The Art of the Portrait, Andrea Baldeck: Photographer by Jean Fontaine Program Goals | Outreach | Gallery Tours | Lesson Plans | Scheduling Information | Contacts   Lesson Title: The Art of the Portrait, Andrea Baldeck: Photographer (pre-visit lesson plan) Grade Level: 10, 11, 12 PA. Standards for the Arts and Humanities 9.1.12 A Know and use the elements and principles of each art form to create works in the arts and humanities. 9.1.12 B Recognize, know, use and demonstrate a variety of appropriate arts elements and principles to produce, review and revise original works in the arts. 9.1.12 C Integrate and apply advanced vocabulary to the arts forms. 9.1.12 E Delineate a unifying theme through the production of a work of art that reflects skills in media processes and techniques. 9.1.12 K Analyze and evaluate the use of traditional and contemporary technologies in furthering knowledge and understanding in the humanities. 9.2.12 A Explain the historical, cultural, and social context of an individual work in the arts. 9.3.12 E Examine and evaluate various types of critical analysis of works in the arts and humanities. Objectives Knowledge: Cognitive. Students learn that portraiture means more than capturing a likeness. Skill: Psychomotor. The students learn how to carefully observe their subject in order to capture personality and record an aspect of their culture, using design elements that strengthen these qualities. Attitude: Affective. Students become aware of the social and psychological qualities of portraiture. Prepare Ahead: Prepare overheads for a presentation on Andrea Baldeck's portrait work in her book, "The Heart of Haiti." Make extra copies of previous handout: Proportions of the Face, supplies for sketching, digital camera, and black and white portrait painting. Handout permission slips for trip to gallery. Prior Knowledge: What learning has preceded this lesson? Students have completed an exercise on facial proportions and self portraits using pencil. Motivation Questions Leading Students to Discovery: Teacher: Hello fellow artists. Today we will talk about portraiture, about what it is and what it isn't, and why we are compelled to make them. We'll be looking at the work of photographer Andrea Baldeck, a doctor who decided to give up her practice and concentrate on making art, using photography as her medium. We will be visiting a show of her work at Moore College of Art and Design; you will bring your sketchbooks and after seeing the whole show, you will concentrate on her work from Haiti, specifically her composition and how that helps to capture her subjects. Andrea Baldeck photographs people, places, and things. She has used the medium of photography not only to make a visual record of these things but she has captured the essence of her subjects. What do I mean by essence, when I say the essence of a person or thing, what am I referring to? Student: What it's about, what it's like? Teacher: Yes, that's getting to the essence of something, very good, but it goes a bit further. For example the essence of an apple would be more than round, crisp, juicy, sweet and also include the most essential part of the experience, like how it feels to bite into it or the satisfaction it brings. Do we have an essence? Student: I guess so. Teacher: We all have an essence or essential quality that makes us who we are; it's our heart and soul and the thing that makes us different from anybody else. As another example, what is the essence of Lamar? We might not always see it but it's there. Lamar: What did I do? Teacher: You did nothing but be yourself and that's fine. We could say defensiveness is part of our essence, a part of being human, part of all of us. Lamar has it as part of his essence, as well as a sense of humor, he's bold and forthright. In her portraits, Andrea Baldeck shows us the essence of her subjects. Let's look at one of the photographs from her book, The Heart of Haiti, "Eyes See, Mouth Silent." All of the titles in this series are Creole proverbs. What is Andrea Baldeck telling us about her? Student: She's not rich? Teacher: Yes, that's right, she's not wearing expensive clothing, in fact there are a few holes in her shirt. What else do you observe about her? Student: She's got a smile, well sort of a smile. Student: She's got a basket on her head. Teacher: Yes, you start understanding things about this woman by describing what you see. What about her smile, her expression, what does it say to you? Student: Her eyes look kind of sad. Teacher: Good, anyone else? Student: She almost looks like she wants to say, "get out of my face." Teacher: Very good, her expression, to me, is one of pride and perhaps defiance, one that says, "I'm handling this life, I'm ok, look at how I carry my load," but her eyes give a bit of sadness away, you're right. If you think about her expression and the basket on her head, put those two elements together, what else might that signify? Let's think about it. Student: Like she's carrying the weight of the world on her head? Teacher: Yes, excellent! She is burdened but she's not defeated. Now we have uncovered a powerful message from the subject and the artist. The portrait is not just a picture of someone but a broader image of the human condition, one we can relate to. Let's look at another image. "Life in Haiti is pants with open crotch, without suspenders." Teacher: Let's describe this man as an individual in relation to society and by that I mean, where does he fit in? Student: He looks