Sunday, January 19, 2003
Last modified at 6:39 p.m. on Wednesday, January 15, 2003
© 2003 - The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Museum of Texas Tech

Romare Bearden's watercolor "Evening" is displayed at the Museum of Texas Tech.

'Living with Art'

Exhibit showcases variety of styles, subject matters

Educational, entertaining and free. You don't often hear those words in the same sentence. They all describe an afternoon at the Museum of Texas Tech.

Through March 30, the museum is showing "Living With Art," an exhibition of modern and contemporary African-American art from the Alitash Kebede Collection. This exhibition presents works by Norma Lewis, Charles Alston, Palmer Hayden and Lois Marilou Jones from the period of the Harlem Renaissance (1920s and 1930s); Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Alma Thomas, Charles White and Elizabeth Catlett from the period of the Works Project Administration (1940s); and Herbert Gentry, Richard Mayhew, Ed Clark, Emilio Cruz and others from the contemporary period. In all, there are 60 works by 40 artists.

What is exciting about the exhibition is its diversity of styles and subject matter. It's a display that lends itself to hermeneutics, which simply means interpretation. There are two basic methods of hermeneutics: philological and theological. Parents visiting the exhibition with their children can use both to initiate discussion about art.

Philological hermeneutics, used mostly in the interpretation of classical texts, focuses on the form of the text, particularly its grammatical features and the changes of language over time. It seeks to understand the literal meaning conveyed in the text.

Lee Brodie

We can apply philological hermeneutics to the interpretation of paintings (and won't you sound impressive using this terminology). Choose a painting to discuss as a family. Observe the painting silently for a few moments. Then discuss what you have observed, such as its colors, light and dark, long or short brush strokes, balance and details.

In this preliminary stage, you are reading the artifact like you would read a telephone book. You want to take away factual information. There is no emotional attachment.

For example, select the painting by Emilio Cruz titled "Portrait of Alitash." What colors does the artist use? Describe the use of light and dark on the neck and face. Find where the artist has used long lines and short lines.

Once you have exhausted all possible observations, move on to theological hermeneutics, which focuses on the content rather than the form. Theological hermeneutics is used in the interpretation of biblical texts because it seeks to discover the message communicated in the text.

Museum of Texas Tech

Emilio Cruz painted "Portrait of Alitash" with oils in 1991.

Read the painting like you would read a novel — for the story that it tells you. When you read a fictional story or a poem, think about the ways you connect with what the author has written. Apply those same ways of connecting to the artworks.

As a family, discuss what the story or message of the painting might be. Does the title give you any clues? Why did Cruz choose Alitash as the subject of his painting? (She owns the collection!) Do you think they are friends? Describe the look on her face. How does it make you feel? How is this portrait different from or the same as others you have seen? Why would she have wanted her portrait painted?

At this stage of interpretation, you want to connect to the painting as much as possible. What evocative responses does it elicit? Is there something from your personal experience that helps you to connect to the subject matter? Remember, there are no wrong answers! Repeat this same technique with another painting. Think about how you connected to both artworks. Were the methods different or the same? Was it easier to connect to one than the other? Why? Discuss your two experiences with other family members. Were your experiences the same or different?

Some food for thought for parents: John Dewey, a progressive educator and inventor of the Dewey decimal system used in libraries, believed strongly in the educational value of museums. He argued that the quality of any life experience is more important than merely the experience itself. Dewey advocated that every experience lives on in further experiences.

Regular visits to the artworks on display at the Museum of Texas Tech build upon each previous encounter. Our studies indicate that children attend to and retain the information provided at the museum if there is a purpose to their visit and if they are required to complete an activity while on site. Completing the above interpretation exercise will facilitate learning and retention of information.

Lee Brodie is curator of education at the Museum of Texas Tech, 742-2432 or lee.brodie@ttu.edu.