Kevin Red Star was born in 1943. He grew up on the Crow Reservation in Southern Montana. In the early 1960s, he was chosen to be in the first group of students at the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe. After graduating, Kevin Red Star continued his studies at the San Francisco Art Institute before returning to Montana in 1967. In 1974, IAIA invited him back as their first Artist-in-Residence. Throughout his career as an artist, Kevin Red Star has had over 100 large scale exhibitions and participated in shows across the globe, including Paris, Tokyo, China, New York, Washington DC, California and Montana. Kevin currently has a studio in Roberts, Montana, where he continues to paint and create artwork.
Click to visit Kevin’s website

QUESTIONS FOR VIEWING:

First, always take a few moments to really look at the artwork.

VTS Questions

• What do you think is going on in this picture?
• What do you see that makes you say that?
• What else do you see in this picture?

Additional Questions

• What time of day is this?
• What do you see that makes you think that?
• What do you see in the sky?
• Does anyone know about tipis?
• Do you know or have a guess about which tribe made these tipis?
• What do you see that makes you think that?
• Where is the foreground, middle ground, and background? (See Video)

 

ART VOCABULARY:

• Landscape: All the visible features of an area of countryside or land.
• Foreground: The area of the artwork that appears nearest to the viewer.
• Middle Ground: Generally, the focus of a painting. The space between the foreground and the background.
• Background: The area of the artwork that appears furthest from the viewer.
• Horizon Line: A physical/visual boundary where sky separates from land or water.

 

IEFA VOCABULARY:

Crow/Apsáalooke
Tipi

Lesson Overview: Students will create their own landscape including a foreground, middle ground, and background. Using colored pencil students will work to create the illusion of depth in their drawing and to tell a story about the place they are creating, including details that reflect their own identity.

National Standards:

Visual Arts

• VA:Cr.2.3.4a: Document, describe, and represent regional constructed environments.
• VA:Re.7.2.4a: Analyze components in visual imagery that convey messages.
• VA:Cn10.1.4a: Create works of art that reflect community cultural traditions.

Montana Standards:

• Visual Arts
  • Anchor Standard #2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work. Apply research to art-making for the purpose of communicating about constructed environments.
  • Anchor Standard #10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.
  • Anchor Standard #11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding, including traditional and contemporary artistic ideas and works by American Indians. Interpret artworks through observation and information about context.

• IEFA
  • Essential Understanding 1: There is great diversity among the twelve sovereign tribes of Montana in their languages, cultures, histories, and governments. Each tribe has a distinct and unique cultural heritage that contributes to modern Montana.
  • If you also include Crow Astronomy Stories lesson
    • Essential Understanding 3: The ideologies of Native traditional beliefs and spirituality persist into modern day life as tribal cultures, traditions, and languages are still practiced by many American Indian people and are incorporated into how tribes govern and manage their affairs. Additionally, each tribe has its own oral histories, which are as valid as written histories. These histories predate the “discovery” of North America. (When used with the Crow Astronomy stories)
    • Crow astronomy lesson
    • Crow astronomy video playlist

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