CIRCA 1971
SVMoA Exhibition Engagement
From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation JUL 3- OCT 17, 2026 What happens when artists decide to break the rules? Around 1971, artists across the United States and beyond began asking bold new questions about what art could be. Some experimented with color and geometry. Others transformed ordinary objects into sculpture, blurred the boundaries between reality and illusion, or suggested that an idea could be just as important as a finished artwork. Together, they challenged long-held expectations about art and helped change the course of contemporary art.
Circa 1971 celebrates the 55th anniversary of the Sun Valley Museum of Art by returning to the artistic
moment in which the museum was founded. Drawn from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, the exhibition features prints, sculptures, and mixed-media works created between 1970 and 1972 by many of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. Although these artists work in different styles and explore different ideas, they share a willingness to experiment. They ask new questions, challenge artistic traditions, and discover unexpected ways of seeing the world. Their work reflects a period of extraordinary creativity, when artists redefined not only how art looks, but also what art can communicate, what materials it can use, and what subjects deserve our attention. Rather than telling one story about American art, Circa 1971 invites visitors to explore many different approaches to creativity. As you move through the exhibition, you'll discover artists who investigate color and perception, celebrate everyday life, respond to popular culture, transform ordinary materials, and prove that sometimes the most powerful artwork begins with a simple idea. There is no single "right" way to experience this exhibition. Slow down. Look carefully. Ask questions. Compare ideas. Be curious. Like the artists in Circa 1971, you may discover that creativity begins by seeing familiar things in entirely new ways. How to Use This Guide: This guide is designed to support educators before, during, and after a visit to Circa 1971. Rather than organizing the exhibition chronologically or by artistic movement, it is organized around five big ideas that emerge throughout the exhibition. Each theme explores a question artists were asking around 1971, inviting students to look closely, make connections, and develop their own interpretations. Whether you visit the Museum or use this guide in your classroom, encourage students to observe carefully, ask questions, support their ideas with visual evidence, and remain open to multiple
perspectives. The goal is not simply to learn about artists, but to investigate the same questions the artists were exploring. Each theme includes: • Guiding Question — introduces the central idea. • Big Idea — provides historical and artistic context. • Try This — a short inquiry activity that encourages students to look before learning. • Meet the Artists — introduces artists who explore the theme in different ways. • Look For — prompts for careful observation. • Questions for Discussion — encourages conversation and critical thinking. • Make the Connection — helps students connect ideas across artists, artworks, and their own experiences. Above all, we hope this guide inspires students to leave not only knowing more about art, but seeing the world with greater curiosity. Essential Questions As you explore Circa 1971, use these questions to guide observation, conversation, and creative thinking. There are no single right answers. 1. How did artists around 1971 challenge ideas about what art could be? 2. How can color, shape, language, everyday objects, and unusual materials communicate ideas? 3. Why might artists living at the same time respond to the world in very different ways? 4. How can art reflect the culture, technology, and values of its time? 5. If you were curating an exhibition called Circa 2026, what artworks, objects, or images would you include to tell the story of our own moment in history?
Five Ways Artists Changed Art Around 1971
THEME 1: Color, Shape & Perception Can a simple square change the way you see color? Big Idea Artists don't always need to paint people, landscapes, or stories to create meaningful works of art. Around 1971, many artists were exploring something even more fundamental: the building blocks of visual art itself. Color. Shape. Line. Light. Space. Rather than using these elements to represent something else, artists made them the subject of their work. They experimented with geometry, repeated forms, bold colors, and reflective materials, inviting viewers to become more aware of how they see. Some explored how neighboring colors influence one another. Others investigated how a single line can define space or how light changes an artwork as viewers move around it. These experiments helped shape movements such as Minimalism, Op Art, the Light and Space movement, and Conceptual Art. As you explore this section, pay attention to your own experience. Notice how colors interact, how shapes guide your eye, and how your perception changes the longer you look. Try This Choose two artworks in this gallery. Before reading the labels, look at and compare them for one full minute. • Which artwork feels calm? Which feels energetic? • Which colors seem to come forward? Which seem to recede? • How does your eye move through each composition? • What visual choices create those different experiences?
Meet the Artists Anni Albers (1899–1994) Focus Pattern, weaving, and the visual language of geometry. Big Idea Anni Albers believed that simple lines and shapes could communicate powerful ideas. Trained as a textile artist at the Bauhaus in Germany, she explored how weaving, pattern, and design connect art with everyday life. In her prints, repeating lines and geometric forms create movement and rhythm, inviting viewers to follow their pathways with their eyes. Although her work is abstract, it draws from the structure of woven textiles and patterns found across cultures. Albers shows us how even simple shapes can create rich visual experiences. Key Work
Blue Meander (1970). Screenprint. Look For • Repeating geometric patterns • Lines that guide your eye across the composition • Shapes that resemble woven threads or pathways Questions for Discussion • Where does your eye travel first? • Does this artwork remind you of a map, a maze, or something else? • How can a pattern communicate something without showing a recognizable image?
Josef Albers (1888–1976) Focus Exploring how color changes the way we see. Big Idea Josef Albers spent much of his career investigating one deceptively simple question: Can the same color look different depending on the colors around it? Using nested squares and carefully selected color combinations, Albers demonstrated that our eyes don't always perceive color the way we expect. A color may appear brighter, darker, warmer, cooler, closer, or farther away simply because of the colors surrounding it. His work reminds us that seeing is not passive. Our brains are constantly interpreting what our eyes observe. Key Work
Homage to the Square Gb I (1970–71). Screenprint. Look For • Squares nested inside one another • Colors that appear to shift as you look • A sense of depth created without traditional perspective Questions for Discussion • Which square seems closest to you? Why? • Do any colors appear to change while you're looking? • Why might Albers choose to use the same shape again and again?
Ellsworth Kelly (1923–2015) Focus Shape, color, and the space between. Big Idea Ellsworth Kelly found inspiration in shapes he noticed in the world around him—from architecture and shadows to plants and everyday objects. Rather than representing these subjects realistically, he simplified what he saw into bold shapes and areas of color. Kelly was especially interested in the relationship between positive and negative space: the shapes we notice and the spaces surrounding them. His work challenges us to look again. Is the shape the artwork, or is the empty space just as important? Key Works
Black Curve (Axsom 80) (1970–72). Linocut with debossing.
