Family Activity Guide

AT HOME

WITH THE GODWIN-TERNBACH MUSEUM

FAMILY

ACT IVIT Y GUIDE

www.gtmuseum.org | 718.997.4747 | gtmuseum@qc.cuny.edu Queens College, 405 Klapper Hall, 65-30 Kissena Blvd., Flushing, NY 11367 This education guide is made possible through the generosity of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York City Council. ​

FROM THE

GODWIN-TERNBACH MUSEUM

TO YOUR HOME This guide is designed to introduce you to a few objects from the museum’s collection. Did you know that the museum holds 7,000 objects as part of its permanent collection? Yes! In fact, the objects and artworks that are part of the collection all range from antiquity to modern and contemporary works of art. The objects featured in this guide is just a small sample of what we have.

You can access digitized objects in our collection by visiting our website at www.gtmuseum.org. Through this guide you will learn to look closely at the objects and the world around you, make detailed observations about what you see and question things that make you wonder.

We hope that you learn something new and more importantly that you have fun while learning! Don’t forget to use your imagination as you travel through time and cultures exploring these objects. You will have an opportunity to apply what you learned by doing some fun activities at the end of each section.

All you need is some simple materials and your enthusiasm!

Let’s Explore: 1. Decorative Persian Bowls Page

3

2. Weavings Page 10 3. Andy Warhol & Pop Art 4. Portraits

Page 16

Page 21

5. Tableaux Vivants Page 34

A Closer Look at:

Decorative Persian Bowls The Godwin-Ternbach Museum has many Persian decorative bowls as part of its collection. These ceramic artworks were made with unique patterns, drawings, and colored glazes.

Some of the bowls in the GTM’s collection include naskhi inscriptions, or written blessings around the rim of the bowl, usually offering well wishes for the owner.

These bowls were decorated by hand and may have been used to show the importance and wealth of the owner.

Observe each bowl very closely:

• •

What patterns do you see?

Do you see any recognizable images/motifs?

Footed bowl with naskhi inscriptions, Lusterware terracotta/ceramic, Iranian/Seljuq period, GTM 57.62

Bowl with scalloped rim, Iranian/Seljuq period, Enamel/Earthenware/Ceramic, GTM 58.32

Decorative Bowls

3

The artists who made these bowls created patterns by repeating the same simple marks over and over again.

Here are some examples of repeating marks that can be used to make a pattern: Dots

Slashed Lines Slashed Lines

Shapes Shapes

Waves Waves

Jagged Lines Jogged Lines

4

Shapes XXShapes

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cross Hatches Cross Hatches

########################

Decorative Bowls

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Try to practice finishing the following patterns ######################## or create your own repeating marks to create a pattern:

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Decorative Bowls

5

Think about how the marks you just created in the previous page could be combined to make more complex patterns.

See if you can spot some of these pattern marks in the bowls from the GTM’s collection.

Bowl, Iranian/Samanid dynasty, Terracotta/ceramic, GTM 58.33

Cobalt blue plate with green dash and dot decorations, Near Eastern, Terracotta/ceramic, GTM 69.20

Terracotta bowl with painted fish motif on interior, Iraqi/Iranian/Seljuq period, Terracotta/ceramic, GTM 88.1.11

6

Decorative Bowls

Make Your Own Decorative Bowl After practicing patterns and observing the bowls in the collection, think about what type of patterns you would like to use to create your own decorative bowl.

Follow these simple steps to help you get started.

Don’t forget that you can be as creative as you would like to be!

M AT E R I A L S N E E D E D • Pencil • Paper • Eraser • Scissors • Colored pencils, markers, crayons,

or other art materials for adding color

• A compass or round objects such as buckets, bowls, plates, or other things you can trace a circle shape around

Decorative Bowls

7

Directions 1. Draw a large circle on your paper using a compass.

If you don’t have a compass, other circular items from your house could be used to trace around to make a circle. Try to find a circular plate, a small bucket, a bowl, or other items that have a circular shape.

Or feel free to draw the circle freehand!

