Heroes Triptych - Inspiration
The Things We Worship by Annalee Davis
I decided summer of 1998 that my students were going to do
a unit on Explorers (because I bought a book of antique maps - and they
studied Age of Exploration in Social Studies - students also wrote about
an important Renaissance person in Social Studies). After my classes at
Bluffton College that summer, I knew I really wanted the kids to think of
the consequences of that exploration. I took a class on Native America
Culture and African Culture (at the same time! a double whammy for me -
boy did I do a LOT of thinking). It wasn't until I opened my new book Caribbean
Visions: Contemporary Painting and Sculpture (Copyright 1995 Art
Services International, Alexandria Virginia) that I decided what I
wanted to do. The artists who inspired the triptych is Annalee Davis from
Barbados (this group of 8th graders were my first group that had Haitian
art in 6th grade - a few of them had me that trimester).
I began looking for images in National Geographics for my work at that time - I
was going to do Christopher Columbus - I sure had a lot to say about
exploration of the Americas.... My African corn image (top left inside) was originally meant
for the Columbus triptych I never made (I "gifted" all of my
other Columbus images to my students - I kept my dragon, too). I discovered Mary Henrietta
Kingsley in the fall while researching Columbus (and looking for Explorer web sites
for my students) - and she was worthy of my personal "hero"
status. I never had to do a painting sample for my students. I just showed
them the pictures in my book (sorry the photos are so poor - sometime I'll
redo them - just wanted to get this on ASAP). Painting was only an option
the first year (since this followed a printmaking unit). The second year,
we only did colored pencil and glazing over digital images.
The Things We Worship - closed
front The
Things We Worship - back
The Things We Worship - open. Acrylic
on wood. 67"x95"
I took this book in, showed my students Anna's work - and
read her statement.
Annalee Davis (page 98) "My work has been
influenced by conditions in my country and region, where mistaken identity's,
racial passions, and layers of betrayal simmer in isolated islands. The
scars run deep and are compelling. I use my work to explore the wounds of
these small island cultures, probing the hurts that simultaneously unite
and divide a people. One of the central icons running through the work is
the agricultural land, once bountiful, now lost to the highest bidder.
"I live and work in the Caribbean, my family tree is
rooted in the sugar cane plantation of Barbados. I feel connected to the
younger generation of regional image makers who seek a hybrid expression
which gives new form to our experience.
I am committed to creating visual narratives that implore
society to look within itself and to expose contradictions that, if left
to prevailing market trends, would go unchallenged. Through reflection and
expression, artists can offer fresh landscapes that challenge myths, erode
barriers, and create a forum for dialogue."
See
more of her work Museum of Americas - Brief
bio
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[TRIPTYCH
LESSON PLAN]
