Teachers Guide For School Tours and Classroom Presentations

Amy Sillman

Exhibition in a Box

The Elephant in the Room, 2006 Oil on canvas 80 x 69 inches Private collection Aspen Art Museum 590 North Mill Street Aspen, Colorado 81611 aspenartmuseum.org 970.925.8050 Current Exhibition Amy Sillman February 14, 2014–May 18, 2014

About this Exhibition

Amy Sillman: one lump or two is the artist’s first museum exhibition and spans over twenty years of Sillman’s artistic career. The AAM’s presentation highlights the importance of drawing in the artist’s practice. The exhibition includes over 60 works varying in media, style, and subject matter, from drawn portraits and cartoons, to collages and diagrams, as well as iPhone video and paintings, some of which contain humorous takes on everyday life.

Sillman’s paintings delight the viewer with unexpected choices of palette, bold blocks of color, strong lines and gestural brushstrokes. Her multi-layerered subject matter often oscillates between the figurative and abstract. Art critic Ken Johnson observes: “The paintings are especially gratifying up close, where you can study the richly complicated textures and colors.”

This exhibition serves to build both understanding and appreciation of Sillman’s place in recent art history, and her importance to a resurgence of contemporary painting today.

A Shape that Stands Up and Listens #53, 2012 Ink and chalk on paper 30 x 22 1/2 inches Courtesy of the artist and Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

Amy Sillman: one lump or or two is organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston and is generously sponsored by First Republic Bank.

Additional support is provided by James and Audrey Foster, Barbara Lee, David and Leslie Puth, Sikkema Jenkins & Co., Nancy B. Tieken, the Dedalus Foundation, Inc., and Nancy and Dave Gill.

The Aspen Art Museum’s presentation of Amy Sillman: one lump or two is funded in part by the Aspen Art Museum National Council with additional generous support provided by Susan and Larry Marx. General exhibition support is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Exhibition lectures are presented as part of the Questrom Lecture Series and educational outreach programming is made possible by the Questrom Education Fund. Amy Sillman

About the artist Amy Sillman was born in , Michigan. Before becoming a painter, Amy worked in a cannery in Alaska, a silkscreen factory in Chicago, and trained at as a Japanese interpreter for the . She obtained her BFA at Manhattan’s School of Visual Arts in 1979, and received an MFA from in 1995. Amy currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

About the process Amy Sillman is considered to be one of the most influential painters of the 21st century. Her creative process involves a dedication to drawing, as well as allowing the elements of surprise and discovery to suggest direction as her artworks go through stages from extreme uncertainty to their finished states. Through both construction and deconstruction, acceptance and rejection, moving forward and then reversing and remaking, the artwork inevitably evolves through a thoughtful process of not becoming either/or but always AND.

About the protest Amy Sillman believes that she has a responsibility as an artist to both explore and push conflict and contradictions. In fact, many of her paintings are reactions to what she has been told to do or not to do. In the 1970’s, the creative and intellectual climate perceived painting as a medium that was no longer artistically viable. Messages, such as “painting is bourgeois or women cannot paint,” all became fuel for her own work and exploration. If painting was percieved as conventional, she would paint to prove otherwise. If women were told they could not paint, she would make it her career. By employing a “feminine” palette and gender-loaded subject matter, she created decorative protests, such as Me and Ugly Mountain, 2003. Most recently, she has been creating paintings on her iPad, to prove that this is a viable medium.

Me & Ugly Mountain, 2003 Oil on canvas 60 x 72 inches Collection of Jerome and Ellen Stern Amy Sillman

C, 2007 Oil on canvas 45 x 39 inches Collection of Gary and Deborah Lucidon

Questions for Looking

Look closely. What do you notice about the painting? Take an inventory of what you see and share your observations. Once you have identified the details—color, line, space, style, subject matter— ask yourself, “What connections am I making with this work of art?”Does anything about it remind me of something else?” A conversation about the work will naturally develop through sharing your thoughts. Notice how many different interpretations of the work of art you uncover together. Finally, based on all of the above, what might the artist be trying to communicate through the work? Explore the possibilities. Amy Sillman

Portraits from Orchard (an Ongoing Project), 2008 N & O v3, 2006 Ink, gouache and charcoal on paper Ink, colored pencil and gouache on paper 30 drawings, each: 15 1/4 x 11 1/2 inches 17 x 14 inches Courtesy of the artist and Sikkema Jenkins & Co. Courtesy of the artist and Sikkema Jenkins & Co.

