Introduction
This exhibition of fine photography on loan from the Detroit Institute of the Arts features works by Yousuf Karsh of Ottawa. Portraits include Ernest Hemingway, Muhammad Ali, George Bernard Shaw, and more. The goals of this Webquest are to:
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Integrate art and images as primary resource material.
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Provide resources so that students can focus on using information instead of looking for it.
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Build and support students’ inquiry, critical thinking and analysis skills.
Your Quest: Crafting Portraits
Your task is to create portraits of your classmates for a photography exhibit. To do this you will first research Yousuf Karsh’s photography and his subjects (the people in the photographs) to discover how he organized the portraits. You will then interview a classmate and decide how to pose them in a photograph. You will write an interpretive label for your photograph explaining how you made your decisions. The photographs will then be displayed in your classroom.
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Resources
Part One: Researching Karsh’s portraits
Choose four of the people on this list to research and explore. Look through the websites listed and record your observations and notes on the research worksheet. Be sure to note how Karsh alludes to details about his subjects in his photographs of them. (Example: Hemingway was seen as a gruff man, how is this portrayed in his portrait?)
- Ernest Hemingway
- Helen Keller
- Georgia O’Keefe
- Pablo Picasso
- Martha Graham
- Muhammad Ali
- Robert Frost
- Winston Churchill
- George Bernard Shaw
Part Two: Interviewing your subject
Use the Interview Worksheet to find out details about your subject. What do they like, what kind of personality do they have, what is unique about them? Determine which traits you want to portray in your photograph of them, how you will show these traits, and how they will pose.
Part 3: Taking the photographs and writing interpretive labels
As a class, set up a photography studio in your classroom. Hang a plain bed sheet or large sheet of paper if a neutral background is desired. Take turns posing your subjects and taking their pictures with a class camera.
After the photographs are developed or printed, take a good look at your photograph. Review your Interview Worksheet. Did you accomplish your goals for the portrait? Write a paragraph explaining your intentions and the symbolism in your portrait. Hang the photographs and labels in your school to share with other students.
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