Exchange: W23 Van den Bulck : COMM 344

W23 Van den Bulck : COMM 344 - Media and Sleep

Part One: Look through the Exchange Resource

Take a few minutes and look through the Exchange resource for your course (scroll to the bottom).

Make note of any reoccurring themes or visual cues (are artists painting/creating similar items? Using similar colors?) Below are some questions to consider when looking through the Resource:

As you look, consider:

What drew you to this work in particular?
How do you think it was made?
What feeling, mood, or thought does this work evoke for you?
Can you draw a comparison between what you have read or discussed in class to what you see?

Visual artists use formal elements such as line, color, texture, and space to create and convey meaning:

Look at the form of the piece- how would you describe the colors?
What words capture the quality of line in this work?
What role does surface texture play, if any?
How is space depicted?
Does the title of the work provide helpful information for this discussion?

1. Discuss together what you notice about this selection of art as a whole.

2. What are some common themes or visuals that you see?

3. Which work of art or artist is your favorite? Why?

Part Two : Visual Analysis

Pick an object to dive a little bit deeper into.

Describe: Without reading the label, take a moment and write down everything that you see. Avoid interpretation at all costs!! For example, if you start to describe an emotion, ie. "He looks angry, or proud", that is in fact an interpretation, you are perceiving something in the form to make you say that. So make sure to slow down and describe what you actually see (eyebrows are furrowed, the mouth is not upturned in a smile, etc.)

Interpretation(s): Now think about what meaning your brain makes with these forms you described. What is this work of art trying to communicate? What is the artist's emotion, and how can you tell? What previous knowledge helped you interpret the work?

Connections: What connections do you see between this work and what you have discussed in class? Common themes, tropes, stereotypes etc.

If you want to learn more about the object you selected, click on "View Object Record" beneath the image. Note: not all objects have extended labels (additional information).

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
Sleep overcomes them (Las rinde le sueño)
1799
etching and burnished aquatint | paper
Gift of Kurt Delbanco in honor of Nicholas Delbanco, and partial purchase with the funds from the W. Hawkins Ferry Fund
2008/1.152.34

View Object Record

A photograph of a man reclined on a sofa. His eyes are closed and his hands are clasped and resting on his chest.

Helmut Newton
Andy Warhol in Paris
1977
gelatin silver print | paper
Gift of Gerald and Selma Lotenberg
1984/1.277.10

View Object Record

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
The sleep of reason produces mosters (El sueño de la razon produce monstruos)
1799
etching and burnished aquatint | paper
Gift of Kurt Delbanco in honor of Nicholas Delbanco, and partial purchase with the funds from the W. Hawkins Ferry Fund
2008/1.152.43

View Object Record

No. 3 of a series of 27 prints. A simple, two-tone palette.  A woman looks out from a second-story window on a moonlit night. Outside, a disembodied hand seems to beckon her. On the street below a man sleeps atop a rickshaw, while another man and dog sleep nearby.  <br />
Sultana's Dream was printed and published by Durham Press in 2018.<br />

Chitra Ganesh
Sultana's Dream: Leaving the House
2018
linocut | paper
Museum purchase made possible by the University of Michigan Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the Director's Acquisition Committee, 2019
2019/2.93.3

View Object Record

A black and white photograph of four people lying on the ground. One person's face is covered by an American flag, while the man behind her has his face covered by a hat. The group appears to be asleep. The feet and shoes of other people standing around the group of four is visible in the background. The print is signed (l.r.) "Edward Roberson" in pen.

Edward (Robbie) Roberson
Tired Marchers Sleep on the Streets—"We were tired, we were tired.", Selma, Alabama
1963
inkjet print | paper
Gift of Detroit Focus 2000, and partial purchase with funds from the Jean Paul Slusser Memorial Fund
2003/2.69.28

View Object Record

<span style="font-size:12pt"><span calibri="" style="font-family:">A small child sleeping in a chair on what appears to be the lid of a toilet. The child has blankets around them and is leaning over to the left. There is white tile and a wall-mounted toothbrush holder visible in the background.</span></span><br />

American
Untitled
20th century
photograph | paper
Gift of Peter J. Cohen, selected by Museum visitors, 2019-2020
2020/1.311

View Object Record

Image of a book lying open to a page featuring a picture of a child lying on a bed. A newsclipping featuring a photo of a statue of a child lies on the book across the open page.

Joanne Leonard
Bronze Baby and Julia from Joanne's "Being in Pictures"
2011
inkjet print | paper
Gift of the artist
2016/2.154

View Object Record

Black and white image of a nude man lying face-down on a bed in front of a window.

Joanne Leonard
Merida Morning
1971
gelatin silver print | paper
Gift of the artist
2016/2.166

View Object Record

A purple and black lithograph of two people.

Fritz Scholder
Third Dream
1981
lithograph | paper
Gift of Robert and Janet Miller
2010/2.45

View Object Record

No. 1 of a series of 27 prints. A simple, two-tone palette.  A woman reclines in an armchair, seemingly asleep. An ethereal dream bubble, depicting images, floats from her head. She is positioned in a room near a window with open curtains. Through the window is a starlit sky. Three framed works hang on the wall behind her.<br />
Sultana's Dream was printed and published by Durham Press in 2018.

Chitra Ganesh
Sultana's Dream: The Condition of Womanhood
2018
linocut | paper
Museum purchase made possible by the University of Michigan Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the Director's Acquisition Committee, 2019
2019/2.93.1

View Object Record

No. 27 of a series of 27 prints. A simple, two-tone palette. Three female figures appear to be floating in space, with a web-like vortex surrounding them. At the bottom, a  female figure looks at the viewer while resting on her side, with her left arm below her head. Behind her is another woman covered in splotches and doing a backbend. The third, young woman sits with one leg over the other and leans forward.<br />
Sultana's Dream was printed and published by Durham Press in 2018.

Chitra Ganesh
Sultana's Dream: Birth of Three Sultanas
2018
linocut | paper
Museum purchase made possible by the University of Michigan Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the Director's Acquisition Committee, 2019
2019/2.93.27

View Object Record