First encounters.

Professional development through the advanced planning of themed exhibitions provides art instructors in Howard County, Maryland, the impetus for many of the ideas that may become artful problems presented to students. In this installment of the series Artful Collaborations, Stacey McKenna and Gino Molfino share their response for the spring 2001 countywide exhibition based upon the commentary, editorial cartoons, and drawings by illustrator Edward Sorel.

A Professional Encounter

On September 1, 2000, the art teaching staff of the Howard County Public School System gathered at Mt. Hebron High in Ellicott City for professional development intended to set the direction for exhibitions for the new school year. Edward Sorel and his wife, Nancy, traveled from their home in the shadows of the World Trade Center in Manhattan to join the art teachers of Howard County and recall their collaborative efforts for First Encounters, A Book of Memorable Meetings. What had begun as a series of articles for The Atlantic Monthly in 1982 was published as a fully realized text in 1994. The genesis for First Encounters had come from the fictional Impossible Interviews written by Miguel Covarrubias and illustrated for Vanity Fair in the 1920s and 30s.

Ed entertained his audience with anecdotes and stories related to the drawing and research that had gone into this extensive project. Following his slide talk, Ed provided teachers with a workshop to demonstrate processes tailored to his illustrative style. Equipped with the information and inspiration from these sessions and copies of the book First Encounters, Stacey, Gino, and the art teachers began their school year considering lessons and units that could be used in response to the anticipated call for student work in the spring.

Inspiring Collaboration

The Photography II teacher, Mr. Molfino, was stumped as to how to incorporate the Sorel book into his curriculum, and jokingly said, "I guess the students could put paper bags over their heads and act out the scenes from the book!" Immediately Stacey was reminded of a lovely photography book Inge Morath made using Saul Steinberg's well-known paper bag masks. Gino and Stacey recognized that they had a great idea for both photo and studio art classes and an opportunity to have students in separate courses and adjoining classrooms collaborate on artwork.

The Lesson

First Encounters Between Art III, Art IV, and Photography II: Personal and Unique Approaches

At the beginning of the course, Stacey McKenna had students meet each other, review drawing materials and techniques, and collaborate on an artwork.

Mr. Molfino used the photography portion of the lesson to provide an opportunity for students in Photography II to acquaint themselves with many other fine-arts classes by working collaboratively in groups. This presented students service in the role of mentor to review basic black-and-white photographic processes including film exposure, processing and printing, experimentation with lighting techniques, and constructing in-studio and onsite photographic realities and setups.

The Art Problem

Students from the combined Art III and Art IV class designed and fabricated the encounter character masks, and Photography II students lit and exposed the scene as acted out by students wearing the masks. Through analysis of professional images, students became aware of various lighting possibilities available for ambient and in-house studio shooting.

In collaborative groups, students were asked to view Saul Steinberg/ Inge Morath collaborative photographs and consider high-contrast, harsh lighting, and soft, limited contrast prints. Each combination was analyzed for emotional effects. Equipment constraints and lighting concepts were discussed, and basic setups were demonstrated.

Students planned multiple lighting situations in their sketchbooks that could be used as references for shooting portraits. Students shared responsibilities for producing different lighting and camera functions. The portrait encounters were shot using 35mm film and processed, printed, and analyzed for possible refinement.

Guiding Statements

* Art 3 and Art 4:

Working with a partner, imagine that each person could become one pair of characters from Edward and Nancy Sorel's First Encounters. Create two paper-bag masks--one for each character--that could be worn to transform one's character. The paper-bag masks must capture the essence perceived from the story and illustration of the characters' personalities and appearance.

* Photography 2:

Working in collaboration, imagine that group members are photojournalists assigned to document the "first encounter" meeting between two people. Stage a series of photographs that document the encounter and use selected lighting scenarios to enhance mood and Sorel's concept of the characters and their stories.

Artistic Behaviors and Format Studio Concepts

* Line, value, shape, and contrast relationships can be used to capture the essence of character.

* The selection of materials can influence the character of artworks.

Formal Photography Concepts

* The use of studio lighting can enhance and create moods in portrait photography.

* Light can be either:

Hard--creating lots of contrast, with strong, distinct shadows and crisp, sharp highlights.

Soft--creating lots of tonal values, with maximum detail and minimum shadows.

* Using a handheld light meter offers more control than an integrated camera light meter.

Artistic Behaviors

* Artists and photographers create dynamic social, political, cultural, and personal statements using creative lighting situations.

* Artists and photographers research, record, and sketch information to promote the development of ideas.

* Post-Modern photographers have constructed realities and presentations where the photographer assumes many roles to produce narrative artworks that analyze identity.

Interdisciplinary Connections

* English--After looking at First Encounters and considering the narrative components of writing, students reflect upon and write a short story about a personal encounter with a new acquaintance.

* Drama--After research and analysis of the Sorel stories, students are asked to script and produce a scene, which relates to memorable meetings between themselves and others.

