Instructional Resources: The Art of Appearance

National Art Education Association

Instructional Resources: The Art of AppearanceAuthor(s): Seonaid McArthurSource: Art Education, Vol. 43, No. 1 (Jan., 1990), pp. 25-28+49-53Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3193195 .

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Sunday Afterno( 121-1/4 in./207.i

INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES The Art of Appearance

on on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1884-86, Georges Seurat, French, 1859-1891. Oil on canvas. 81-3 5 x 308 cm. Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection. The Art Institute of Chicago.

Detail _

Art Education/January 1990 25

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The Art

of Appearance Works Featured:

Georges Seurat, Sunday Afternoon on the Is- land of La Grande Jatte

Bernardo Martorell, St. George Killing the Dragon African, Kuba, Mukyeem Mask Mexican or Guatemalan, Panel with Ballgame

Scene

Introductory Discussion of the Theme

Clothing and costume become a way of expressing ideas; they are also integrated into works of art. Consider with students the ways clothing communicates ideas. How does it answer the following ques- tions:1) Is the person male orfemale?(design, pattern, color) 2) What weather or season is it? (color, material, design) 3) What job does the person do? (uniforms?) 4) What country is the person from? (traditional dress?) 5) Is the person rich or poor? (new/old clothes) 6) Who are the person's heroes? (athletic shoes=favorite athletes; leather jacket=Indiana Jones) 7) How is the person feeling in the dress? (posture, attitude).

Clothing expresses ideas about cultural values and lifestyle. Ask students what is American about: jeans, baseball hats, tee-shirts (with or without rock group or other "symbols"), patches, 3-piece suits, leather jackets, chains, sneakers.

Clothing also communicates through the art of design. Consider the elements of design visible on students' clothing. Is anyone wearing a pattern? What is a repeated pattern? (A repeated pattern is made up of a unit, sometimes called a motif, repeated at regular divisions of space). Who is wearing a repeated pattern? 2) What is a symmetrical pattern; an asymmetrical pattern? (Symmetrical pattern is one in which half of the design is a mirror image of the other. Asymmetrical is where each half of the design is not identical). Ask students if they are wearing symmetrical or asymmetrical pattern. Which type of design appears to be more common? When we dress, how do we select items that "complement" each other? Is there a connection between posture and dress; hair- cut and dress?

I. GOAL In the examination of four works in The Art Institute of Chicago, students examine ways that artists use clothing as a means of expression, and to interpret their world.

II. OBJECTIVES Students will: 1) analyze how cloth-

ing serves as a signifier of sex, occasion, occupation,

and values, 2) identify elements of design such as pattern, rhythm, and balance as they relate to clothing and costume in art, 3) recognize ways in which aesthetic choices made by artists embody cultural attitudes, and values, 4) invent an imaginary charac- terorcreature whose multiple powers and/or person- alities are conveyed by its clothing.

III. BACKGROUND

Georges Seurat, French, 1859-1891 Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1884-86 Georges Seurat was born in France in 1859, in a time of great industrial change and scientific inquiry. After attending the prestigious but conservative Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, Seurat associated with the inno- vative artists called the "Impressionists." Like the Impressionists, he chose to portray subjects from modern life and was intrigued by ways color in paint- ings could reflect changing effects of light. He applied new scientific research in the field of physics to his art, devoting himself to finding a new art, one which he felt came closer to revealing universal order and harmony.

Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, was exhibited at the last Impressionist exhibi- tion of 1886. Its scale is large, about 7 X 10 feet (207 cm x 308 cm), and portrays a Sunday park scene in Paris on a small island in the Seine River called "La Grande Jatte." Seurat uses costume, accessories, and poses to show a broad range of Parisian types. Gentlemen in their top hats, long jackets and canes; ladies in their artificially stiff and protuberant corsets and bustles, could have just stepped out of fashion magazines. These anonymous bourgeois figures take on the air of mannequins, their erect posture adding a sense of formality, and propriety. Details such as umbrellas and hats are part of the social scene and identify representative types: the upper bourgeois (top hat, long jacket, and cane), a canotier, or rower (sleeveless shirt and sport hat, (lower left), a nurse or nanny (circular hat with white center and scarf, middle left), or soldiers (top left of center).