poor. He looks like he's taking a break from work. Teacher: Yeah, he certainly does look like he's poor, and a bit weary, taking a break. Would you say he holds a prominent position in society? Student: No, he's sort of lower class. Teacher: Yes, he doesn't have what we would consider a professional job like a teacher or business person. He's probably some sort of laborer. What about his expression? Student: He's got a little smile too. Teacher: What do you think he's saying with his expression? Student: He looks tired and maybe sad. Teacher: Yes, perhaps more resigned; he's old, and what about these tree roots? What do they do for the photo? What do they add? Student: They add texture. Teacher: Yes good, they add a lot of texture but they are also similar to his skin, he's sort of old and gnarly and weathered like the tree root, it helps to emphasize his skin. What about the lines, the vertical elements in the photo, where do you see that? Student: He's holding a cane. Student: The tree root. Teacher: That's right, there are strong verticals that repeat and lead our eye to his face, to the main feature of this man and the focal point of the photograph. Who can tell me what the focal point is, remember we learned about that when we studied the formal elements of design? Student: What you first notice about the work? Teacher: Beautiful, it's the center of interest and the part you notice or look at first. The repeating verticals lead you to it. Here's another photograph called, "Your face is your passport." What is Andrea Baldeck showing us here? Student: An old couple. They're dressed up. They look happy. Teacher: Yes they do look happy, good. Their proximity to each other (how close they are) looks like they're married and where might they be going? Student: To a party, to church. Teacher: Yes, they both have a hat on and their Sunday best, there's some sort of occasion or event happening. Let's talk about the formal elements in this photo. What do you notice first? Student: Her dress. Teacher: Exactly, why do you notice that? Student: It has a strong pattern. Teacher: Good, the pattern is bold and the stripes lead your eye to the man. What about him? Student: His tie is a vertical line that points to his face. Teacher: Great observation and even the pen in his pocket, with the contrast against the dark suit leads our eye to his face. What else can we say about this photo, how does it make you feel? Student: Hopeful Student: Good Student: Positive. Teacher: Great, those are all important feelings you get from this photo and after looking at the other work, it's nice to see something a bit more upbeat. Life is not all hardship in Haiti, the people celebrate and dress up and feel good about each other. Let's look at one more called, "You are butterfly, I am lamp." What is this image about? Student: A mother and her baby. Teacher: Yes, mother and child. What traditional religious theme does this evoke? Student: Mary and Jesus? Teacher: Yes, that's right, the traditional Christian theme of Virgin and Child are being explored here, as well as the broader theme of motherhood. Mother and Child have been explored by countless artists and cultures throughout time and here are two examples: a Pre-Columbian statue from 550-900 AD and an early Picasso painting from 1921. Andrea Baldeck is no different in wanting to convey the relationship and the emotion between mother and child. How does she do this? Student: The way she's looking at the baby? Teacher: Very good, she's looking directly at her baby so our eye travels from her to her baby as well. What about her essence? Student: She's calm, content. Teacher: Good descriptive words, she's calm, at peace, as if chaos could be happening around her but she wouldn't notice. She is enveloped in the love she feels for her child. What design elements help to emphasize this? Student: The way she's cropped it? Teacher: Absolutely, good. She has the mother's shoulder going off the left side and the baby's head on the right so that they consume the space. What about the mother's arm? Student: It leads us to the baby. Teacher: Wow, you all are thinking and observing, very good! Her arm, the baby, her head, even the pattern on her dress all make an oval that our eye travels around. The background is almost irrelevant. We can understand by really looking at Andrea Baldeck's work that she calculates every element in her photograph, it all gives us information about the subject, about the essence of the person and that's what makes her work more than just documentation. That's what makes a portrait more than just a record of the person; it connects us to the subject on a personal level. Demonstration: Week One: Next week we will be visiting the gallery and talking about all of Andrea Baldeck's work. After you look at the entire show, I want you to return to the photos from Haiti and really look at the way she uses formal design elements to emphasize her subject, the focal point. Use your sketchbook to copy and make notes to refer to during your project. Week Two: I want you to choose a classmate to portray in a portrait, so you will work in teams for this part of the project. Another option is to use a photograph of a family member or choose one of the photographs from Heart of Haiti. I want you to begin with a pencil sketch of that individual. Recall the self-portrait you did and the exercise on facial proportions to help you. While you are doing that, if you have chosen a partner to work with, you will take turns