THE MAYBE WHEEL, by NEAL AMBROSE SMITH
2014, Oil on Canvas, 22 x 30″, Museum Purchase with funds from an anonymous donor (2016.4.2)
ABOUT THE ARTIST: NEAL AMBROSE SMITH
Neal Ambrose Smith was born in 1966. He is a descendant of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation of Montana. Neal’s work spans a large variety of mediums including painting, sculpting, printmaking, jewelry, photography, graphic design, and music, but the majority of his works are paintings, sculptures, or prints. He is currently the chair of Studio Arts at the Institute of American Indian Arts and Alaska Native Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Neal’s work utilizes elements of pop culture from his youth and frequently explores Native identity. He is the son of prolific contemporary Native Artist (and fellow Online Art Suitcase artist) Jaune Quick-To-See Smith.
QUESTIONS FOR VIEWING
Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS):
- What do you see in this print? What do you notice?
- What do you see that makes you say that?
- What else do you see in this print? / What more can we find?
Additional Questions
- Do you recognize anything in this print?
- Is Neal telling a story?
- What is a layer? How many layers of imagery are in this artwork?
- Where do you think he started?
Art Vocabulary:
- Mixed Media- a variety of media or materials in a work of art
- Collage- a piece of art made by glueing various materials (photographs, magazine and newspaper clippings, patterned paper, colored paper, found papers) on a backing
- Pop Culture- modern popular culture, things people are interested in or talking about
- Layer- the process of applying various materials on top of one another • Background- the area behind the main object/subject
- Emphasis- the part of an artwork that catches the viewer’s attention
- Composition- the arrangement of various visual elements in an artwork
IEFA Vocabulary:
- Salish and Kootenai: See Montana Indians and their History and Location – Flathead Reservation https://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/Page%20Files/Indian%20Education/Indian%20Education%20101/ Montana%20Indians%20Their%20History%20and%20Location.pdf
LESSON PLAN: POP CULTURE COLLAGE
Lesson Overview: Students will create a pop-culture narrative collage, crafting a layered composition, then add hand-drawn elements.
STANDARDS
National Visual Arts Standards:
- VA:Cr2.1.3a: Create personally satisfying artwork using a variety of artistic processes and materials.
- VA:Cr3.1.3a: Elaborate visual information by adding details in an artwork to enhance emerging meaning.
- VA:Ps6.1.4a: Identify and explain how and where different cultures record and illustrate stories and history of life through art.
Montana Standards:
Visual Arts
- Anchor Standard #2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work. Create artwork using a variety of artistic processes and materials
- Anchor Standard #3: Refine and complete artistic work. Elaborate on artwork by adding details to enhance meaning.
- Anchor Standard #8: Construct meaningful interpretations of artistic work. Discuss the use of media to create subject matter, form, and mood in artwork.
IEFA
- Essential Understanding 1: There is great diversity among the twelve sovereign tribes of Montana in their languages, cultures, histories, and governments. Each tribe has a distinct and unique cultural heritage that contributes to modern Montana.
- Essential Understanding 2: Just as there is great diversity among tribal nations, there is great diversity among individual American Indians as identity is developed, defined, and redefined by entities, organizations, and people. There is no generic American Indian.
- Essential Understanding 3: The ideologies of Native traditional beliefs and spirituality persist into modern day life as a tribal cultures, traditions, and languages are still practiced by many American Indian people and are incorporated into how tribes govern and manage their affairs.
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