Using Visual Fine Arts to Enrich Understanding

Image
Poster print, 1867, L'art Nouveau S. Bing, Tiffany, art glass, Meunier bronzes
Question

What resources or techniques would you recommend for teaching using art and its analysis in the social studies/U.S. history classroom? I have already read "Historical Evidence in the Material World: Art History, Material Culture, and Historical Thinking" on your site. In this instance, we are concentrating on the visual fine arts – painting and photography.

Answer

Things have changed since teachers had to go through their private and local libraries to create slideshows using art to teach history. Now with a click of a mouse and a projector, we can show students provocative works of art. And while including art in your teaching will, no doubt, engage some of your reluctant students and add variety and aesthetic appeal to your curriculum, deliberate methods are required when teaching students to analyze the visual fine arts as a means to learn about the past. And those methods require slowing down when we observe and discuss a piece of art.

It may be useful to think about three things as critical to teaching students how to analyze art as historical artifacts:

  • Close reading (and we use the term “reading” broadly here, referring to observing the item closely);
  • Feeling and considering the emotional impact of the piece;
  • Considering the historical context of the piece.
  • You’ve started with a good entry that introduces some key aspects of using art. Author Carolyn Halpin-Healy, talking about how to use material culture, explains that analyzing these kinds of sources should “begin by describing the object--to analyze its structure, to consider the circumstance of its creation--and only then to propose an interpretation of the meaning of the piece.” She goes on to identify specific steps in this process that include the key aspects above.

    Deliberate methods are required when teaching students to analyze the visual fine arts as a means to learn about the past. Those methods require slowing down when we observe and discuss a piece of art.

    EDSITEMENT
    We have other resources at teachinghistory.org that address art analysis. Visit this review of a lesson plan that uses art and documents to investigate Paul Revere’s ride. The lesson comes from Edsitement, a site created by the National Endowment for the Humanities [NEH] that includes lesson plans using a variety of material culture for both World and American history. These plans can serve as inspiration, models, and resource banks for analyzing art in the history/social studies classroom.

    And don’t miss the NEH’s Picturing America program. It was designed to encourage and support teachers in using art to teach history and social studies. This tremendous resource includes a set of artistic works to use in the classroom, information about the works and artists, links to other sites with resources for teaching with art, and a teacher’s resource book.

    See this entry to listen to two educators talk about how they use Picturing America in their Teaching American history grant. The third video in this series may be most helpful to you since it concerns the ideas of slowing down with a piece and closely observing it while considering one’s emotional response to it.

    There are also many resources designed for teaching photo analysis in the history/social studies classroom.

    PHOTOGRAPHS
    At teachinghistory.org, see our “Using Primary Sources” feature for links to worksheets that can be used to analyze varied kinds of sources, including photos and art. See both our entry about the National Archive’s worksheets and the Library of Congress’ worksheets. In the Library’s excellent Prints and Photograph collection, you can also find help in preparing to teach students and teachers about analyzing photos as historical sources rather than as truth-telling images. Check out their resources on Dorothea Lange’s iconic migrant mother photo here and here to help you use this photo to illustrate the choices and selection that the photographer makes.

    See “Using documentary photography” for a comprehensive guide that uses the photos of Jacob Riis to illustrate the process of photo analysis. Especially helpful may be the guide’s list of questions.

    Good luck! And we’d love to hear what was most helpful to you.

For more information

For other helpful resources see:

  • Check out the Fall 2010 newsletter that focuses on the use of images in the History classroom;
  • A guide to using K-W-L charts for helping students analyze photos;
  • This question for a guide to online photo archives;
  • The “What is Historical Thinking” video on our home page. It can help make clear some of the key facets of analyzing any historical source; and
  • Search “website reviews” in the History Content section to locate websites that have art and teacher resources for using that art in the classroom.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Pope-Leighey House [VA]

Description

The circa 1939 Pope-Leighey House is an example of Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian architecture—residential architecture designed to be affordable to the average individual and to mesh with its natural environment. The home's furnishing were also designed by Wright to provide an immersion environment.