with my camera and take a digital photo of your subject that I will print for you in black and white. I want you to show how this person relates to society by where the photo is taken or what the person is wearing, holding, or doing. It can be a combination of these elements but there must be some reference to who this person is. If you need to be in a particular part of the school, I'll give you a pass but I want to know exactly where you'll be so think about it in advance. Think about what you might want to be wearing, maybe a sports uniform or particular hat or by holding a CD by your favorite band, or sports equipment, maybe you're sitting at a desk studying. If you have access to a camera and want to do it outside of school, it must be in by next week, printed in black and white on paper. Weeks Three and Four: Next, we will translate the photo to a painting on canvas board in black and white, using acrylic paint. The sketch will help prepare you to paint and give you a foundation for conveying the psychological quality of the portrait. The photograph helps to flatten your subject from 3d to 2d and will help everyone work at the same time. At that time, I'll give a painting demonstration to refresh your memory about mixing and applying paint. There are many gradations between black and white and you will want to mix your color carefully to achieve a full range of tonality. I want to see the full range between black and white. You will begin by sketching your composition in pencil on your canvas board. You will have plenty of time to complete your painting so work carefully and pay attention to your photo. The finished project will include the different mediums as well as a writing component, not an essay, a couple of paragraphs explaining how each step helped to develop different aspects of the portrait. At the end you will have: A Sketch of Your Subject A Black and white photo on paper A Black and white acrylic painting A Writing component about your experienced and how each step helped in the portait process Visual Aids: Overheads of Andrea Baldeck's work, Poster with Elements of Design, book: "The Heart of Haiti." Reference to Art History: Use of drawing as preparatory sketches for paintings, use of sketchbooks, tradition of portraits in different mediums, universal theme of mother and child. Exemplars: Teacher's examples: portrait sketch, black and white photograph of subject, black and white portrait painting. Activity: Part 1: Students will visit Moore Gallery to view Andrea Baldeck's work. Studentsill use sketchbook to study and record elements of portrait photography. Part 2: Students use 11 x 14 white paper and pencil to sketch their subject, 20 minute sketch. During this time, students will take turns using digital camera to photograph their subject and relate them to society in some way, using a setting or having the subject hold an object or wear a particular uniform. Part 3: Students will work on black and white acrylic painting using the sketch and photo as references. Students will write two paragraphs on their experience and how each step helped the portrait process. Supplies: Sketchbook Pencils, erasers Digital camera White paper, 11 x 14 Canvas board, 11 x14 Black, white acrylic paint Small brushes Palette Water container Vocabulary: essence, focal point, proximity Assessment Strategy What assessment strategy will be used to assure that the standards have been met? Class discussion and critique of all parts of project using appropriate vocabulary. Everyone shares what they liked and disliked about the project. Correlated Lessons What art activity will follow? The next unit will be on the Pre-Columbian cultures: Maya, Mixtec, Zapotec, and Aztec. We will produce a sculpture using terra cotta clay. I will be connecting the universal theme of portraiture (through relief sculpture) and mother and child with the present unit and it will also be in a similar geographic region. Interdisciplinary Domains Language Arts: Students include a writing component using appropriate vocabulary and grammar to explain their project and its components. Geography: Students learn where Haiti is, its proximity to the US, its climate and physical environment. Humanities: Students analyze and speculate on the human condition using Andrea Baldeck's photographic portraiture in Haiti. Closure What is the name of the photographer we studied? Where were the portraits taken? What do portraits tell us about the subject? What is the center of interest called? What devices or elements did Andrea Baldeck use to focus our attention on the subject? Reflections I would strengthen the connection between portraiture and various cultures throughout history, the similarities and differences. I would introduce various reasons cultures produced portraits and how contemporary portraiture connects us to each other and the past. Without the gallery to visit I might schedule a trip to the Philadelphia Museum and focus on portraits. Visuals "Eyes See, Mouth Silent." Photograph, Haiti, 1996, Andrea Baldeck "Life in Haiti is pants with open crotch, without suspenders." Photograph, Haiti, 1996, Andrea Baldeck "Your face is your passport." Photograph, Haiti, 1996, Andrea Baldeck "You are butterfly, I am lamp." Photograph, Haiti, 1996, Andrea Baldeck "Mother and Child" Oil on Canvas, 1921, Pablo Picasso Vera Cruz Nopiloa Mother and Child, Central Mexico, late classic period, 550-900AD Program Goals | Outreach | Gallery Tours | Lesson Plans | Scheduling Information | Contacts