Archives

Modern Louisiana

Louisiana artist George Dunbar (b. 1927) studied in Philadelphia, Paris, and New York before returning to Louisiana in the 1950s. His paintings, sculptures, assemblages and prints marry the stark geometry of modern art with the lush, natural environment of south Louisiana.  Along with other New Orleans artists, he founded the cooperative Orleans Gallery to showcase their work.  Over the course of his 70-year career, Dunbar introduced new ideas about art-making to New Orleans.  Read More

Math Connections

Visual art can be used to promote student learning of mathematic skills and concepts. Enhancing math lessons with art enables students to make cross-curricular connections and discoveries related to math domains including geometry, measurement, ratios and proportion, fractions, and base ten. Art projects can help make abstract math concepts visible and may increase student understanding. These educator resources include short descriptions and images of ten works of art from NOMA’s permanent collection. The included lessons and activities can be adapted for learners of different ages and abilities. Read More

the-lawyers-office

Art and Ecology

Artists have explored environmental themes in their work throughout many centuries in many different styles. Whether documenting the existence of land after its disappearance like 17th-century Dutch artist Marinus van Reymerswaele, integrating native materials like the Native Louisiana Chitimacha, or responding to natural or man-made disasters like Thornton Dial, ecology has been a source of both inspiration and distress.  This workshop includes eleven works of art made between 1545 and 2013 and examines how artists have perceived changes within the environment and told those stories. Read More

Renaissance Painting

This workshop focuses on Italian Renaissance paintings in The Samuel H. Kress Collection at the New Orleans Museum of Art and considers the process of egg tempera painting. Five works from the Early Renaissance (14th and 15th centuries) and two works from the High Renaissance (1500 – 1520) are discussed in this packet. Renaissance Painting… Read More

American Self-Taught Art at NOMA

The New Orleans Museum of Art has collected and displayed works by American self-taught artists since the 1980s. This collection includes paintings, sculptures and works on paper by twentieth century artists including Thornton Dial, Clementine Hunter, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Jimmy Sudduth and the Reverend Howard Finster among others. This Educator Packet explores themes that that… Read More

Art of the Maya at NOMA

This packet features selected works of art from the Maya culture from the permanent collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art.  Included in this packet are descriptions of twelve works of clay and stone, an essay on the role of the arts in Maya society, a vocabulary list, and suggested classroom materials. Art of… Read More

Speaking of Art: Language Development through Art Interpretation

Explore new ways of teaching expository writing and oral speaking skills using art as a starting point. Language development, writer’s workshop techniques, and writing for different audiences are addressed. Speaking of Art_Language Development Through Art Interpretation Lessons, Activities, and Worksheets Comparison Essay Lesson Plan Interview and Oral Presentation Lesson Plan Sequential Writing with Blue Dog… Read More

Gordon Parks: The Making of An Argument

Gordon Parks: The Making of an Argument traces the editorial process of Parks’ 1948 photographic essay, “Harlem Gang Leader” and questions whose voice is depicted in the magazine spread. Parks shot hundreds of photographs for the essay and made hundreds of negatives. From this large body of work twenty-one pictures were selected for the final… Read More

The Science of Sculpture

This Educator Guide examines several works of art from the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art, focusing especially on how artists utilize changing states of matter and simple machines in artistic practices. Read More

Joseph Cornell at NOMA

Known for his whimsical constructions, Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) spent the majority of his life in his mother’s home on Utopia Parkway in Flushing, New York. Associated with the Surrealist movement of the 1930s and 40s, Cornell was a well-regarded artist by the 1950s. From 1993 – 2002, NOMA received twenty-one works by Joseph Cornell as gifts from the Joseph and Robert Cornell Foundation. Cornell’s work at NOMA is representative of the variety of subjects and materials favored by the artist. Read More

The Stories of Art: Learning to Look, Looking to Write

The Stories of Art Educator Resource Lesson Plans Word Art Poem Lesson Plan Developing Descriptive Language Lesson Plan Story Map Lesson Plan Worksheets A Little Conversion Worksheet Dialogue Worksheet Five Senses Worksheet For Sale Worksheet Interviews with Q&A Worksheet Past, Present, and Future Worksheet Tweet About It Worksheet Weather Report Worksheet Write a 5W Poem… Read More

Photorealism

Reflective surfaces of chrome and glass; nostalgic views of diners and theaters; cityscapes of streets and storefronts; still lives of flowers and produce; and detailed portraits are some of the many subjects of the artists known as Photorealists. Read More

Photography and the American Civil War

Photography and the American Civil War does not attempt to catalog a history of the Civil War but rather sets out to explore the role of the camera at a watershed moment in American History. Read More

Louisiana: Where Water Meets Land

Louisiana and its people have been shaped by our relationship to water. From the southern coastal region with its interaction with the Gulf of Mexico to vast Lake Pontchartrain and the meandering Mississippi River… Read More

Educator’s Guide to the Collection

Self-guided visits enable you to design and lead your own school visit to NOMA. This guide provides information on select works of art, and suggestions for discussions and activities. Each section includes: Read More

Conceptual Art at NOMA

Conceptual Art at NOMA includes a brief history of conceptual art, a list of works and images from NOMA’s collection and lesson plans for use in the classroom. Read More