‘RANK: picturing the social order 1516 -2009’

KEY STAGE 2Pre-visit Classroom activities

This exhibition is called ‘Rank: picturing the social order ‘.

The title of the exhibition tells us that the subject artwork in the gallery will be about how you can show the status of someone in a visual way, by using pictures.

In the exhibition you will find maps, diagrams, illustrations, photographs and sculptures.

In the exhibition you will see work which has been made over the last 600 years. Some of the artwork has been commissioned or created especially for this exhibition

Hierarchy – picturing higher and lower

What is a hierarchy?

A hierarchy is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.)

 

Hierarchies have existed in society throughout history. For example in medieval history hierarchys were easy to see, the King was at the top, then nobelmen who owned the land, and then peasants who rented land from the lords.

The hierarchy’s showed how much money and power people had.

Look at the illustration on the previous page, it is taken from the front cover of ‘Leviathan’, a book written by Thomas Hobbes in 1651.

Who do the think the figure is?

What is the body of the man made from?

What do you think the artist telling us about the society in this book?

 

The King or Queen is still referred to as the head of state so often historical images show the king as the head and the rest of the population as the body.

Think about the hierarchy in your school, and some of the words used. Head Teacher, Assistant Head, some colleges use the term student body.

Now think about how could you portray your school in an image? For example how would you draw an assistant head?

The school may have a hierarchy to show how much responsibility people have. What about other ways of classifying people within the school, is everyone as important as everyone else?

Can you draw the school in a way that shows how much everyone is valued? This might not be a hierarchy pyramid, it could be a circle without a top and bottom.

When you look at a portrait use this questions to help you find out about the person.

•What is the person ( or persons ) wearing ?

•What do their clothes tell you about them ?

•What is the expression on the face ?

•What is behind the person ( or persons ) ?

•What are they doing?

•Is the person in their own environment or is the photo staged, for example in a photographic studio?

•What does that tell you about them and where they were when the photograph was taken ?

This photograph was taken on Toward Road in Hendon in 1896.

What can you tell about the man in the portrait ?

Is he old , young, in between ? Is he rich or poor ?

Is he happy or sad or can you find something else in his expression ?

How do you feel when you look at this photograph?

Have a look at the drawing on the previous page.

Look closely at the two figures,

What do their clothes tell you about them? What are they holding? What is happening in the background?

Can you identify any the items that are on sticks?

The drawing is a comment about society and was made in the 17th century. It was a protest about a group called the Anabaptists who thought that all people should be equal, that there was no difference between masters and servants.

The drawing is showing the opinion of the person who made it. They are saying that if the idea that everyone could be equal is crazy.

The image shows that a house built on stilts is against the laws of nature, like building castles in the air.

A "castle in the air", used to describe something that is no more than illusory, or a futile flight of fancy, no matter what effort spent in building it.

This work was made by Scottish artist Chad McCail in 2008.

He makes drawings about the different levels of status in society. Sometimes he uses characters such as zombies and robots.

He makes his work by drawing the figures by hand, scanning them and filling in all the colours on a computer.

Look at Adam Latham’s poster ‘Which Ought you to wear’ on the previous page.

Think about clothes that people wear in today’s society. Can you tell what job someone does, where they live or how much money they have from their clothes?

If you were going to photograph items of clothing which show status, what would they be? List the items.

These items can be described as status-symbols, a way of demonstrating your worth in society. Can you think of any other examples of status-symbols?

Keywords

Society Stereotype Scale

Hierarchy Equality Economy

Distribution DiagramStructure

Class Possession Symbol

Status Rank Statistics

For more information about the gallery and this exhibition or to arrange a visit

please contact:

Amanda Gould on 0191 5148452 or e-mail amanda.gould@sunderland.gov.uk.

Northern Gallery for Contemporary ArtCity Library and Arts CentreFawcett St

How to find us:

We are on the top floor of Sunderland City Library & Arts Centre in Fawcett Street, two minutes walk from Sunderland City Metro and Railway station with Metro access to all parts of Tyne & Wear and rail connections to the national and local rail network. The station is 25 minutes by rail or Metro from Newcastle Central.