Terry Evans: Matfield Green Stories
Photography exhibit at Ulrich Museum of Art: August 20 – November 27, 2011
To schedule a fieldtrip, contact Aimee Geist, curator of education: [email protected]
*Ulrich Museum of Art offers 100% bus reimbursement for school visits!
Matfield Greens series online:
http://www.terryevansphotography.com/index.php?/projects/matfield-green/
“I want my photographs to show the nature of prairie in a way that reminds us that it matters.” ~ Terry Evans
Discussion questions:
Vocabulary:
Potential Pre-visit and Post-visit activities:
**Very special opportunity:
Art Curricular Connections:
Standard 1: Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
Standard 2: Using Knowledge of the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design
Standard 3: Creating Art Works through Choice of Subjects, Symbols, and Ideas
Standard 4: Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures
Standard 5: Reflecting Upon and Assessing the Characteristics and Merits of Art
Standard 6: Making Connections between the Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
USD 259 Social Studies Curricular Connections for 1st and 2nd Quarters:
6th grade:
Humans, their society, and their environment interact
How have location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and regions influenced civilizations?
7th grade:
Humans interact with their environment
How have location, place, human-environment interaction, movement and region influenced the way people live?
How has geography shaped economy?
8th grade:
Humans, their society, and their environment interact
How have location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region influenced the history of the U.S. as it developed?
Cultures have similarities and differences which change over time
How does where you live determine who you are and who you can become?
9th grade World History:
Humans, their society and their environment interact
How have location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region influenced the growth of nations?
10th grade US History:
Humans, their society and their environment interact
How have location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region influenced the history and development of the U.S.?
11th grade US History II:
Humans, their society and their environment interact
How have location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region influenced the history and development of the U.S.?
Links about Terry Evans & her work
http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=ulrichmuseum&p=/Art/CurrentExhibitions
Current exhibits at the Ulrich Museum of Art (including Evans exhibit)
“When looking at environment it is impossible to miss signs of how humans have altered it. Environmental activists use art to educate people about the invasiveness of their lifestyles into eco spheres around the world. Making people aware is a big step in helping to protect their land from further damage. Photographer Terry Evans documents the influence of modern agriculture on prairies.”
From http://accad.osu.edu/womenandtech/eco_art/environmental_art.html
http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.art.020
Encyclopedia of the Great Plains – bio of Terry Evans
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/my/terry-evans/13864
Terry Evans images in the online collection at the Art Institute of Chicago
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/splendor-in-the-grass/Content?oid=897857
Splendor in the Grass – an article about Terry Evans
The show also includes photographs of the small Kansas town of Matfield Green. “I’ve always been fascinated by contemporary human ruins,” says Evans. “What fascinated me when I went to Matfield Green were the abandoned houses. I always think they contain rich stories. What became increasingly interesting to me were the human mysteries. I would go to these places I’d photographed from the air and photograph them from the ground. I became fascinated with the similarities and differences in scale from the air and from the road. Now I'm much more interested in investigating the messiness of humans on the prairie than in understanding the structure of the universe.”
To schedule a fieldtrip, contact Aimee Geist, curator of education: [email protected]
*Ulrich Museum of Art offers 100% bus reimbursement for school visits!
Matfield Greens series online:
http://www.terryevansphotography.com/index.php?/projects/matfield-green/
“I want my photographs to show the nature of prairie in a way that reminds us that it matters.” ~ Terry Evans
Discussion questions:
- Terry Evans is mainly known for her landscape photographs. Why do you think she would want to photograph the people of Matfield Green, KS?
- How are portraits of people who live in a small farming community related to images of landscapes?
- Does the fact that the community of Matfield Green is nearby to Wichita affect the way that you view the photographs? Why?
- This exhibit is called Terry Evans: Matfield Green Stories. Why do you think it would have the word, story in the title?
- How does the land change with population increases or decreases in small farming communities?
- Evans says that she is fascinated by “contemporary human ruins.” What issues might a community face when there are only a small amount of inhabitants?
- What is aerial photography? What has aerial photography been used for over time?
- How does the aerial photography that Evans has created of the Matfield Green area show a relationship between the land and the people who are there?
- What are some challenges you can imagine photographers might encounter when taking aerial photographs?
- What is a portrait? When you look at the images of the people, what do they have in common in the way that Evans composed the pictures?
- Why would Evans title the images with the people’s names?
- Compare and contrast these two images: http://www.terryevansphotography.com/index.php?/projects/matfield-green/
- Evans shows images of abandoned houses and abandoned schools. What are some reasons why these places might be abandoned in a small farming community?
