The Collection of American Grade Levels: 9th-12th Time Needed: 60 mins LESSON TITLE: ART CULTURE

During the 1970s and 80s, art combined “form and function, elegance and spontaneity, tradition and experiment” and energized art collectors. After viewing the White House Collection of American Crafts: 25th Anniversary Exhibit, students Overview will investigate the meaning behind several works in the collection and why First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton considered them so important. Students will then explore how craft art has evolved from the 1970s to today.

Discover and analyze the ways that Science, Technology, Engineering, and Objectives Mathematics contribute to art and design. The learner will be able to… Understand the cultural/social climate (late 1980s and 1990s) that influenced the art pieces in the American Craft Collection.

Pre-visit – (Teacher) • Teacher to review pre-tour activities and suggested readings. • Teacher to discuss etiquette and expectations about upcoming tour. Tour – (Docent) • 30 minutes- Tour at Clinton Center Timeline • 10 minutes- Activity in Classroom • 20 minutes- Lesson in Classroom Post-visit(Teacher) • Discuss Trip. • Review experiences at the Clinton Center. • See “Post-tour Activities” and choose an assignment

Familiarize students with the Clinton Center, it’s purpose and vision of inspiring others by sharing the story of President Clinton’s humble beginnings and his rise to the White House. Discuss different mediums of art and crafts including metal work, , , and . Have students divide into groups and research different artistic mediums. Pre-tour Introduce students to American Crafts by sharing with them an article about the Activities original White House collection tour and pictures of a current Contemporary Craft exhibit at the in Washington D.C.: Article: https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/12/07/White-House-craft-collection- begins-tour/1444818312400/ Gallery exhibit: https://americanart.si.edu/art/highlights/craft?page=1

1 Students and teachers will meet with the docent and hear an outline of the Pre-tour tour activities. This period acquaints students with the expectations for student behavior, alleviates apprehension, and gives everyone an opportunity to interact Meeting before the group tour begins.

Craft and Structure 4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, College including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of and Career history/social studies. 6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. Readiness Anchor Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats. Standards 9. Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources. English Language Proficiency 9-12.1 Construct meaning from oral presentations and literary and informational text through grade-appropriate listening, reading, and viewing. 9-12.8 Determine the meaning of words and phrases in oral presentations and literary and informational text. Reading RI.9-12.7 Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account. Social Studies Era6.6.AR.9-12.5 Research contributions made by Arkansans in the fields of art, medicine, politics, science, and technology Fine Arts CR.1.3.1 Extend an imaginative idea into a broader solution. (e.g., water color picture weavings, crayon resist, printmaking) Arkansas CR.1.4.1 Individually formulate multiple solutions to an art or design problem through brainstorming. Curriculum R.1.VAA.1 Describe the elements of art in artistic compositions. Frameworks R.1.VAA.3 Identify art media, processes, and terminology R.9.3.1 Evaluate an artwork based on teacher provided criteria. R.9.4.1 Evaluate multiple artworks based on teacher-provided criteria. CN.3.VAA.2 Describe the historical and current impact of works of art. CN.11.5.1 Examine the manner in which art is used to inform or change society or an individual. Science CI1-ETS1-2 Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering. Mathematics HSG.MG.A.1 Use geometric shapes, their measures, and their properties to describe objects (e.g., modeling a tree trunk or a human torso as a cylinder) HSG.MG.A.3 Apply geometric methods to solve design problems (e.g., designing an object or structure to satisfy physical constraints or minimize cost; working with typographic grid systems based on ratios)

2 Suggested “Inside the Machine: Art and Invention in the Electronic Age” by Megan Prelinger Readings “Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing” by Margaret S. Livingstone

1) Have students discuss the different STEAM concepts that would be used to create their favorite medium of art. Students should research a piece of art (or an artist) that they find interesting and write about how science, technology, engineering, or mathematics played a role in its creation

Suggested 2) Encourage students to create a piece of art of a craft that draws on STEAM Post-tour ideas. These pieces could include kinetic sculpture, creative use of unconventional mediums, architectural drawing, patterning, color theory, or Activities geometry.

3) Break students into small groups and have them choose one piece of art they feel represents a social movement or the social climate of a time-period. Have them present their findings to the class.

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