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Home Teacher Toolkit Grades
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| Visual Arts | Did you know: You view African American art
every day! |
1. How to Find Images of African American Art and Artists on the Web
2. Art Prints and Image Posters
3. Web Sites
4. Lesson Plans
5. Books
6. Videos
1. How To Find Images of African American Art and Artists on the Web:
Enter the name of the artist "in quotes", for example, "Aaron Douglas"
On January 24, 2002, this search returned 12 thumbnail images: 11 paintings by Douglas, and one portrait of him. Click on the thumbnail to view the full-size image, or to view the source page.
If you don't know the names of African American artists, this is the best place to start.
This site is a comprehensive index of every artist represented in online museum sites. Search by artist name or browse by nationality, such as "African American" (lists 80 artists chronologically.)
Each artist's page lists nationality, genre and birth-death dates, links to images of their art, and articles online. It is also cross-indexed: for example the entry for Aaron Douglas links to other Harlem Renaissance artists.
As opposed to Alta Vista, this is a directory compiled by humans. You will not find as many images with your search, nor will you find artists' portraits, but you also won't receive unrelated material.
For biographical information on artists, see the Web Sites below
African
American Masters Highlights from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/exhibits/highlights/main.cfm?id=AA
Exhibit traveling through 2005 features sixty-one works by artists such as Augusta Savage, Romare Bearden, William H. Johnson and Gordon Parks that reveal a special awarenss of "being Black." You'll find the itinerary at the site, but if you can't travel, you can still enjoy the exhibtion online.
Narratives of African
American Art and Identity: The David C. Driskell Collection
http://www.artgallery.umd.edu/driskell/
100 works by 61 African American artists from the 1870s to the present, presented as five topics. Complete alphabetical listing of the artists.
African-Americans
in the Visual Arts: B. David Swartz Memorial Library, Long Island University
http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/cwp/library/aavaahp.htm
Features over 60 black artists, with biographical information (no art works) and links to examples of their works. Includes painters, sculptors, muralists, engravers, portraitists, print makers, illustrators, photographers, woodcut printers, lithographers, folk artists, and cartoonists. Articles provide a good overview about:
Romare Beardon Foundation http://www.beardenfoundation.org/
An outstanding web site with online exhibits, biographical information and educational resources.
The Art of Romare Bearden http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/beardeninfo.htm
Online exhibit and classroom resources to accompany the 2003-2004 retrospective. See also the companion book Fine, Ruth E. The Art of Romare Bearden . Abrams, 2003.
Publicly-owned Art
by African American Painters
http://www.providence.edu/afro/nmaa.htm
An exhibit of 12 paintings from the National Museum of American Art (NMAA) with descriptive details. Each can be viewed as thumbnail (loads quickly on slow modems) or in high-quality resolution.
NEA Foundation for the Improvement
of Education Grants & Programs
http://www.nfie.org/grants.htm
Innovation grants, fine arts grants for teachers of at-risk students, awards and more. "Think Big!"
Black
History-Jacob Lawrence's Style
http://eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Interdisciplinary/INT0009.html
Ask Eric Lesson Plans
Grades 3-6: Does not require student internet access
"Through his biographical paintings, he has conveyed his feelings of what it means to be black in America. This lesson provides the students the experience of creating a biographical painting of an event in African American history."
1920's
Variety Show
http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_AfAm/pages/AfAm_lesson5.shtml
Art Institute of Chicago: Art Access
Middle School, Estimated Time 4 hours: Does not require student internet
access
"By participating in a variety show of literary readings, musical and dance performances, and an art exhibition, students will gain an appreciation of the cultural achievements of the Harlem Renaissance."
Black
and Blue: Attracting Viewers to African-American Museums
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20010223friday.html
New York Times Learning Network
Middle & High School: Does not require student internet access
"In this lesson students will create print advertisements that persuade viewers to visit African-American history museums by detailing their artistic, cultural, and historical benefits." Based upon the article available at site, "Museums on Black Culture Still Fighting for Money and a Future."
Evidence
of Protest in African American Art
http://www.towson.edu/heartfield/lessons/lppolitical.html
Towson University: Heartfield Lesson Plans
High School, 5 or more classes: Requires student internet access
"Through exploring the web students will learn to connect African American artwork with the struggle that is portrayed. Students will also learn to express feelings about art through writing and the design of a multi-media presentation. [...] This lesson plan utilizes the World Wide Web, therefore students must be competent in accessing information and searching the web. Students must also be able to create a basic Microsoft Powerpoint Presentation."
African-American
Art and Political Dissent During the Harlem Renaissance
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2000/4/00.04.01.x.html
Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute
Grades 10-12, Advanced Placement Studio Art and Advanced Art
Suggested Time is 35 days: Does not require student internet access
"This unit will introduce these studio art students to the visual culture of African American art. This unit will also teach students about the history of the Harlem Renaissance from the beginning of the early 1900's to the fall of the Renaissance in the early 1950's. Through this unit students will also learn to analyze and critique the political statements that were represented in visual form."
Includes list of all the artworks used in the unit, and the books from which teacher can make slides. You can also find many of them online.
Heroes
in Art
http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_AfAm/pages/AfAm_lesson1.shtml
Art Institute of Chicago: Art Access
High School, Estimated Time: 2-3 hours: Does not require student internet
access
"By exploring the life and portraits of Frederick Douglass, students will gain an understanding of the history of slavery in the United States. While further examining an anti-slavery speech written by Douglass and a modern sculpture by Richard Hunt, students will begin to understand the concept of heroism and develop speech-writing and speaking skills."
