---

To Student Art Work

The Portrait/Self Portrait: An Introduction to Portraiture.

Learning Standards For the Arts Related Learning Experience
Art Education

Commencement General Education, grade 9-12-Mixed Ability Levels.

See alsoNew York State Education Department Arts Resource Guide.

---

A Secondary Level, Studio in Art Foundation Drawing Project,

Robert vonHunke, Art Teacher
Fayetteville Manlius High School
Manlius, New York 13104

Student work. Arts Standard 1: Creating and Performing.

Students create a self portrait by first learning about portraiture drawing techniques/methods from art history. A theme of the project encourages students to work toward the goal of completing a self portrait through an experience of portraiture from the perspective of another artist.

Arts Standard 2: Knowing and Using Materials and Resources. Students use a variety of print reference material, videotapes, the internet, and the National Gallery of Art laserdisc for examples of portraits.

(a). Students plan their portrait/self portrait project based in part on information from library, museum, and internet resource material. The search for information focuses attention on adapting drawing methods of an artist whose work the student has selected. Students explore and discuss technical (including choice of medium), social, and cultural expression (background to subject and decisions artist had to make) evident in the work. The search for information also addresses transitional technical concerns - how to adapt process to expression of student's own idea for the self portrait.
The portrait/self portrait project usually follows the values vessel project, which served as a bridge from 3D exploration of a autobiographical theme reflecting self, into a 2D drawing of a self portrait.

Arts Standard 3: Responding and Analyzing Works of Art.

Students observe, comment about, and try emulating various techniques and methods demonstrated by artists, after reading about and discussing artists portrait styles found in reference books, videotapes, and the internet.

Arts Standard 4: Understanding Cultural Dimensions and Contributions of the Arts. This example illustrating technique is from the video "Masters of Illusion", produced by the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, D.C.

Students analyze examples of portraiture by different artists from art history, and communicate their perceptions of what the works convey in discussion in class, observations recorded in sketchbooks, and through replicating an example. Examples ranged from most familiar to artists who are less well known to the general public such as Maud Tousey Fangel but whose work interested the student.
I have in the past shown a brief clip from the video "Ferris Buehler's Day Off" . The film has a scene where the characters visit the Chicago Art Institute. What they see and what the filmakers present from the collection, may serve as a device to draw the students into thinking about the art museum as a resource represented in popular culture.

Students begin with a introduction to drawing a portrait from life; approaching the process through art history, and developing drawing the features of a portrait in their sketchbook, in class, and through reproducing a artist's example.

(a) Students begin by drawing a series of "portrait parts"-eyes, nose, mouth, ears, both in class and complete a page of each in their sketchbook.

(b) At the same time the class will spend a few days in the library and MacLab searching for, and selecting, a portrait by an artist whose work they admire, to work from. The examples selected are photo copied or printed off the Web to reduce images to gray scale. For example the Time-Life Libary of Art series of books features excellent historical biographies and art reproductions. The students then reproduce by making a copy as a drawing exercise, leading up to their self-portrait "in the style of...".

Back in the art room the art teacher facilitates a discussion of interpretations of the term "portraiture" and introduces concept of "self-portrait" in the context of self discovery through art history and the art making process.

The project introduces drawing the portrait through an examination of examples from art history, and through drawing a self portrait, guided by the technique/method of a artist selected by the student.

Some modifications are necessary, to adapt this experience to other levels.

(a). Reference material.

(b). Reproduction.

(c). Drawing Paper and Pencils.

(A). Formative Assessment
Students and the teacher engage in performance assessment at different stages throughout the duration of the project.

1. 1. discussion of constraints:
   Student Example.

   
   

2. 1. discussion of constraints:
   (a). form must reflect careful observation.
   (b). attention must be given to detail-what each pencil line/mark communicates.
   (c). the scale of the drawing is limited to a life size or smaller - preferably on 12"x18" paper.
   
3. 2. Observing approach to work:
   (a). exercising care with tools and supplies.
   (b). cleaning up and maintaining organized work space.
   (c). planning and visualizing the form by sketching carefully from observation.
   
4. 3. Observing forming process as it is reflected in the work.
   (a). initial class and sketchbook sketches provide valuable information which is transferred to long term project.
   (b). working from a rough construction to detailed finished work.
   (c). pacing the work, making slow but steady progress which requires patience.
   
5. 4. Maintaining a consciousness of craft.
   (a). taking pride in work with teacher support and encouragement.
   (b). care of tools.
   (c). preparing finished work for exhibit.
6. 5. Documentation.
   (a). photographing or computer digitizing students work (preferably by student).
   (b). using computer to assemble research and process notes, along with image. Students used SimpleText on a Macintosh to enter data. Teacher (or student webmaster) added html tags for our web page.
   

(B). Summative Evaluation:
Students will use rating scale and checklist to complete a self and peer evaluation checklist using a scale of 1-4 covering various criteria. We used the following:
(a). Historical Reference and Knowledge: (b).Expression of Originality: (c).A Consciousness of Craft: (d).Overall Effect: (e).Time on Task:

Examples of student work are displayed in school, the community, and here on our web page.