Teacher: Katie Hammond

Grade: 8th Grade

Lesson Title: Who Has Power?

Observing Power Through Kehinde Wiley’s Portraiture

Big Idea: Power

Key Concepts:

• In traditional portraiture there is not much diversity that is represented.

• Kehinde Wiley uses his portraits to redefine power.

Lesson Overview: For the first activity students will first consider their own definition of power and times that they have felt powerless. The class will be shown the PowerPoint “Looking at Power” and observe baroque artist Hyacinthe Rigaud’s portraits. They will discuss why the portraits were made and how they were created to show the patron as powerful. They will also consider what type of group is being represented. In the next activity students will watch a video about Kehinde Wiley’s big idea and his process. The students will have a discussion about how Wiley is using his subject as a way to define power. Wiley chooses everyday black males around his community for his subjects. This is to rethink racial and economic power. In his newer works Wiley uses women to address gender. Students will consider their own power within society and if there is something they want to change. This could stem from their race, gender, or economic class.  For the artmaking activity the students will create a digital painting. They can either make a self-portrait considering their own power, or like Wiley they can chose someone in their community.

Materials: Pencil, drawing paper (8 ½ x 11), Photoshop

Supporting Activity One: (20 minutes)

Essential Questions:

• What is power?

• Who is represented in historical portraiture?

  • How does the subject want to be represented?

Standard:

Grade 8

VA:Re8.1.8

Interpret art by analyzing how the interaction of subject matter, characteristics of form and structure, use of media, art-making approaches, and relevant contextual information contributes to understanding messages or ideas and mood conveyed

Objective:

• Students will have a discussion about historical portraiture and how the artist portrayed power.

Overview/Instructions: After students are seated, I will pass out the worksheet “Power.” The students will silently fill out the worksheet for about 5 minutes. When students are finishing I will ask them to keep their worksheet out to discuss later. I will ask the class what they know about portraits and have a quick discussion about their prior knowledge of portraiture. We will then show the PowerPoint “Looking at Power.” I will introduce French baroque artist Hyacinthe Rigaud and we will view several of his portraits. I will tell the class about how the baroque movement started in the 1600’s and was about extravagance, drama, and detail. As we are looking at Hyacinthe Rigaud’s paintings, I will start a discussion asking the students several questions like “Why do you think these portraits were made? Who commissioned them? How does the subject want to be represented? How are they showing power? Who is being represented?"

Supporting Activity Two: (20 minutes)

Essential Questions:

• Why does Kehinde Wiley want his subjects to be seen as powerful?

  • How is that different than past historical works

Standard:

Grade 8

VA:Cn11.1.8

Distinguish different ways art is used to represent, establish, reinforce, and reflect group identity.

Objective:

• Students will observe Kehinde Wiley and discuss how the artist is wanting to change the pervious perception about power. 

Overview/Instructions: After discussing the portraits by Hyacinthe Rigaud I will show the video Kehinde Wiley on TODAY. It introduces Kehinde Wiley and his big idea of power. It also shows his process of choosing people in his community to model, and painting them in pose from historical portraiture. After we watch the video I will return to the PowerPoint “Looking at Power.” We will look at a few more of Wiley’s portraits and observe ones side by side with the historical painting he was inspired by. I will ask the students what similarities they see to Kehinde Wiley’s work. I will lead the discussion hoping they talk about her strong stance and interaction with pattern. I will appropriately explain that the shapes in the work are supposed to represent male genitalia. After the discussion I will ask the students to look at their worksheets “Power” and reread their answers. I will ask the class if they feel differently about their answers. As a class we will discuss how Wiley is making society rethink the perception of power.

Artmaking Activity:  

Essential Questions:

• How can I use art to rethink race, gender, or class power?

• What does my work say about power?

Standards:

Grade 8

VA:Cr1.2.8

Collaboratively shape an artistic investigation of an aspect of present-day life using a contemporary practice of art and design.

Objective:

• Students will create their own digital image that defines racial, gender, or economic power inspired by Kehinde Wiley’s works. 

Overview/Instructions: After the discussion about Yayoi Kusama and Kehinde Wiley I will ask the students to consider their own power within society and if there is something they want to change. This could stem from their race, gender, or economic class. Wiley chooses everyday black males around his community for his subjects. This is to rethink racial and economic power. In his newer works Wiley uses women to address gender. Yayoi Kusama also addresses gender power in her artwork. The class will write down their answers. I will then introduce the artmaking activity. The students will have two options, they can either make a self-portrait considering their own power, or like Wiley they can chose someone in their community. This person should be someone they are comfortable talking to about this subject and can be a friend or family member. If student does choose another person it must be someone that can relate to his or her own power issue. For example Wiley felt powerless sometimes as an African American male so his subjects were also African American males. The students should choose a pose to place their subject in from the images I showed in class. For homework the students will do a contour drawing of their subject in this pose. I will end the class and start the activity next class so that students have time to draw their subjects.

(10 minutes)

Starting the next class I will ask students to share what they made. They will write a quick reflection about their drawings and what pose they chose. As they write I will scan their images into the computer. Once students are done they can open their image in Photoshop. Photoshop would have been introduced to students earlier in the year so they are familiar with the program. I will then show the class a quick way to delete the background on their image to just leave the lines from their drawings. This will be done in a step-by-step demonstration. Then I will demonstrate how to paint digitally on Photoshop using the paint tools. As students work on their own drawings I will walk around and help. As the students finish up their digital paintings I will ask them to consider what patterned background would compliment their subject in the image. Do they want tension in their image? The students can look through patterns online. Once they found one I can show another step-by-step demo how to save it and crop it into their digital paintings. Since they should already have layers it will be easy for them to blend it into their background. For homework I will ask students to write an artists statement about why they chose their subject and how their image was a statement about rethinking power.

(40-50 minutes) If students finish early they can start on their artist statement.