HHMS Art Department

Caring

Creating art is a way to show reverence for the things we love and respect. For centuries, patrons paid painters to create portraits of their family so they could be immortalized as a piece of art. Community art, like murals, leaves a positive impact and motivates the people who see it. Jacques Louis David created paintings like Napoleon Crossing the Alps because he wanted to glorify the French Revolution and create a legacy for Napoleon Bonaparte as the new leader of France. Artwork is always closely connected to important historical events because art is about more than just personal expression. It's an important record of humanity.

Risk-Takers

Artists must be determined. They face a lot of challenges, and they have to work through their failures to improve their art. Whether working independently or collaboratively, they have to explore new media and approaches. Photographers were not taken seriously as artists for many decades, but they continued to work hard to develop their craft. The Modern artist Pablo Picasso was already an amazing realistic artist, but he took risks and created entirely new forms of art. He was criticized at first, laughed at, but today he is considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century because of the risks he took with his art.

Balanced

Artwork isn't just about creating pretty pictures. Artists must experience the world and gain knowledge to develop the message behind their art. They need to be a part of the world, feel the range of emotions that come with living a full life, and put that depth of experience into their art. Artists focus for hours on their craft, but they also need to develop their minds and bodies to be well-rounded and healthy. Graffiti artist Jef Aerosol created The Reader showing the importance of reading and how our dreams are molded by what we read. The same can be said about our art.

Communicators

Art is a form of visual communication and has been used throughout history. This painting by Duccio di Buoninsegna called Raising of Lazarus is communicating a story found in the Gospel of John describing a miracle during which Jesus Christ raises Lazarus of Bethany from the dead after being entombed for four days. We are able to understand this story visually through the artwork without needing to read anything.

Principled

Frida Khalo was an artist and activist who is known for always standing up for her principles and what she believed in. Much of her work is influenced by her sense of self and belonging to her home country of Mexico and what the future of her country was. She believed in female leadership and independence.

Open Minded

Some of the most interesting works of art make us think beyond our own cultures, borders, and selves. Art is representation of culture. Art can also help us understand the cultures that came before us, such as this Sumerian Cuneiform tablet dating back to 3100-2900 B.C.E. We can see the world from different points of view by experiencing art beyond what we already know.

Knowledgeable

Faith Ringgold used the history of her childhood and family stories to compose her artworks woven into quilts as you can see from her Tar Beach series. Her knowledge about the people, poetry, and music surrounding her experiences profoundly influenced her artwork and carried over into her activism within the Civil Rights movement and Women's movement.

Thinkers

Auguste Rodin's bronze sculpture The Thinker is a male figure posed in such a way as to show he is engaged in deep thought. The Thinker has been used often to represent philosophy and intelligence. Thinkers are analytical and responsible in their decision-making and the figure's pose represents that moment of introspection much like an artist has when creating their work and making artistic decisions.

Inquirers

M.C. Escher's lithograph Reptiles is a nod to his artistic inquiry about nature, mathematics, architecture, and his famous "impossible constructions." Escher showcased his talents through a variety of interests and studies. Without his love of learning and nature of inquiry about other subject matters, he wouldn't have been able to produce the many artworks for which he is known.

Reflective

Artists must always reflect on their process. What is their art trying to express? What did they learn while using new media? Where do they struggle and why? Art students have art critiques often when they create art. They reflect on their art and get feedback from others to gain new perspectives. Artists have to be humble and receptive to criticism and advice, but also be able to face their own inner critics. We can grow from each failure if we reflect on it.

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