Art History - Arshile Gorky (Vostanik Adoian)

Our Specials schedule this year is

Mon - Art History

Tue - Philosophy

Wed - Structured Word Inquiry

Thu - Letter Writing

In my Art History 2024-2025 blog post, I decided December would be Arshile Gorky. Here are some resources and my planning notes:

Arshile Gorky
(born Vostanik Adoian)
1904 - 1948

Gorky's life was a difficult one and there are not ANY children's picture books about him. Instead we will be using books about war and being a refugee:

The Day War Came by Nicola Davies

Four Feet, Two Sandals by Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed

The Cat Man of Aleppo by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha

Last weekend I attended the "Dancing in the Well: Art for Healing Trauma" conference, and I plan to use some of those activities in our exploration of Arshile Gorky and his work.

teacher background information:

Rethinking Arshile Gorky by Kim S. Theriault
Penn State University Press

The Artist and His Mother painting (1926-36)
Whitney Museum of American Art

Arshile Gorky: Double Life, Double Portrait
National Gallery of Art

the original photograph of Gorky and his mother

Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective
Tate

Arshile Gorky
Wikipedia

also

Art History Kids - The Studio - April 2021

The Encyclopedia of Artists

Gorky's work at nearby museums:

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University, STL
Golden Brown Painting (1943–44)

I recommend joining Lotus Stewart's Art History Kids website (The Studio) and getting access to her past lesson plans. I like her work, and find it's really helpful to have so many ideas that I can use as a jumping off point.

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week of Dec 2:

Mon

story - Four Feet, Two Sandals by Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed

discuss the word < refugee >
refuge/ + ee

Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge

additional evidence for the -ee suffix
(referee, employee, attendee, mentee, trainee, trustee, grantee, honoree, nominee, awardee, auditee, attackee, captee, detainee, escapee, giftee, addressee, visitee, callee, photographee, recordee)

painting focus - "Garden in Sochi"
image p.7
discussion p.26

do Week 4 activity "Abstract Memories"
12" x 18" ivory construction paper, chalk pastels, cotton swabs

Wed

first read quote from Gorky about "Waterfall" on page 13 of Encyclopedia of Artists, vol. 3 and then look at the painting

do "Intuitive Art" activity from Dancing in the Well conference

week of Dec 9:

Mon AM

story - The Day War Came by Nicola Davies

painting focus - "The Artist and His Mother"
images from NGA blog post, "Double Life, Double Portrait"
discussion p.24

original photograph (1912)
painting (c. 1926–c. 1942)
painting (c. 1926–1936)

do Week 2 activity "Paint from a Photo"
watercolor paper / brushes / rinse water jars / painting boards and a Yarka Semi-Moist Watercolor 8-Pan Set for each set of three students

Mon PM

story - read They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel

repeat discussion and activity from earlier in the day

Tue

story - The Cat Man of Aleppo by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha

do "Collaborative Poem" activity from Dancing in the Well conference
(this was very energetically draining for the children; I wouldn't do it again)

week of Dec 16:

Mon AM

story - Leah's Pony by Elizabeth Friedrich (Great Depression)

painting focus - "Study for Mechanics of Flying"
image p.6
discussion p.25

connect WPA with CCC (and Giant City State Park)

Mon PM

story - I'll See You in My Dreams by Mavis Jukes

answer questions about airports and flying in a plane

look at examples of local murals (Carbondale Public Library, 609 S Illinois Avenue, 108 E Oak Street, 800 N Wall Street, and more)

do Week 3 activity "Travel Mural"
large roll of white paper, Filana block beeswax crayons, crayon rocks

Tue

story - A Boy Named FDR: How Franklin D. Roosevelt Grew Up to Change America by Kathleen Krull

if children have questions about polio,
Six Childhood Scourges We’ve Forgotten About, Thanks to Vaccines
The New York Times - Dec 13, 2024


for students who are interested in learning more about the Great Depression, I also have


Six Days in October: The Stock Market Crash of 1929
by Karen Blumenthal

Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp
by Jerry Stanley

interesting side note and article about Sanora Babb (for adults):
She Shared Her Notes with John Steinbeck. It was Her Novel’s Undoing.
The New York Times - Oct 18, 2024

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