Lesson by: Judy Decker
Unit Theme: Diversity of African Cultures-African art
Grade Level: Seventh Grade
Project: Printmaking (examples below)
Project: Ceramic Box (examples below)

The big idea:

·        We learn a culture's history, values and beliefs through the study of their arts.

·        The arts are basic symbol systems by which a culture communicates, interprets and acquires knowledge of the world around them.

Essential Understandings:

1.      Cultural beliefs and values are learned by studying art of the culture.

2.      People create art objects to help meet basic human needs (religion, safety, health, food, shelter, clothing)

3.      Cultural beliefs, values, and customs change over time as a result of technology, assimilation (of other cultures), and needs.

4.      Art of a culture (Africa) changes with the introduction of new materials and technology

5.      Cultures learn from each other through the exchange of ideas.

6.      Art is an expression from ones experiences as they interpret and try to understand the world around them.

7.      Every culture (Africa) has its system of images (iconography) that are understood by the culture to mean specific things.

8.      A culture's concept of beauty can be expressed through their art.

9.      Time, location, and events shape cultural beliefs and impact their art.

10.  Personal beliefs and experiences affect the way one views and interprets art from other cultures.

11. While aesthetics and meaning of artwork are important in understanding the reasons for art, one may appreciate the beauty in manmade objects without fully understanding their meaning.

Guiding Questions:

1.      Why is it important to study the art of African Cultures?

2.      Why do African cultures  (of a specific cultural group) create "art"?

3.      How does that creation of art objects meet basic human needs? Give some examples from African culture.

4.      How have new technologies changed artwork created by various African cultures?  What new materials have been introduced?

5.      How does the exchange of ideas and innovations affect cultures?

6.      How do various African cultures use artwork to understand the world around them?

7.      How are symbols used to communicate events, beliefs, and values of a culture? Give examples from African cultures.

8.      How is the concept of "beauty" expressed through the art of a culture?

9.      How are the arts produced by a culture related to time, location and events?

10.  How does ones own personal beliefs influence the judgment of art from another cultures?

11.  How can we find beauty in African art objects?

Instructional Resources:

My personal collection of books are on hand in the classroom for student use. Additional books are obtained from the Lima Public Library and school library (call numbers are noted for my benefit).

Textbook:

      Chapman, Laura H (1992).  Art: Images and Ideas. Worcester, Massachusetts: Davis Publications. (used mainly for 7^th and 8^th grade)

     Chapman, Laura H (1992).  A World of Images.  Worcester, Massachusetts: Davis Publications. (used mainly for 6^th grade)

Books: (See Bibliography)

Internet Resources

Internet Lesson: Discover African Art
African Art Links
African Textiles

African Art Prints- Shorewood  Collection (large 22"x28" images)

Magbo Headpiece for the Oro Society, Yoruba People
Staff, Beaded Sheath and Crown. Yoruba People (ArtSpace Lima)
Gelede Mask -Yoruba, Nigeria
Ivory Box- Yoruba, Nigeria
Epa Cult Mask - Yoruba, Nigeria(ArtSpace Lima)

Shorewood Prints (cont.)
Ifa Divination Bowl, Tray and Tapper- Yoruba, Nigeria
Beaded Crown - Yoruba, Nigeria (ArtSpace Lima)
Adire Cloth- Yoruba, Nigeria

Davis Publications Prints-(large 22x28" images)
Beaded Headdress, Cameroon (ArtSpace Lima)
African Make Mask, Southern Kuba- Mulwawa, Zaire
African Dance Mask- Dan- Ivory Coast
Initiation Mask- Zaire

Additional visual resources:
Art Visuals Multi-cultural series: Africa (18 print cards)

African Art Portfolio- Museum of African Art, New York

Hundreds of Images from National Geographic, Smithsonian and color photocopies (or digital images) from books listed above

Prints from African Art - Duncan Clark (book pages cut out pages and laminated)

Videos

Africa: A History Denied (Time/Life Series)

African Art: Through the Eyes of Africa

African Art: Chicago Art Institute

Life Began at Ile Efe: Yoruba Art (ArtSpace Lima)

Geography of Africa (ArtSpace Lima)

Slide Collections

African Art. St. Louis Museum of Art

African Art. Chicago Art Institute.

