Connecting with the Past: Making a Memory Box

Subject:

Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences

Institution Name:

Smithsonian American Art Museum Campfire Stories

Collection:

Smithsonian Institutions

Grade Level:

Primary, Secondary

Abstract:

Artists across cultures and throughout time have sought to incorporate the multifaceted connections between past and present in their artworks. In many ways, Catlin's lifelong quest and the eventual creation of his "Indian Gallery" can be seen as an attempt to connect what he felt to be the "past" of American Indian society to the "present" of nineteenth-century westward expansion by European Americans. As is evident today, Native American culture is very much alive and present in the fabric of America. Catlin, however, made it clear that he viewed his subjects as a "vanishing race" and sought to preserve their images for future generations. In this activity, students will create their own memory box, linking the past and the present, and in so doing examine Catlin's ideas and motives.

Course Type:

Learning Module

Languages:

English

Material Type:

Curriculum Standards, Lesson Plans

Media Format:

Graphics/Photos, Text/HTML

Conditions of Use:

Custom Permissions
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