Special Exhibition Learning Tools
and Information
Fakes Forgeries and Mysteries
Teacher Resource Guide
While objects never change, museums constantly re-asses their collections through new research and technology resulting in changing perceptions of authenticity, artist, and value.
This exhibition includes 58 works of art including paintings, works on paper, sculpture, and decorative art from Europe, America, Africa, Asia, the Islamic world, and the Ancient Near East.
In visiting the museum for Fakes, Forgeries and Mysteries:
* Students will form deeper, more intimate relationships with works of art by developing their skills of looking and interpretation.
* Students will grow in their appreciation of the DIA as a dynamic institution that is constantly finding new data that affects our definition and categorization of artworks.
* Students will feel engaged in the show as they actively participate in “detective work” through visual exploration and interactive activities.
* Students will walk away with the understanding that research at the DIA is part of a continuum–each generation of colleagues contributes knowledge based on information and technologies available at the time.
* A 15-minute play performed by Wayne State University's Theater Department that discusses some real-world applications of the themes brought up in the exhibition.
* Interactive displays where students can learn about fakes, forgeries, and mysteries using the same techniques as conservators and curators.
* A lab area where students can identify fakes and forgeries and explore art mysteries that are still unsolved.
* Super Sleuth activities where younger students use clues to solve mysteries about works of art.
Exhibition Cell Phone Tour Script
Teacher Resource Guide:
Download a PDF of our Teacher Resource Guide, including a poster featuring artwork from the exhibition.
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