Questions for Pondering

How has the artist chosen to represent the figures above? What might you do differently?

What is the mood of the work?

Do you think the couple on the right is in love? Why or why not?

Have you ever tried to draw someone from memory? What happened?

If you could ask the artist a question about these works, what would it be? Amy Sillman

The Plumbing, 2006 Oil on canvas 80 x 69 inches Private collection Activities

Connections to Twenty-First-Century Language Arts Skills and Readiness Competencies Think about something you do every day of your life such as brushing your Critical Thinking and Reasoning teeth, putting on your socks or shoes, or getting on the bus for school. Students are encouraged to ask questions Write a sentence about what it is that you do... “I brush my teeth twice and think critically in order to form a a day and sometimes three.” Now, using a pencil or colored pencil, draw conclusion. After observing and collecting a quick cartoon of what that looks like. Write several more statements information, students often propose based on your “everyday life” and draw a cartoon for each. Share your hypotheses about a work of art’s meaning cartoons with your friends. Notice how many of your classmates share a or context. similar experience as you! Information Literacy Using the visual information presented Drawing by works of art, students articulate commonalities and identify meaningful Amy likes to use her intuition when she draws and paints. Usually a patterns. Students understand that critical single mark or gesture will trigger a chain of responses and a series of processes such as observing, interpreting, reajustments. and evaluating lead to informed judgments regarding the merits of a work of art. Split up into small groups of two to four students. You will need paper for each person in the group and some pencils, erasers, color pencils, Collaboration charcoal, or watercolors. Students participate and engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions, Step 1: Make a mark or two on your own paper. asking questions and linking their Step 2: Pass your paper to the person sitting next to you. comments to the remarks of others in Step 3: Ask this person to respond to your original marks by adding his or order to find various meanings in works her marks to the page. of art. Students explain their own ideas Step 4: Continue to pass the papers until each person in the group has while interacting with others by sharing added or taken away a mark on all the papers. knowledge, stories, and interests. Together as a group, students explore ideas that Take a moment to reflect on what has been created on your paper by the might not otherwise be reached by a single group. What do you see? What would you like to add or take away? Does individual. the image look different when you turn it upside down or on it’s side. What else do you see? Continue to make choices by way of marks, colors, lines, Self-Direction etc. Let your intuition do the work. In evaluating works of art, students assess their own thinking and search for patterns, Share your abstract drawings with the class. relationships, causes and effects, and consider events and people throughout time. Students also develop the confidence to create a work of art, express their own “I like it when a painting asserts that ideas, and reflect on the choices and directions made in the process of creation. there is no top or bottom—that the only Invention orientation would be on a table or a flat Making art is the patient and dedicated surface. When installing the paintings quest for originality through exploration, experimentation, risk-taking, and in a space, I often turn them all the way problem-solving. This process involves a commitment to openness, around or switch them.” creative thought, and vision where -Amy Sillman the deconstruction, repurposing, and synchronicity of ideas generate personal revelations that inspire divergent thinking and illuminate the multiple pathways we use to redefine and expand our unique points of view. GLOSSARY TEACHERS’ GUIDE Abstract Art This education guide provides multidisciplinary activities to capture the interest Expressing ideas and emotions by of students and inspire their creativity. It is designed to help teachers connect the using elements such as colors and classroom presentation and museum visit with Colorado’s third-grade curriculum lines without attempting to create a and state standards. The guide also includes background information on artists and realistic picture. works featured in the museum’s current exhibitions. In addition, this guide provides Composition a glossary, pre- and post-visit questions, and links to online art resources. The arrangement of parts or forms (e.g., within a work of art, music, or literature). EDUCATION SUPPORT Contemporary Art The AAM’s education programs are made possible by the Questrom Education Art created by living artists. Fund. Additional support is provided by Colorado Creative Industries. The Colorado Curator Creative Industries and its activities are made possible through an annual The person at a museum who is in appropriation from the Colorado General Assembly and federal funds from the charge of selecting and arranging the National Endowment for the Arts. works in an exhibition.

