Middle & High School Gallery Guide
Presence of LIGHT
Neon. Animation. Glowing Pickles. Jewels. Pinhole Photography. X-Rays.
Explore.
Title: Furusato Artist: Kim Koga
Read the artist’s statement before answering the questions. According to the artist Kim Koga, “Furusato is a Japanese word that describes returning to one's place of origin.” This sculpture represents the artist’s return to her family’s origins in Japan. What do you think this piece tells you about the artist’s look backwards?
If you were returning to the home of your ancestors, where would you be going?
If you created this artwork, what would you have put in your suitcase? What objects would you use to represent your family’s origins?
Write a haiku for your piece. (Haiku: a form of poetry popular in Japan that consists of a 17syllable verse form with three metrical units of 5, 7, and 5 syllables)
Title: Parure Artist: Kirsten Hassenfeld
According to the artist, “Precious objects speak about the cultures that produce and consume them.” (Parure is a French word that means a set of jewelry.) What do these jewels have in common with real jewelry?
How are they different from real jewelry?
What do you notice about Kirsten’s jewels? What do these jewels say about our culture?
Go to the Ancient Civilization Gallery and look at the jewelry display. Read the label that begins with…The Fashion of wearing jewelry during the Roman Empire… How is this jewelry different from, or the same as, the jewelry in Parure?
What do these jewels say about Roman culture of the time?
Title: The Inside Artist: Mary Voytek
There are many drawings inscribed on this piece. Some are inspired by science, some by nature, and others by different cultures. Pick one that you find interesting and draw it.
What do you think it is? And, where could you find out more about it?
What does it have to do with the idea of “The Inside”?
Title: Drawing Projector: Colorado Front Range Artist: Liza McConnell
BEFORE you read the artist’s statement answer the following questions. What are you reminded of when you look at this piece?
Describe what you see.
This image is created as light from flood lamps is projected through pieces of torn paper and then onto the wall. Are the flood lamps a part of the artwork?
NOW READ the text panel and answer the following questions; also reflect on your answers above. Would the effect of the artwork be different if the mountain range were painted onto the wall? How?
Does this piece remind you of anything other than mountains?
Series Title: Coal Burning Artist: Summer McCorkle
READ the statement before continuing with the questions. Pick one of the photographs in this series by Summer McCorkle. Imagine you are at the video store and you see a video on the shelf with this image on the cover of the case. What would the movie be called?
What would it be about?
List of Terms and Vocabulary Ambient: Surrounding; encompassing on all sides; applied to fluids or diffusible substances: ambient sound; ambient air. Ambivalence: The simultaneous existence of opposing attitudes or feelings, such as love and hate, toward a person, object, or idea. Camera Obscura: An early form of camera in which an external image is received into a chamber and reflected on a plane surface, usually for the purpose of drawing. Contingent: Liable to occur but not with certainty; dependent on conditions or occurrences not yet established or uncertain; depending on some possible future event. Contrived: Obviously planned or calculated; not spontaneous or natural; labored. Decipher: To read or interpret (ambiguous, obscure, or illegible matter); to convert from a code; to discover or explain meaning of something difficult to understand. Deem: To have as an opinion; judge; to regard as; to suppose; to consider. Demystified: To make less mysterious; clarify. “Embarrassment of riches” An overabundance of something, too much of a good thing. Originated in 1738 as John Ozell's translation of the play, L'Embarras des richesses (1726). Ethereal: Characterized by lightness; not of this world; spiritual; of the celestial spheres. Immaterial: Inconsequential or irrelevant; having no material body or form. Manifestation: An indication of the existence, reality, or presence of something. Materiality: The state or quality of being matter; physical substance. Quackery: Medical practice and advice based on observation and experience in ignorance of scientific findings; the dishonesty of a charlatan. Rune: Any character from an ancient Germanic alphabet used in Scandinavia from the 3rd century to the Middle Ages; believed to have magical significance. Serenity: The state or quality of being quiet, calmness of mind; evenness of temper. Tactile: Perceptible to the sense of touch; tangible. Tangible: Discernible by the touch; possible to be treated as fact; real or concrete. Tracery: Ornamental work of interlaced and branching lines, especially the lacy openwork in a Gothic window. Transcend: To pass beyond the limits of; to be greater than, as in intensity or power; to surpass: love that transcends infatuation; to exist above and independent of. Translucent: Transmitting light but causing sufficient diffusion to prevent perception of distinct images.