2. Many Persian bowls have a decorative border that has a different pattern than the central image. To make a border, make a smaller circle inside the first one:

8

Decorative Bowls

3. Decorate! Add patterns or images to your decorative bowl drawing.

You can add written blessings or text to the rim, like the naskhi inscriptions in the examples, or simply decorate using repeating patterns.

Color your bowl using crayons, markers, or colored pencils.

4. Finish your work! You can choose to cut your bowl out, or make a setting for your bowl. You can even add drawings of utensils like a spoon to your drawing.

Decorative Bowls

9

A Closer Look at:

Weavings Weaving is acknowledged as one of the oldest surviving crafts in the world.

The tradition of weaving traces back to Neolithic times – approximately 12,000 years ago. Even before the actual process of weaving was discovered, the basic principle of weaving was applied to interlace branches and twigs to create fences, shelters and baskets for protection.

Weaving is one of the primary methods of textile production and it involves interlinking a set of vertical threads with a set of horizontal threads. The set of vertical threads are known as the warp and the set of horizontal threads are known as the weft.

Historically weavings were made and used for many purposes: rugs for the home, blankets to stay warm, bags to carry goods, and even clothing to wear. You may have examples of weavings in your own home!

Chancay textile sampler on miniature tapestry loom, Wool, natural dyes, 300-600 AD, Peru, Central Coast, GTM 99.2.29

10 Weavings

Take a moment to look closely and observe selected weavings from the collection:

Hand-woven bag panel decorated with rows of deer, Camelid fiber, natural dyes, 600-1000 AD, Peru, Nazca Huari, GTM 98.4.5 Tent Bag panel, Cotton, wool, 1850-1900 AD, Yuruk/Turkish, GTM 98.4.12

• •

Kilim with elibelinde, Wool, dye, 17001900 AD, Turkmen/Turkish/Anatolian, GTM 98.4.16

What are some similarities and differences that you noticed with these examples?

Do you see any repeating shapes, patterns, motifs in each?

• What do you think each of

these fragments were a part of? And used for?

Tunic decorative fragment, Wool, 300-500 AD, Egyptian/Coptic, GTM 61.66

Weavings 11

Paper Weaving Weaving can be practiced with different materials.

For this activity, we will be using simple materials that can be found at home to create our very own designs.

Don’t forget that you can be as creative as you would like to be!

M AT E R I A L S N E E D E D • Scissors • Pencil • Ruler • Construction paper

(you will need full sheets and paper cut into strips) Note: you can also use a cereal box or magazine cut outs if you do not have construction paper.

• Glue or tape

12 Weavings

Directions 1. Cut different colored construction paper into 1 inch strips along the long side of the paper.

2. Pick out one full sheet of colored construction paper (or find a cereal box and cut the front or back face out by trimming top flaps and sides).

3. Fold paper in half.

4. Using a ruler draw a 1 inch line across the open end of the paper and then 1 inch lines perpendicular to the first line across the closed end of the paper.

5. Cut slits along the lines drawn on the closed side of the paper. Make sure your cuts end at the line and do not cut all the way through the paper.

Weavings 13

6. After you have cut all the slits running against the closed line of the paper, open it up. It should look like this:

7. Use precut strips of colored paper* to weave under and over the slits in the paper starting at one end. *If you don’t have colored construction paper, you can create your own by coloring paper with markers or crayons. Or old magazine covers can be used for the strips of colored paper.

Thicker paper works best.

8. Weave the following strips. Move the woven strip to the top and start with the next one. Weave the second strip in an opposite pattern as the first.

If your first strip went over and under the slits, the second strip should go under and over the slits.

9. Add strips alternating over and under until the square of paper is full.

14 Weavings

10. Flip the weaving over so that the back is now facing up. Fold the end of the strips in. Use tape or glue to hold the folded strips to the back of your weaving.

11. Flip your weaving over to see the finished piece!

Other Things To Try: •

Experiment with using packaged food boxes or patterned paper to make the weaving.

•

Make multiple weavings and join them together using tape or glue to make larger woven pieces.

•

Try varying the widths of the strips of paper to get different results.

Weaving using a cereal box with construction paper strips.