African Art. Cleveland Art Museum  (ArtSpace Lima)

African Textiles. St. Louis Museum of Art (ArtSpace Lima

African Art Objects- Hands-on

African Culture Trunk (rhythm instruments)- ArtSpace Lima

Personal collection:

Ti Wara Headdress (vertical style)- Bamana/Bambara, Mali

Ti Wara Headdress (horizontal style)- Bamana, Mali

Antelope Ancestral Headdress- Karumba, Burkina Faso

Beaded Crown- Yoruba, Nigeria

Carved wooden box- Kuba, Zaire

African  Objects for examination (cont.)

Ceramic vessels- Zimbabwe

Ceramic Vessel- Kenya

Contemporary etched stone plate- Kenya

Assorted contemporary elephant carvings- Kenya

Mancala game board- Ashanti, Ghana

Mancala game board- Cameroon

Ancestral Mask (commercialized) - Baoule(?), Ivory Coast

Elephant gold weight- Baoule, Ivory coast

Contemporary gold weights- Ivory Coast

Dogon Mud Cloth- Mali

Bamana Mud Cloth- Mali

Senufo cloth

Kuba Raffia Cloth- Zaire

Asante Kent Cloth- Ghana

Basket and wood hair comb- Sierra Leone

Nigerian basket

Elephant carvings- Kenya

Audio Tapes and CD's:

Drums of Yoruba (taped from CD from ArtSpace)

Women of Mali (taped from CD from Lima Public Library

Celebrations (audio tapes of music from many cultures)

Africa Never Stands Still- CD

Drums of Passion- CD

Art Activities: Curriculum Objectives                                     [back to top]

Printmaking Unit: Abstraction and Pattern in African Art    

Day 1- Introduction to African Art

1.      Present new vocabulary- review geography

Students will not be expected to remember the names of the cultures

2.      Guiding questions:

Why is it important to study the art of African Cultures?

How can we find beauty in African art objects?

Why do the different people of Africa create art?

3.      Present an introduction to video: Africa Art: Through the Eyes of Africa

4.      Show video

5.      Discuss guiding questions and work sheets in groups (six tables)

Each group will have: a recorder, a reader, one who summarizes,  and a task master (to record input by group members)

6.      Assessment: 

Observe group discussions

Grade group work sheets, check for participation from all members

Day 2- Aesthetics and Meaning

1.     Continue video reviews from day before.

2.      Review/present new vocabulary

3.      Guiding questions:

How is the idea of beauty expressed through the art of a culture?

How does the creation of art objects satisfy or help meet basic human needs?

How do African cultures use artwork to understand the world around them?

What effect have world events (primarily European) had on artwork from African cultures?

How does one personal beliefs influence the way they view art from other cultures?  

4. Go over work sheets in groups.  Work sheets will contain guiding questions and questions pertaining to critical inquiry -describing, interpreting and valuing art.

5.      Assessment: 

Observe group discussions

Grade group work sheets, check for participation from all members

Day 2- Critiquing works of Art

1.      Review criteria for classifying works of art

2.      Show selected works of art for slide collections

3.      Students will describe, interpret based on prior knowledge and clue given by leading example form group of slides.

4.      Students will discuss how environment effects artwork- Chicago Art Institute video selections.

5.      Assessment:

Observe class discussions- individual participation

Grade group work sheets, check for participation from all members.

(Day 3 Optional -Historical Perspective- East and South Africa- Controversy)

1.      Show selection of video: A History Denied (this is optional I didn't show it every year)

2.      Guiding questions:

How does the exchange of ideas and innovations affect cultures?

How does ones own personal beliefs influence the judgment of art from other cultures?