Exhibition A display of art work.

Gallery A room, series of rooms, or building devoted to the display of works of art.

Gesture RESOURCES Characterized by vigorous application of paint and expressive brushwork Online Museum Aspen Art Museeum A building where works of art, scientific specimens, or other objects of cultural value are displayed. http://aspenartmuseum.org/event/amy-sillman-one-lump-or-two/ Medium Colorado Model Content Standards The materials an artist uses to create his or her artwork. www.cde.state.co.us/StandardsAndInstruction/ColoradoStandards.asp Noncollecting A museum that does not have a To request more information, please contact the Education Department. permanent collection but instead focuses on changing exhibitions.

Palette A particular range, quality, or use of color.

Representational To depict something easily recognized by most people. About the Aspen Art Museum

CONTACT MISSION Aspen Art Museum The Aspen Art Museum is a noncollecting institution presenting the newest, most important 590 North Mill Street evolutions in international contemporary art. Our innovative and timely exhibitions, Aspen, Colorado, 81611 education and public programs, immersive activities, and community happenings actively Phone: 970.925.8050 engage audiences in thought-provoking experiences of art, culture, and society. Fax: 970.925.8054 www.aspenartmuseum.org HISTORY Annie Henninger The Aspen Art Museum is a kunsthalle, or noncollecting museum for contemporary art, Education Program Manager located in the historic mountain community of Aspen, Colorado. It is one of only four art E-mail: [email protected] institutions in Colorado accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and the only Phone: 970.925.8050 ext. 24 museum on the Western Slope with this accreditation. Fax: 970.925.8054

Founded in 1979, the museum continues to be at the center of Aspen’s renowned cultural Julia DeRose community, which includes the Aspen Music Festival and Aspen Institute. In addition to Education Assistant exhibiting contemporary art, the AAM is committed to public and educational programming E-mail:[email protected] for communities in the Roaring Fork Valley (Aspen, Basalt, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, Phone: 970.925.8050 ext. 33 Marble, and Redstone, ) and the surrounding region (Avon, Crested Butte, Eagle, Grand Fax: 970.925.8054 Junction, Leadville, New Castle, Parachute, Rifle, and Vail). Through free public programs and guided tours of museum exhibitions, collaborations with other organizations, and art GALLERY HOURS outreach programs in regional schools, the museum provides a wide variety of community- Tuesday–Saturday, 10 am–6 pm based programming. Thursday, 10 am–7 pm Sunday, noon–6 pm In July 2005, the AAM welcomed Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson as its director and chief Closed Mondays and major holidays curator. Among her accomplishments, Zuckerman Jacobson has fostered collaborations ADMISSION with organizations like the Aspen Skiing Company to bring contemporary art to new FREE audiences in innovative ways. She has reimagined the AAM Distinguished Artist-in- Courtesy of Amy and John Phelan Residence program, launched the Aspen Art Press, founded a special annual artist honoree prize (the Aspen Award for Art), launched the AAM’s award-winning local television program Art Matters!, and created Exhibition in a Box.

This August, we will be opening our new 33,000 square foot museum facility designed by the distinquished contemporary architect, Shigeru Ban. Exhibition in a Box will continue with some very exciting changes! With the addition of an education workshop in the new building, school tours will include art-making activities for everyone. We will also offer free boxed lunches for all students that participate in the program.

Rendering courtesy of Shigeru Ban Architects

Aspen Art Museum Mill St.

Main St. Main St. Mill St.

Hopkins Ave. Hopkins Ave. Galena St. Spring St.

