THE FAMILY

Questions

1. Many artists have depicted the family, either in group portraits or engaged in daily activities. Why do you think this has been such a popular subject? Why does your family take photographs or make videotapes? What does doing this say about our concept of family or the importance of family?

2. Choose ONE of the following for discussion and commentary in your journal. Consider how gesture, composition, and color combine to say something about family relationships

	A. Edgar Degas (French, 19th century) The Bellelli Family 1859-60 Some facts: The family members are dressed in black in Degas' painting because there has been a recent death in the family. What would you guess the family dynamic to be?
	B. Mary Cassatt (American, 19th century) The Bath 1892 Mary Cassatt never married but she was very close to her siblings and their children—a good aunt! What does this painting tell you about her view of motherhood?
	C. Käthe Kollwitz Seed for the Planting Shall not be Ground up 1942 Kollwitz, a German painter, lost both a son in World War I and a grandson in World War II. How does her view of the role of the mother differ from that of Cassatt?
	D. Palmer Hayden (African American, 1890-1973) The Janitor Who Paints 1939-40 Hayden was an academically trained artist who chose to paint in a consciously naive style. He himself worked as a janitor in order to support his art. What is the artist painting? How do you think he feels about his family? about his identity as painter and janitor?
3. Choose ONE of the following paintings by Carmen Lomas Garza for commentary and discussion in your journal. Carmen Lomas Garza (b. 1948 in Kingsville, Texas) is a Chicana (Mexican-American) artist. She is a highly trained, well-known artist who has chosen to work in a simple "folk" style. She was criticized as a child in Texas for speaking Spanish, ridiculed for bringing nutritious bean and meat tacos for her school lunches, and denied information about pre-Columbian art and architecture in her college art courses. Do you think incidents such as these might have determined her artistic style? How and why? All the works included here were from a travelling exhibit entitled A Piece of my Heart/ Pedacito de mi Corazón. All deal with aspects of the familia from the artist's personal experience and with her community experience.
	A. Watermelon 1986 Who is included in this painting? Is the eating of food part of your experience of close family ties?
	B. Posada (Inn) 1987 What community festival is being depicted? How is "family" defined here? How do religious traditions serve to solidify families?
	C. Making Tamales 1987 Note the details, especially on the wall. What are some of the realities that unify this family? Click here for a detail of the wall.