Diverse attitudes of sex and social class, are methodically interwoven through composition and color. Repetition of arcs, contours, and silhouettes impose order and rhythm. The figures are aligned with the landscape in simple relationships of verticals and horizontals, and presented in either frontal or profile view. Examining the dress closely, we find that its fabric dissolves into a myriad of strokes of color and light. Seurat's scientific study of color required a new mannerof execution. Feeling he could not match the vibrancy of the colors in nature by mixing them on his palette, he applied them separately, in careful proportion, with small brushstrokes, placing comple- mentary colors next to each other "which exagger-

26 Art Education/January 1990



ates their differences and thus increases the bril- liance of both." He found that small "solar" orange dots give the effect of reflected light.

Fornearly two years Seurat drew multiple sketches and reworked the painting until every form was integrated into the landscape, every color tone and value perfectly modulated from foreground to distant hori- zon. His simplification of forms and interest in colorfor its visual effect and expressiveness marked a turning point in modern art.

Bernardo Martorell, Spanish, c. 1400-1452 Saint George Killing the Dragon, 1430-35 Saint George Killing the Dragonwas the central panel of an altarpiece devoted to the popular saint, origi- nally surrounded by four smaller panels (now in the Mus6e du Louvre, Paris). The panel was executed by Bernardo Martorell, the greatest Catalan painter of the first half of the fifteenth century. St. George was the patron saint of Catalonia, now the northeastern region of Spain. The scene depicted is taken from The Golden Legend, a widely read collection of sto- ries about the lives of saints written in the thirteenth century. This legend centers on the city of Silena, a town in the province of Libya, and the rescue of the princess and her people from a horrible dragon. According to the legend, sheep and townspeople had been offered as victims to feed the dragon. The town decided by lot who would be sacrificed. Finally, when few people remained, as suggested by the scattered bones, the daughter of the King drew the deadly lot.

The panel shows the saint defending the princess from the dragon, while the King and his remaining subjects watch from a distant castle. While Saint George lived in the third century, Martorell clothes his subjects in contemporary dress and interweaves symbolic and pictorial detail easily understood and "read" by the illiterate Medieval viewer. St. George is fully garbed in black armor, whose every buckle and rivet are shown. A white (color of purity) fabric vest is tied to the armor bearing the saint's coat-of-arms, a red cross, symbol for the governing body of Catalan and forthose who have gone on crusade to the Holy Land. His white cloak billows out behind him. The knight stands in his stirrups, poising his lance above the dragon. Beyond, the princess is jeweled and draped in ermine and red (color of sacrifice) and standing next to a grazing white ram. The castle in the background is shown with meticulous care. The spectators are wearing varied, colorful costumes, some with turbans (suggesting the foreign or oriental locale), others in contemporary dress. It is probably spring or summer, as there are vibrant green gardens near the castle. Everything in the countryside is noted with care: variety of plantings in the garden, lizards bask- ing in the sun among the rocks, even a fly can be seen perched on a bone in the dragon's lair.

The main figure is central to ordering the composi-

tion. The lance, arm, leg, and foot form a strong diagonal generating a thrust of action toward the dragon. A striking realism of detail is combined with rich color and textural effects, adding drama and ex- citement to the scene. Tempera, stucco, and gold accents are built up on the surface of the canvas for the halo, the crown, horse gear, the sword, and lance. The entire surface of the dragon is modeled in relief, and painted in rich tones of green, red, and yellow.

Viewed within a church setting, the painting would excite the imagination and interest of viewers while providing a lesson in moral virtue and Christian eth- ics.

