Pérez Art Museum Miami

We are in the Nedra & Mark Oren gallery. Time to turn to the first page of your PAMMPort Activity booklet. 

In this room, we explore shape, form, and line. When we think of shape, we think of a flat drawing on paper or canvas. When we think of form, we think of making something three-dimensional out of play dough, or a real-life person like you and me. This room holds paintings and sculptures in the style of Abstract Art.  

Circles, rectangles, squares, and triangles are some of the shapes seen within Abstract Art. Cubes, spheres, and pyramids are forms that are also seen in this type of art. Let’s not forget about lines – that’s the way we make our shapes and build them into forms, sort of like connecting the dots. In abstract artworks, artists may put shapes and lines together to create images that look familiar to us, like pictures and symbols that tell a story. 

Let’s play a game. Stand in the center of the gallery and look around you. Listen for clues to find the artworks that are being described.  

• Can you spy an artwork that has an interesting line?  
• Trace the line in the air with your finger. Describe that line. Is it straight, curvy, zig-zagged, or something else?  
• Can you spy a cube in this room? How many cubes can you find? 
• Can you spy an artwork with rounded shapes? Describe the colors of these circles, semi-circles, or arches. 
• If you could pick some of the shapes to turn into a pizza pie, which would you choose? What toppings would you add? 
•  Can you spy any artworks with images that look familiar to us like people, faces, or objects? How many people, faces, or objects do you see?         

Let’s take a closer look… Draw the symbols, people or faces that stand out to you in some of these art works. 

We hope that you enjoyed exploring Abstract Art. Which one of these artworks is your favorite? What would your version of an abstract artwork with lines, shapes, and forms look like? Take a moment to imagine it. 

Once ready let’s flip the page in your PAMMport booklet and head over to the next overview gallery.

As we approach the Lori & Milton Ferrell gallery, look around you.  

What do all of these artworks have in common?  

You may notice that they all have images of people in them. Pictures of people are known as ‘Portraits’. All of these portraits include backgrounds that are both colorful and not so colorful, both simple and highly detailed. Most of these portraits are made from paint. What other materials do you notice here?  

Take a closer look at the faces in these portraits. The people represented here are portrayed in many different moods that we can notice by their poses and facial expressions. Which of these portraits feels ‘serious’? Which of these artworks might feel ‘sad’? Draw the emotions or feelings you see in the emoji circles in your booklet. How do some of these portraits make you feel? 

Now let’s imagine that when the museum closes and the lights go out, all of these artworks come alive. They are suddenly able to climb out of their frames and hang out. What do you think they would do? If these portraits can have a conversation, what would they talk about? 

Each of these portraits was created by a different artist. Let’s imagine that one of the artists were to create a portrait of you- which artist would you choose to portray you?  

Think about the colors you would like the artist to use. Are they bright? Dull? Are there many colors or

Now let’s think about the background. Do you want it to be abstract, full of shapes or patterns? Or do you want to be shown in a specific place, like your bedroom or outer space?  

Imagine the expression on your face. What kind of mood will you communicate in your portrait? 

Think about your body. How are you posing? What are you doing? 

You are an amazing artist! Now that you have created your very own self-portrait in your mind, draw out your ideas in your activity booklet. Or, tell your company all about it!  

Once you have completed your portrait, flip to the next page in your booklet and let’s move on to our Second Floor Main Overview Gallery.

We are in the Collection Gallery. 

In this gallery, there are a series of contemporary art works that tell stories through different materials and textures. What is contemporary art? Contemporary art is the art of today, of our time. Meaning that the artwork in this room was created by artists who are living and creating art now. 

These contemporary artists create artworks that use new and interesting materials to investigate new ideas and push us to explore these artworks with more than just our eyes.   

As we enter this space, let’s explore these artworks with some of our different senses. 

What do you see? Take a walk around the room and explore the materials being used. What places do these artworks remind you of? Are these places inside or outside? 

What might these artworks feel like?  Which artwork might feel bumpy? Which might feel cold or warm? In your imagination, which of these artworks might even feel wet or dry? In your PAMM Port try to draw the artwork you think is made of the most interesting materials. 

Do you recognize the materials these contemporary artists are using? If you were the artist, where would you go to find the materials in these artworks?   

Let your mind get really quiet for a moment to imagine that some of these artworks could make a sound. What might you hear?  

What artwork might you match with the following sounds?  

Contemporary artists have often been inspired by materials in nature. Using your nose to lead you, walk around the gallery again, and try to find artworks that smell of natural materials? 

Which artwork can you smell the most? Draw that artwork in your PAMMPort. 

Once you’re finished, flip to the next page in your booklet, and let’s move on to the next gallery together.

We are in the Gloria and Howard Scharlin gallery. 

In this gallery, artists explored and played with lots of color. Some artists did so by experimenting with their colors and artist tools like scientists. Others used math to organize their colors in different shapes and forms. Finally, some artists explored music to help them decide the colors they would work within their art. Let’s play some games that will allow us to explore these artworks of color through science, math, and music. 

Stand in front of each colorful artwork. Cover your eyes with your hands for a few moments and count to ten. Now, look back at the artwork. As your eyes adjust to the light, discuss with your group how the colors appear. Has anything changed? 

Take a photo of the artwork with no flash. Do the colors look different in your photo? 

Each of these artworks is displayed with an interesting shape or frame. Take a moment to walk around the gallery to explore this. In your booklet, think and draw the way you would like to explore and display color within these frames. Share with your group and discuss the tools you would need to make an artwork as large as some of the ones in this room. 

Music and Art connect so well together, because both music and visual art help artists explore ideas and share their stories with us. 

Which artworks in the gallery do you think were created from music?  

Stand in the center of the space while listening to the following song. [music] Which artwork in this gallery best matches the sounds in this song?  

Now let’s JAMM!  Using one of the empty frames in your PAMMport, create something colorful while listening to the following song [music]. Grab your colored pencils now. When the music begins, start creating your artwork. 

Once you’re done with your musical drawing, flip to the next page in your book and meet us in the next gallery!

We are in the Neerja Sethi and Bharat Desai gallery. The artists featured in this room come from many different cultures and they use their art to tell stories about their various backgrounds. Culture is a way of life passed down from your family – it’s reflected in the clothes we wear, the foods we eat, the music we listen to, and the languages that we speak.  

Let’s travel through this gallery together in our minds. Imagine your hand was a small person that could walk, jump, skip, and play around inside each of these artworks. Point your index and middle finger to create two legs and let’s go! Use your pretend-hand person to explore the gallery. Which artwork will you go to first? Why? Remember to keep a safe distance from the art.  

Now let’s continue our travels in our activity booklet. Look at the map of the Western Hemisphere of the world, where all of these artists featured here are from. Use your fingers to hop from place to place on the map. Can you guess which artists might be from where?  

The artists in this gallery are inspired by where they are from! They may think about the colors that they relate to their culture, physical materials from a certain place, the history of their homeland, or even traditions that they follow to inspire their artwork. The colors, materials, and ideas these artists explore help them tell stories about their homes and the people who live or lived there. 

Think about your background – where you or your family was born. What colors or objects remind you of your birthplace? Can you share a story about that place?  

What are some traditions or things that you do at home to reflect your culture and where you are from? Illustrate in your PAMMPort. 

Thanks for being our travel buddy on an awesome ARTventure! We hope you’ve had as much fun as we did. 

We hope you enjoyed this Digital Exhibition Guide!

We appreciate you taking the time to submit feedback to us as we strive to make PAMM as engaging as possible. You may submit your feedback anonymously through this form or by emailing us directly at AppFeedback@pamm.org

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