Visual & Performing Arts · 12th Grade

Active learning ideas

Art and Identity: Self-Portraiture

Active learning works well for this topic because self-portraiture demands that students move beyond passive observation to engage with art as a form of argument. When students analyze or create self-portraits, they confront the gap between appearance and identity, making abstract concepts concrete through visual and verbal analysis.

• Common Core State Standards
• NCAS: Creating VA.Cr1.1.HSAdv
• NCAS: Connecting VA.Cn10.1.HSAdv

• 35–90 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Think-Pair-Share
• 35 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Stylistic Choice as Identity Argument

Present three self-portraits from very different artists, such as Rembrandt in old age, Frida Kahlo in traditional Tehuantepec dress, and Cindy Sherman in film-still costume. Students identify three specific formal choices in each and argue in pairs: what identity claim is the artist making with each decision? Pairs share their most contested interpretation with the class.

Analyze how artists use stylistic choices to convey aspects of their identity.

Facilitation Tip

During Think-Pair-Share, assign different stylistic elements (pose, lighting, costume) to each pair so students practice targeted observation before sharing with the whole group.

What to look for

Present students with two contrasting self-portraits, one historical and one contemporary digital image. Ask: 'How do the artists' choices in pose, setting, and digital manipulation (if applicable) convey different ideas about their identity or societal position? What makes one more convincing or impactful than the other?'

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 40 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Traditional vs. Digital Self-Representation

Post historical self-portraits alongside curated social media profiles or contemporary digital artworks. Students rotate noting what choices are available in each medium, what is emphasized or erased, and what the format itself reveals about the cultural expectations surrounding self-presentation in each era.

Compare traditional self-portraits with contemporary digital self-representations.

Facilitation Tip

For the Gallery Walk, post the prompt 'What does this choice say about the artist’s relationship to power or marginalization?' on each station to keep discussions focused on identity construction.

What to look for

Provide students with a short excerpt from an artist's statement about their self-portraiture. Ask them to identify two specific stylistic choices mentioned by the artist and explain how those choices relate to the artist's stated intentions regarding identity.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Socratic Seminar
• 50 min · Whole Class

Socratic Seminar: Can a Self-Portrait Be Honest?

Students read a short text on performance theory, such as a brief excerpt on Erving Goffman's idea of impression management, and apply it to two self-portraits prepared in advance. The seminar question asks whether self-portraiture is always a performance and whether that makes it less truthful or differently truthful than other forms of representation.

Justify the artistic choices made to present a particular persona in a self-portrait.

Facilitation Tip

In the Socratic Seminar, assign roles like 'historian,' 'psychologist,' or 'artist' to ensure every student contributes a distinct analytical lens.

What to look for

Students bring in a digital self-representation (e.g., social media profile picture, avatar). In small groups, they share their image and one or two key elements they chose to emphasize their identity. Peers provide feedback on whether those elements effectively communicate the intended persona, using specific visual evidence.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Gallery Walk
• 90 min · Individual

Studio Project: Self-Portrait as Identity Argument

Students create a self-portrait in any medium, including drawing, photography, or digital collage, that communicates a specific claim about their identity. They write a 150-word artist statement explaining how each formal choice supports that claim. Finished work is shared in peer critique using a structured feedback protocol focused on whether the visual argument is legible.

Analyze how artists use stylistic choices to convey aspects of their identity.

Facilitation Tip

For the Studio Project, require students to write a one-paragraph artist statement before starting to clarify their intended message about identity.

What to look for

Present students with two contrasting self-portraits, one historical and one contemporary digital image. Ask: 'How do the artists' choices in pose, setting, and digital manipulation (if applicable) convey different ideas about their identity or societal position? What makes one more convincing or impactful than the other?'

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers approach this topic by grounding discussions in close reading of visual details, not just biographical facts. Avoid framing self-portraiture as 'about the artist’s life'—focus instead on how every choice is a deliberate construction of identity for an audience. Research shows that students grasp identity as performative when they analyze how artists use costume, setting, and style to signal social roles or resist norms.

Successful learning looks like students articulating how stylistic choices in self-portraits reflect identity, power, and social contexts. They should move from noticing differences to explaining the significance of those differences with evidence from the artworks and their own creative decisions.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Think-Pair-Share, some students may assume that a self-portrait is simply an objective record of the artist's physical appearance.

  During Think-Pair-Share, have students examine two self-portraits side by side and ask them to list three choices each artist made that go beyond recording appearance (e.g., clothing, background, expression). Then ask, 'What do these choices tell us about how each artist wants to be seen?'

• During the Gallery Walk, students might argue that selfies and fine art self-portraits are fundamentally different because one is 'real' and the other is 'artificial.'

  During the Gallery Walk, direct students to focus on one pair of images (one traditional, one digital) and ask them to identify two stylistic choices that serve the same purpose in both, such as lighting or framing. Then discuss how both forms use these choices to construct identity.

• During the Studio Project, students may dismiss idealized self-portraits as 'lying' or 'vain,' especially if they are unfamiliar with artists who use idealization for political purposes.

  During the Studio Project, show students examples like Kehinde Wiley’s work and ask them to brainstorm how idealization can be a tool for claiming power. Then have them revise their own self-portrait to include one element of idealization that aligns with their intended message about identity.

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Methods used in this brief

• Think-Pair-Share
• Gallery Walk
• Socratic Seminar