Africa, Democratic Republic of Zaire, Kuba People Mukyeem Mask The Mukyeem Mask was, and in some areas still is, integral to the lives of the Kuba. The Kuba have a highly evolved social and political system, and an art of striking beauty. They enjoy decorating all objects of their daily life with rich patterns including the exterior of government buildings, wood boxes, and especially the clothing of the King's court. The Mukyeem mask is one of the more important ceremonial masks worn only by the king of the Kuba, or his designate. It represents the original Kuba ancestor and culture- hero Woot.

The Kuba people believe they are the children of Woot. According to some, Woot was the creator of the world, the original king-leader, and founder of the aristocratic lineage. He is the source of peace, prosperity, and continuity for the people. When worn in ritual dance, the mask with its costume becomes alive with the spirit force and presence of Woot. It is a vital presence at royal initiations, the initiation of young men, funerals, social, and governmental ceremonies. The mask was rarely, if ever, viewed in isolation, but was a vital part of a highly charged, emotional setting, including music, costume, dance, and storytelling.

In the mask, the artist uses luxurious symbolic materials to give expression to its power. The face is covered with the fur of the fearsome leopard; the ruff of the regal Colobus monkey forms a beard; the protruding eyes recall the rotating, all-seeing eyes of the chameleon; a long protruding trunk suggests the powerof the elephant. A cluster of red parrot feathers accent the trunk and contrast the weighty power of an elephant with airy flight of a bird. All of these natural materials are enriched by glass beads acquired through European merchants, cowrie shells brought from the sea, and hand wrought copper defines a human's mouth. (Cowrie shells, which were used throughout Africa as money, are small seashells found off the coast of Madagascar.) The three-dimen- sional and flat materials are tightly organized within geometric grids and patterns. Each material gives the mask, the Woot character, and eventually the King- leaders the spirit-powers of the animals and of the




Saint George Killing the Dragon, 1430/35, Bernardo Martorell, Spanish, c. 1400-1452. Tempera on panel. 61-1/8 x 39-9/16 in./155.3 x 98 cm. Gift of Mrs. Richard E. Danielson and Mrs. Chauncey McCormick. The Art Institute of Chicago.




Mukyeem Mask. Africa, Democratic Republic of Zaire, Kuba People. Wood, beads, feathers, hair, shell, fiber. 27-1/2 in. h./69.8 cm. h. Laura T. Magnuson Fund Income, X-Hautelet Collection. Photograph by Robert Hashimoto. The Art Institute of Chicago.

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precious objects. The mask is an extraordinary art form, transform-

ing humans into other beings endowed with super- natural powers. It embodies the culture's beliefs about this world and the universe. The artist, highly re- spected in the society, has mastered traditional visual forms and design (translated through generations), assuring the mask's power and sacredness. The mask in its physical form and in its ritual use connects man with his environment and with the spirit-force of his creator.

Panel With Ballgame Scene Usumacinta River region Late Classic period 700-800 A.D. The Maya culture developed in southern Mexico, northern parts of Guatemala, and the Honduras/ Belize area. This magnificent civilization flowered between 300-900 AD, the classic period. City centers were constructed at the sites of Tikal, Copan, and Palenque and included examples of major architec- tural achievements. As each new ruler took office, a temple complex was constructed at each site to commemorate the reign. The temple complexes consisted of tall temples, low one-story palace structures, and ballcourts. Each of the structures indicated a particular aspect of the Maya society. The tall temple, looking much like a pyramid, was built as a monumental tomb honoring a deceased and mighty ruler. The palace structure may have housed the royal family or possibly have been a precinct for priests. The ballcourt, a narrow, paved playing field, is flanked by sloping stone walls and was used for ritual ball games. All of the buildings were adorned with images of rulers and priests molded from stucco or carved in stone, similar to the Panel with the Ballgame Scene.

The presence of ballcourts at almost every major ruin site indicates the game's importance to the Classic Maya. The Maya ballgame was played between two opposing players. Their dress was both protective and symbolic in function. To protect the body against the brutal impact of a solid rubber ball, the players wore knee pads, wrist bands, and wooden protectors padded with layers of textiles underneath. Beautifully carved playing gear, such as stone yokes and palettes, were used to deflect the moving ball in play. To help identify a player's team or city center affiliation, the headdress, the jewelry of pectorals, (breast p!ate), earspools and bracelets wor by each player. provided an alphabet of symbols.

