect of the lesson plan and pay particular attention to which tools I used. Most of my digital imaging knowledge comes from independent study studio courses—I was usually given a textbook for guidance and rarely had a teacher that could offer personal instruction.

What happened? What worked? What, if anything, didn’t work?

Jan Van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait

Since I wanted to create a final image that contradicted messages inherent in an original historical piece, I started researching portraiture through Google Image and Flickr. My search terms included “portrait,” “historical portrait,” and “male portrait.” I was particularly interested in finding a piece that showed traditional images of male power. When I saw Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, I knew I hit the proverbial jackpot.

A quick visual scan of the work reveals a wealthy male in a position of power over a wealthy female. Her position closer to the bed (as well as potentially pregnant) contrasts his assertive pose and direct eye contact with the viewer. There are many interesting resources discussing the Arnolfini Portrait and potential symbolism, however I hesitate to delve into this area at the cost of further explaining my own experiences with this lesson plan. If you are interested in learning more, here are some interesting resources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnolfini_Portrait#Interpretation_and_symbolism
• http://www.loschermo.it/articoli/view/25082
• http://www.themasterpiececards.com/famous-paintings-reviewed/bid/27677/Famous-Paintings-The-Arnolfini-Portrait 

I began my piece by photographing my face in the same position as the male figure’s face. Using Photoshop tools such as color enhancers, masking, clone tools, healing spots, blurring, and burning/dodging I integrated my face into the image.

Hybrid image with my face added

The power dynamic of having a female face pasted onto a male’s had unintended consequences. I realized that I had not made an artistic decision regarding the female portrait. Options for her “edit” included pasting my face onto her body as well (which could be a reflection on the duality of personal gender characteristics). I also thought about leaving her the same as the original, but it found that option lacking. Finally I asked my boyfriend to pose in her stead and grafted his image onto her body. While he enjoyed the resulting creation (and the message it sent) he was fully against having this hybrid (with his image) posted in public. I will share it below, but ask that it not be reproduced outside of our class.

Hybrid image with both faces added

Because of his concern, I did not to post this image on Facebook or Flickr, and instead uploaded the hybrid that only included my face on the male’s body. In the three days since its posting (under a request to comment on reactions) I have only received two feedback messages. One from a friend that thought it was interesting to see the power shift inherent with switching genders and commented on same-sex attraction, and another that said this type of work would be a great gift for a wedding. I asked the first commenter to further explain her reaction to my piece, but have yet to receive a response.

I believed that posting this image on Facebook and Flickr (and tagging it so it will become a search result for the original image) would challenge public notions of patriarchy and gender stereotyping. However, privacy concerns and lack of feedback has stifled my ability to see its effects. I do find it extremely interesting that my boyfriend would not allow this image to be seen in public, as it could potentially be a target for anti-masculine attacks. When asked what in particular made him uncomfortable, he replied that he “didn’t want that picture to be the first impression someone would make of him.” After more prodding, he revealed further insight into his distress:

Because it makes me appear to be less masculine.  It puts you, as the man, in the dominant role.  The woman doesn't even get to look up, instead having to slyly look at the man hoping for his approval to look. And while yes, I am very happy with allowing these roles in our relationship and I’m fine with my current friends seeing something like this, I don't want to start new friendships with those assumptions.

His response to my questioning if it would be OK to post the hybrid image if my face was on the woman’s and his on the man’s:


I seem so arrogant. You’ve backed me into a wall and I see that I’m a hypocrite. Yes, it would be OK to post that image because I’m male and you’re female. 

What challenges did you face? How did you handle challenges?
Beyond posting difficulties, I had a major software challenge. Photoshop began crashing on me every time I opened the image, and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Fortunately I was able to find a free online program ( http://pixlr.com/ ) that allowed me to finish the piece.

What changes (curriculum or pedagogy) are you interested in making if you were to teach it again? Why make these changes?
I would make a few changes to this plan if I could start from the beginning. First, I would make sure that my software worked well, and that other people I used felt comfortable publicly posting the resulting image online. I would also find a better studio space for taking the picture of the new faces to be added. It was extremely difficult to manipulate the shadows and color levels to match the original image.

Reflecting on the entire process, what stands out or is significant to you now?
The most significant learning experience of this project was realizing the sheer amount of time necessary to create a successful art lesson. It was extremely valuable to learn the ins-and-outs of course preparation and all of the variables that go into creating lessons that value contemporary art concepts and public pedagogy. On a personal level, I appreciated the dialogue this lesson facilitated with my boyfriend and its ability to challenge his views of gender positioning in imagery.