Blue Green Black Red (Axsom 76)(1971). Lithograph.
Look For • Bold, simplified shapes • The relationship between positive and negative space • How the surrounding white space changes the way you see each form Questions for Discussion • What do you notice first: the shape or the space around it? • What happens if you imagine the positive and negative spaces switching places? • Do these shapes remind you of anything in the world around you? • How can something so simple change the way you look?
Frank Stella (1936–2024) Focus Using repetition and geometry to create movement. Big Idea Frank Stella built complex compositions from repeated shapes, intersecting lines, and carefully organized patterns. Rather than depicting recognizable objects, he explored how geometry alone could create energy, rhythm, and movement across a surface. The longer you look, the more relationships begin to appear. Key Work
Copper Series: Creede I (Axsom 39) (1970). Lithograph and screenprint. Look For • Repeated geometric forms • Intersecting lines • Visual rhythms that guide your eye Questions for Discussion • Does this artwork feel calm or energetic? What makes you say that? • Where does your eye travel first? Where does it go next? • How does repetition create a sense of movement?
Larry Bell (b. 1939) Focus Using light and reflection as artistic materials. Big Idea Larry Bell asks us to think about something we rarely notice: light itself. Working with glass, mirrors, and reflective surfaces, Bell creates artworks that change as viewers move around them. Reflections shift, transparency changes, and the surrounding space becomes part of the artwork. Instead of simply looking at the artwork, we become part of the experience. Key Work
Lux III (1971) Look For • Reflections and transparency • Changes in appearance as you move • The surrounding gallery reflected in the work • Your own reflection Questions for Discussion • How does the artwork change when you move? • Does the room become part of the artwork? • Can light be an artistic material?
Fred Sandback (1943–2003) Focus Showing how very little can create a powerful visual experience. Big Idea Fred Sandback demonstrated how a single line can completely change the way we experience space. Whether using yarn stretched across a room or simple geometric forms in print, his work draws our attention to boundaries and relationships we might otherwise overlook. His work asks a deceptively simple question: How little does an artist need to create something meaningful? Key Work
Variations for Gallery Heiner Friedrich (1971–73) Look For • Straight lines and geometric forms • Open space • How lines divide, frame, or suggest space Questions for Discussion • How does empty space become part of the artwork? • What happens if you imagine removing one line? • Why might an artist choose to use less instead of more?
Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011) Focus Expressing feeling through color. Big Idea Helen Frankenthaler explored how color could communicate mood and emotion. Rather than painting recognizable objects, she allowed color to flow across the surface, creating soft edges, transparent layers, and luminous spaces. Her work reminds us that art doesn't always have to tell a story. Sometimes color itself can be the experience. Key Work
Sanguine Mood (1971) Look For • Transparent layers of color • Soft, flowing edges • Areas where colors blend Questions for Discussion • What mood does this artwork create? What do you see that makes you say that? • How does color affect the way you feel? • If this artwork had a soundtrack, what would it sound like?
Make the Connection
Although these artists created very different kinds of artwork, they all ask us to slow down and pay attention to the visual elements that shape our experience. Through color, shape, line, light, space, and repetition, they show how simple visual elements can create surprisingly complex experiences. As you continue through the exhibition, consider this question:
How do artists help us see something we might otherwise overlook?
Theme 2: Looking Closely: Finding Beauty in Everyday Life What happens when we slow down and really look? Big Idea Artists often notice things that others overlook. Around 1971, many artists turned their attention to ordinary subjects—quiet neighborhoods, city streets, flowers, still lifes, and natural landscapes. Rather than searching for dramatic moments, they found beauty in careful observation. Some artists worked with incredible realism, while others simplified what they saw into bold shapes and colors. Although their approaches were very different, they shared an important belief: the more closely we look, the more we discover. As you explore this section, imagine looking at the world through an artist's eyes. What details begin to appear when you slow down? How can an ordinary moment become extraordinary? Try This Choose one artwork. Look at it silently for one full minute before reading the label. As you look, ask yourself: • What details do I notice first? • What new details appear after thirty seconds? • What might I have missed if I only looked for a few seconds? Sometimes the best way to understand an artwork is simply to spend more time with it.
Meet the Artists Vija Celmins (b. 1938) Focus Finding wonder through close observation of the natural world. Big Idea Vija Celmins creates remarkably detailed images of deserts, oceans, spider webs, and night skies. Rather than focusing on dramatic events or recognizable landmarks, she invites viewers to slow down and notice subtle textures, patterns, and surfaces that might otherwise go unnoticed. Her work rewards patience. The longer you look, the more you discover. Key Work
Desert O38c-VC71 (1971) Look For • Tiny variations in texture • Repeating natural patterns • Areas with no obvious focal point Questions for Discussion • What do you notice after looking for one full minute? • Why might the artist leave out people or buildings? • How does this vast, empty landscape make you feel? What creates that feeling?
Richard Estes (b. 1932) Focus Capturing the complexity of everyday city life. Big Idea Richard Estes is known for creating highly detailed images that can resemble photographs. He carefully observes reflections, architecture, windows, and changing light, revealing the complexity of ordinary places. His work reminds us that seeing is more than simply looking. It means noticing relationships, reflections, and details that are easy to miss. Key Work
Urban Landscapes I: Arch (1972) Look For • Reflections in glass • Layers of buildings and streets • Places where reality and reflection overlap Questions for Discussion • Which parts of the image are reflections, and which are not? • How does the artist guide your eye through the composition? • What details make this place feel real?
Robert Bechtle (1932–2020) Focus Celebrating the quiet moments of everyday life. Big Idea Robert Bechtle found inspiration in ordinary neighborhoods, parked cars, and familiar streets. Rather than searching for dramatic subjects, he paid careful attention to everyday scenes that many people might overlook. His work asks us to consider what makes an ordinary place worth looking at—and remembering. Key Work
68 Nova (1972) Look For • Clues about the neighborhood • Familiar cars, buildings, and everyday objects • Light and shadow Questions for Discussion • What makes this ordinary scene interesting to look at? • What details reveal that it was made in the early 1970s? • If you created a portrait of your neighborhood today, what would you include?