Hieroglyphs, a fully developed form of writing, were placed near the painted or carved illustrations of the ballgame. The glyphs identified the players, gave the date of the event depicted, and the highlights of the game. In the our ballgame scene we see two players at a moment when the ball is in play. One player seeming to be reclining is in a position of

action; the other player leans forward and gestures. Located between the two players is a circular form (the ball) with a glyph. More glyphic text surrounds the players. Maya experts have only begun to decipher the hieroglyphs to help us understand the Maya art and the people who made it. From the glyphic texts and the illustrations of the ballgame, we understand the game was a test of strength, and it was frequently associated with cosmological themes of the sun, or the agricultural cycle.

COMPARISON NOTES: While the artist's use of clothing in each of the four works is very different, its appearance is an important part of the visual mes- sage. The use of clothing becomes integral to the artist's efforts to express a universal sense of order, harmony, and survival. Seurat's stylized figures par- ticipate in a ritual of leisure. Dressed in their "Sunday best," the weekly promenade of silhouettes becomes a drumbeat, bringing closure to the end of each week, strongly associated with church, family, home- anchors that unite a society, a culture. St. George's knightly dress becomes physical evidence of his role as restorer and protector of goodness and order in the realm. The Mukyeem mask transforms its wearer and makes present the spirit force of Woot, assuring order, prosperity, and continuity for the Kuba people. The uniforms of the Maya ballplayers identify each with a particular city-state and the dynastic rule. The ritual dress contains elements that symbolize the Mayan understanding of the universe; the skull hacha referring to death and the Underworld, the bird headdress a symbol of life forms. Integral to each work of art are a body of beliefs and values, and a visual language used by the artists to explain, know, and understand the world in which they live.

IV. INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

1. LOOKING AND RESPONDING

Project images over an overhead projector. Provide an initial moment where students can look at each image without discussion.

La Grande Jatte A. Description 1) What do the clothing and accessories say about the people and the occasion'? 2)What variety of hats do you see? Could these tell us anything about the people? 3) Does the artist provide details of pattern and texture of fabric? Or does there appear a kind of "sameness" of dress? 4) Tracing the contours of the people, what forms are repeated? 5) How has the paint and color been applied? B. Analysis 1) How do the arcs along backs, bustles, and umbrellas create pattem and rhythm? 2) What ways has the artist created a strong sense of organi- zation and structure to his composition? 3) What has




the artist chosen to include in describing this scene, and what has he left out (for example, how did the people get into these clothes?) 4) Can we tell what these people are thinking or feeling? C. Interpretation 1) Ask each student to contribute to a story about this scene. Have them consider if the story is a moment in time or a subject repeated each Sunday. What sounds can be heard? Are there any conversations taking place? 2) Describe Seurat's fascination with the optical phenomenon of light and color. How might the artist's technique have affec- ted the way he chose to describe this scene? D. Judgement 1) Do you like this painting? Why or why not? 2) How does this painting make you feel? How did the artist, Seurat, feel about this place? 3) Does the work seem easy to understand, or is there some mystery about it?

