This Web site can be used by students to enhance their visit to the exhibition, Eliot Porter: The Color of Wildness, or independent of the exhibition. Information on exhibition venues, locations, and dates is available from the opening page of the Web site:

http://www.cartermuseum.org/edu_guides/porter/exhibition_calendar/index.html

Below are instructions and information on each of the student components of this site.

Student Activities

The Student Activities portion of this site has three sections that examine aspects of Porter's life and work. An additional Activity Log is available to help guide students in their exploration of these three sections. Photography Assignments offer your students suggestions for photographing the world around them.

Becoming an Artist

  • A biography of Eliot Porter examines his early life, influences, and decisions that led him into a career as a scientist, then as an artist.
  • The Activity Log for this section encourages students to summarize what they read and connect it to their own lives.

The World of Eliot Porter

  • Porter photographed around the world. Students can examine his photographs from twelve different locations.
  • Using the Activity Log, students will learn about each place through Porter's photographs and can compare two different locations.

Making a Statement

  • Eliot Porter made artistic choices to express his feelings about nature. In Composing a Subject and Expression Through Color, students can explore the choices artists make when composing a photograph.
  • Porter made twenty-five, large-format photographic books during his career. In The Place No One Knew, students can examine one of Porter's book projects that addresses the environmental issue of damming rivers in the American West.

Printable Activity Log

  • Porter sometimes kept journals on his photographic trips around the world. Similar to a journal, the Activity Log will help students navigate through the site.
  • This log covers each of the three sections of the Web site. Three or four class periods may be required to complete the log. However, you may want to assign one section at a time. Individual sections should take one or two class periods.

Note: Please print and make copies of the Activity Log for each student. Students will use the Activity Log at the computer. Please preview the log before your students embark on their virtual journey.

Photography Assignments

  • Porter photographed nature in remote locations, but he also found interesting subjects right where he lived. These assignments enable students to explore their surroundings with a camera, using Porter's example as their model.
  • Use these assignments after students learn about Porter’s life and photographs from Becoming an Artist, The World of Eliot Porter, Making a Statement, and the Activity Log.

Students at the Computer

Students can work individually or in pairs at the computer. Teachers may prefer to schedule time in the computer lab for one to three class periods.

Checklist

Before sending students to the computer, please make sure your school has access to this site and that it is not blocked by a filter.
Select the section(s) from the list above that you want your students to explore. Remember, each section may take one class period.

Print the corresponding Activity Log sections you have selected, then make copies of these sections for each student. It is your tool to evaluate their comprehension of the Eliot Porter Student Web Site.

Check off the section(s) on the assignment page of the Activity Log.

Send students to www.cartermuseum.org/edu_guides/porter with their printed Activity Log. Please be specific with students about which sections they need to visit on the Web site.

Once students have completed the Activity Log, have them do the photography assignments. You will need cameras and film (disposable cameras are fine), pencils, clipboards, and camera instructions (you provide these).

III. Additional Resources

Teaching Resource Center

The Amon Carter Museum’s Teaching Resource Center (TRC) offers a collection of resources related to Eliot Porter for loan to teachers in Texas. For a list of these items, or other additional teaching resources on photography or American art, please visit the TRC online by clicking on the link above. Search under the "All Topics" pull-down menu for Eliot Porter.

Eliot Porter Collection Guide

In addition to this Student Web Site, the Amon Carter Museum has developed an online Eliot Porter collection guide. This guide presents over 750 Porter images. Learn more about the Amon Carter Museum’s Porter collection and see more photographs here.

Museum Store

Eliot Porter: The Color Wildness features an award-winning, large-format book, a 2003 calendar, and other related products.

Need Help?

If you need assistance using this site, please click the link above, or call the Amon Carter Museum education department at 817.738.1933.
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© 2002 Amon Carter Museum