TITLE: Pop Culture and Art

ART: Popular Culture in American Art

TEKS:

6.2 A, C 6.3 A 6.4 A, B

OBJECTIVE:

Students will discover items from popular culture through a work of art of the artist Barton Benes.

MATERIALS:

• See image below

OVERVIEW:

Barton Lidice Benes was born in New Jersey in 1942. At the age sixteen, he rented a studio apartment in New York with a fellow classmate. At that early age, he dreamed of having a picture hanging in an art gallery. In 1963, his first exhibition was held in a cow barn in Millstone, New Jersey, which sells art to people from Princeton, New Jersey. By 1965, Benes had his first important exhibition of paintings and watercolors at the Traverse Gallery in Scotland. In 1974 he had his first solo exhibition In New York at the Allen Stone Gallery.

One of his most famous art works, Reliquarium, was finished in 1997 and is an embodiment of popular culture. The artwork contains various fragmented items from famous personalities to ancient artifacts from King Tut's tomb.

Today, Barton Benes is a tireless fighter against AIDS, which is reflected in his body of work entitled "Lethal Weapons." He is also a private collector of African and South American tribal art. His various works of art reflect a mischievous sense of humor.

DISCUSSION:

The students should view the image of Reliquarium above and research information on Barton Benes and then view the image again.

After viewing the image of Reliquarium for the first time, discuss the following questions:

1. How does this piece of art make you feel?
2. What do you think popular culture means?
3. Why do you think Barton Benes chose the fragmented sacred relics he did to incorporate into his work of art?
4. How many of the items and famous personalities can you identify in the work of art that you are familiar with?
5. Where do you think Barton Benes acquired the artifacts he used in his work of art, Reliquarium?
   

ASSIGNMENT:

After viewing and discussing Reliquarium, the students should construct a work of art using various fragments of popular fragments of popular culture of their choice and incorporate them into their project. They should then explain the items that they used and why they chose those items they did to the class.

RESOURCES:

Publications:
Reuter, Laurel. Lethal Weapons. North Dakota: North Dakota Museum of art, 1993.
Print Documentation, Reliquarium. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Tamarind Institute, 1997.

Internet Links:
http://www.ask.com (type in Barton Lidice Benes) numerous web sites to explore.