Look
- Invite students to select one portrait to look at closely.
- Ask students to silently look at the portrait for at least one minute, before listing their observations.
- Encourage students to observe line, shape, texture, pattern, repetition, colour and text.
Discuss
- Invite students to discuss their individual and collective observations, while viewing the portraits side-by-side.
- Ask students to begin considering the processes the artists have used to create the portraits.
Discussion prompts:
- What do these portraits remind you of?
- How do you think these portraits were made? What visual elements hint at the process used?
- How might it feel to touch these portraits?
- Why might the artist have chosen this particular process?
Connect
- Invite students to continue investigating one portrait in more detail.
- Ask students to explore how the work was made and how this relates to the artist’s intentions and broader practice.
- Encourage them to start by reading the artists’ statements before researching further.
Inquiry prompts:
- How does the artist describe the process of creating the portrait?
- What techniques (photographic or otherwise) did the artist use?
- How did the artist collaborate with others as part of the process?
- How has the artist’s process changed or remained consistent throughout their career?
- Which aspects of the artist’s process interest or inspire you most?
Create
- Invite students to create a portrait that incorporates different materials and processes.
- Encourage students to reflect on what materials, techniques or process contributed most to the meaning behind the portrait.
Creative prompts:
- Self portrait: go through old magazines, newspapers and other print media to create a collage about your identity. Then, find or print a photo of yourself and add it to the collage.
- Shared portrait: take a photograph of yourself with a friend. Print out the photograph and together, draw, paint or collage over the top of it to create a collaborative portrait.
