UNIT  TITLE:  Silent  Communication    ENDURING  IDEAS:    Throughout  time  and  across  cultures  artists  have  used  photography  as  a  means  of  communication.  Communication  for  this  art  lesson  means  silence  and  an  image.  Pictures  and  body  language  alike  have  the  ability  to  express  emotions.    COURSE:      AP  with  an  emphasis  in  photography    ELO  (Essential  Learning  Objectives-­‐list  provided)    http://www.amiria.co.nz/artist/a-­‐level-­‐photography-­‐examples-­‐ideas/    http://www.phototherapy-­‐centre.com/articles/1988_PhTxc.pdf      Create  a  photographic  image  that  depicts  silent  communication.    Appropriation  is  allowed    ESSENTIAL  QUESTIONS  (What  are  students  investigating?  What  will  they  discover?)    What  did  you  discover  using  appropriation?  How  does  our  culture  relate  to  our  visual  world?  How  does  photography  and  appropriate  relate  to  visual  culture?  Does  culture  affect  silent  communication?      EXEMPLAR  ARTISTS:    Nikki  S.  Lee  http://thecreatorsproject.com/creators/nikki-­‐s-­‐lee    Does one truly determine their own identity or simply conform to one of the subcultures found within society?

     Hip-­‐Hop  Project         #4  from  the  Yuppie  Project    

 Photo #2, Self Portrait, "The Hip Hop Project" #1, 2001, Chromogenic color print, 21 x 28

The Ohio Project (7), 1999      Heidi  Lender  http://heidilender.com/    

       Air  Stream         Ax  Bench       Brinks  Bench    

Danny  Lyon  http://www.jacksonfineart.com/Danny-­‐Lyon-­‐907.html#    Louis  Stettner  http://www.jacksonfineart.com/Louis-­‐Stettner-­‐3303.html    

                         "Migrant Mother" Dorothea Lange 1936      OBJECTIVES  (Artists  will  be  able  to:  1.  2.  3.)  

1. Demonstrate  prior  knowledge  on  usage  of  a  camera    2. Acquire  proficiency  with  a  camera    3. Develop  vocabulary  with  the  camera  and  associated  terms  4. Successfully  compose  a  final  piece  communicating  their  captured  body  language  5. Differentiate  meaning  between  figure  and  background  

 MATERIALS:  

1. Camera  2. Computer  3. Program  that  allows  cropping  &  B+W  4. Mixed  Media  

 PROCEDURES  (Artists  will…  explore,  play  relate,  choose,  reflect)  

1. Artist  will  begin  by  quickly  writing  down  different  emotions  they  feel  on  a  day  to  day  basis  and  words  that  are  associated  with  these  emotions.  

2. Provide  a  brief  discussion  on  silent  communication  3. Relate  these  emotions  they  wrote  down  to  what  they  see  others  portray  around  

them  through  silent  communication  4. (As  a  teacher)  As  challenging  questions  to  the  class  that  relate  back  to  my  essential  

questions  and  dig  further  into  the  topic  of  silent  communication  through  personal  and  visual  culture.  

5. Have  students  write  three  people  down  they  feel  exhibit  silent  communication  or  feel  have  portrayed  this  form  of  communication  towards  them  and  write  down  what  emotion  this  person  normally  exhibits.  

6. Photograph  these  three  people  and  their  correlating  emotions  and  then  pick  the  best  portrayal  of  this  emotion.  

7. Use  your  preferred  program  to  turn  the  image  into  black  and  white  and  then  cropping  the  photo  into  three  separate  section:  eyes,  mouth,  and  hands  

8. Reflect  on  your  image  and  then  appropriate  these  three  different  images  to  exaggerate  your  what  your  subject  matter  is  portraying  with  silent  communication.  

9. Use  appropriate  materials  to  frame  or  present  the  piece    ASSESSMENT  (What  evidence  do  you  have  about  what  the  students  know  and  what  will  they  be  able  to  do?)  

CULMINATING  ACTIVITY  (Will  it  include  rubrics/portfolios/journals/performances/artists  statements/exhibitions/videos/websites/blogs?)    