- Evans captures some images of prairie burnings. http://www.terryevansphotography.com/index.php?/projects/matfield-green/
- Evans captures a train moving along the prairie land in the Matfield Green area: http://www.terryevansphotography.com/index.php?/projects/matfield-green/
- Why would Terry Evans be interested in documenting cattle paths? http://www.terryevansphotography.com/index.php?/projects/matfield-green/
- Look at the image, South Creek. http://www.terryevansphotography.com/index.php?/projects/matfield-green/
- How does Terry Evan’s Empty Room http://www.terryevansphotography.com/index.php?/projects/matfield-green/
- The pictures in this exhibit were taken over the span of many years. How do they work together as a series to capture the artist’s perspective of a community?
- How does the use of color affect the way you look at the images?
Vocabulary:
- Aerial photography – a photograph taken from an aircraft or a satellite in flight
- Portrait – a likeness of a person, especially of the face, as a drawing, painting or photograph
- Landscape – a section or expanse of rural scenery, usually extensive
- Focal point – the point at which all elements or aspects converge; center of activity or attention
- Home – a geographical area where a person feels that they belong
- Community – a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage; a locality inhabited by such a group
- Urban – characteristic of or accustomed to cities
- Rural – characteristic of the country, country life, or country people; rustic
- Proximity – nearness in place, time, order, occurrence, or relation
- Abandon – to leave, desert
- Restoration – a return or bringing back to a former, original, or normal condition
- Empathy – the ability to understand and share the feelings of another
Potential Pre-visit and Post-visit activities:
- Have students research the small town of Matfield Green, KS.
- Use a digital mapping application to find out how far away is it from where you live.
- What is the current population of the town? How has the population of the town changed over time?
- Where do the children that live in Matfield Green go to school?
- Discuss differences in daily life between urban and rural communities.
- After viewing Terry Evan’s images, create a journal entry of a typical day from first-person perspective as if you lived in Matfield Green. Use descriptive language to show your understanding of what it might be like to live in a rural area. It might help to choose an image from the exhibit to base your story on.
- Imagine that you have a friend that lives in a rural area that is coming to visit you in the city for the weekend. Create an itinerary of places you would take your friend. On your itinerary, include location addresses, hours of operation, and prices for the activities you would want to do together. Create a comic format drawn narrative of how you envision and visualize this experience.
- Use a Venn Diagram to show differences and similarities in rural and urban living. Create a drawing or collage that juxtaposes characteristics of rural and urban life.
- Based on your experiences and after viewing Terry Evan’s Matfield Green photographs, create a persuasive argument for living in either a rural or urban area.
- Create a visual representation to show how local rural and urban areas are interdependent.
- Research primary sources attributed to Matfield Green through the Kansas Historical Society. [ http://www.kshs.org/ ] What can you tell about the history of the town and its people by looking at primary sources?
- Aerial photography can be used as a geographical tool. Using Google Maps, find an aerial image of a place you consider to be home. This can be your actual home, or a place that makes you feel like home. What can you learn about this place by looking at this image? Print out your image and write a short reflection about this place. Make sure to include a map key with your image. Re-envision this map through interpretation in a drawing or painting. Use scale to represent significant features to you.
- On a localized level, analyze the push-pull factors that Matfield Green residents might face.
**Very special opportunity:
- Terry Evans will be in Wichita at the Ulrich Museum of Art on Friday, Nov 18, 2011. She will speak about her work at 6 pm, with Q & A following her talk. The artist talk is open to the public.
Art Curricular Connections:
Standard 1: Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
Standard 2: Using Knowledge of the Elements of Art and the Principles of Design
Standard 3: Creating Art Works through Choice of Subjects, Symbols, and Ideas
Standard 4: Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures
Standard 5: Reflecting Upon and Assessing the Characteristics and Merits of Art
Standard 6: Making Connections between the Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
USD 259 Social Studies Curricular Connections for 1st and 2nd Quarters:
6th grade:
Humans, their society, and their environment interact
How have location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and regions influenced civilizations?
- Geography pG 1:1 The student explains and uses map titles, symbols, cardinal and intermediate directions, legends, latitude, and longitude.
- Geography G 5:1 The student explains how humans modify the environment and describes some of the possible consequences of these modifications
- Economics pE 1:1 The student explains how scarcity of resources requires communities (and nations) to make choices about goods and services.
- Geography G 4:1: The student examines reasons for variation in population distribution (e.g., environment, migration, government policies, birth and death rates).
7th grade:
Humans interact with their environment
How have location, place, human-environment interaction, movement and region influenced the way people live?
How has geography shaped economy?
