A hot topic these days is "Cultural Appropriation." There are many points of view on this topic, and likely some gray areas in between two very different point of view on this. In this lesson I wanted student to explore an aspect of a culture and then apply the ideas to their own cultural backgrounds. I did this as well with a previous project for Black History Month HERE. Personally, I am not a fan of copying a cultures iconography and symbols for students to remake a given item. I do like exploring the impetus of a cultural item and having students apply that broad idea to explore and apply it to themselves as I do in this exploration.
I had some 12 inch paper lanterns I had ordered from NASCO and had originally thought I might have students do a three-dimensional radial design on the surface. Instead I dug a little deeper and considered the origins of the lantern.
I had some 12 inch paper lanterns I had ordered from NASCO and had originally thought I might have students do a three-dimensional radial design on the surface. Instead I dug a little deeper and considered the origins of the lantern.
My students explored 4 countries in Asia finding examples from each. They noted similarities and differences and the broad array of forms and materials each used. We met as a group to share what we learned. One thread running through all the work was the use of cultural symbols. We then took time to find cultural symbols specific to our own culture or cultures. We met again in a circle and talked about the paper lanterns I had for them and noted the following.
The lantern is broken into 8 panels.
Students created sketches first, shared with peers, then began their work. We used a 1/2 Elmer's glue-all and water to glue tissue onto the paper lanterns. Some students added embellishments with ribbon, plastic gems, and even included some 3D paper elements. We explored ideas of translucent verses opaque so they would understand that opaque elements would look black if the lantern was lit from within. 2 students explored collage with civil rights images from online resources.
The lantern is broken into 8 panels.
- Once could create patterns that repeat 4x or 8x or "front and back."
- We revisited radial design in case they wanted to incorporate that.
- They were free to work in a consistent pattern or be more organic about it.
- We would only use colors and symbols from our own culture(s).
Students created sketches first, shared with peers, then began their work. We used a 1/2 Elmer's glue-all and water to glue tissue onto the paper lanterns. Some students added embellishments with ribbon, plastic gems, and even included some 3D paper elements. We explored ideas of translucent verses opaque so they would understand that opaque elements would look black if the lantern was lit from within. 2 students explored collage with civil rights images from online resources.
When the project was about half-way done, we stopped and did another peer review. Everyone recorded praise comments as well as criticisms and tips/tricks for success. We shared these as a group so that the advice helpful for one pair of students could benefit everyone. This marked an overall improvement in the work.
The final pieces came out well, and illustrated expressive and individualized cultures represented in our class.
The final pieces came out well, and illustrated expressive and individualized cultures represented in our class.
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