Using silhouettes expressively.

Our high school recently moved to a new facility, presenting many opportunities for art classes to help make the barren campus feel like a welcoming space. Our librarian asked me to think about an installation for a prominent architectural element that extends from the library ceiling. Many ideas were considered, but it was a combination of the purchase of some new digital photography equipment, a unit on working with the human figure, and a field trip to a museum that proved to be just the inspiration that my intermediate art class needed to collaborate on this project.

This class made a trip to a museum where we'd focused on artworks depicting the human figure, including an ancient Greek amphora vase. We decided our design couldn't be fussy, but should be boldly graphic and immediately eye-catching. Silhouettes, like the ones we had seen on the Greek vase, came to mind.

Inspired by Art

Greek vases became our jumping-off point for a discussion about function: This vase represented the human figures (usually gods and/ or goddesses) in an idealized way. Then we looked at silhouettes made by Auguste Edouart in the 1800s and discussed their function. Again, individuals and families were presented in a positive way, since these were made to be sold as portraits.

Contemporary Silhouettes

Moving along to contemporary times, students immediately recognized silhouettes from Apple iPod advertisements. Students perceived a relationship between these idealized, extremely stylish young people and the figures on the Greek vase. Function was discussed again: obviously, the iPod advertisements were designed to sell a product. Were the Greek vases designed to "sell" or promote something as well, perhaps an ideal body type or cultural idea?

Finally, we switched gears and talked about Kara Walker's very personal and expressive installation pieces. Rather than idealize the human subjects of her work, she uses them to express psychological and historical truths, often ugly ones. Students noticed a real contrast between the purpose of her work and the previous ones we'd studied.

Working Onsite

The presentation of this material was done in the library, so that as students were looking at images, they could refer to the specific site for which they would be creating their installation. Inspired by the powerfully graphic silhouettes they'd seen, students were asked to choose how they would like to approach the project: Would they like to idealize the human figure or use silhouettes expressively?

After some guided discussion and problem solving, the class decided they would like to use the project to express something about their personal high-school experience. Other decisions were made such as a class: size (they decided a variety of sizes would be best); color (black on white); and material (because of time constraints, black paper was chosen).

Incorporating Technology

Students were excited to begin creating the project, which would involve using our new digital camera and computer with photo-editing program. The process included several steps: first, students put thought (and physical energy!) into posing. They worked in pairs to photograph each other, editing out many images for being too cliched, or not expressive enough.

After pictures were downloaded onto a computer, an image manipulation program was used to outline the figures and fill them in with black. Some students chose to include interior detail in their silhouettes, which turned out to be a wonderful idea, resulting in some of the most successful silhouettes. Background was deleted. The silhouette was printed on transparency material (4 x 5" was ideal), then traced onto black paper from an overhead projector to the size we needed for the site. Finally, students used hobby knives to cut out their silhouettes.

Every student's work was included in the installation. Students had to make thoughtful choices about the placement of each figure while hanging the project. During the critique, many students mentioned that they were surprised at how much more powerful the completed installation was than the individual silhouettes. The black-and-white contrast makes a strong visual statement, eliciting a response from almost everyone who walks into the library, and we hope that the expressive quality of the silhouettes makes our campus feel a bit more like a place where students belong.

Safety Note

Students should use caution when using hobby knives to cut out their designs.

NATIONAL STANDARD

Students analyze relationships of works of art to one another in terms of history, aesthetics, and culture, justifying conclusions made in the analysis, and using such conclusions to inform their own art-making.

WEB LINKS

www.pbs.org/art21/artists/walker/ index.html

www.artcyclopedia.com

www.getty.edu/education/for_teachers

Carol Horst is an art teacher at Tehachapi High School in Tehachapi, California.