Explore how character and identity are presented in portraits and draw a self-portrait in this live, virtual workshop. Examine Good Trouble, a vase by artist Roberto Lugo, featuring John Lewis, Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, then compare the vase with an historic cup with a portrait of Benjamin Franklin and consider how Lugo expands our idea of who gets to be on art. Next, create art led step-by-step by a teaching artist to use basic shapes to draw a self-portrait.
After completing this program students will be able to: • Explain that a portrait is a representation of a person • Notice details in a portrait, such as clothing the subject is wearing, facial expressions or gestures, and embellishments the artist has used to decorate the portrait • Create a self-portrait
Program agenda:
1. Welcome to the program and quick intro to/review of Hillwood; discuss that we are going to look at portraits—pictures of people—and draw our own portrait
2. Look closely at a ceramic cup with a portrait of Ben Franklin; play a visual game to spot 5 differences between an image of the cup & an altered version of the image; notice how these details in the portrait provide information about the portrait’s subject
3. Compare and contrast the historic cup with a ceramic vase made by contemporary artist Roberto Lugo. Through discussion, students share their observations and will notice similarities – such as that the focus of each art piece is a close-up portrait of a person’s face, and that both artworks include words – as well as differences, such as the use of lots of brighter colors and busier patterns and designs on Lugo’s vase, and the use of graffiti lettering on the vase.
4. Through guided open-ended discussion, using strategies such as “see/think/wonder,” students will closely examine the portraits of four political leaders and activists for equal rights portrayed on Lugo’s vase Good Trouble
5. Inspired by Lugo’s art, students will participate in a 30-min portrait-drawing workshop, led by a teaching artist, who leads students step-by-step through drawing self-portraits using basic shapes
Students have the opportunity to ask questions and have their questions answered in real time, throughout the program.
Program facilitators use inquiry-based discussions to engage students in exploring art.