Elementary
Ask students, “Do you
have a place that is special to you?” This might
be a special play area, a
place where an important
event occurred, a grandparent’s home, or where
family members regularly
get together. Provide some
background information
about Do-Ho Suh and
show students the image of
his artwork featuring his
home suspended in the air.
Explain that Suh was living
in New York and longing for
his childhood home, so he
decided to create a copy of
his home. Tell students that
Do-Ho Suh said, “I want to
carry my house with me all
the time. Like a snail.” Ask,
“What materials did the artist use for his house? Why
do you think he chose to use these materials?” Help
students understand that his selection of translucent fabric would allow him to fold the house and carry it with
him. If possible, watch the Art: 21 video in which Suh is
shown creating the artwork (see Resources).
Explore
Andrew Leicester, Cincinnati Gateway, Entrance to Bicentennial Park, 1988. Bronze, steel cast iron, polychrome masonry,
stone, water, and plant materials, 480 x 145 x 65" (146.3 x 44. 2 x 20 m). Sawyer Point Park, Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo © Andrew Leicester.
Mosque to the Cincinnati Gateway, noting how they
function in similar and different ways as special places
within their respective communities.
Middle School
Have students carefully view Andrew Leicester’s Cincinnati Gateway. Explain that Leicester was asked to create
an entrance to a park near the riverfront in Cincinnati.
Before coming up with his design, he researched the
political, commercial, and cultural history, along with the
geology and topography of the area. He included symbols
from its many stories in his plans.
Leicester’s website includes an
in-depth description and pictures
of the Gateway (see Resources).
Have students read the case
study and view the images on
the website. Ask, “What historical information was important
in designing the grand entryway to Cincinnati Gateway?”
Suggest that students describe
the sketches for Cincinnati Gateway and compare them
to images of the completed work, looking for ways that
details in the sketches did or did not make their way into
the finished gateway.
Finally, have students view and read about the Great
Mosque at Djenné. Have students view the short video
that includes close-ups of the mosque as well as its use
by the community (see Resources). Compare the Great
High School
Help students understand that the way a place looks and
feels can affect the way we encounter, experience, and
understand it. Have them compare, for example, their
experiences in two different kinds of shops—pet store
vs. bookstore, large grocery store vs. small convenience
store. Think about the overall layout, the pathways cre-
ated for the shopper, the lighting, and colors and how
they affect the general mood of the place. Suggest that
they imagine being in the shop
and tell about their experi-
ence there, including whether
they find themselves walking
slowly or quickly within the
space and what mood or feel-
ing is dominant.
Explain that some artists
create their artworks by alter-
ing places and, in doing so, have
an impact upon the way people
experience a place. Introduce the term, “installation,” as
an artwork in which an artist changes a specific place in
order to alter the way it is experienced. Have students con-
sider the installations by Do-Ho Suh. How did he change
the way the viewer experienced a place? Have students
consider Jenny Holzer’s work and discuss how she “inter-
rupts” the ordinary viewer experience. View additional
installation artworks and hear both artists speak about
their process on the Art: 21 website (see Resources).
“I show what I can with words
in light and motion in a chosen
place, and when I envelop the time
needed, the space around, the
noise, smells, the people looking at
one another and everything before
them, I have given what I know.”
