Our next tour is all about Faces, and we focused on sculptures in the Barry X Ball: Remaking Sculpture exhibition.
Vocabulary:
portrait / el retrato
self-portrait / auto retrato
carve / esculpir
masterpiece / la obra maestra
emotion / emoción
We started at the sculpture below. First, we used our finger to trace the different lines in the sculpture. Then, we shared different things we noticed.
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| front |
This sculpture is a portrait of Pope Saint John Paul II. A portrait is an artwork – sculpture, painting, photograph, etc. – of a person. The Pope is the world leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
For this portrait, the artist Barry X Ball not only shows what the person looks like, but also includes items that represent him.
- Mitre (tall headdress worn by pope and different leaders in church)
- The Pope’s Coat of arms – crossed keys represent the Keys to Heaven given by Jesus to St. Peter, and the papal tiara (crown) represents the Pope's powers as priest, ruler and teacher.
- Crosses – symbol for Jesus Christ and the Crucifixion
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We also looked at the back of the sculpture, which includes additional items:
- A pair of skis, John Paul II’s favorite sport
- Two sculptures of John Paul II at different ages
- The face at the very top is a portrait of the artist
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| back |
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If an artist wanted to make your portrait, what items would you want to include that tell about you? Students wrote down or drew things that best represent them. Some examples that students shared are soccer balls, chocolate, their pet, their friends, their family, ballet shoes, and their sketchbook.
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