Weavings 15

A Closer Look at:

Andy Warhol

&

Pop Art

Andy Warhol is known as a “Pop Artist.� Pop Art was an art movement from the 1950s to 1970s. The artists associated with this group rebelled against the traditional forms of art and used popular images from Hollywood films, comic books, pop music, and mass-produced commercial products as inspiration for their artwork.

Roy Lichtenstein, Crying Girl, 1963, Ink on Paper, GTM 2011.8.3

Some artists, like Roy Lichtenstein, were inspired by comics found in newspapers and comic books and made large-scale versions of these images giving them new context and importance.

16 Andy Warhol & Pop-Art

Other artists in the Pop Art Movement, like Andy Warhol, found inspiration in everyday mass-produced grocery items. He was particularly attracted to packaged food and other products that were very recognizable and would be familiar to most people.

Campbell’s Soup was something he enjoyed eating frequently and was one of his favorite things to use in his work. He made large-scale versions of these products and repeated the images over and over through printmaking. By repeating the image and making it so large, he transformed the everyday product into an idealized work of art.

Andy Warhol, Creamy Mushroom Soup, GTM

Andy Warhol, Campbell’s Tomato Soup, GTM, Gift of Eva Lee Helvarg

Sometimes Warhol would experiment and radically change the familiar colors of the product to see if it was still recognizable, like this Campbell’s Tomato Soup can that is bright turquoise, orange, and pink.

• • •

Did you recognize it?

Do you like the different colors used?

Or do you prefer the original red, white and yellow?

Andy Warhol & Pop-Art 17

At Home Creations!

Now it’s your turn to practice making Pop Art representations of familiar items from around your home.

M AT E R I A L S N E E D E D • Paper • Pencils • Erasers • Colored pencils, crayons, markers,

or other materials to color your drawing

• A product that you like/are familiar with

from your own home

(examples: soup can, bag of chips, yogurt, hot sauce, pack of cookies, etc.)

18 Andy Warhol & Pop-Art

Directions 1. Find some familiar mass-produced products around your home.

Select products that you enjoy and choose one or more that you would like to sketch.

2. Carefully observe the surface of the product. Observe the images, words, design, etc.

3. Using a paper and pencil, sketch out images and words you see on the label.

4. Once you have finished your sketch, you can use your colored pencils, crayons or markers to color it in.

5. You can try leaving some details out and see if you can still easily recognize the product by its design, colors in label, and shape of container.

Here are some examples:

• • •

Can you recognize these products?

Do you have them at home?

Or have you seen them before at grocery stores?

Andy Warhol & Pop-Art 19

You can also experiment, like Andy Warhol did, and make multiple drawings of the same product or radically change the colors of the product.

Things to consider:

• • • •

Can you look at the drawing and recognize the familiar product?

How does making a drawing of the product transform or change it?

What is different between the original item and your drawing?

If you changed the colors or changed the scale to make it larger or smaller than it is, can you still see clues (shape of container, graphics, label design) that help you figure out what the product is?

After you finish your drawing, show it to a family member or friend and see if they can recognize the product your artwork is based on!

20 Andy Warhol & Pop-Art

A Closer Look at:

Portraits

A portrait is a work of art that represents a specific person. Portraits usually show what a person looks like as well as revealing something about their personality. A portrait you draw of yourself is called a self-portrait. Portraits can be made of any sculptural material or in a two-dimensional medium, like a drawing.

Portraits often took a long time to paint or sculpt, so many early portraits were used to illustrate powerful and wealthy rulers and leaders. These portraits were prominently placed in public locations for people to see. Religious portraits often illustrated specific religious figures and were located in churches, temples, or monuments.

As materials and techniques for making portraits changed, more and more people could get their portrait made.

Artists also became more interested in making portraits of common people, like friends and family, and portraits were no longer just of wealthy and famous people.

As you look through a few portraits from the GTM’s collection, ask yourself:

Paulus Pontius, Johan, Count of Nassau-Siegen (after Anthony Van Dyck), Print, GTM 70.90.11

•

What is the artist telling us about this person through the portrait?

•

Take a look at their clothing, facial expression, gesture, or location to give you clues about who they were and what the artist may have wanted to convey.

Portraits 21

This portrait is a photograph, but take a look at the differences in clothing and gesture between this portrait and the last.