Wayne Thiebaud (1920–2021) Focus Finding beauty in familiar objects. Big Idea Wayne Thiebaud transformed ordinary objects into vibrant works of art. Whether painting cakes, toys, or simple household items, he used color, light, and shadow to draw attention to things we might otherwise overlook. His work reminds us that even the most familiar objects deserve a second look. Key Work
Seven Still-Lifes and a Rabbit: Glasses (1971) Look For • Bright colors • Strong shadows • Carefully arranged objects Questions for Discussion • Which object catches your attention first? • Why do you think the artist chose these everyday objects? • What ordinary object would you choose to celebrate in an artwork?
Alex Katz (b. 1927) Focus Capturing people with simplicity and clarity. Big Idea Alex Katz reduces portraits to their essential elements. Rather than filling an image with detail, he focuses on expression, posture, color, and composition to create portraits that feel both simple and powerful. His work reminds us that sometimes less detail allows us to notice more. Key Work
Alex (1970) Look For • Facial expression • Clean lines • Flat areas of color Questions for Discussion • What do you notice about how this person is presented? • Which details seem most important? • What has the artist chosen to leave out?
David Hockney (1937-2026) Focus Encouraging us to question how we see the world. Big Idea David Hockney explored the idea that every artwork is an interpretation rather than a copy of reality. In Colored Flowers Made of Paper and Ink, he depicted flowers that are themselves artificial, inviting us to think about observation, representation, and illusion. His work reminds us that artists don't simply record what they see—they make choices that shape how we see the world. Key Work
Colored Flowers Made of Paper and Ink (1971) Look For • Bright colors • Layered shapes • Details that blur reality and representation Questions for Discussion • Are these flowers "real"? • Why might an artist choose to depict paper flowers? • How does knowing the flowers are artificial change your interpretation?
Make the Connection
Each of these artists approached observation differently. Some captured extraordinary detail, while others simplified what they saw through color, shape, and form. Together, they remind us that looking closely can transform the way we see even the most familiar subjects. As you continue through the exhibition, consider this question:
How might slowing down change the way you experience both art and the world around you?
Theme 3: Everyday Icons Can an everyday object belong in a museum? Big Idea Every day, we are surrounded by images. Logos, advertisements, food packaging, street signs, television, social media, and everyday objects all shape how we see the world. Because these images are so familiar, we often stop noticing them. Around 1971, artists were paying close attention to the visual culture of their own time. They borrowed imagery from advertisements and mass media, enlarged everyday objects, transformed familiar words into art, and turned ordinary experiences into subjects worthy of attention. Some embraced popular culture with humor and playfulness. Others invited viewers to think more critically about consumerism, media, and the images that surrounded them. As you explore this section, think about the visual culture of your own time. What do the objects and images around you communicate about our culture? Which have become so familiar that you hardly notice them anymore? Try This Imagine you're creating a time capsule to represent life today. Without using your phone, list five everyday objects or images that might help someone fifty years from now understand our lives. Why did you choose them? As you explore the gallery, consider why these artists chose the subjects they did.
Meet the Artists Andy Warhol (1928–1987) Focus Transforming familiar images into cultural icons. Big Idea Andy Warhol found inspiration in images people encountered every day. Flowers, celebrities, consumer products, and advertisements all became subjects for his colorful screenprints. Warhol often repeated the same image again and again. Like products on a store shelf or photographs in a magazine, repetition changes the way we experience an image. Something ordinary can suddenly become unforgettable. Key Work
Flowers (1970) Look For • Bright colors • Repeated imagery • Bold shapes • Small differences between repeated prints Questions for Discussion • Why do you think Warhol repeated the same image? • Does repetition make an image more meaningful or less meaningful? • What image from today might become an icon fifty years from now?
Robert Indiana (1928–2018) Focus Turning language into visual art. Big Idea Robert Indiana demonstrated that words can be just as powerful as pictures. Through bold typography, color, and design, he transformed simple language into memorable works of art. His famous LOVE image reminds us that a single word can carry many meanings depending on how we see it. Key Work
Four Panel Love (1972) Look For • Bold letters • Repetition • Strong color contrasts • Symmetry Questions for Discussion • What makes this word so visually memorable? • If you designed an artwork around one word, which word would you choose? • How do color and design influence meaning?
Claes Oldenburg (1929–2022) Focus Using humor and scale to transform everyday objects. Big Idea Claes Oldenburg transformed familiar objects by changing their scale, materials, and surroundings. Everyday things became strange, funny, and sometimes larger than life, encouraging viewers to see the ordinary in completely new ways. His sculptures remind us that art can be playful while still asking thoughtful questions about the objects we use every day. Key Works
Ice Bag – Scale B (1971) Look For • Familiar objects • Unexpected scale • Humor • Surprising details Questions for Discussion • What feels surprising or humorous about seeing an everyday object transformed into sculpture? • How does changing an object's size affect its meaning? • What everyday object would you enlarge?
James Rosenquist (1933–2017) Focus Exploring the visual language of advertising. Big Idea Before becoming a full-time artist, James Rosenquist painted billboards. That experience shaped the way he thought about images. He combined bold colors, cropped compositions, and unexpected visual fragments drawn from the language of advertising, inviting viewers to make their own connections. His work reflects a world crowded with images competing for our attention. Key Work
Moon Beam Mistaken for the News (1971) Look For • Cropped images • Bold colors • Unexpected combinations Questions for Discussion • Why might an artist combine unrelated images? • How do advertisements capture our attention? • What images do you see every day without really noticing?
