UNTITLED, by NEIL PARSONS
Untitled
1986
Neil Parsons
Mixed media on paper, 33 x 33″,
ABOUT THE ARTIST: NEIL PARSONS
Neil Parsons was born in 1938 on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana. He is a member of the Southern Pikuni. He earned his BA and MFA from Montana State University Bozeman and became a founding member of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Parsons returned to Montana in the ’70s to lead the Art Department at the Blackfeet Community School, now known as the Blackfeet Community College.
QUESTIONS FOR VIEWING
Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS):
- What do you see in this painting? What do you notice?
- What makes you say that?
- What else do you see in this painting? What more can we find?
Additional Questions:
- What shapes do you see? Do they remind you of anything?
- What is abstract art?
- What is symmetry? Is this piece or parts of it symmetrical?
- Neil is inspired by the art and materials in his culture, Plains Indian beadwork, buffalo and deer hide, and the Great Plains landscape. What are some ways you think he shows this in his art?
Art Vocabulary:
- Abstract Art- a form of art with no recognizable subject, instead the artist explores colors and shapes
- Symmetry- a shape or image where one side is the same as the other
- Abstract Expressionism- an art movement in the 1940’s where artists expressed themselves using shapes, color, and lines in a spontaneous way
- Shape- an element of art that is a two-dimensional enclosed area
- Line- an identifiable path created by a point moving in space
- Texture- the look and feel of a surface
IEFA Vocabulary:
- Blackfeet/Siksika- See Montana Indians and their History and Location- Blackfeet https://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/Page%20Files/Indian%20Education/Indian%20Education%2010 1/Montana%20Indians%20Their%20History%20and%20Location.pdf
- Plains Indians- many groups of Native Americans who traditionally inhabited the Great Plains
- Great Plains- a vast prairie between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River
- Plains Indian beadwork- intricate and colorful bead designs made on animal skin and sewn onto clothing, accessories, and ceremonial items reflecting the unique cultural identities and practices of various Plains Indian tribes
LESSON PLAN: ABSTRACT PAINTING
Lesson Overview: Students create an abstract painting inspired by their personal style and interests.
STANDARDS
National Visual Art 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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