•

What are some similarities and differences between this one and the Count of Nassau-Siegen print?

Berenice Abbott, Portrait of James Joyce in Paris, 1928, Photographic print, GTM 61.19

22 Portraits

This portrait is of a well-known public figure.

•

Can you recognize this person?

The artist has chosen to change and exaggerate the features of this person.

This is known as a caricature.

•

What features do you see that have been exaggerated?

Edward Sorel, Spiro T. Agnew, Ink on paper, GTM P0480

Portraits 23

This portrait depicts a man engaging in an activity with objects that would have been important to him.

•

What is this person doing and what do the objects and gestures tell us about them?

Albert Durer, Portrait of Erasmus of Rotterdam, 1526, Ink on paper, GTM 63.37

24 Portraits

Self-Portrait Study Strike a pose!

Now it’s your turn to make a self-portrait.

M AT E R I A L S N E E D E D • Paper • Pencil • Eraser • Ruler • Mirror • Colored pencils, crayons, markers, etc. for adding color to your portrait

Portraits 25

As you start planning your self-portrait, think about what you want to convey in your portrait:

•

Consider how the clothing you wear in your portrait could tell the viewer more about you. Maybe you love sports and want to draw your portrait wearing a uniform.

•

Consider the location of your portrait and what it could tell the viewer about your interests, what you do, or where you live.

•

What emotions do you want to convey in your portrait: Are you happy? Sad? Excited?

Giving the viewer clues to an emotion could include using a facial expression (smiling, frowning, etc.) or a gesture with your body in the drawing (waving, arms folded, sitting, standing, etc.)

Once you are ready to start, spend some time studying yourself in the mirror. Everyone has eyes, nose, and a mouth, but everyone’s facial features are unique.

First start studying the shape of your head. Everyone has a round oval shaped head, but some people’s heads are narrow and long, some are more rounded, and some more angular with sharper features.

Next, study the eyes, mouth, and nose. Some noses are wide, while some are long and narrow. Some eyes are more spread apart, while some are larger or smaller. Lips can be more full or thin.

You can use the following guide for help with making the portrait.

26 Portraits

Directions 1. Study your facial shape and draw an oval outline that matches the general shape of your face.

2. Using a ruler, draw a faint line to divide your face in half vertically.

3. Using a ruler, draw a faint line to divide your face in half horizontally.

4. Divide the lower half of the face in half again with two lines for where the mouth will go.

Portraits 27

5. Using the horizontal center line as a guide, draw your eyes as a guide, draw your eyes so they intersect with the line and are spaced evenly apart.

Drawing the eyes: Everyone’s eyes are a unique shape and size.

The eye is made up of a round pupil with an upper and lower lid to protect it.

These shapes looks like an almond or circle with two triangles on either side.

6. Draw a nose using the center line as a guide for placement.

28 Portraits

Drawing the nose: Each nose is unique. Some people have wider noses while other noses are long and thin. Spend some time studying your nose in the mirror.

A. To help with drawing the unusual shape of the nose, it’s best to break the shape into simpler forms.

Start by drawing two parallel lines for the sides of the nose.

B. Draw a circle at the bottom of the parallel lines.

This will be the top of your nose.

C. Draw a horizontal line through the center of the circle and draw two loose traiangle forms on either side of the circle. These will be your sides of your nostrils.

D. Draw two curved lines on either side of the circle for your nostrils. Take a look at your own nose to see what this feature looks like on your own face.

E. After you are happy with your sketch for the nose, you can erase the guiding lines you made (the top of the circle and line through the center of the circle).

Portraits 29

7. Draw a light line from the center of the eye down to the area of the mouth.

The end of the lips will line up the center of the eye.

8. Draw the lips with the top of the lip lying just below the dividing line.

The end of the lips should intersect with the dotted lines meeting the center of the eye.

30 Portraits

Drawing the Lips: Each nose is unique. Some people have wider noses while other noses are long and thin. Spend some time studying your nose in the mirror.