Create  a  YouTube  video  critiquing  their  own  work  and  discussing  how  silent  communication  is  portrayed.      “In  brief,  students  should  understand  that  criticism  is  primarily  about  interpreting  the  meanings  of  artworks  and  evaluating  their  qualities.  Art  critics  ask  key  questions  such  as  What  do  you  see?  What  is  the  artwork  about?  What  tells  you  that?  Is  it  good  art?”  (  Stewart  &  Walker  42).    Using  the  Judy  Weiser  text  I  would  have  the  students  include  answers  from  a  set  of  questions  I  provided:  

1. What  are  you  seeing?  2. How  do  you  know  what  you’re  seeing?  3. How  was  this  made  conceptually?  4. Where  do  you  think  you  got  the  information  from  in  the  photo  that  you  based  your  

answer  upon?  5. How  do  you  think  you  knew  that?  6. How  did  you  scan  those  nonverbal  photo-­‐inputs  for  the  nonverbal  information  that  

they  based  your  responses  on?    

UNIT  EXEMPLAR  (Compelling  piece  showing  your  metacognition  and  technical  facility)    EVIDENCE  OF  PRIOR  KNOWLEDGE  (Unit  exhibits  a  deep  understanding  of  current  issues  in  Art  Education  to  include  the  ideas  of  Gude,  Eisner,  Walker,  Pink,  TETAC,  etc.)       With  this  particular  lesson  plan  I  often  referred  back  to  the  article  written  by  scholar  Judy  Weiser  “See  What  I  Mean?”  Photography  as  Nonverbal  Communication  in  Cross-­‐Cultural  Psychology.  Here  I  found  key  points  such  as:    “Document  what  the  camera  was  pointed  at,  but  it  is  perceived  by,  and  given  meaning  by,  the  person  who  took  the  pictures  (and  those  who  later  view  it)—the  person  who  actually  chose  what  was  to  be  included.”  (245)    “…all  photos  we  take  are  in  some  ways  self-­‐portraits,  expressions  of  the  conscious  and  unconscious  self,  moments  of  importance  chosen  for  whatever  personal  reasons  to  be  frozen  in  time  forever,  and  if  deemed  successful,  kept  and  treasured  as  items  of  value”(245)    

That  people  “…hold  onto  that  one  moment  and  its  associated  feelings…”  (245)    “…trying  to  freeze  a  split-­‐second  slice  of  time  forever,  making  an  instant  last  an  eternity.”  (246)    “We  must  never  assume  that  we  are  fully  aware  of  what  we  communicate  to  some  else  [or,  for  that  matter,  to  ourselves  either]…”  (246)    “It  is  my  belief  that  using  photographs…  will  allow  better  explorations  of  these  nonverbal  facets  of  human  life  and  communication  (not  just  the  usually  thought  of  ones  like  expression,  posture,  etc.,  but  also,  and  more  importantly  the  more  subtle  and  culturally  revealing  ones  as  well).  “(246)    “The  majority  of  our  messages  are  based  heavily  on  those  nonverbal  (and  predominately  visual)  components  that  we  may  not  be  all  that  conscious  of,  and  these  cues  are  by  no  means  universal  across  cultures  or  generations  (or  even  families  or  individuals).”  (248)    “In  viewing  snapshots,  therefore,  what  we  are  viewing  (and  taking  meaning  from)  is  what  those  photographers  chose  as  important  at  that  specific  moment  (if  they  got  what  they  wanted  or  expected).  “(248)    “Our  most  powerful  symbols  are  out  nonverbal  ones,  for  they  are  essentially  the  source  of  our  consciousness.”  (250)    “Literacy  is  primarily  visual,  and  visual  literacy  so  primary,  that  photos  become  the  logical  solution  when  seeking  a  language  of  communication.”  (253)    “Photography  is  a  two-­‐way  interaction,  and  it  must  be  strongly  emphasized  that  photos  do  not  ‘mean’;  rather,  they  can  only  suggest,  i.e.,  there  are  infinitely  multiple  ways  to  ‘read’  and  interpret  any  given  photograph;  there  is  not  any  ‘right’  or  ‘wrong’  interpretations  possible  in  this  process.”  (256)    I  also  referred  to  the  Stewart  &  Walker  text  Rethinking  Curriculum  in  Art:    “…emphasis  on  the  cultural  context  of  visual  images—how  images  are  presented  and  responded  to  in  contemporary  life—teachers  can  assist  students  in  critically  analyzing  the  way  in  which  their  ideas,  beliefs,  and  behaviors  are  shaped  through  daily  encounters  with  images  in  popular  cultures.”  (10)    “The  Cultural  Side  of  Seeing:  Learning  to  See  Socially….  [how]  images  are  constructed,  [how]  images  are  socially  coded,  [how]  images  create  reality,  [and  how]  images  commodify  the  world.”  (122)