How are symbols used to communicate events, beliefs, and values of a culture?  (Give examples from video)

3.     Discuss from different points of view- group discussion only (I would like for social studies teacher to show entire video)

Day 3- Hands On- Critiquing African Art Objects

1.      Arrange various art objects at tables (from personal collection and from ArtSpace Culture trunk). Each group will have a variety of questions to answer at their home base table. After a given amount of time, students will move to another table (1 to 2, 2 to 3 and so on) to see the other objects.

2.      Work stations will include the following exercises:

Comparing African objects to similar objects from our culture- determining which most closely fits the use of item from African culture.

Grouping artwork by stylistic characteristics

Placing value on artwork (Is it art? Which piece is more valuable? Why?)- be objective in giving answers- base on knowledge.

Describing, interpreting based on prior knowledge.

Describing the people of a region based on what they were able to see in the artwork. (beliefs, values)

3.      Guiding questions: 1 through 11 will be addressed  (2 to 3  at each station)

4.      Assessment:  Each group will give a presentation on their findings.

Day 4 - Printmaking (and on going)

Materials:

1.      After viewing and discussing short video on African textile design, students will begin designs for printing plate.  A reduction print inspired by African art.  They will abstract any animal of their choosing.  They will have several idea papers at tables, but will be encouraged to come up with something original

      Design requirements: Main image 4½” for lid of box—approx ¾” border on either side for prints.

Day 5 or 6 - African Art Internet Lesson

2.      Tape design to plate. Transfer design to printing plate using ink pen—press hard. (alternate - one year we did reduction linoleum prints and use plate to emboss the lid)

3.      Press lines and shapes that are to left the white (or color) of the paper.

4.      Print any light color of their choosing (several ink colors will be available).  This will be a reduction print.

5.      Once all students have plate ready, we will begin the ceramics unit (the plate is used to make the lid)

6.      Assessment of Drawing: Modified Rubric

Design originality

Use of design principles

Use of patterns

Abstraction

7.      Students will come back to printing while ceramics boxes are getting leather hard.  Continue to print first color.

8.      Cut more away from plate (use x-acto knives to cut out shapes - press down more shapes and lines) - ink plate and register over first color (carve more away if using lino plates)

9.      Students may reduce plate again and print a third color if desired.

10. Assessment: Modified Rubric

Print quality

Color plan

Reduction of plate

Registration of colors

Student self evaluation and class critique

Vocabulary and processes quiz

12. Mounting Options: monoprint border or stamp printed border.  May cut prints apart and rearrange, if desired. We cut into strips and alternated. Some cut animal shape out of two prints and rearranged like a puzzle - background of one with with animal shape of another -- mounting two prints together. Some students wove two prints together.

13. Display finished work 

Student prints (see more) 

          
 Frame on this was made from scanned image of Dogon Mud Cloth.

Day 13- Ceramics Unit: pressed slab box (see also- 7th Grade Personal Box)  [to top]

1.      Present vocabulary (check pre-test), demonstrate slab construction.

2.      Students will make a cardboard box to use as mold for ceramic box. Dimensions when finished: 4.5" x 9" (or 6" x 9") Note: I cut cardboard to 9" x12" - then used a ruler and X-acto knife to score the cardboard at about 1 1/2" all around. The corner squares were cut out and box sides folded up and tapes with masking tape. This formed a mold to keep the sides of the box straight.

3.      Roll out slabs of clay- texture with stamps and gadgets- create a repeated pattern. One year, students made their own stamps with Soft-cut squares. These made a nice repeated pattern around the sides of box. They could make one design on one side of the square and a different one on the other (Soft-cut is about 1/4" thick)

4.      Press slabs into cardboard box (gently so patterns are retained). Score and slip corners - add thin coil to round out corners on inside. 