David Gilhooly (1943–2013) Focus Finding creativity through humor and everyday life. Big Idea David Gilhooly created playful ceramic sculptures inspired by familiar foods and popular culture. Associated with the California Funk movement, he embraced humor, imagination, and the unexpected. His sculptures remind us that art doesn't always have to be serious. Sometimes humor helps us see familiar things in entirely new ways. Key Work
Ice Cream Cone, Donuts and Chocolate Bar (1971–74) Look For • Familiar foods • Bright colors • Playful or exaggerated details • Unexpected presentation Questions for Discussion • Why might an artist choose desserts as a subject? • Can humor communicate important ideas? • What everyday food or object would you turn into a sculpture? Why?
Make the Connection
These artists found inspiration in the visual culture around them—from advertisements and familiar words to everyday objects and food. By repeating, enlarging, rearranging, and transforming these familiar things, they encouraged viewers to see the ordinary in new ways. Together, their work reminds us that the images and objects of everyday life can tell us something about the time and culture in which we live. As you continue through the exhibition, consider this question:
If someone wanted to tell the story of life today through art, what everyday image, object, or symbol would they choose— and why?
Theme 4: Ideas Become Art Can an idea become a work of art? Big Idea When you think about making art, you might imagine paint, clay, pencils, or cameras. But what if the most important part of an artwork isn't the finished object at all? Around 1971, many artists were exploring that question. They experimented with ways an idea, a set of instructions, a process, or even a simple question could become the foundation for a work of art. Rather than focusing only on what an artwork looks like, these artists ask us to consider how it was made, why it was made, and what ideas it asks us to explore. Art isn't always about finding answers. Sometimes it's about creating new questions. As you explore this section, consider where an artwork really begins: with the object we see, or with the idea behind it? Try This Think of one simple instruction. It could be: • Draw one line. • Fold a piece of paper three times. • Write your name over and over. • Arrange five objects by color. Could following that instruction become a work of art? Why or why not?
Meet the Artists John Baldessari (1931–2020) Focus Using language and humor to challenge expectations about art. Big Idea John Baldessari used language, humor, and simple ideas to challenge expectations about what art could be. In I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art, a sentence resembling a classroom punishment becomes the subject of the artwork itself. His work asks us to consider not only what art looks like, but what makes something art in the first place. Sometimes an idea can be just as important as the object we see. Key Work
I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art (1971) Look For • Repeated language • Handwritten text • Familiar classroom references • Humor in an unexpected place Questions for Discussion • Is this artwork serious, funny, or both? • Why might an artist choose words instead of pictures? • What sentence could you repeat until it became an artwork?
Bruce Nauman (b. 1941) Focus Finding artistic ideas in everyday actions and human behavior. Big Idea Bruce Nauman explores how ordinary actions and human behavior can become subjects for art. Throughout his career, he has experimented with movement, facial expressions, language, sound, and the human body. In Studies for Holograms, small changes in expression become the focus of our attention. By isolating simple gestures, Nauman invites us to notice how much meaning can exist in even the smallest human action. Key Work
Studies for Holograms (1970) Look For • Facial expressions • Repetition • Small differences between images Questions for Discussion • Why might an artist focus on such a small gesture? • How do tiny changes affect meaning? • Can ordinary actions become art?
Ed Ruscha (b. 1937) Focus Exploring the visual power of words. Big Idea Ed Ruscha explores language as both something we read and something we see. Throughout his career, he has transformed familiar words into striking visual compositions, drawing attention to typography, sound, repetition, and design. His work reminds us that how a word looks can shape how we experience its meaning. Key Work
News from News, Mews, Pews, Brews, Stews & Dues (1970) Look For • The size, shape, and style of letters • Repetition • The relationship between words and images Questions for Discussion • How can the way a word looks change the way you read it? • Why might one ordinary word become the subject of an artwork? • Which word would you choose to turn into art?
Sol LeWitt (1928–2007) Focus Creating art through systems, instructions, and ideas. Big Idea Earlier in this guide, we explored Sol LeWitt's interest in geometry and color. His work also became a defining example of Conceptual Art because he treated the idea behind an artwork as an essential part of the artwork itself. LeWitt often developed detailed instructions that allowed other people to create his works. In doing so, he challenged traditional ideas about authorship, originality, and creativity. His work reminds us that sometimes the most important part of an artwork isn't the object we see, but the idea that made it possible. Key Work
Color Composite Series: Untitled (1970) Look For • Repeated patterns • Rules or structures that seem to organize the composition • Evidence of planning • Organized color relationships Questions for Discussion • Can following rules be creative? • If someone else follows an artist's instructions, whose artwork is it? • What simple rule could become the basis for your own artwork?
Make the Connection The artists in this section remind us that creativity doesn't always begin with materials. Sometimes it begins with a question, a sentence, an action, a set of instructions, or a new way of thinking about something familiar. An artwork might begin with an object we can see, but the idea behind it can be just as important. As you continue through the exhibition, consider this question:
Where do your own creative ideas begin?
Theme 5: Unexpected Materials What can art be made from? Big Idea Paint. Clay. Pencil. Stone. These are materials we often associate with art. But by the early 1970s, many artists were experimenting with a much wider range of possibilities. Cardboard, mirrors, industrial glass, found objects, lead, and other everyday materials began appearing in artworks and museums. These choices weren't simply about being different. Materials can carry meaning. Cardboard feels different from polished marble. A reflective surface changes as we move around it. A discarded object can take on new meaning when we encounter it as art. As you explore this section, consider not only what an artwork is made from, but why the artist might have chosen that material. Try This Look around the room you're standing in. Choose one ordinary object. Now imagine seeing that object displayed in an art museum. Would it feel different? What questions might you ask about it? How can changing the context change the way we see something?
Meet the Artists Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008) Focus Transforming everyday materials into works of art. Big Idea Robert Rauschenberg transformed ordinary materials into art without hiding what they were. Cardboard, newspaper, photographs, tape, and other familiar materials remained recognizable even as he combined them in unexpected ways. His layered works blurred the boundaries between painting, printmaking, collage, and sculpture, challenging expectations about what art can be made from and what belongs in a museum. Rauschenberg reminds us that creativity can begin by seeing new possibilities in materials already around us. Key Works
Cardbird I (1971) Look For • Corrugated cardboard • Evidence of cutting, assembling, and arranging • Signs of the material's original use Questions for Discussion • Why might an artist choose cardboard instead of canvas? • What stories do everyday materials already tell? • When does an ordinary material become art?
