READ A WORK OF ART AS
YOU WOULD READ A BOOK
Art is a powerful pathway into the Hawai‘i Common Core

Observe

Describe

InterpretConnect

Look closely and quietly.

What do you see?

What do you think thispainting is about andwhat makes you say that?

What does this remind
you of? Why? What more
do you want to know? Why?

Learn more at

HawaiiPublicSchools.org© 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, ParisON THE COVER:

Yan Pei-Ming(Chinese, born 1960)
Portrait of Iz, 1997
Oil on canvas

70 × 65 ¾ in.

The Artist:

Yan Pei-Ming

YAN PEI-MING IS KNOWN FOR HIS GIANT,EXPRESSIVE PAINTINGS OF FAMOUS PEOPLE.

Born in 1960, in Shanghai, China, hebegan painting at age 10 by copying thepolitical propaganda posters that werehung throughout towns and cities. Whenhe was 12, Yan Pei-Ming was so inspired tolearn to paint that he organized his own
art lessons. He and a teacher cleared out atiny shed to create a studio and found otherstudents interested in learning to paint.
In 1974, when he was just 14, he became
an artist who specialized in propaganda,painting gigantic red murals of Chairman
Mao Zedong in schools and factories. After
failing the entrance examination for theShanghai School of Fine Art, Yan Pei Ming
moved to France where he enrolled at theSchool of Fine Arts in Dijon, where he still
lives and works today.
Echoing the murals he painted as ateenager, Yan Pei-Ming’s paintings areusually very large—it is not unusual for him
to work with canvases that are nine feet tall.
He creates his portraits quickly, working
on all areas simultaneously, laying downsome background, and then painting partof the figure, followed by an outline, thenreturning to the background.

The Artwork:

Portrait of Iz

Israel “Iz” Ka‘anoi Kamakawiwo‘ole is aninternationally known icon of Hawaiianmusic. Born in 1959, in Honolulu, he wasonly 10 when he gave his first public ‘ukuleleperformance. Iz was a founding member ofthe Mākaha Sons of Ni‘ihau and recorded
many albums with the group as well as on
his own. His ‘ukulele version of the wellknown song “Over the Rainbow,” which waswritten for the film The Wizard of Oz, hasbeen featured in films, television series, andcommercials. Kamakawiwo‘ole battled healthissues his entire life due to his large size anddied in June 1997 from complications ofobesity at age 38.
How did Yan Pei-Ming come to paint a portraitof such a treasured figure of Hawai‘i? A few
months after Kamakawiwo‘ole’s death, YanPei-Ming was invited to participate in an art
exhibition at the University of Hawai‘i’s EastWest Center. He painted 20 portraits overthe course of a few weeks, including local
residents who posed for him, and, in the caseof Kamakawiwo`ole, a prominent figure gone
too soon.

Observe, Describe, Interpret, Connect(ODIC)
Four simple steps to engage with art:
The key to this looking strategy is to prompt
students to describe and report as much as theysee, with evidence from within the artwork.
You may be surprised what they come up withgiven the opportunity to just look.
The hardest part is allowing students time to lookon their own—resist the urge to share what you
see or what you think they should see.
OBSERVE: Start by taking a minute or two to dosome silent, close looking.
DESCRIBE: Have students describe what theysee, using evidence from within the artwork.
What is the first thing you notice? Where do you
see that? Think about the elements of portraiture(facial expression, eyes, gesture, clothing, setting andobjects) as you describe what you see. Use quantity,size, and color words to better describe the elements.
INTERPRET: Have students interpret what theysee by thinking about the time, place, mood,intention, and content of the painting.

The museum offers:
Free guided school toursTeacher resources
Lending Collection
Outreach programs
Art School classes

To learn more, go to honolulumuseum.org
and click on Learn

For images, biographicalinformation and basic musicalterms, visit honolulumuseum.org,
click on Learn in the menu and go
to Teacher Resources.

CONNECT: Have students connect the artwork totheir own lives to make it relevant.
Does this remind you of something from your own
life? Can you relate to what’s going on in this picture?
What more do you want to know? If you could ask theartist one question about the image, what would it be?

Connecting to Standards
Hawaii Common Core
ELA-Literacy Standard(CCRA.R9)

Analyze how two or more texts
address similar themes or topics
in order to build knowledge tocompare the approaches theauthors take.

Using Portraits as Biography(process adapted from Focus 5, Inc.)(www.artsintegrationconsulting.com)• Have students examine
several portraits ofIsrael Kamakawiwo‘ole.
• Ask them to compare/contrast
the choices the artist made in
the portraits.
• Sample prompt: What is thesame about these portraits?
What is different?
• Remind them to notice elementsof portraiture such as facialexpression, focal point, gesture,
clothing, setting, objects, size,quantity, and color.
• Discuss with students the ideathat artists make specific choicesin their artwork and that eachportrait tells us something
about the sitter. We can use
our inferences, predictions andconclusions to try to interpretthe portrait, to figure out what
it means.
• Ask students to begin to
draw conclusions and makepredictions and inferencesusing the sentence frames that
follow for support. This could
begin in partners and then moveinto a group discussion. Ensure
students speak from evidence
and when they do not, prompt
them with, “What is it you saw
that makes you say that?”

When I see ______________,
it makes me think____________________.
When I see ______________,
it makes me feel ______________________.
When I see ______________,
it makes me wonder________________.
Moving into inquiry• Ask students to generatemeaningful questions about theportrait(s). You may choose tochart their questions.
• Provide resources for students
to read and learn more about
Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole and get
answers to their questions.
(See Teacher Resources on web)• You might want to remindstudents that artists makespecific choices in their works
and ask them: What do you think
the artist may have been trying
to teach or show the viewer
about Iz? Remind them that theirinferences should be supported
by both visual evidence from theportrait and written evidence
from text.
• Ask students to compare what
they learned from the portrait
with what they learned fromreading written text.

Hawaii Content and PerformanceStandards III Fine ArtsStandard 2: Music
Understand and apply elements ofmusic and understand how music
communicates ideas, feelings andexperiences across cultures.
• Introduce students to somemusical terms. Play musicby Kamakawiwo‘ole and ask
students to discuss the music
using the terms introduced.
Have them discuss how listening
to the music adds to theirunderstanding of Iz, gained bystudying the portrait and written
biographical information.
(See Teacher Resources on web)
Hawaii Content and PerformanceStandard III: Social Studies
Standard 3: History: MODERNHAWAIIAN HISTORY
Understand important historicalevents in Modern Hawaiian History(SS.9MHH3.9)

Analyze significant contemporary
issues that influence present-day
Hawai‘i, such as the Hawaiian
Renaissance, the sovereignty
movement, current land issues,and the influx of new immigrantgroups.
• Many musicians have used theirart to communicate about timeand place. Kamakawiwo‘ole
was known for promoting
Hawaiian rights and Hawaiian
Independence. One example ofthis is his song “Hawai‘i ’78.” You
may want to have students listen
to the song and discuss the lyrics.