A. To draw the lips, draw a faint straight line.

B. Draw a half oval shape above the center line.

C. Draw a second half oval shape that is slightly larger below the center line.

Portraits 31

D. Define the upper lip by adding a crescent shaped dipped indentation at the top.

E. Define the lower lip by studying your features and adding a sharper curve to the lower lip. Draw and erase until you are happy with the shape.

F. The part of the lip is not a straight line but is more of a stretched out “S� curve.

Draw this shape for your lip part and erase the straight line when you are happy with the shape.

32 Portraits

9. Sketch out features for your portrait, like neck, shoulders, eye brows, and your hair line.

10. Erase all the lines made to find the proportions of the face.

11. Continue to develop your portrait.

Add details to hair, pupils of eyes, wrinkles, dimples, clothing, eye lashes, etc. Leave your drawing as a black and white sketch or add color with colored pencils, crayons, etc.

Portraits 33

A Closer Look at:

Tableaux Vivants People from around the world have been recreating famous artworks in their own homes using clothes and objects they can find around their apartments or houses.

This type of recreation of paintings and artworks is called a tableau vivant, which is French for living picture. In the 19th century, before people had TV or the Internet, people would often attend a performance where a cast of characters would recreate scenes from popular literature, art, history, or everyday life. On other occasions, people would recreate these among friends at a party or gathering as a form of entertainment and appreciation of art.

Here are some examples of tableaux vivants that people have recreated from famous artworks using common household items:

Left: Male Harp Player of the Early Spedos Type, 2700–2300 B.C., marble, Cycladic.

Recreation by Irena OchĂłdzka (courtesy the J. Paul Getty Museum) Right: Workshop of Master of the First Prayer Book of Maximillian, St. Jerome Reading (detail), 1475-1515, Tempera colors, gold, and ink on parchment.

Recreated by @newberrylibrary (courtesy the J. Paul Getty Museum)

34 Tableaux Vivants

Joseph Ducreux, Self-Portrait, Yawning, 1783, oil on canvas.

Recreation by Paul Morris (courtesy the J. Paul Getty Museum)

Frans van Mieris the Elder, Pictura (An Allegory of Painting), 1661, Oil on copper.

Recreated by @creamii.art (courtesy the J. Paul Getty Museum)

•

What are some things you notice in the way people re-created these works of art?

•

How have they used gestures or the position of their body to mirror the original artwork?

•

Can you identify common household objects or things they have used to help recreate the artwork?

Tableaux Vivants 35

Frozen in Time: Recreate Your Own Tableau Vivant!

Now it is your turn to try and make your own re-enactment using artworks from the Godwin-Ternbach Museum collection.

M AT E R I A L S N E E D E D • A work of art that you want to recreate (see examples from GTM collection on the next page or browse through our website www.gtmuseum.org to explore other ideas)

• Props around the house that you can use to recreate the work of art • A photo camera too!)

36 Tableaux Vivants

(you can use your phone

to document your portrait

Take a look at the selected images of artworks from the GTM’s collection.

•

As you look at these images, think about what things from your house you could use to re-create the artwork.

•

What does the scene/object look like? Maybe a bedspread or sheet could become a costume. Toys, common household objects, furniture could be used as props.

•

Try to mimic the gesture or position of the person. What are they doing?

Do they look happy? Sad?

•

Get someone to photograph you so you can see your re-enactment of the artwork and compare!

Harold Anchel, Bocci, Lithograph on paper, GTM P380

Tableaux Vivants 37

Reliquary Bust, Wood sculpture, Early 16th c., GTM 64.22

Francois Boucher, Lady with a Fan, Print, GTM P108

William Roberts, Le Train Bleu, 1924, Painting, GTM 69.5

Jacob Kainen, Lunch, Lithographic print, GTM P348

38 Tableaux Vivants

Here is a tableau vivant example from the GTM:

Antonis Mor, Charles V of Spain, Painting, GTM 58.23

• •

Can you tell what the person did to recreate this image?

Do you think their recreation was successful?

Tips!

Try making a fake beard, like this person did, or ask to borrow clothing from your parents or caregiver that might help with the recreation. Make props or use similar objects to help with different motifs in the scene. Get a family member to help direct you and photograph your pose.

And remember to HAVE FUN!

Tableaux Vivants 39