Exploring Portraits

Discussion through works of art encourage how to approach ambiguous and complex ideas, thoughts, and feelings. The MFAH offers a democratic space where students and teachers can develop, practice and articulate these habits of mind. Remember that the quality of the conversation is what is important, not finding the artist’s “answer.” Slow down and take the time to make careful observations. Talk about what you notice, and try to avoid jumping to conclusions and interpretations. Be sure to give enough time for silent looking and thinking. This Curriculum Connection also includes John Biggers, The Cradle and John Singleton Copley, Portrait of a Boy.

Work of Art

“I chose to use the camera as a tool to document different aspects of life —who we are, what we do, how we live, what our communities look like. These various patterns are all interwoven, like a quilt into important patterns of history.”—Earlie Hudnall, Jr.

The subject of this photograph is a young African American boy who approached photographer Earlie Hudnall Jr. on the streets of Galveston and asked him to take his photograph. Shirtless and wearing baggy jeans, the boy looks directly into the camera. He purposely displays his underwear, along with a beeper and a thick gold chain around his neck—items commonly associated with drug dealers and street gangs. The boy’s apparel is incongruous with his age, yet he plays his role convincingly, allowing no suggestion of vulnerability in his cool demeanor. His relaxed, graceful pose projects self-reliance and defiant confidence. His smooth dark skin takes on a velvet quality against the roughly textured cinderblock wall.

To Hudnall, a camera is simply a mechanical apparatus with which to document human existence. He does not pose his subjects, but instead allows his “gut” to tell him when to take a picture as he walks around neighborhoods. He works primarily in Houston’s Third Ward, a predominately African American neighborhood. However, this form of documentation is not truly a factual visual record, but rather a poignant documentation of fleeting glimpses of human emotion.

This photograph’s title, Hip Hop, refers to a segment of American culture that has its roots and a large proportion of its membership in the African American community. Widely used to describe a category of music, hip hop actually encompasses much more, including language, dance, dress, and art.

A native of Missouri, Earlie Hudnall, Jr. moved to Houston, Texas after serving in the Marines during the Vietnam War. He attended Texas Southern University (TSU) in Houston under the guidance of the illustrious African American professor and artist John Biggers. The photography department at TSU was still relatively new at the time, and Hudnall had little experience in the field, having only purchased his first camera while in Vietnam. Yet he showed great promise, and after receiving a B.A. in Art Education in 1976, he began work as a staff photographer for the university. Hudnall has participated in many programs and projects in the Houston area, and continues to work most often in the African American community.

Conversation

• What is your impression of and reaction to this photograph?
• The subject of this photograph is a young African-American boy who approached the artist on the streets of Galveston and asked him to take his picture. How would you characterize this boy? Why do you think he stares directly at the camera?
• Hudnall was quoted as saying, "I chose to use the camera as a tool to document different aspects of our life—who we are, what we do, how we live, what our communities look like." Look at backdrop of this photograph. Describe the type of environment you think surrounds the boy. How would the feeling have changed if the artist photographed the boy in a different setting, such as a park or against a window?
• Hudnall does not pose his subjects, but instead allows his photographer´s eye to tell him when to take a picture. Consider the arrangement of lines, colors, and textures. Describe the contrasts the artist has captured.
• The boy leans against the wall of a building. His torso gently curves as his shoulder rests against this structure. Some people who look at this photograph see self-reliance and defiant confidence in the boy´s relaxed, graceful stance. Other people suggest that he is a vulnerable child in an adult´s pose. Do you agree with either of these opinions? Why or why not?

• Is the title Hip Hop surprising to you? Why do you think the photographer chose this title? What title would you have used for this photograph?
• This image has been described as “striking.” What about the image is “striking”? Consider the line, shape, color, and composition.
• Why do you think Hudnall would have taken this photograph? Should artists refrain from these types of subject matters? Why or why not?
• How could this image be altered in order to change the tone of the photograph and its message?
• Hudnall is known for walking Houston neighborhoods and photographing the people, places, and events that he sees. What other types of images could Hudnall be expected to produce? What qualities might his work characteristically possess?

• Portraiture can tell a story and carry deep messages about the person depicted and the artist’s perspective. For example, these are all-American portraits, yet each person depicted lead very different lives. How do these portraits compare to your life/personal experience?
• Art concepts like composition and value set the mood. How would the Biggers drawing be different if it were in color? How did the similar posing of Copley figure and the Hudnall figure tell us a similar story? Strike a pose that you think demonstrates your personality or tells a story about you.
• A different approach for this artwork would be to ask students “what questions would they ask these individuals?” “What do you want to know about their life?” “What clues do you see in the photo that might answer your questions?”
• As a history connection: Look at these four works of art. What time period do you think they lived in? What cultural change have they seen in their lifetime? (Revolutions, wars, hardships, civil rights, etc.)

Subject Matter

It is very important for students to develop empathy at the middle school age. Students at this age judge people often at first glance and will make assumptions about that person. The activity of pairing these images of different people helps build awareness of what clues they use to judge a person. It also challenges them to look past their first opinions and learn more about a person’s story.

Together, these culminate in a deeper understanding of portraits and self-portraits. Students, when given a camera, resort to “Facebook” or “mugshot” looking photo portraits. Looking at posing and how the artists use a single image to relate a large amount of information about their portrait subject will lead to deeper symbolism in a portrait created by middle school students.

Assessment

• When compared and contrasted, these images can further students’ understanding of the urban experience as a discussion or bell-ringer activity/warm-up.
• Example of a bell-ringer activity: Give the students five minutes to compare and contrast the works of art and ask them to share their insights with the class. For more guided looking, provide the students with a question from “Connecting to the Classroom.”
• This lesson could also be used in an introduction to portraiture or in connection with 8^th grade history: have students place each person in the artworks in a time period they have studied in class. Students will then have to express what details of the artwork made them place each person in a time period.

Resources

Resources Available to Order

Check our online collection module for further information.