African
American Literature in Art
http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_AfAm/pages/AfAm_lesson2.shtml
Art Institute of Chicago: Art Access
High School, Estimated Time: 2 class periods. Does not require student internet
access
"Students compare art and literature by examining a contemporary painting by Glenn Ligon and the essay by James Baldwin that inspired it. Students then write an essay about a personal experience that relates to the theme of being an "outsider."
Jacob Lawrence Lesson Plans: All Levels http://www.speedmuseum.org/jacob_lawrence_lesson.html
Members of The Speed Art Museum's 2000-2001 Teacher Advisory Board prepared these lesson plans to compliment a tour of the Jacob Lawrence special exhibition at the Speed.
People of African Descent
http://cybermuse.gallery.ca/cybermuse/teachers/plans/intro_e.jsp?lessonid=145
Requires student internet access
This lesson plan introduces a selection of historical works by artists of African descent and portraits of individuals of African descent in the collection of the National Gallery of Canada
Books
Arranged by reading level, though illustrated books are useful
at any level. Also grouped where appropriate.
NEW! Sullivan, Charles ed. Children of Promise: African-American Literature and Art for Young People. New York: Harry Abrams, 2001. (Middle School) Read more at Amazon.com
Claiming 100 poems, folk songs and literary excerpts along with 80 color and b/w illustrations, this book presents an attractive and appealing introduction for children. It provides brief biographical notes (1-2 sentence) and many of the poems and prose are simply snippets, but it's designed to whet the appetite for something more, something it does admirably.
Lawrence, Jacob. The Great Migration: An American Story. New York: HarperCollins,1993. Middle School. & up. Read more at Amazon.com
60 panels of Lawrence's epic narrative Migration series, which he created in the years 1940-41. Tells of the journey of African Americans who left their homes in the South around the time of World War I and traveled to "The Promised Land" of the North in search of better lives.
Hine, Darlene C. and Kathleen Thompson, editors. Facts on File Encyclopedia of Black Women in America, Volume III: Dance, Sports and Visual Arts. Facts on File 1997. Middle School - Adult. Read more at Amazon.com
Biographies, illustrations, and background information for each section.
Sullivan, Charles, ed. Children of Promise: African American Literature and Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1991. Middle School. Read more at Amazon.com
An illustrated introduction to the art and literature by and about (ie. all the authors are not black) African Americans. Includes nearly 100 poems, songs, and text excerpts, 80 historical photographs and reproductions of paintings and sculpture by well-known African-American artists.
Arnette, Paul & William Arnette, Executive Editors. Souls Grown Deep, African American Vernacular Art of the South: Tree gave the dove a leaf. Atlanta: Tinwood Books, 2000. High School & up. Read more at Amazon.com
Works by and essays about 40 African American vernacular (folk or self-taught) artists, with 800 color photographs. Covers just about every medium or material you can imagine. The definitive work on the topic.
Danto, Arthur C., et. al. Testimony, Vernacular Art of the African-American South: The Ronald & June Shelp Collection. New York: Harry Abrams, 2001. High School & up. Read more at Amazon.com
More than 100 photographs of work by 27 self-taught artists. This book is not as extensive as Souls Grown Deep, but it's also less expensive... and still provides an outstanding introduction to the subject.
Bearden, Romare, and Harry Henderson. A History of African-American Artists from 1792 to the Present. New York: Pantheon, 1993. Currently out of print, but used copies are available at Amazon and AbeBooks
A comprehensive and lavishly illustrated history. Focuses on the lives and careers of more than 50 significant artists in six historical periods or topics: "The Late Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries"; "The Twenties and the Black Renaissance"; "Emergence of African-American Artist During the Depression"; "The Naive, Self-taught Artists"; "Art Departments in African-American Colleges"; and "Post-World War II African-American Artists."
Lewis, Samella S. African American Art and Artists. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994. Read more at Amazon.com
Covers 18th Century to the present, lavishly illustrated with works drawn from historical and private collections around the country.
Patton, Sharon F. African-American Art. Oxford University Press, 1998. Read more at Amazon.com
Places art within the African American experience. "Colonial America and the Young Republic, 1700-1820"; "Nineteenth-Century America, the Civil War and Reconstruction"; "Twentieth-Century America and Modern Art 1900-1960"; "Twentieth-Century America: the evolution of a Black aesthetic."
320 pp.; 95 color plates, 53 b/w photos, halftones, linecuts and maps. A bargain at under $15!
Against The Odds: The artists of the Harlem Renaissance . Produced written and directed by Amber Edwards. Videocassette. PBS Home Video, 1998. 60 minutes. Middle School & up. Read more at Amazon.com
"Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s was the scene of a passionate outburst of creativity by African-American visual artists. This documentary tells how black artists triumphed over the prejudice and segregation that kept their work out of mainstream galleries and exhibitions, and recalls the vibrancy of Harlem in the roaring twenties. You'll view over 130 paintings, prints, photographs and sculptures, along with rare archival footage of artists at work."
African American Artists Series: L & S Video http://www.landsvideo.com/index.html
28-minute videos with study guides provide an in-depth look at each artist's life and work. Middle School & up.
Art of Romare Beardon 30 minutes on one disc. Produced by Homevision for PBS, 2003. Order at Amazon.com
"The inspired diversity of artist Romare Bearden's life sweeps viewers up in this compact documentary. From the American South to Pittsburgh, Harlem, and the Caribbean, Bearden displayed a unique, eclectic mix of styles, from his early paintings and watercolors to his collages, large-scale public murals, and late landscapes. Narrated by actor Morgan Freeman, with readings from Bearden's work by actor Danny Glover. "
I'll Make Me A World. Executive Producer Henry Hampton. 6 Videocassettes, 60 minutes each. PBS Video, 1999.
Profiles African American musicians, artists and authors throughout twentieth century America. Each segment is 60 minutes. Out of Print, but you can still find it at many libraries.
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