john currin
the old guy
the big idea: artists often make work that helps us to uncover truths.
to begin
ask your students to spend 1-2 minutes quietly examining the image above. when they have had enough time to digest the artwork, it’s time to explore further through quality questions.
as you lead this discussion, accept any response! praise your students for sharing their thoughts. paraphrase your pupil’s answer using your own words to make sure you’re both on the same page. when you’ve come to the end of their lines of thought, ask another question!
this exercise is meant to serve as a casual discussion. feel free to add or omit questions so that the conversation can proceed organically. remember to use inquiry based language when forming questions ( i.e. “what could be happening?” rather than “what is happening?)
make sure that your students have pencils and paper while they explore this artwork, so they can work out their thoughts through words, lists, and drawings!
quality questions
what is the first thing you noticed?
why do you think you noticed this first?
what else do you see?
what do you think the setting of this painting might be? or, if we were standing inside of this painting, where might we be?
it seems as if the artist is intentionally setting up a scene of mystery. what additional information in the painting do you wish were more complete? or, what information do you wish you had about this man?
encourage your students to take a few moments to re-examine the artwork and make a list.
first, make a list of what you can assume just by looking at the painting.
1.
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now, make a list of what we don’t know. for example, is he alone? what activity is he currently engaged in? why might his sleeves be rolled up so high?
1.
2.
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when you have reached the end of this line of the discussion, continue asking quality questions to see what further discoveries can be made!
what do you think this man might be like? what clues is the artist giving us about who he is?
what do you notice about his appearance? his clothes? his hair? what might these things say about the old guy?
what about his expression?
take a moment and try to mimic the man’s expression with your own face. how do you feel?
think of one word to describe the man’s expression. why did you choose that word?
what do you think this man might be thinking in this moment?
why might the artist have depicted the old guy in profile?
imagine we’re now in front of the man, and we can see him straight on. what is different about him now? do we know anything about him that we didn’t before?
what might be happening in front of the man?
imagine the artwork is a paused television screen. you have the power to push play. what happens when you push the play button?
is he alone, or is there someone else out of frame? what makes you think that?
finally, why might the artist have chosen to capture this moment in time and not another? why might this moment be important?
the big idea
how does this object relate to the big idea?
john currin’s work seeks to uncover who people really are. he studies men, their personalities, their stories, why they are who they are.
key information:
currin paints like an old master, but indulges in color schemes and fashions dimly remembered from the past.
john currin is a figurative painter. it means that he paints people, exclusively.
he is considered a “genre painter”, depicting aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities.
he is also an artist profoundly interested in freezing movement. he enjoys being able to choose a moment in time, paint it, and ‘look at it forever.’
quotes:
“i got into the persona of a midwestern art professor, a hot shot realist guy.” - john currin
“i don’t think i’m a painter of male power, i think when i paint men, it’s in order to make a beautiful painting of weakness.” - john currin
“he creates a superficially ‘normal’ context, whether it be a fragonard painting or a vintage pin-up, and synthesises it, putting an edginess on it which immediately makes the viewer ask, ‘hey, what's going on?’. he is the master of the double-take.” - rochelle steiner
remember to allow your students to derive their own narratives from this artwork before revealing any information about the artist!
equal voicing opportunity
using the activity sheet below, have your students draw what they think is happening in front of the old guy. pose additional questions to them, encouraging them to …
where is he in your version of the artwork?
is he alone, or is there someone there with him?
is there dialogue involved in your version? if so, what is being said?
students can even fill in the empty painting, or the object in the upper right!
some students prefer to write poems or stories about this artwork, rather than fill in the rest of the image!