From the Chairman of the
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Cole |
Since 2002, We the People has been envisioned as a way to further the study, understanding, and appreciation of our nation’s history. It has grown to include the Bookshelf for young readers; the preservation of historic documents; and grants to scholars, teachers, filmmakers, museums, libraries, and other institutions. We will soon be formally announcing the pilot of a new project under the We the People banner titled Picturing America. This new initiative will open up another avenue of discovery and appreciation of our legacy, which stresses the importance of the visual arts in American history. The major focus of Picturing America is to show that art speaks dynamically and forcefully about where a people have come from, what they have endured, and where they are headed. For example, we cannot imagine the history of Egypt without the pyramids, or of Italy during the Renaissance without the works of artistic giants such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. What these cultures accomplished through their art significantly affects how we see and understand them. The history of America is also illuminated by its art. American art tells a story that began even before the birth of our nation; and like our country, it has recorded and served as a catalyst for our diversity, continued growth, and change. The vision of Picturing America is to take this story directly to our youngest citizens—those students in the critical K–12 age-group—at a time in their lives when they are beginning to form judgments about our culture. To this end, the pilot of Picturing America will bring some of America’s art treasures into the more than 1,500 K–12 schools that successfully applied for the project. The centerpiece is a set of twenty 24 x 36 inch high-quality, laminated color reproductions of masterpieces of American art, accompanied by a 120-page teachers’ resource booklet. One image (or group of related images) will occupy each side of a poster (that is, front and back) for a total of forty single images or image-groups. The entire booklet, thumbnails of the images, and additional material on cross-curricular resources will be placed on the NEH website so that access is readily available to anyone interested in the project. As a whole, the collection represents a broad range of artwork, from American Indian pottery and basketry and Spanish colonial architecture to the abstract work of the latter half of the twentieth century. Students and teachers will be able to learn the stories behind iconic images, such as Gilbert Stuart’s full-length portrait of George Washington, now in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., as well as the fascinating lessons taught by lesser known pieces, such as a quilt made by an African American woman who was born into slavery. The works were selected for their artistic quality, range of media, and ability to be grouped for comparative discussion about artists, art forms, and subject matter. They are designed to provide a touchstone for integrating art into the curriculum: not only into American history (although that is a major goal), but also into language arts, literature, science, math, and music. The visual arts cross over into many areas, and Picturing America is designed to facilitate that integration. We have been very fortunate to have had the cooperation of American museums, libraries, and historical organizations, many of which have been more than generous with their time and the costs of rights and reproduction of works in their collections. They believe, as we do, that it is vital to get the word out about the importance of art in K–12 curricula. We have also been very careful to make the works selected for Picturing America accessible. Not only architecture and public pieces (such as the Shaw Memorial on Boston Common by Augustus Saint-Gaudens), but all the works are housed in collections open to the public. Picturing America is, above all, about restoring the primacy of seeing, of exploring the visual elements through which art communicates America’s story. |
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