St. George Killing the Dragon A. Description 1) What are St. George and his horse wearing and why? What kind of protective clothing does our culture use (sports/football helmets, padding; firefighters/masks, jackets). 2) What do the clothing and accessories tell us about the knight, princess, and spectators in this painting? ie. armor/ chivalry; the cross (coat of arms)/knighthood. 3) Compared to La Grande Jatte, what details of dress are included here? (color, texture, materials, manu- facture) 4) How is the dragon a composite of several animals? 5) Use the details in the painting to understand the story being told. B. Analysis 1) How do we know this is a moment of action? 2) Where is the center of action in this work? 3) Has the artist created emphasis by making some elements larger and more dramatic than others? 4) What symbol (crest) is virtually in the center of the painting?How does the artist move our eye in spiral fashion around the canvas from this point? 5) What details in the work tell us about the time and place? C. Interpretation 1) Who will win the conflict? Why do you think so? 2) Who would wear armor? Does anyone know how you become a knight? What are some of the qualities you must have to follow the code of chivalry? (courtesy, bravery, generosity) 3) Is St. George a hero? Why do we like to look at our heroes in action? Why might medieval man have liked to contemplate this story? 5) Compare the painting to La Grande Jatte, noting: which characters breathe life or are silhouettes; the ways that surface texture is used differently; the way that our eye moved differently through the painting. D. Judgement 1) Which artist do you think was a better storyteller? (Provide background information on how each of the two works was used.) Ask for comments on why the artist's technique reflects his intent for the work.

Mukyeem Mask Ask students what a disguise is. What ways can they

disguise themselves? (costume, mask, make-up, change voice, stand differently) Does wearing a costume or disguise make you feel differently about

yourself? Does it make you act differently? Which American characters are transformed and assume important responsibilities through their dress? (Indi- ana Jones, Bat Man, Superman, a judge's robes, an umpire's uniform). A. Description 1) Explain that this sculptural form from the Kuba people is a mask, and the context in which it was used in present-day Zaire. 2) What different materials have been used in the mask? 3) What patterns and forms are created through the arrangement of the materials? 4) How does this arrangement create a sense of movement? (Note how the variety of textures contributes to the sense of movement.) B. Analysis 1) How might the role of pattern and rhythm in the piece relate to its ritual context? (music/ dance) 2) How is symmetry and balance created? Could this relate to masks' role in the Kuba society? 3) What references to animals can you discover in the mask? C. Interpretation 1) Discuss the animals to which the mask makes reference. 2) Brainstorm and write on the board the words describing each animal underthe material and form used by the artist. 3) What does the mask's design "say" about the power of Woot? 4) How is this sculpture different from the Mayan Ball Court panel? 5) How does each piece remember important strengths or virtues about ancestors? D. Judgement 1) Does the mask convince you that its wearer bears special powers and privileges? 2) Legend held that when this mask was worn in cere- mony, its powers brought strength, peace, prosperity to its people. Do you think the mask worked for the Kuba people? Why?

Maya Panel with Ballgame Scene A. Description This very finely carved limestone panel (26.7 x 43.2 x 7.6 cm) was probably placed in a visible position on the ballcourt structure at a site in the Usumacinta River region between Mexico and Guatemala. 1) How close would you have to be to see the images or to read the glyphs? 2) Do you think it would have been placed high off the ground or at eye level? 3) Where do you find stone carvings or sculpture on buildings in our country? B. Analysis 1) How many figures are carved on the limestone panel? 2) Dress: We can see only one of the player's headdresses. What animal head can you find in the headdress? On the same player, find the wrist bands, the anklet bands, and the knee pad on the horizontal leg. Can you find the three bars that make up the chest protector? Look for the fringe and tassels from textiles that make a padding under the wooden protector. We can see only part of the standing figure. Find his knee pad; he wears five strands of




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Panel with a ballgame scene. Mexican or Guatemalan, Late Classic Maya period, A.D. 700-800. Limestone. 26.7 x 43.2 x 7.6 cm. The Ada Turnbull Hertle Fund. The Art Institute of Chicago.



beads around his neck and a pectoral; identify the skull on the pectoral. He wears a stone palette, called a hacha, at his waist; this is also carved in the shape of a skull. 3) Locate the ball. Point out the hieroglyphs. C. Interpretation 1) What are the body positions of the two players? Describe and imitate these positions, get a feeling of the awkwardness of the reclining figure, and emphasize the artist's ability to freeze an active moment. 2) Are the two players communicat- ing? Even if we can't see their faces, we see them in profile; note their arm gestures. D. Judgement 1) What would you name the team of the player with the bird headdress? Invent a name for the team with the skull hacha and pectoral. 2) The ball is in the air; is it moving toward or away from the reclining player? If it moves toward him, where will it hit him? 3) This may be the final play of the game; who will win?!