- Economics 1:2Understands how limited resources require choices
- p3:1(A) Describes factors that influence trade
- 3:2Explains costs and benefits of trade
- Geography 1:4Explains reasons for using different geographic tools
- Geography p2:4(K) Identifies criteria that can be used to define a region
- Geography 4:1Describes and analyzes population characteristics
- Economics1:2 Explains how people choose to use resources
- p3:1(A) Describes factors that influence trade
- 2:3 Identifies and explains how Kansas, U.S. and world regions are interdependent
8th grade:
Humans, their society, and their environment interact
How have location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region influenced the history of the U.S. as it developed?
Cultures have similarities and differences which change over time
How does where you live determine who you are and who you can become?
- Geography 4.2.▲(A) analyzes push-pull factors including economic, political, and social factors that contribute to human migration and settlement in United States (e.g., economic: availability of natural resources, job opportunities created by technology; political: Jim Crow laws, freestaters; social factors: religious, ethnic discrimination).
- History 4.2. (A) examines a variety of different types of primary sources in United States history and analyzes them in terms of credibility, purpose, and point of view (e.g., census records, diaries, photographs, letters, government documents).
- Geography 1:2 creates maps, graphs, charts, databases
- Geography 2.1 identifies and explains changing criteria used to define a region;
- Economics 2:1.▲(K) explains how relative price, people’s economic decisions, and innovations influence the market system (e.g., cotton gin led to increased productivity, more cotton produced, higher profits, and lower prices; steamboat led to increased distribution of goods, which brought down prices of goods and allowed goods to be more affordable to people across the United States; development of railroad led to transportation of cattle to eastern markets, price was decreased and profit was increased, timely access to beef).
9th grade World History:
Humans, their society and their environment interact
How have location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region influenced the growth of nations?
- Geography G1:2.(A) interprets maps and other graphicrepresentations to analyze United States and world issues.
- Geography G1:3.(A) analyzes ways in which mentalmaps influence past, present, and future decisions about location, settlement, and public policy .
- Geography G1:4. (A) produces maps and other geographicrepresentations, using data from a variety of sources to answer questions and solve problems.
10th grade US History:
Humans, their society and their environment interact
How have location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region influenced the history and development of the U.S.?
- Geography G2.1 The student identifies and explains the changing criteria that can be used to define a region,
- Geography G2.2 The student explains why labels are put on regions to create an identity,
- Geography ▲G4.2 The student analyzes push-pull factors including economic, political, and social factors that contribute to human migration and settlement in U.S.
- History H4.2 The student examines a variety of different types of primary sources in U.S. history and analyzes them in terms of credibility, purpose, and point of view.
11th grade US History II:
Humans, their society and their environment interact
How have location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region influenced the history and development of the U.S.?
- Economics 1:4. (K) explains how economic choices made by individuals, businesses, or governments often have intended and unintended consequences (e.g., individual: build a house in a flood plain; business: car, need for roads, railroads, ecosystems; government: isolationism at beginning of WWI, Prohibition Act, Space Race, building of atomic bomb).
- History 2:1.▲(A) uses primary source materials to explore individual experiences in the Dust Bowl in Kansas (e.g., diaries, oral histories, letters).
- Geography G1:2(A) interprets maps and other graphicrepresentations to analyze United States and world issues (e.g., rural vs. urban areas, development vs. conservation, land use in the world vs. local community, nuclear waste disposal, relocation of refugees).
Links about Terry Evans & her work
http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=ulrichmuseum&p=/Art/CurrentExhibitions
Current exhibits at the Ulrich Museum of Art (including Evans exhibit)
“When looking at environment it is impossible to miss signs of how humans have altered it. Environmental activists use art to educate people about the invasiveness of their lifestyles into eco spheres around the world. Making people aware is a big step in helping to protect their land from further damage. Photographer Terry Evans documents the influence of modern agriculture on prairies.”
From http://accad.osu.edu/womenandtech/eco_art/environmental_art.html
http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.art.020
Encyclopedia of the Great Plains – bio of Terry Evans
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/my/terry-evans/13864
Terry Evans images in the online collection at the Art Institute of Chicago
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/splendor-in-the-grass/Content?oid=897857
Splendor in the Grass – an article about Terry Evans
The show also includes photographs of the small Kansas town of Matfield Green. “I’ve always been fascinated by contemporary human ruins,” says Evans. “What fascinated me when I went to Matfield Green were the abandoned houses. I always think they contain rich stories. What became increasingly interesting to me were the human mysteries. I would go to these places I’d photographed from the air and photograph them from the ground. I became fascinated with the similarities and differences in scale from the air and from the road. Now I'm much more interested in investigating the messiness of humans on the prairie than in understanding the structure of the universe.”