The house offers period rooms, guided tours, and a book club video presentation and guided tour. Reservations are required for groups of 10 or more.

Governor's Mansion [MS]

Description

The Governor's Mansion is a 1842 Greek Revival Mansion which has served as Mississippi's gubernatorial residence since its erection. Most furnishings are Empire style (1810-1830), although the site also contains French Restoration (1830-1850), Rococo Revival (1850-1870), and Renaissance Revival (1860-1880) pieces.

The mansion offers period rooms and guided tours. Reservations must be made for groups of 10 or more. As the residence may be closed for state events, it is suggested that visitors call ahead to confirm that tours will be offered on the day which they wish to visit. The website offers small galleries of furniture images arranged by style, as well as floor plans.

Cincinnati Preservation Association [OH]

Description

The Cincinnati Preservation Association advocates architectural preservation within the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. As such, the majority of the association's time is given to preservation easement and awareness. However, educational opportunities appropriate to kindergarten through 12th grade students are available.

The association offers one- to two-hour architectural walking tours in several Cincinnati districts.

Mille Lacs Indian Museum [MN]

Description

The Mille Lacs Indian Musuem is dedicated to showcasing the history and heritage of the Millie Lacs Band of the Ojibwe American Indians. The museum houses numerous exhibits tracing the Band's journey to settle in Northern Minnesota, telling the story of their existence during American westward expansion, and showcasing the lives and culture of the Band today. The museum also hosts a spacious crafts room which serves as a demonstration area for traditional cooking, basketry, and beadwork.

The site offers visitor information, an events calendar, and several photographs of the museum and museum "trading post."

Jeffers Petroglyphs Historic Site [MN]

Description

"Amid the prairie grasses are islands of uncovered rock, where American Indians left carvings —petroglyphs— humans, deer, elk, buffalo, turtles, thunderbirds, atlatls and arrows. They tell a story that spans 5,000 years. The glyphs served many functions, including recording important events, depicting sacred ceremonies, and emphasizing the importance of animals and hunting." The Jeffers Petroglyphs Historical Site is dedicated to preserving the petroglyphs for future generations and showcasing them for the current generation.

The site offers historical information, visitor information, and an events calendar.

Minnesota State Capitol [MN]

Description

The Minnesota State Capitol was built in 1905, and is still in service today. Restoration and preservation efforts are led by the Minnesota State Historic Society, which also leads tours of the building and provides events and educational services. Visitors to the capitol building can enjoy a variety of different attractions, from simply admiring the architecture and history of the building to viewing an ever-changing collection of art. Currently, portraits of Cass and Julia Gilbert, on loan from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, are on display.

The site offers visitor and historical information about the museum, an events calendar, and links to other resources within the Minnesota state government.

Totem Bight State Historical Park [AK]

Description

The park preserves 14 reconstructions of Native totem poles and a reconstruction of a community house or clanhouse. A house of this size could have housed 30 to 50 people. Although it is doubtful a clanhouse existed on this site (originally a fish camp), this design is representative of the type in many Indian villages built in the early 19th century.

The park is open to the public.

Butterfly Lodge Museum [AZ]

Description

The Butterfly Lodge Museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and provided a home for the careers of famed writer James Shultz, and his son, Hart Schultz or Lone Wolf. Today, the home serves as a historic house museum and is furnished with the same furniture as was present during the Schultz's time.

The museum offers guided tours and special events. The website offers visitor information, biographies of John Schultz and Lone Wolf, and a listing of upcoming events.

Oregon Jewish Museum

Description

The Oregon Jewish Museum presents the history of Oregon's Jewish population, one of the state's earliest immigrant communities. The only Jewish museum in the Pacific Northwest, the Oregon Jewish Museum holds extensive collections largely focused on the years 1850 to present.

The museum offers exhibits and research library access.