Jasper Johns (b. 1930) Focus Finding new possibilities in familiar images and printmaking. Big Idea Jasper Johns encourages us to look more carefully at images we think we already know. Through layering, embossing, and repetition, he transforms familiar subjects into opportunities for discovery. Johns is also deeply interested in process. His prints reveal how techniques, textures, and materials can become as important as the image itself. Key Works
Four Panels from Untitled (1972) Look For • Raised textures • Repeated imagery • Areas that appear layered or built up • Fine details Questions for Discussion • Why might an artist repeat the same image? • How does texture change the way you experience a print? • What details become visible after looking more closely?
Louise Nevelson (1900–1988) Focus Creating order from collected materials. Big Idea Louise Nevelson saw artistic potential in objects and materials that others often overlooked. She became known for gathering discarded pieces of wood and arranging them into carefully organized sculptures that emphasize shape, shadow, and texture. In her prints, we can see a similar interest in layering, repetition, and the relationship between individual parts and the larger whole. Her work reminds us that creativity can begin with collecting, arranging, and reimagining what is already around us. Key Works
Lead Intaglio Series: The Great Wall (1970)
Lead Intaglio Series: Sky Garden (1971)
Look For • Repeated shapes • Layered forms • Strong contrasts between light and shadow Questions for Discussion • Why might an artist find inspiration in materials that other people overlook? • How do many small pieces become one artwork? • What materials around you could become a sculpture?
Larry Bell (b. 1939) Focus Making light itself part of the artwork. Big Idea Earlier in this guide, we explored Larry Bell's interest in color and perception. His work also shows how an artist's choice of materials can transform the way we experience an artwork. Using glass, mirrors, and reflective coatings, Bell creates surfaces that interact with light and change as viewers move around them. Reflection, transparency, and even the surrounding space become part of what we see. His work reminds us that a material isn't just something an artwork is made from. It can shape the experience of the artwork itself. Key Work
Lux III (1971) Look For • Reflections • Transparency • Light • Your own image within the artwork Questions for Discussion • How does the artwork change as you move? • What role does light play? • Can something you can't hold become part of an artwork?
Make the Connection
What do these artists have in common? Throughout Circa 1971, you've encountered artists exploring color, perception, everyday life, popular culture, ideas, and unexpected materials. Their approaches may be very different, but they share something important: They ask questions. They look closely. They experiment. They see new possibilities in familiar things. These artists remind us that creativity doesn't always begin with knowing the answer. Sometimes it begins with curiosity and the willingness to ask, “What if?” As you leave the exhibition, consider one final question:
What if the next big idea in art hasn't been discovered yet? Could it begin with someone like you?
Link to Matterport
Link to Photo Gallery
Continue the Conversation A museum visit is just one part of the learning experience. The conversations that begin in the gallery can continue long after students return to the classroom. Whether they are experimenting with color, looking more closely at the world around them, transforming everyday objects into works of art, or exploring new materials, students deepen their understanding by making, discussing, reflecting, and asking questions of their own. The following resources are designed to help educators prepare students before their visit, encourage meaningful conversations in the galleries, and extend learning through hands-on artmaking and classroom reflection. Like the artists featured in Circa 1971, students are invited to remain curious, take creative risks, and discover that there are many different ways to make—and experience—art.
Before Your Visit
Preparing students before they arrive at the museum helps them feel more confident, curious, and ready to engage with works of art. Even a brief classroom conversation can encourage students to slow down, ask thoughtful questions, and approach the exhibition with an open mind. Build Background Knowledge Introduce students to the idea that around 1971 many artists began experimenting with new ways of making art. Rather than focusing on memorizing artistic movements or biographies, encourage students to think about the kinds of questions artists might ask. For example: • Can an everyday object become art? • How can color communicate emotion? • Can an idea be more important than the finished artwork? • What happens when artists use unexpected materials? Students do not need to know the answers before visiting. The museum experience is an opportunity to investigate these questions together. Practice Looking Before visiting the museum, spend a few minutes practicing close observation with any image. Invite students to look quietly for one full minute before discussing what they notice. Ask open-ended questions such as: • What do you notice? • What makes you say that? • What else do you see?
These simple prompts encourage students to support their ideas with evidence and remain open to multiple interpretations. Prepare for the Museum Experience Before your visit, talk with students about what they can expect in the galleries. Encourage them to: • Look carefully before reading labels. • Share observations respectfully. • Listen to different perspectives. • Move thoughtfully through the gallery. • Help create a welcoming environment for everyone. Remind students that museums are places for curiosity, conversation, and discovery. They are not expected to know all the answers. Looking Challenge Invite students to choose one everyday object at home or at school and spend two minutes observing it closely. Afterward, ask: • What details did you notice that you had never seen before? • How did spending more time looking change your experience? This simple exercise introduces one of the exhibition’s central ideas: careful observation helps us discover new ways of seeing.
During Your Visit
Every visit to an art museum is unique. Each student brings different experiences, ideas, and questions to the gallery, and every artwork offers an opportunity for discovery. As you explore Circa 1971, encourage students to slow down, look carefully, and remain curious. The goal isn’t to see every artwork—it is to spend meaningful time with the works you do encounter. Encourage Close Looking Many works in this exhibition reveal new details the longer you spend with them. Invite students to pause before reading the label and begin with their own observations. Questions that encourage thoughtful looking include: • What do you notice first? • What details stand out? • What surprises you? • Where does your eye travel? • What makes you say that? Encourage students to support their ideas with evidence they see in the artwork.
Compare and Connect Throughout the exhibition, students will encounter artists who approached similar questions in very different ways. Invite them to compare two artworks. Ask: • • • •
How are these artworks alike? How are they different? Which artwork makes you think differently? What choices did each artist make?