6. Critical Public Art Pedagogy

Ka-Ping Lee's regender translator offers a great springboard to begin discussing issues of gender identity in a contemporary context. The program literally re-writes "history" (i.e. Web pages) by changing gender pronouns.  Many, many contemporary art concepts can be introduced, including semiotics, intertextuality, remix, different modes of interface, and appropriation. I'll brainstorm some ways these ideas an be discussed in class below.

Semiotics: "the study of the signifying process of making meaning, of forming relationships, through the use of signs and symbols."

What does it mean that we use the male pronoun to describe human groups as a whole in English? 

Intertextuality: "situates meaning within worldviews espoused by discourses from an image’s changing contexts of reception."

What's different in a religious text's use of male pronouns to describe a creator than other languages and cultures?

Remix: "opportunity to "talk back" to a dominant message that is being encoded in visual culture."

Why does it feel so strange to change gendered pronouns? How can we change this in the future?

Modes of interface: "a site at which visual and textual modes are interwoven but also confront and mutually interrogate each other” (Smith & Watson, 2002, p. 21).

How has the Web's instantaneous content creation (and meaning-making) affect our art-making process, and how can we use this to our advantage?

Appropriation: "art works being taken and used by another artist in a manner that causes the original image to take on a new or different idea than what the original image was intended to."

How can we express these new thoughts so others may understand them?

I was immediately drawn to the potentials that Lee's method of transforming dominant perceptions could be applied to the creation of visual art in the classroom. I realized that one way this could occur is through digital manipulation. Perhaps students studying digital arts could "re-gender" well-known works. For example, the profile on an image of a US dime could be altered from that of FDR to his wife, Eleanor. American Gothic could be manipulated to showcase a different power dynamic between father and daughter (notice how the female portrait stares off into space, while the male character stares straight into the viewers space, causing subject interpellation). George Washington's facial features in his official Presidential portrait could be edited to reflect those of Harriet Tubman's. 

Here's a quick "digital sketch" of the dime idea. 

Dime design of FDR

Dime design using Eleanor Roosevelt and "Goddess"

Images used from:

http://services.tomfolio.com/gibsonsbooks/images/lifeeleanor.jpg

http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/40200/40207/dime_front_40207.htm

Blog 4: Contemporary Art Concepts

Meshes of the Afternoon

The following are a few concepts I saw in Maya Deren's experimental film, Meshes of the Afternoon. Keep in mind that these are my connections, and they might not represent the artist's original intent.

Code-switching from body to object (0:39) The fragility of the flower, shaken and roughly carried, is similar to our main character. She is beautiful, but her life seems to be ruled by abusive powers out of her control. 

Double-coding such as the key/knife (10:00) Destruction (as signified by a knife) can potentially offer the same outcome (freedom) as a key. *This can also be seen as a juxtaposition, a Postmodern Principle recognized by Gude.*

Reversals in the relation of subject to object (6:29) Deren's character watches herself try, and fail, to catch a cloaked figure with a mirrored face multiple times. She becomes an object in her own narrative. This repetition of Deren's character watching herself perfect representation of a visual palimpsest. *The Postmodern Principle of "Gazing" can be applied here.*

Subversion of normalcy (9:06) Three physical  manifestations of the same character are not as surprising as the reappearance of a key. 

Hypersignification of domestic objects, e.g., with extreme close-ups, slow zooms, camera angles, & space constriction (2:00) A purposeful pause before the protagonist ascends the stairs acts as an acknowledgement of a nearby unhooked telephone. The telephone reappears many times throughout the piece, culminating in the male figure's replacement of the handset back on the receiver. 

Harlem Rose

Willie Cole, Harlem Rose, 2005

This piece (now on display at the Palmer Museum) was created by Willie Cole, a contemporary artist currently working out of Newark, NJ. I'd like to discuss its relationship with many of the issues stated in our readings. 

In Museum Culture and the Inequities of Display and Representation (2007), author Alice Wexler provides a damning description of museums and their exhibition selections. After working as a graduate assistant at the Palmer for 6 months, I must say that some of these claims are not universal truisms. In fact, I was disappointed to see that the role of museum educators (and their work) was not discussed. Museum education seems to be the perfect place to start changing the attitudes Wexler describes. 

