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 Garden Installation Vito Acconci  Patan Durbar Square, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal Kevin Bubriski |
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PDF (1.3mb)  Who is the artist? Alexis Smith What is the name of the artwork? Men Seldom Make Passes at Girls Who Wear Glasses What materials were used? Wall painting with two framed mixed-media collages Where is the artist from? United States When was the artwork made? 1985  Alexis Smith, also known as Patricia Anne Smith before changing her name, was born in 1949 in Los Angeles, California. Smith first became interested in art when she went to the University of California, Irvine. Smith is known for creating installation art and collage. She is also known for using words and famous quotes in her artwork. Smith’s artwork often includes popular people or places from America’s history. Today Smith lives and works in Los Angeles.  Men Seldom Make Passes at Girls Who Wear Glasses is a good example of the way Smith uses people from American culture. The artwork is partly a painting directly on the wall, called a mural. It is also part collage, found inside the glasses frames. The woman pictured is Marilyn Monroe. Monroe was one of the most famous movie stars of the 1950s, and she is considered an important woman in American history. Most of the things inside the glasses relate to eyes. There is an eye-exam chart, lipstick, and photographs. Because this piece uses both collage and paint, it is called mixed-media. Why do you think that Smith put the collage in Marilyn Monroe’s sunglasses? Why do you think that the title of the artwork says that men don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses? What do think this means? Does the piece look different from up close and far away? Why?  Collage - A work of art made by attaching pieces of different materials to a surface. Installation - A work of art that is created for a specific place, often using materials or physical features from that place. Mixed-media - When two or more artistic media, like paint and collage, are used in the same artwork. Mural - A very large image, such as a painting or enlarged photograph, applied directly to a wall or ceiling. |
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Alexis Smith United States, born 1949 Men Seldom Make Passes at Girls Who Wear Glasses, 1985 wall painting with two framed mixed-media collages 27 x 33 x 3.75 in. (68.6 x 83.8 x 9.5 cm), each of 2; overall dimensions vary Museum purchase with partial funds from Ansley I. Graham Trust, Los Angeles 1995.9.1-2 © Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego  |
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1949 Alexis Smith born in the United States 1962 Seat belt invented 1970 Alexis Smith goes to college at the University of California - Irvine 1981
1985 Men Seldom Make Passes at Girls Who Wear Glasses is made 1993 World Wide Web (www) invented for the Internet |
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