Making comparisons helps students recognize that there is never just one way to solve a creative problem. Practice Curiosity Students don't need to understand every artwork immediately. Instead, encourage them to ask questions. Some helpful prompts include: • Why might the artist have made this choice? • What do you think the artist wanted viewers to notice? • What questions does this artwork leave you with? Sometimes the most meaningful museum experiences begin with curiosity rather than certainty. Respect the Shared Space Museums are places where people gather to learn, reflect, and enjoy art together. Help students create a positive experience for everyone by encouraging them to: • Walk carefully through the galleries. • Use quiet voices so others can enjoy the artwork. • Keep a safe distance from the artwork unless invited to interact with it. • Respect the ideas and observations shared by others. Remember that every visitor may experience the same artwork differently, and those different perspectives enrich the conversation. Museum Challenge Before leaving the exhibition, ask each student to choose: • one artwork that surprised them, • one artwork they would like to spend more time with, • and one question they are still thinking about. These reflections can become powerful starting points for classroom conversations after your visit.
After Your Visit
Learning continues long after students leave the museum. Use the exhibition as a starting point for reflection, discussion, writing, and artmaking. Encourage students to revisit the questions they explored in the gallery and consider how their thinking has changed. Reflect Together Invite students to share their museum experience. Questions might include: • Which artwork stayed with you after your visit? • Which artist surprised you? • Which artwork challenged the way you think about art? • Did any artwork change your mind while you were looking at it? Encourage students to explain their thinking using specific details from the artworks they observed. Make Connections Help students connect the exhibition to their own lives. Ask: • • •
Which artwork reminds you of something from your own experience? Which artist approached creativity in a way that feels familiar to you? What ideas from the exhibition do you notice in the world around you today?
Connecting museum experiences to everyday life helps students recognize that art is not separate from their own communities and experiences. Continue Asking Questions One of the most important lessons of Circa 1971 is that artists aren't afraid to ask questions. Encourage students to continue wondering. For example: • What else could become art? • What materials have I never considered using? • What ordinary objects deserve a closer look? • What ideas would I like to explore through my own artwork? There is no finish line for curiosity. Reflect Through Writing Invite students to respond to one of the following prompts: • Describe one artwork without naming it. What details help others imagine it? • Which artist's approach to creativity most inspired you? Why? • If you could interview one artist from the exhibition, what three questions would you ask? • Imagine visiting this exhibition fifty years from now. What do you think future audiences would notice differently?
Writing encourages students to slow down, organize their thinking, and deepen their understanding of the exhibition. Keep Looking The artists featured in Circa 1971 remind us that creativity begins with paying attention. Encourage students to continue noticing patterns, colors, materials, advertisements, architecture, people, and everyday objects in their own communities. The next great idea might begin with something they see on the walk home.
Studio Explorations Creative expression helps students deepen their understanding of the ideas explored in Circa 1971. The following studio explorations invite students to experiment with the same questions artists were asking around 1971. Encourage students to investigate, take creative risks, and discover that there is more than one way to solve an artistic problem.
ACTIVITY 1: Color Conversations Inspired by Josef Albers Objective: Explore how surrounding colors influence the way we perceive a single color. Big Question: Can color trick your eyes? Materials: • • • •
Construction paper or colored paper Scissors Glue White or black cardstock
Prompt: Using only colored squares and rectangles, create an abstract composition. Challenge yourself to make one color appear brighter, darker, warmer, or cooler simply by changing the colors around it. Reflection: How did your color choices change the way other colors appeared? Which combinations surprised you?
ACTIVITY 2: Five Things That Are Me Inspired by Bruce Nauman Objective: Explore identity using observation instead of a traditional portrait. Big Question: Can a portrait exist without showing your face? Materials: • • • •
Drawing paper Pencil Black marker Colored pencils or crayons
Prompt: Instead of drawing your face, create a self-portrait using five carefully observed drawings of details that represent you. Ideas include: • • • • • • • •
Your hands Your shoes Your favorite sweatshirt Your backpack Your glasses A favorite object Your handwriting A pattern you wear often
Arrange the five drawings in a grid, like a gallery wall. Reflection: Which detail tells the most about you? What might someone learn about you without ever seeing your face?
ACTIVITY 3: Pop Art of Today Inspired by Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana & James Rosenquist Objective: Explore how everyday images communicate ideas about contemporary culture. Big Question: What objects tell the story of today? Materials: • • • • • • • •
Magazines Newspapers Junk mail Packaging Construction paper Scissors Glue Markers
Prompt: Create a collage using images and words that represent life today. Think about the products, advertisements, technology, hobbies, and symbols that define your community and your generation. Imagine someone discovers your artwork fifty years from now. What would they learn about life today? Reflection: Which image or word became the most important in your collage? Why?
ACTIVITY 4: One Rule Inspired by Sol LeWitt & John Baldessari Objective: Discover how a simple instruction can become the foundation for an artwork. Big Question: Can an idea become a work of art? Materials: • • •
Paper Pencil Marker
Prompt: Write one simple instruction that anyone could follow to create an artwork. Exchange instructions with a classmate and complete each other's artwork. Possible rules: • • • • •
Use only circles. Draw without lifting your pencil. Fill the page with repeated lines. Use only one shape. Draw using your non-dominant hand.
Display each instruction beside the finished artwork. Reflection: Did everyone create the same artwork? Why or why not?
ACTIVITY 5: Impossible Ice Cream Inspired by Claes Oldenburg & David Gilhooly Objective: Transform an ordinary object into something imaginative through sculpture. Big Question: Can ordinary food become extraordinary art? Materials: • • •
Air-dry clay or modeling clay Toothpicks or clay tools Tempera or acrylic paint (optional)
Prompt: Imagine an artist has invented an impossible ice cream flavor. Create a cone, bowl, or frozen treat that no one has ever tasted. Think about unusual flavors, surprising textures, and playful combinations. Give your sculpture a creative title and write a short menu description. Reflection: How did imagination transform an ordinary food into a work of art?
