Memphis Brooks Museum of Art – Homeschool Day
Artists Experiment with Non-Traditional Materials
Sonya Clark,American, b. 1967,Woven Combs, 2012, Combs,Memphis Brooks Museum of Art purchase with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. Peter
Formanek, Elliot and Kimberly Perry, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Boyland, The Boule Foundation, Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Callihan, Kaywin Feldman and
Jim Lutz, Mr. and Mrs. Willie Hughes, Marina Pacini, David McCarthy, Dr. James K Patterson, Dr. Linda Tharp, Amrianne and Ronald Walter, and
the citizens of Memphis, Tennessee, 2012
At today’s Homeschool Day we will examine the diverse materials used to create art in the
20th century and the meanings associated with those materials. You will get to examine art that
is bright, whimsical, abstract, unusual, and dazzling; the exciting world of contemporary art!
Contemporary simply means "art that has been and continues to be created during our
lifetimes." In other words, contemporary to us. Contemporary art is works from the 1960’s-up
until this very minute. Artists of the contemporary era are known for breaking boundaries,
questioning the status quo, and experimenting with the unusual. Compared to earlier time
periods, contemporary art has a much more socially conscious or conceptual attitude than ever
before. Topics often addressed in contemporary works are: political injustice, feminism,
globalization, poverty, violence, and education. Current artists also love to experiment using
materials of all shapes, colors, and sizes. In the galleries today, look closely at the materials
each artist uses. What can we discover when we look closer?
When looking at contemporary art, it is important to ask questions like:
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What can we learn from this?
Why did the artist choose this particular material to work with?
How was it made?
What is the artist trying to say to the viewer?
What inspired the artist to make this work of art?
How does this work of art make me feel?
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Before or after exploring the galleries, come visit the art making studio (open from 11-2 pm).
We will be creating our own modern work of art by exploring unusual mark making and
printmaking techniques, using primary colors!
Vocabulary
Acrylic: a paint containing acrylate resin, used especially in painting pictures
Appropriation: the taking of something that belongs to or is associated with somebody else
Conceptual: pertaining to or the forming of a general notion or idea
Contemporary: art produced at the present period in time
Fluxus Movement: a name taken from a Latin word meaning "flow, flux" (noun); "flowing,
fluid" (adj.)—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending
different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s
Found Objects (or objet trouvé): a natural or everyday object, e.g. a pebble from a beach,
treated as something of artistic value or incorporated into a work of art
Installation: an artwork assembled by an artist that involves the arrangement of threedimensional objects or the use of paint and other media directly on the walls or floors of the
exhibition space
Medium: the materials used to create a work of art
Minimalism: a movement of abstract artists who produce uncluttered paintings and
sculptures that make use of basic colors and geometric shapes in impersonal
arrangements
Mixed Media: the use of different artistic media, e.g. painting, photography, and collage, in a
single composition or work
Representational: depicting something in a physically recognizable form
Reappropriation: to appropriate again as taken from one purpose and set apart for a different
one; to appropriate something negative and make it positive.
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Selected Works
The following are 3 suggested works that you can use to create your own tour of the museum’s
permanent collection. You can use them to explore the museum’s Contemporary Collection
and find the many non-traditional materials within it.
Brick Self- Portrait, 1981
Location: Main Floor, Contemporary Gallery
Robert Arneson, American, 1930-1992
BRICK SELF-PORTRAIT, 1981
Ceramic
Gift of Art Today, Robert Fogelman, Dr. Tom Gettelfinger, Wil and Sally
Hergenrader, Carla Hubbard, Mickey Laukhuff, Marjorie Lieberman, Jan
Singer, and Zeno Yeates, 85.7
Robert Arneson rejected the idea that ceramic art should only be functional or decorative
such as a vase or a drinking vessel by transforming ceramics into a sculptor’s medium. He
broke previously established boundaries between “art” and “craft” by creating sculptural and
nonfunctional clay pieces. Throughout his career, he created common everyday objects out of
clay such as toilets and presented them as works of art. He also produced many self portraits,
each revealing another dimension of his identity.
Arneson’s bricks began as a play on Minimalist art but he also sees the clay brick as the
foundation of civilization (they predate recorded history), and the most basic element of a
structure. Bricks are also the structural material of kilns that in turn transform clay into “brick”.
Many of the bricks in this piece, bear the artist’s last name in the same way as a commercially
fired brick is stamped with the manufacturer’s signature. Arneson uses bricks as symbol of his
craft and another way to use something common, as bricks are the most common clay object
in the world. This piece leaves the impression that the artist is built of bricks and can be
dismantled or rearranged like stacks of bricks.
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Is Arneson’s self-portrait realistic or abstract?
Do you think Robert Arneson’s self-portrait was successful? Why or why not?
What non-traditional material could you find at home to make your own
self- portrait?