* Psychology--Students participate in question sessions that result in ideas from "encounter-type" meetings.

* Music--Students select and listen to music excerpts that have been associated with and used in period pieces related to meetings depicted between characters from First Encounters.

Evaluation Criteria

Art 3 and Art 4 students will:

* select media that effectively translates the essence of the characters' personalities and appearance.

* make masks that can be easily transported, stored, and be worn by other students or themselves at a future date.

* consider all four sides of the masks: front, sides, back.

* render facial features in proportion to the size of the paper-bag head.

* students make masks that can be easily transported, stored, and worn at a future date.

Photography 2 students will:

* analyze and draw inspiration from the works of Sorel, and apply formal or conceptual information in the final compositions.

* select and apply lighting situations and techniques that establish a mood or atmosphere capturing the essence of selected "encounters."

* create strong dynamic compositions using the elements of art and principles of design that are closely aligned to those found in Edward Sorel's illustrations, creating a visual pathway through the images.

Instructional Needs

Students often start the semester needing a warm up to get back into an art-making frame-of-mind. They benefit from early and positive peer interaction and feel more comfortable taking part in informal dialogues and formal critiques if they feel comfortable with each other. The assignment to create a "first encounter" between students that would allow them to get to know each other.

Instructional Planning

For the purposes of this art problem, the teachers offered students the opportunity to consider the Sorels' portrayal of first encounters.

About the Artist

Edward Sorel was born in the Bronx in 1929. He graduated from the High School of Music and Art in 1947 and the Cooper Union in 1951. Two years later, he and two of his Cooper classmates founded Push Pin Studios. Sorel did magazine illustration as well as book jackets and record covers. After a two-year stint at CBS, he began to freelance in 1958.

During the 1960s, Sorel was more and more drawn to political satire. He wrote and illustrated several small books. In 1965, Sorel's Bestiary, which depicted prominent personalities as birds and beasts, became a monthly page in Ramparts magazine. Shortly afterward, his caricatures began appearing in Esquire. About the time of Watergate, he began a weekly cartoon in the Village Voice. His satirical drawings were the main feature of his first one-man show at the Graham Gallery in New York. In his review John Canaday of the New York Times called Sorel "one of the funniest and truest satirical cartoonists alive or dead." In 1982, Ed and his wife, Nancy, began collaborating on a bimonthly feature for the The Atlantic Monthly entitled "First Encounters." In 1997, Knopf published a collection of his caricatures, Unauthorized Portraits. The following year, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. devoted several rooms to an exhibition of his work. Among Sorel's many children's books, The Saturday Kid, which he also wrote, is his favorite. He has been a frequent contributor to The New Yorker since 1992, producing over forty-five covers and many illustrations.

Artist's Reflections--Edward Sorel

At seventy-five, Sorel has no fear of losing his touch. "I've always had a nervous line, so if my hand should become shaky, no one will notice." After fifty years, he still cherishes the freedoms that those nervous lines have afforded him. "The thing I enjoy most about my job is that there are no bosses. I can take naps whenever I want and make my own day."

Teachers' Reflections

"The primary benefit was peer interaction. Students collaborated in pairs to make the masks and to solve lighting and exposure problems. Students from both classes collaborated on acting out the scenes for student photographers. The level of excitement was such that friends of art and photo students--students from outside of our art/photo classes--were eager to participate as actors. The desire to dress-up, wear masks, and play-act was astonishing! Even the usually shy and reticent students were eager to participate.... Making art is about play and experimentation. Images and text can exist on the same creative plane. They can inform and strengthen each other in storytelling and help to create a more cohesive understanding."

--Stacey McKenna and Gino Molfina

About the Teacher Collaborators

Stacey McKenna has taught all levels of core high-school art and is the chair of the River Hill High School art department. In 2004, her paintings and drawings were exhibited in the Maryland Art Education Association Juried Exhibition. In September and December of 2003, SchoolArts magazine published her articles based on classroom lessons she presented at River Hill High School. In addition to teaching at River Hill, McKenna teaches graduate and undergraduate courses at Maryland Institute College of Art.

Gino Molfino has taught core courses in the high-school art program. He is currently co-teaching the Howard County Gifted and Talented Saturday Program. In addition to teaching at River Hill High, Mr. Molfino teaches for the Young People's Studio Program at the Maryland Institute College of Art. This past year, he has had his artwork included in the Maryland Artist Equity Foundation juried exhibition of former award winners held at the Walter's Art Museum, and the Maryland Art Education Association juried exhibition.

WEB LINKS

www.edwardsorel.com

www.npg.si.edu/exh/sorel

Barry Shauck is assistant professor of art education at Boston University, and former instructional facilitator for the arts for the Howard County Public School System. Special thanks are extended to Renee Sandell, professor of art education at the MICA for instigating the series of articles entitled Artful Collaborations.