Hyman Ave. Hyman Ave. Mill St. AAM Future Home Exhibition in a Box

One of the Aspen Art Museum’s most relevant and successful community-based programs is Exhibition in a Box “EiaB”. This outreach program offers elementary MEMBERSHIP students a curriculum-based classroom introduction to contemporary art and a To thank them for their participation in EiaB, teachers will receive an Aspen Art behind-the-scenes glimpse into how an art museum functions using current AAM Museum Individual Membership ($35 exhibitions as a starting point. Following the classroom visit, the program continues value). Benefits include: with an all-expenses-paid visit to the museum, where students tour the facility, meet museum staff, and see the work of artists discussed in the classroom. • Subscription to the AAM’s Members Magazine The AAM believes that museums are a cultural resource for everyone. EiaB • 15% discount on summer and winter workshops for children introduces contemporary art as the expression of living artists who share and • 10% discount on AAM SHOP purchases respond to the world we all inhabit. With this program and other education • Invitations to all exhibition openings activities for people of all ages, the Aspen Art Museum is committed to creating • Special viewing hours and events lifelong learners who continue to develop skills to better decode, interpret, and • Online educational resources navigate the highly visual, aural, and material realities of the 21st century. TRANSPORTATION REIMBURSEMENT The EiaB is offered free of charge to all public and private elementary schools The AAM will reimburse round-trip located within a 2 1/2–hour drive from Aspen. The program premiered during the mileage for EiaB museum visits. When 2007–2008 school year with a focus on third-grade classrooms in the Roaring scheduling your tour, please request a Fork Valley. Based on the success of its first year, the EiaB has since expanded transportation reimbursement form. expanded to Eagle, Garfield, Gunnison, and Lake Counties. Due to Colorado’s Following the field trip, return the unique topography, many of these schools are in isolated locations with limited form with a transportation invoice access to cultural resources. EiaB responds by bringing the cultural resources of or receipt along with a breakdown the Aspen Art Museum to them. of the associated costs on school letterhead. Reimbursement will be This education guide provides multidisciplinary activities to capture the interest issued within four weeks from the date of students and inspire their creativity. It is designed to help teachers connect the of submission. classroom presentation and museum visit with Colorado’s third-grade curriculum FEEDBACK and state standards. The guide also includes background information on an artist As an educational resource for featured in the museum’s current exhibitions. In addition, this guide provides a teachers, the AAM welcomes feedback glossary, pre- and post-visit questions, and links to online art resources. regarding the classroom presentation and your trip to the museum. Please let us know what worked well and what might improve your next Exhibition in a Box experience.

After receiving an evaluation form in the mail, please fill it out and mail or fax it back to the AAM at your convenience. Your evaluation is crucial to helping the education department strengthen the program for future years. We also appreciate receiving thank-you letters or student artwork made in conjunction with your visit. We hope you enjoy your visit and greatly look forward to working with you and your students. Exhibition in a Box

MAKE ART A PART OF YOUR CURRICULUM

There are countless benefits to including art in the classroom.Exhibition in a Box is tied to the National Standards of Learning and focuses on object-based learning, visual literacy, critical thinking, and the creative process. The program offers each student the opportunity for the personal reflection that takes place as a part of viewing art as well as the benefits of discussing art in a group setting, which allows for better listening, thinking, and concentration. The program also offers teachers the opportunity to work with their students on the following:

• Understanding the arts as a universal language. • Using art as a way of communicating feeling without writing or speaking. • Talking about art to promote discovery and alternative modes of learning. • Learning to see an object, problem, or situation in multiple ways. • Looking at art to trigger the imagination.

MUSEUM MANNERS

When visiting the Aspen Art Museum, please remember that you are in a space that encourages the contemplation and quiet discussion of art by all visitors. A few guidelines to remember:

• Raise your hand if you have a question or something you would like to share. • Speak quietly in the galleries using your inside voice. • Stay at a safe distance from the artwork and do not touch it unless you are given permission to do so. • Please walk and do not run in the museum. • Enjoy food and beverages before entering the museum, or save them until after the tour has ended and you have exited the gallery. • Have fun!

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR VISIT

Take a moment to prepare your class for their visit by asking them a few questions about their experiences with art and museums. When you return, share the postvisit questions to encourage students to think and talk about what they saw at the AAM.

Previsit • Have you ever been to the Aspen Art Museum before? What do you expect to see when you visit? • What materials do artists use to make art? • Is art always beautiful? Should it be? Why or why not? • Should art tell a story or have an important meaning? Why or why not? • Can anyone make art? Why or why not? • Why do people make art?

Postvisit • Describe what the art museum experience was like for you. • Did you see or learn something unexpected at the art museum? If so, what? • How was seeing the work in person different from looking at the photograph in the classroom? • Which work of art was your favorite? What did you like most about it?

The following pages provide an in-depth look at the integration of the museum and classroom visit with the Colorado third-grade classroom curriculum standards.