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• Students will consider the ethical issues surrounding the exposure of other people’s personal stories through art and literature. • Students will create a narrative incorporating the stories of friends and family. • Students will read a range of published journals and letters.
Art:21 Web Site • Touch & Moor —Janine Antoni clip & interview • German Brutality & Roman Sensuality: Picutres of Soldiers in the Landscape—Collier Schorr interview & clip • Home Visits— Pepon Osorio interview & clip • Stories—introduction by John Waters & Charles Atlas • Loss & Desire —introduction by Jane Alexander & Charles Atlas • Humor—introduction by Margaret Cho & Charles Atlas • Time—introduction by Merce Cunningham & Charles Atlas Additional Web Sites • http://www.globeofblogs.com/ Web site of Blog sites (personal journals made public online) Classroom Materials • Literary examples of posthumously published diaries & letters, such as the journals of Sylvia Plath and Kurt Cobain • Paper • Scissors • Glue • Video Equipment (if available)
• Where do the parameters between the public and the private meet and where do they intersect? • Under what conditions is it acceptable to use other people’s stories in artwork? In literature? In journalism? Under what conditions is it unacceptable? • When does the public have the “right to know?” • When might someone want his or her story told? • What is a voyeur? How might this term be applied to making and viewing art? • What are examples of other public forums where private stories are shared or revealed?
Regarding the Personal View Art:21 Segments on Season Two artists Janine Antoni, Collier Schorr, and Season One artist Pepón Osorio. Initiate a discussion with your students that addresses how each artist makes use of other people’s stories in their artwork? What stories do they tell? What artifacts do they use to tell these stories and how do they use them? How do the subjects of the stories contribute to the production of the artwork? How are the stories altered through the artists’ interpretation? How might they be altered through the viewer’s interpretation? Can the stories be considered “true”? Are there circumstances that seem to cross the boundary between public and private? How does the artist Charles Atlas alter the personal stories the opening hosts are telling? How does his intervention change the stories they are telling? The Personal Becomes Public There are many instances in which a person’s diaries, journals or letters have been made public, whether after their death or during their lifetime. Initiate a discussion with your students about the ethical considerations involved in publishing someone’s personal narratives after their death. What are the responsibilities of the author, the publisher or the artist in making the ideas, thoughts or opinions of others public? When might it be considered of artistic or historic value? When could it be considered a betrayal of confidence? Read examples such as Sylvia Plath’s or Kurt Cobain’s posthumously published diaries to augment discussion. Internet blogs, publicly accessible web sites used by individuals to post journal entries and private observations, are a growing trend. Have students discuss the differences between Blogs and published journals. Have students read a variety of different journal entries from different sources (Internet blogs, published journals, historic letters, etc.) and discuss how these written examples of personal stories are similar to or different from the works of art discussed previously. (Time: One to two 45 minute sessions) Creating with Personal Stories Ask students to gather personal stories and artifacts (objects, photos) from friends and/or family. Create a work of art and accompanying narrative that brings together the words and objects they have given you. Ask students to consider how to keep the intimacy of the objects and stories while providing a wider context for a public audience. The final work of art could take the form of collage, sculpture, installation, performance, or video. Present your artwork to the class or create a school-wide display. Alternately, two students can pair together, each telling the other’s story using artifacts and narrative. (Time: Three 45 minute sessions to long-term project)
• Have students examined the ethical questions involved in creating art and literature with other people’s stories? • Have students created their own artwork that narrates personal stories? Find out if this lesson plan correlates to your state's education standards! On PBS TeacherSource do a search for "Art in the 21st Century" and click on the Standards Match icon.
While this lesson considers the artwork of Collier Schorr and Paul Pfeiffer as they relate to the concepts of fame and celebrity in mass media culture, it can be altered or combined with other lessons to form a unit such as: Public Facades, Private Interiors The Face of Fame Understanding Home Model Homes Did you use this lesson or generate your own activities based on ideas inspired by the lesson? Submit student art work, new lesson plans, and your comments to Art:21 and have them posted on the site. Help the Online Lesson Library grow!
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