Chapter 20
A Storm of Images: Art in the Contemporary World
Instructor’s Manual
Overview
In this chapter introduce Art in the Contemporary World. Highlight the development of Pop Art.
Speak to the multiple approaches to art and the return of older styles such as Realism. Look at art
that is outside galleries and museums and the art of different cultures.
Sub Headers
• Pop Art
• Venturi: Pop Architecture
• The End of Art: Minimalism
• The Return of Representation: Superrealism
• Architecture: Breaking Down Barriers
• Going Beyond the Art World
• Making Room for Women: Judy Chicago
• Changing the Nature of the Gallery Space: Performance Art
• The Art World Becomes Global: Postmodern Art and the New Image
• Postmodern Architecture
• Contemporary Nonrepresentation
• Contemporary Installation and Sculpture
• New Media and the Web
• A Global Art World with a Rich History
Terms:
combines
International Style
Minimalism
Neoexpressionist
performance art
photorealism
Pop Art
Postmodern Art
Superrealism
Lecture #1
Discussion:
Begin Lecture #1 by discussing the opening section. “Timeless Links: Protest and Revolution.”
Review how art has played a part in not only portraying such things as war, revolutions, and
protests, but also persuading viewers to form opinions. Continue the discussion by looking at
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Pop Art, Minimalism, the work of Christo and Jean Claude, and the impact of Judy Chicago and
other early feminist artists.
Class Questions/Prompts:
Pop Culture: Art or Advertising? Andy Warhol began his career as a graphic designer. As a
fine artist, he replicated consumer products such as Coca-Cola, Brillo Boxes, and Campbell’s
soup cans. He also created images of celebrities, such as Gold Marilyn Monroe (figure 20-1)
Some of his work was made in his “factory” in SoHo by his workers, eliminating his actual hand
in the production of the product. He once said, “Business art is the step that comes after Art. I
started as a commercial artist, and I want to finish as a business artist. After I did the thing called
‘art’ or whatever it’s called, I went into business art. I wanted to be an Art Businessman or a
Business Artist.” React to his statement. Is Pop Art fine art or graphic design? Can it be both?
Guerrillas Girls Gone Wild For the last 20 years, the Guerrilla Girls have been anonymous
agents for advancing the notoriety of women and minority artists, who are so often overlooked
even in today’s society. The “Girls” assume the identities of women artists of the past while
wearing gorilla masks. Through performance, books, and posters, the Guerrilla Girls infuse
humor to protest sexism and racism in politics and the art world, being the “conscience of
culture.” Do women have to be naked to get into the Met. Museum? was an early poster created
by the Guerrilla Girls in order to bring attention to racial and gender inequalities in the art world.
Go to the Girls’ website https://www.guerrillagirls.com/projects/ to see more examples of posters
and other mass media “ads” they made. View at least ten different poster designs. Which are the
most effective? Which are the least effective? Why? Which is the most artistic? The least
artistic?
Dinner Party Judy Chicago created The Dinner Party (figure 20-13) with help from a team of
hundreds. What is its significance in the history of art? Evaluate the use of the triangle as
symbolism and the number 13 on each side of the triangle. The women honored at the place
settings include artist Georgia O’Keeffe, writers Virginia Woolf and Emily Dickinson, political
leaders Theodora of Byzantium and Egyptian queen Hatshepsut, and social revolutionaries
Sojourner Truth and Susan B. Anthony. Why did Chicago include the women she did?
Depictions of War Have students compare and contrast Goya’s Third of May, 1808, Picasso’s
Guernica, and Kathe Kollwitz’s Bread! What messages were the artists attempting to send the
viewer? Which piece do you think was most effective in its delivery and why?
Exercise #1
1. Analysis
a. Have students make observations on materials, methods, cultural and
historical context.
Figure 20-2 Claes Oldenburg, Soft Toilet, 1966. New York.
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3. Compare and Contrast
Figure 20-1 Andy Warhol, Gold Marilyn Monroe, 1962.
Figure 20-3 Roy Lichtenstein, Drowning Girl, 1963. New York.
Lecture #2
Discussion:
In Lecture #2 discuss performance art, Postmodern Art, and the globalism of the art world.
Highlight the performance art of Ana Mendieta, the sculpture of Louis Bourgeois and the
architecture of Ralph Johnson. Speak to how there are many centers of the art world; all over the
world. Highlight how the Internet is spreading the history of art and giving everyone the
opportunity to share their art.
Class Questions/Prompts:
The Direction and Future of Art Lewis and Lewis leave us with these statements in the last
paragraph of chapter 20: “Artists are now justifiably suspicious of anyone who announces that
there is only one logical style or approach to making art. The history of the last hundred years—
in fact, the whole history of art—is littered with the remains of generations of “true” art. To wait
and see what the legions of artists will produce is one of the most pleasurable parts of the power
of art today.” Where do you think the direction of art is going? What techniques, media, and
subject matter will continue to resonate with viewers?
Exercise #1
1. Analysis
a. Have students make observations on materials, methods, cultural and
historical context.
Figure 20-38 Damien Hirst, For the Love of God, 2007.
2. Compare and Contrast
Figure 20-18 Ana Mendieta, Tree of Life, 1976
Figure 20-20 James Luna, The Artifact Piece (detail), 1987. San Diego,
California.