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Woven Combs
Location: Main Floor, Contemporary Gallery
Sonya Clark
American, b. 1967
Woven Combs, 2012
Combs
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art purchase with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs.
Peter Formanek, Elliot and Kimberly Perry, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Boyland, The
Boule Foundation, Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Callihan, Kaywin Feldman and Jim
Lutz, Mr. and Mrs. Willie Hughes, Marina Pacini, David McCarthy, Dr. James K
Patterson, Dr. Linda Tharp, Amrianne and Ronald Walter, and the citizens of
Memphis, Tennessee.
2012
Sonya Clark is a first generation American, born in Washington D.C. who studied art at the
Cranbrook Academy of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. Coming from a family with a rich
heritage of Jamaican and Trinidadian lineage, her work reflects a deep appreciation for family,
storytelling, and craft.
When asked about her art work, Sonya responded, “I gained an appreciation for craft and a
value of the handmade primarily from my maternal grandmother. Many of my family members
taught me the value of a well-told story and so it is that I value the stories held in objects…”
In her sculpture, Woven Combs, Clark’s work helps us see this everyday object in a new way,
by connecting the unique material of plastic combs into a connection of childhood. As an artist
that works with textiles, Clark believes that hairdressing was the first form of textile art and
hair was the first fiber. Her personal connection to the comb began like that of nearly every
young girl, squirming in a chair while an adult with a comb attempted to calm a messy head of
hair. In this sculpture, Clark explores the myriad of ways in which combs fit together to create a
long plaid fabric like form. Pushing the boundaries, Clark calls her plastic combs her “fiber” as
she seeks to redefine the definition of the word “textile”.
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Does Sonya Clark’s sculpture remind you of anything else?
Why do you think Sonya Clark chose plastic combs?
Have you seen any other sculptures that are made of non-traditional objects?
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Vide-O-belisk
Location: Rotunda
Nam June Paik
South Korean, b. 1932
Vide-O-belisk, 2002
Vintage television cabinets, neon elements, and video, 232’’ x 82
½’’ x 84 ½’’
Signed and dated: lover level
Commissioned by the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art; funds
provided by the Morrie A. Moss Acquisition Fund, the Hohenberg
Foundation, Wil and Sally Hergenrader, and the Bodine Company
2002.4
Through the creative use of installations, videos, films, and performances, Nam June Paik
has shaped the way we view the moving picture in contemporary art. Widely considered the
father of video art, Paik was an instrumental figure in the Fluxus movement during the 195060’s.This movement encouraged experimental work in art, music, and performance, and was
strongly influenced by the writings of John Cage. By using the television and the portable
camera, Paik transformed these devices into objects of personal expression. This new medium
that Paik created revolutionized art making in the later half of the 20th century.
Paik had always refered to museums as modern versions of ancient temples that house
society’s cultural artifacts. Vide-O-belisk was commissioned for the Brooks, as a symbolic
obelisk for the museum, a modern day temple, which also references the ancient Egyptian city
of Memphis. The installation stands 19 foot tall and is made from a tower of vintage 1950’s
television cabinets, adorned with neon symbols. From this piece we see Paik’s interest in
technology, communication, and music. Each cabinet plays one of three videos that are
continuously looped: one shows early moments in television history contrasted with images of
the museum’s collection with images of ancient Egypt; and finally, keyboards and metronomes
share the screen with images of Paik’s early career. Vide-O-belisk is a monument to the
exchange of ideas and information through the various historical modes of communication and
art.
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Do you believe Paik’s installation conveys the notion of sharing ideas and
communication? Why or why not?
Does anything in this sculpture remind you of the city of Memphis?
Can you find Egyptian inspired symbolism in this work of art?
How has technology changed since the 1950’s?
Further Resources
 Parents guide to looking at art with children:
http://www.artjunction.org/archives/[email protected]
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Starting a conversation about contemporary art: http://www.art21.org/teach/oncontemporary-art/starting-the-conversation
Post-Visit Activities
 Activity 1: Pick a painting that you enjoyed from your visit today at the Brooks. Take a
photograph of the work (without a flash), then at home create a work of art that is
inspired by this piece. Try using the same color pallet, medium, and even size of the
artist’s work you’ve chosen.
 Activity 2: In your next museum or gallery field trip, bring a paper and pencil to practice
Feldman’s Model of Art Criticism, found here:
http://www2.gvsu.edu/hipshean/resources/Feldman's%20Model%20Crit.pdf
This exercise allows you to better understand how to describe, evaluate, and make a
judgment on the art that you see.
Suggested Reading:
 What Is Contemporary Art? A Guide For Kids by Jacky Klein and Suzy Klein, 2012
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Art by Patrick McDonnell, 2006
Please join us on November 19th for our next Homeschool Day, where we will explore
materials in the folk art of early America.
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