For example, many docents have told me that Harlem Rose is a favorite of children visitors,  a prominently placed sculpture by a black artist. Dana, the Curator of Education at the Palmer, uses it to bring up many contemporary concepts. In one tour, she described titular "Rose" as referring to both the shape of the piece (a flower) and the verb "to rise." This takes on many different meanings when juxtaposed against the female working-class shoes that make up the sculpture. Could the artist be honoring the females in his community that worked to raise their families? What implications does this have for the type of beauty "grown" in Harlem? 

Attentive Learning (a Principle of Possibility) can be achieved through questions that museum educators (or other art educators facilitating a museum trip) ask in order to foster connections between visitors and contemporary themes. Here are a few prompts that I would ask in response to viewing Harlem Rose. 

Detail: Willie Cole, Harlem Rose, 2005

Investigating Community Themes (Principles of Possibility): Why do you think the artist mentions Harlem in the title? What type of community values are being portrayed through the use of female shoes?

Appropriation (Postmodern Principles): Why do you think shoes were chosen to create this piece? What do shoes symbolize?

Representin' (Postmodern Principles): What connections can you make between the artist's background (growing up in New York City) and the themes discussed?

I hope that by respecting each museum visitor's agency and abilities to make connections, museum educators can help right some of the historical wrongs mentioned by Wexler. To my classmates: what experiences have you had in museums? Where there any times you felt particularly welcome (or unwelcome) and do you have any suggestions for inclusive future tour planning?

3: Installation Art Encounters: Extending the Invitation

To: מִרְיָם (Miriam)
Because: I would like to invite Miriam, the Jewish “prophetess,” to Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party table because I feel like there is so much more to her story than what has survived in the bible and Qur’an.

Miriam was first mentioned in the Old Testament as the sister of Moses. It was her cleverness that kept him alive and suggested that the Pharaoh’s wife should use her mother as his nursemaid. More importantly, I believe, it was Miriam along with her brothers that led an enslaved people out of oppression. Her part of this narrative is often overlooked. For example, only a couplet of her (probably much longer) victory song is recorded.

“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
Horse and rider he has thrown into the sea” (Exodus 15:20-21).

Jewish women sang victory songs to men returning from triumph, but reading her story made me recognize their importance in creating and maintaining oral histories. The meanings and words of these lyrical poems were lost, removed or mutated by generations of biblical transcribers.

The challenge Miriam and her brother Aaron posed to Moses, “They said, 'Was it only to Moses that God spoke? Did he not speak to us as well?” (Numbers 12:2) shows her attempt to ascertain female equality. However, tradition states that she (but not Aaron) was punished for insubordination, becoming ill and exiled from her tribe’s camp. Perhaps the most telling part of this account is the response of her followers. Miriam’s popularity and importance are illustrated by their refusal to continue walking toward the Promise Land without her leadership, which forced her brothers to plead for her recovery.

While some or all of this narrative may be fictionalized, Miriam’s influence on history is well established. She is one of a select few heroines mentioned in the bible, and her importance to the people she led continues to be recognized. It makes me question that if these impressive acts survived the interpretations of scribes for millennia, how many other things did she accomplish that are now forgotten? After all, it would be in the transcriber’s best interest to manipulate historical narratives into cautionary parables that maintained priestly authority.

I would like to visually represent Miriam’s acts through a sculptural fountain place setting, as water plays an integral part in her mythology. A small waterfall-style tap could be installed above a receiving area, constantly issuing clean and sweet water ready to be used to wash or drink. Like strong women, water is a valuable resource. Unused water will be collected and filtered before returning to the fountainhead to flow once more like the retelling of an epic story.

Invitation and Place Setting

Closeup of Invitation

Nominated by: March

Images used:
http://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/13716-lady-of-the-water-illustration-vector
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-1630327-formal-place-setting-on-white.php
http://www.amazon.com/Kraus-Golden-Rectangular-Waterfall-Faucet/dp/B00467HGBY

More research on Miriam:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam
http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/miriam-bible
http://www.womeninthebible.net/1.7.Miriam.htm


Assignment:
Explore all 14 encounters in The Dinner Party Curriculum and read through the entire Encounter 2: Extending the Invitation that explains how this activity might be used in the classroom, and do "Extending the Invitation worksheet" and "Extending the Invitation Guest Placard." Share these on your blog by 2/2. This involves selecting a women who you would like to "invite" to be among the women honored in The Dinner Party. Judy Chicago and the many people who assisted her used a set criteria to determine what women would be included in The Dinner Party. Research prior to artmaking is a content-based approach to artmaking.