FEATURED ARTWORK: Shoah, 2006, Hung Liu Level: Upper Elementary / Middle School Skybridge Gallery

20 minutes

OverviewThe body has long been a principal subject in art. Students will look at a figurative work of art, by Bay Area artist Hung Liu, to discover how an artist can express emotions, ideas and values through gesture, pose, clothing, and expression.

ArtworkShoah, 2006, Hung LiuSilk, archival digital pigment print and hand painting cast in resin on boardGift of the Lipman Family Foundation

About the ArtistHung Liu’s paintings grapple with issues of gender, identity and the challenge of recon-ciling disparate cultures. In China, in the late 1960’s, as a result of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, all universities and schools were closed: an entire generation of educated young people was sent to the countryside to be re-educated by the new ruling classes of workers, poor and lower middleclass peasants, and soldiers. Hung Liu was sent to a village in the north of Beijing, where she worked in the fields harvesting corn and rice. During her stay in the countryside, Hung Liu used a friend’s German camera to teach herself the rudiments of photography by snapping pictures of villagers. Nearly four years would pass before Liu was able to return to Beijing and pursue a career in art. By 1984, well-grounded in the fundamentals of socialist realism and classical painting, Hung Liu arrived in the United States and entered the University of California, San Diego. Now an American citizen, she is a Professor of Studio Art at Mills College in Oakland.

Shoah, 2006, Hung Liu

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Learning ObjectivesStudents should be able to:1. Identify and discuss how artists use body language to express emotions, ideas and values.2. Use art analysis strategies to interpret and evaluate works of art, and gain a deeper understanding of the world.3. Make comparisons between body language represented in artworks and body language observed in students’ personal experiences

Essential Questions1. What is the purpose of analyzing body language in artworks?2. How can we better understand and make meaning out of artworks?3. What can we learn about the world by looking art? By looking at body language, clothing, and expression?

Assessment of Learning1. Students will identify and discuss the elements of body language in the artwork.2. Students will provide evidence and reasoning for their thoughts and observa-tions.3. Students will reflect on the essential questions throughout their visit.

Materials1. Clipboards2. Paper to write on3. Pencils

California Standards (Grade 8)English-Language Arts StandardsListening and Speaking1.0 Students deliver focused, coherent presentations that convey ideas clearly and relate to the background and interests of the audience.

Visual Arts Standards1.0 Artistic Perception3.0 Historical and Cultural Context4.0 Aesthetic Valuing

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n What’s going on in this picture?n In what ways are these three women similar? Different? n What can you learn about the women based on their clothing? Posture? Body Language?

Step 1Descriptive observation & Visual Thinking StrategiesFacilitate a discussion about the artwork using the following questions:

Step 2Puzzle FindingAsk students to look closely at the painting and generate a list of questions that address what they find puzzling or mysterious in this painting.

Step 3Cultural ConnectionShare information from “About the Artist” with your students to help them under-stand the historical and contextual significance of this painting, and discuss how the artist used body language and clothing to support her ideas.

Step 4Personal ConnectionHave a discussion about how the body language in the painting is similar to or different from body language in the students’ personal experiences.

Step 5ReflectDiscuss the process of discovery and ask students to express what they experienced through this process.

ACTIVITY

Shoah, 2006, Hung Liu