5.      Press linoleum or scratch-foam  plate into slab for lid.

6.      Create border design around lid. carve design more when leather hard.

7.      Add lip to inside lid to secure on box and prevent sliding

8.      Add handles, feet, animal head - sprigging - etc.- be creative!

9.      Glaze inside of box after bisque firing.  Glaze or patina outside -create wood look finish with stains (layer brown and black acrylic paint - rub to show highlights - polish with shoe polish)

10. Assessment:

Observation of skills

Modified Rubric (design. craftsmanship, construction, patterns and textures,

Self-evaluation and class critique  

STUDENT WORK (SEE MORE EXAMPLES)

The year these were done - we did not do the African printing project - We had done Inca inspired prints then

These show the wood-look patina

Day 15 (and on going)- Mancala board Designs

Paper Mache Game board (see separate plan)

Music Appreciation

Throughout the unit, students will listen to music from several African cultures.

Students form South Middle School (Lima City Arts Magnet) will come over to do an African Dance presentation for art students (and music students if instructor wishes to participate).  The South students will teach a little bit of dance to art students.  Date will depend on availability of the South Middle School Students.

Curriculum Objectives:

Listed below are selected objectives this unit of study will encompass from the Comprehensive Art Graded Course of Study for Allen County Schools.  The curriculum guide is designed to provide students a composite learning experience.  Lessons will blend together several objectives from the four program goals.   It is unrealistic to believe that all students will meet these all objectives.

HISTORICAL, CULTURAL, AND SOCIAL CONTEXTS

1.      Compare and contrast various forms of artistic expression associated with specific groups of people, geographic regions, or time periods.

2.      Investigate processes and beliefs used by various cultures and institutions, past and present, to create works of art.

3.      Discover common subjects, ideas, and themes in art forms from different cultures.

4.      Speculate about a work of art, i.e. who made it; what materials, techniques and skills were used; its intended purpose/audience; and how it was used.

5.      Discover how an object is similar in function but different in structure due to who made it, materials used, and how and when it was made.

6.      Use a variety of sources to gain an understanding of an artist and/or and arts form.

7.      Study a variety of cultures and times to discover how arts forms have been transmitted from one generation to another.

8.      Identify the impact the scientific and social events have had on the ideas expressed through arts forms.

9.      Examine the similarities and differences of how various arts forms influence and/or express an idea or event.

10. Identify the cultural clues found within arts forms and events  

PERSONAL EXPRESSION AND PRODUCTION/PERFORMANCE

1.      Produce/explore works of art based on their environment

2.      Combine the elements of two or more arts forms to communicate ideas or information.

3.      Control a variety of materials, tools techniques and processes while creating works of art.

4.      Recognize how technical elements affect works of art.

5.      Connect ides, materials, processes and techniques while creating works of art.

6.      Develop and use personal and established criteria to evaluate work in process and the final product.

7.      Assess, revise or adjust art products through a reflective process.

8.      Communicate information about an idea or event through one or more art forms.

9.      Create art works using procedures borrowed from other cultures.

10. Design and use procedures to test the suitability of various tools, techniques, processes, and materials for different purposes or effects.

ART CRITICISM:

1.      Investigate ways artists get ideas.

2.      Describe how artists use materials, tools, images, and ideas to create works of art.

3.      Compare and discuss works of art based on similar sources of inspiration.

4.      Perceive and describe differences in art works that have the same subject.

5.      Examine an artwork and speculate how different artistic choices would change the meaning of the work.

6.      Use art vocabulary when talking and writing about works of art.

7.      Critique a work of art to find meaning and provide support for conclusions made.

NATURE AND MEANING OF THE ARTS (AESTHETICS):

1.      Explain why people create art forms.

2.      Identify and describe the roles of artists in various settings, cultures, and time periods.

3.      Discover how a group's beliefs and values are reflected in its art forms and stylistic choices

4.      Discuss and analyze criteria that determine value.

5.      Investigate works of art from multiple perspectives

  [MIDDLE SCHOOL LESSONS]  [ART HOME] [AFRICA LESSON] [AFRICA LINKS] [AFRICAN CERAMICS]