Educator Guide to Idaho Content Standards
Circa 1971: From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation The following Idaho Content Standards align with the inquiry-based discussions, studio explorations, and themes featured throughout Circa 1971. These standards encourage observation, critical thinking, artistic experimentation, visual literacy, historical inquiry, and interdisciplinary learning. Idaho Visual Arts Standards Grades K–5 K–2.VA.1.2: Explore uses of materials and tools to create works of art or design. Application: Students investigate how artists in Circa 1971 use printmaking, sculpture, photography, collage, and mixed media to communicate ideas. Studio explorations encourage experimentation with color, composition, and three-dimensional form. K–2.VA.4.2: Interpret art by identifying subject matter and describing relevant details. Application: Students practice close observation while discussing works by artists such as Ellsworth Kelly, Wayne Thiebaud, Andy Warhol, Bruce Nauman, and David Hockney. Through inquiry-based conversations, students support their interpretations with details they observe in the artwork. 3–5.VA.2.1: Create artwork using a variety of artistic processes and materials. Application: Students experiment with collage, drawing, sculpture, color relationships, and other processes introduced through the exhibition and Studio Explorations. 3–5.VA.4.1: Analyze or evaluate components in visual imagery that convey messages, ideas, and mood. Application: Students compare how artists use color, repetition, typography, composition, scale, shape, and materials to create different visual and emotional experiences. 3–5.VA.5.1: Identify how art is used to inform or change beliefs, values, or behaviors of an individual or society. Application: Students examine how artists working around 1971 challenged expectations about what art could look like, what materials could be used, and which subjects belonged in museums. Grades 6–12 6–8.VA.2.2: Apply visual organizational strategies to design and produce a work of art that communicates information or ideas. Application: Students create artworks that communicate ideas about perception, identity,
popular culture, or everyday experience while making intentional choices about composition, color, and visual organization. 6–8.VA.4.1: Analyze and/or interpret works of art, and/or how art influences viewers. Application: Students compare the different ways artists in Circa 1971 shape a viewer's experience through abstraction, realism, geometry, typography, repetition, scale, and material. 6–8.VA.5.1: Analyze and/or demonstrate how art reflects changing times, traditions, resources, and cultural uses. Application: Students investigate how artists responded to changing ideas about mass media, consumer culture, technology, artistic practice, and everyday American life during the early 1970s. 9–12.VA.4.1: Analyze and/or demonstrate how one's understanding of the world is affected by art. Application: Students reflect on how Pop Art, Conceptual Art, Minimalism, Photorealism, and other approaches represented in the exhibition challenge viewers to reconsider familiar images, objects, and ideas. 9–12.VA.5.1: Describe how knowledge of culture, traditions, and history may influence personal responses to art. Application: Students consider how understanding the cultural and historical landscape of the late 1960s and early 1970s changes their interpretation of works in the exhibition and compare those responses with how the works function for audiences today. Idaho English Language Arts/Literacy Standards Grades K–5 3.ODC-OC.1: Engage in collaborative discussions about grade-level topics and texts with peers. Application: Gallery conversations and thinking routines encourage students to listen to classmates, build on others' observations, ask questions, and explain their interpretations of works of art. 3.RC-NF.6e: Compare and contrast important points and key supporting details presented in two texts on the same topic. Application: Students compare exhibition labels, artist biographies, or other informational texts about two artists who approach a related idea—such as color, everyday life, or popular culture— in different ways. 3.W-RW.1: Develop flexibility in writing by routinely engaging in the production of shorter and longer pieces for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. Application: Students create artwork reflections, museum labels, artist statements, descriptive responses, and imaginative writing inspired by works in Circa 1971.
Grades 6–12 6.ODC-OC.1: Engage in collaborative discussions about grade-level topics and texts with peers. Application: Students participate in evidence-based conversations about artistic intention, interpretation, and historical context while listening and responding thoughtfully to multiple perspectives. 6.RC-NF.6: Analyze ideas and information presented in nonfiction texts. Application: Students use artist biographies, exhibition texts, and other informational sources to deepen and revise their interpretations of artworks. 9/10.W-RW.1: Develop flexibility in writing by routinely engaging in the production of shorter and longer pieces for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. Application: Students write analytical responses, exhibition reviews, curatorial statements, artist statements, or arguments about how works from Circa 1971 reflect or challenge the culture of their time. Idaho Social Studies Standards Grades K–5 K.SS.1.1: Describe how individuals have similarities and differences by sharing stories, pictures, and music of one's own personal life, family, and culture. Application: Students compare how artists represent people, objects, places, and experiences and discuss how individual perspectives influence artistic choices. 2.SS.1.1: Identify different groups that a person belongs to, such as family and community, and how those roles and/or groups have changed or stayed the same over time. Application: Students consider how familiar objects, images, technologies, clothing, advertisements, and other elements of everyday life have changed between the early 1970s and today. Grades 6–12 6–12.HT2.2: Analyze change and continuity in historical eras. Application: Students use the works in Circa 1971 as cultural evidence to compare American life around 1971 with the present, identifying both changes and continuities in consumer culture, mass media, design, technology, and visual communication. 9–12.US2.31: Describe the relationships between the Vietnam War, the counterculture movement, and the anti-war movement. Application: Students place works created between 1970 and 1972 within the broader historical environment of the period. Robert Rauschenberg's Signs provides a particularly useful starting point for considering how contemporary events and mass-media imagery entered artistic practice.
9–12.US2.32: Examine the various ways the counterculture critiqued United States society. Application: Students consider how artists challenged established cultural and artistic conventions, including traditional distinctions between fine art and popular culture, conventional art materials, and expectations about what subjects belonged in museums. 9–12.US2.44: Evaluate how the rise of alternative media, social media, and technology, including smartphones, have affected United States culture, society, and politics. Application: Students compare today's image-saturated digital culture with the mass-media environment that influenced artists such as Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, Robert Rauschenberg, and Ed Ruscha. How have the technologies changed while artists' interest in circulating images, words, and popular culture continues? Idaho Mathematics Standards Grades K–5 K.G.A.1: Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes and describe their relative positions. Application: Students identify squares, rectangles, circles, curves, lines, and other forms in works by Josef Albers, Ellsworth Kelly, Sol LeWitt, Frank Stella, and other artists. 1.G.A.2: Compose two-dimensional or three-dimensional shapes to create composite shapes. Application: Students investigate how artists combine, layer, repeat, and rearrange simple shapes to create increasingly complex compositions. 4.G.A.3: Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure and identify line-symmetric figures. Application: Students compare symmetry and asymmetry in geometric artworks and consider how artists create visual balance without necessarily making both sides identical. Grades 6–12 7.G.A.1: Solve problems involving scale drawings of geometric figures. Application: Students enlarge or reduce a geometric composition inspired by the exhibition and consider how changing scale alters the visual experience of the work. 8.G.A.3: Describe the effect of dilations, translations, rotations, and reflections on twodimensional figures using coordinates. Application: Students identify and experiment with transformations in geometric compositions inspired by artists such as Sol LeWitt, Frank Stella, Josef Albers, and Robert Indiana.