2. IMAGINATION AND FANTASY -CREATIVE WRITING

Imagine you are in the painting St. George Killing the Dragon. You will write a story about the scene. Decide if you would like to be St. George, the Princess, the Dragon, or the wind. What did you think about and do in the morning prior to arriving at the battle site? How did you prepare yourself for the battle? How did it feel to put on 50 lb. armor, or dress in the finery of a princess, or clean your scaly dragon body? How did it feel to walk in these clothes (skin)? Is it a warm day? What smells are in the air? What sounds do you hear? Describe the battle between knight and dragon. What do you do after the battle and as the evening marks the olose of day?

3. IDENTIFYING AND CATEGORIZING DESIGN ELEMENTS Summarize what students have learned about clothing in art by creating a word cluster. Write the word "clothing" in the middle of the chalkboard (or overhead projector screen), and circle it. Ask students to contribute words describing ways that clothing and costume were integral to design and expressive content of the four works. Draw a line between students' words that are connected in meaning, and write them close together. Label the clusters according to their relationship to elements of design (formal, sensory, technical) and expressive content.

Ask students to describe which continent/country each work came from. Compare the four works dis- cussing the artists' use of materials, form, content, and function.

4. ACTIVITIES

1. Creating a Hat, Mask, or Costume Hat Project: Students will relate the role of form and

function to the design and creation of a hat. They should consider such issues as how the hat communicates information about its wearer and its purpose as discussed in the introductory section of the unit.

Younger children can construct a hat out of a paper plate. Askthem how a paperplate could be turned into a hat. They can choose to color the plate or cut decorative shapes along the edges. They can deco- rate the hat with construction paper ortextured materials such as feathers, felt, yarn, foil, colored cello- phane, tissue paper, fabric scraps, or streamers. Small slits can be cut on opposite sides of the hat so that a ribbon can be laced through to act as a tie. An alternate idea is to create a cone shaped hat out of the paper plate by cutting a slit in it, overlapping the edges, and taping them together.

Older children can construct a hat from large sheets of posterboard. They could develop patterns for a brimmed hat, a top hat, a boater, etc. and then trace the patterns onto the posterboard. After students cut and assemble the pieces, the hats can be decorated. Students could create a hat to match a particular outfit or color scheme, or design a hat to be worn to a particular event, in which the design and decorations relate to its function. II. Creating an Imaginary Character or Creature Combining strengths and abilities from different animals or fantastic creatures into a drawing or painting, or in the form of a paper bag mask.

Materials: paperbags, 1 per student (large enough to fit comfortably overthe child's head), paper, 1 sheet (to plan the mask); scissors, chalk or crayon, tempera paints, scraps of colored paper, yarn, multi-colored paper or fabric scraps, streamers, colored markers, tissue paper, and transparent tape.

Procedure: Make a grid on the blackboard with columns, each headed by one of the five senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste) and different personalitycharacteristics (courage, cunning, clever- ness, etc.) Ask students to suggest animals (or fabu- lous creatures from film or fiction) that have particular strengths in these areas. List them on the board under each heading. Ask students to create an imaginary creature combining either physical features of the animals or design elements that might represent the animals. Review the way the Mukyeem mask represents many animals and their characteristics; the careful selection and use of materials to symbolize an animal; how line and shapes are important in the creation of symmetry, pattem, and rhythm; the role of color and texture in creating visual interest. Have each child discuss the imaginary creature; its powers and characteristics; why particular materials were selected; how pattern, symmetry, and other elements are integrated into the design. By Seonaid McArthur, Ed.D., Coordinator, Docent Programs, The Art Institute of Chicago. Mayan panel by Clare Kunny; hat activity by Susan Kuliak.




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Instructional Resources: The Art of Appearance