Risks and Consequences

Lesson 22: Tradition as Innovation: Apartheid’s Funeral, South Africa

Summary and Objectives

Students explore the history of apartheid in South Africa and discover the important role of artists and the arts in the struggle for freedom and human rights for all. They will deconstruct the funeral of apartheid, as imagined by the artist, and their writing activities will focus on composing a news report of the event. Other curricular suggestions include a study of other art forms that brought attention to the injustices of apartheid, most notably South African music of resistance and anti-apartheid posters. Art and music making follow their study. Finally students have the opportunity to research world peace leaders and the impact their actions have had on global peace efforts. Students will

  • Become “news reporters” and observe and discuss Apartheid’s Funeral and the consequences of change for different people.
  • Be introduced to poster art from all over the world calling attention to the struggle against apartheid. They will create posters to address issues of concern in their own lives, inspired by anti-apartheid posters they study.
  • Respond to multi-media arts addressing apartheid through discussion or creative writing activities.
  • Discuss the role art can play in activism and relate their work of art to current global issues.

 

THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 4: Art and Transformation

Lesson 19: Memorials and Transcendence: El Arbol de la Muerte, Mexico

Summary and Objectives

Students use a work of art to explore an ongoing and tragic series of events in Juárez, Mexico. They research and write about the “maquiladora murders” and use the idiom of the Tree of Life to express their feelings about this and other community issues. Activities also center on students’ study of the Tree of Life and suggestions are given for their making of trees that reflect themes significant to the students themselves. Students will:

  • Use the imagery on a tree of death by ceramicist Veronica Castillo as a means to explore the maquiladora murders in Juarez, Mexico.
  • Research and write about the maquiladora murders and concerns in their own community.
  • Study the Mexican tradition of the Tree of Life and create a work inspired by the tradition.  

 

THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 4: Art and Transformation

Lesson 5: Painting History: Fineline Painted Vessels of the Moche, Pre-Columbian Peru

Summary and Objectives

The Moche peoples of ancient Peru (100–800 c.e.) portrayed complex scenes on fineline painted ceramic vessels, depicting everything from hunting and fishing to the ritual battles of supernaturals. Studying the painting on these vessels offers excellent opportunities for students to practice their skills of visual literacy as they gain a deeper understanding of the ancient Peruvian world. They will

  • “Read” ceramic vessels for the details of Moche dress, environment, and secular and sacred practices.
  • Express their understanding of the iconography through artmaking and writing-based lessons.
  • Analyze Moche depictions of confrontation and war and probe their own opinions on the nature of conflict.
  • Compare these with other depictions of war in art, as a means of understanding how the arts can comment on the crises and concerns of a community.

 

THIS LESSON IS PART OF:
Curriculum Resource for Intersections: World Arts, Local Lives.
Unit 2: Art and Knowledge