The Art of Locomotion

Lesson Introduction

In art and literature, the medium that an artist chooses to portray the subject influences the outcome of the work. Trains have long captured the imagination of writers and artists. They have also had a historic importance for the development of the Midwest and for the conversion of prairie to farmland and ranchland. In this activity, students will examine the artistic side of this cultural legacy by comparing the representations of trains in the painting of Turner and the photographs of Terry Evans.

Illinois State Goal	Standard	Learning Benchmarks
26	A	5. Common for all four arts: Analyze and evaluate how the choice of media, tools, technologies and processes support and influence the communication of ideas. .
5	C	5b. Support and defend a thesis statement using various references including media and electronic resources.

Lesson Objectives

• compare the representation of trains in poetry and painting to the photographs of Midewin.
• write an essay, story or poem using their own observations of trains, prairies and Midewin.

Time Allotment

1 class period of 45-60 minutes

Materials

• computers
• paper, pens, pencils
• Access to the Internet, or printed information from the following sites:
  Rain, Steam and Speed - The Great Western Railway, 1844, oil on canvas, The National Gallery, London. Painting by J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851).
  Joliet arsenal railroad tracks, 1996 from In Place of Prairie, photographs by Terry Evans at the Art Institute of Chicago.
  

PROCEDURE

Tap Prior Knowledge

1. What aspects or characteristics of a train do you need to use to describe a train? What are its essential visual and descriptive components? Ask students about the last time they saw a train? What do they remember about it? Have them try to describe the train in as much detail as possible. If they are working in small groups, have them describe the train to each other.

Share with Neighbor

2. Have the students examine the painting by Turner, available online, and the photographs by Terry Evans. Dividing the students into small groups, have them discuss their initial impressions. What has the artist chosen to use in each case to represent the train or the idea of a train? How can you tell what is being pictured? Why do they think the artists in each case chose the style of expression they did? What do students feel about the representations? Have students go beyond "like" or "dislike" in their descriptions and be very specific. Once they have worked in groups to get a list of their impressions of each, have them share with the class. The students could also role play and talk with the voice of the artist to answer some of the following questions: Why did you choose the medium (art material) you did? Why did you choose to record the train? etc. etc.

Hands-on Activity

3. Have the class discuss the differences between the painting and the photographs. Suggest that they discuss the medium, composition, style, and any other aspects of the artworks that seem pertinent.

4. How do the differences between the two paintings reveal the differences between the two time periods?

5. Have students write an essay on their observations of the two artworks. Have them compare and contrast the aspects that they discussed above. Have them include any ideas about the historical or social context for the pictures that they might have found. Before writing their essay, have students research Turner and Terry Evans and find out about their artistic career, education background and their thoughts on their work.

Introduce Scientific Principle/Environmental Issue

Relate Activity and Concept

This activity will help the students begin to look with extra observation skills at works of modern art and other pieces that have qualities and characteristics different from other ages. These changes are inspired in part by the advance of technology and the role of new and different means of transportation and communication. The train with its representation of power, speed, the rapidity of modern life, travel, positioned the train in the 19th-century as a representation of progress and modernity. The new ways of looking at objects and representing them in art were inspired by the new subject matter itself. When students are looking at trains and writing their essays, have them imagine what it must have been like to live when the train was first being introduced. One year the way to cross the prairies is by overland stagecoach or wagon train or around Cape Horn. The next year, you can travel that same distance in a fraction of the time, travelling by train.

Learning Outcomes

• recognize and use different concepts from art history and criticism, including the concept of static and dynamic qualities, perspective or persona and degree of abstraction/distortion in representation.
• express themselves about art, using personal observations, historical and biographical information and artistic concepts and terms.

Internet Connections