Idaho Science Standards Grades K–5 1-PS-1.3: Plan and conduct investigations to determine the effect of placing objects made with different materials in the path of a beam of light. Application: Students investigate how transparent, translucent, reflective, and opaque materials interact differently with light, making connections to Larry Bell's use of glass, mirrors, and reflective surfaces in Lux III. 4-PS-2.2: Develop a model to describe that light reflecting from objects and entering the eye allows objects to be seen. Application: Students explore how reflected light allows us to perceive color and surface and consider how changing their physical position affects what they see in reflective artworks. Grades 6–12 MS-PS-4.2: Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials. Application: Students connect scientific investigations of light with artworks that depend on glass, mirrors, transparency, reflection, and changing viewpoints, particularly Larry Bell's Lux III. Cross-Curricular Connections Beyond these individual standards, Circa 1971 offers natural opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. English Language Arts: Close looking functions much like close reading. Students observe details, develop interpretations, support ideas with evidence, compare perspectives, and communicate their thinking through discussion and writing. Social Studies: Artworks can function as cultural and historical sources. Students can investigate what the imagery, materials, technologies, and subjects artists chose around 1971 reveal about their historical moment. Mathematics: Abstract and geometric works provide opportunities to investigate shape, pattern, symmetry, proportion, scale, repetition, spatial relationships, and transformation. Science: Works involving color, transparency, reflection, and industrial materials invite investigations of light, optics, perception, and material properties. A Note for Educators Works of art naturally support learning across disciplines. Observation, discussion, interpretation, creative problem-solving, and reflection are essential skills in every classroom. Teachers are encouraged to adapt the inquiry strategies, thinking routines, and Studio Explorations in this guide to meet the needs of their students and curriculum. A single artwork can
become the starting point for investigations in visual art, history, language arts, mathematics, science, or a combination of these subjects.
Thinking Routines for the Gallery
Art museums are wonderful places to slow down, observe carefully, and explore ideas together. The following routines encourage students to become active observers, thoughtful interpreters, and engaged participants in conversations about art. Many are adapted from thinking routines developed by Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and can be used with students of all ages.
1. See • Think • Wonder
A simple routine for beginning with a work of art. SEE What do you notice? THINK What do you think is happening? WONDER What questions do you have? Encourage students to begin with observation before moving toward interpretation. Best for: First impressions • Observation • Curiosity
2. What Makes You Say That?
Encourage students to support their interpretations with visual evidence. Ask: • • •
What do you think? What do you see that makes you say that? Does anyone see it differently?
Students learn that different interpretations can coexist when they are supported by careful observation. Best for: Discussion • Critical thinking • Evidence-based reasoning
3. Looking: Ten Times Two
Encourage students to spend more time with a single artwork. 1. Look quietly and list 10 things you notice. 2. Look again and find 10 more. Reflect: What did you notice the second time that you missed the first? Best for: Close looking • Observation • Patience
4. Compare + Connect
Choose two artworks and look at them together. Ask: • • • •
How are they alike? How are they different? What choices did each artist make? How did the artists approach a similar idea differently?
Best for: Comparing artists • Identifying themes • Visual analysis
5. Step Inside
Invite students to imagine a perspective connected to an artwork. Ask: • • •
What might you see, think, or feel from this perspective? What might this object say if it could speak? What questions might still be unanswered?
Best for: Perspective-taking • Imagination • Creative writing
6. Slow Looking Challenge
Choose one artwork and spend three uninterrupted minutes looking. No phones. No labels. No talking. Then ask: • What surprised you? • What changed as you looked longer? • What did you almost miss? Sometimes the richest museum experiences come from spending more time with fewer artworks.
Tips for Facilitating Gallery Conversations You don't need to know all the answers. Some of the best museum conversations begin with genuine curiosity. Questions to keep in your pocket: • What do you notice? • What catches your attention? • What makes you say that? • What else do you see? • What questions does this artwork raise? • Does anyone see it differently? Encourage students to build on one another's ideas and support their interpretations with visual evidence. The goal isn't to arrive at one correct answer. It's to practice careful observation, thoughtful discussion, and creative thinking. Continue Looking The ideas explored in Circa 1971 extend far beyond the Museum. Encourage students to notice art and design in advertisements, architecture, clothing, packaging, public art, social media, and everyday objects. Ask:
What choices did the artist or designer make? What materials were used? What message is being communicated? How does this connect to something you saw in Circa 1971? Art isn't limited to museums. It surrounds us every day. • • • •
Family Conversation Starters 1. Which artwork would you hang in your home? Why? 2. Which artwork surprised you most? 3. Which artist do you think took the biggest creative risk? 4. Which artwork made you laugh or smile? 5. What object from your kitchen belongs in a museum? 6. If you could ask one artist a question, what would you ask? There are no right answers. Look together, listen to one another, and see what everyone notices.
Additional Resources
1. Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education — Thinking routines and inquiry-based learning strategies. 2. National Art Education Association (NAEA) — Resources and professional learning for art educators. 3. The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Educator Resources — Teaching strategies, lesson plans, and collection resources. 4. Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) — Learning — Resources for teaching and learning with modern and contemporary art.
Many artists featured in Circa 1971 also have museum collections, foundations, and archives available online for further exploration.
This Educator Guide was prepared and written by Dianne Sánchez, June 30, 2026.