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| Globalization
- Cultural Viewpoints of Symbols Related Subjects: Visual & Performing Arts, English-Language Arts Grades: 4-6 Medium: Mixed Media, collage Author: Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego Class time required: Two 75-minute class sessions  read/post
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 In this two-session lesson, the students will examine artwork that discusses cultural convergence, and create a mixed-media collage that represents this concept. The students will find and define symbols in artworks that represent different cultures. Using a reproduction of a piece of artwork from one culture, students will, through collage and mixed media, add elements and symbols of a second culture. back to top   • Reproductions of landscapes, portraits, and still lifes that are each representative of one culture • Magazines for collage • Newspapers for collage (international newspapers if available) • Collected labels from cans, clothing, bags • Glue Sticks • Scissors • Paper, various colors, textures • Colored Pencils • Markers • Glossary terms: collage, culture, symbol • Images Online Materials
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Session One • Print the following images onto overhead transparencies or use a document camera: Perry Vasquez, Enrique Chagoya, Luis Gispert, Ruben Ortiz Torres. • Gather regional examples of cultures represented in San Diego or the area that you live. • Rather than having your students collect cultural items on their own, you can create cultural collections of designated cultures before the lesson and place them in envelopes, separated by culture. In this case, this lesson will only take one 90-minute session, rather than two 60-minute sessions. Session Two • Print color copies of the landscapes, portraits, and still lifes onto 8 ½ x 11” or 11 x 14” paper. These color copies will be what the students use as the background for their collages. back to top 
Session One 1. Begin a conversation with the students to identify different cultures that can be found in and around their neighborhood. Next begin asking what can happen when two cultures live near each other, or are placed in a situation where they must co-exist. What are some positive outcomes of different cultures sharing a neighborhood? What are some challenges that people from different cultures face when they share a neighborhood? Do the people of these cultures always remain separate? Can they adopt traditions from a culture different than their own? Provide examples. Depending on what the students are studying in history, this conversation can also be held in a historical context. 2. Show the students a few examples of symbols that represent different ideas in American culture: When we see the famous Disney mouse ears or Mickey Mouse, we think of Disneyland. When we see the ‘golden arches’ we think of MacDonald’s. When we see a yellow ribbon on the back of a car, we think of the people fighting in the war. Have the students name a few symbols, both national and international, that represent a culture. 3. Using the Vasquez, Chagoya, Gispert, and Ortiz Torres images, have the students share which symbols they recognize and how these symbols represent a particular culture. You may have to read the students the text from the Image Information page to give them background information about the artists and their artworks. Use the following questions to guide the discussion: • Name two cultures represented in this artwork. • What symbols represent each culture? • How has each culture been changed by the other? Do you think the artist believes that this change was positive? What do you see that makes you say that? • In history, what happened when two cultures met? (ex. Native Americans and Europeans, people of early civilizations and conquerors, Jewish people and Christians, etc.) Is the artist dealing with similar issues? Provide examples. • How do the personal experiences/beliefs of the artist influence this artwork and its meaning? 4. Explain to the students the objective of this lesson: to create a piece of artwork that shows what happens when two cultures meet, or converge. 5. Have the students choose a culture that they would like to focus on. Explain that they will be collecting items that are representative of this culture. This can be a culture that either they belong to (their own ethnicity or language group), or have access to (via friends or family members). 6. Show the students examples of items that they might consider collecting: food packages or labels, newspapers or periodicals, stamps, children’s characters, icons and other images. These collections can be supplemented with information downloaded from the Internet: current events, celebrity images, etc. Have the students brainstorm other items that they could collect for their chosen culture. 7. Homework: have the students collect items that represent their chosen culture. Session Two 1. Introduce the concept of collage - A technique of composing a work of art by pasting various materials on a single surface, for example: newspaper clippings, theater tickets, fragments of a brochure, etc." 2. Demonstrate a few collage techniques: layering, overlapping, tearing, and cutting. 3. Show the students the variety of images they have to choose from for the background of their collages. Divide students into small groups and give each group one of the images. Have the students work together to identify the cultural symbols they see in the image. What kinds of clothes, landscape, and objects has the artist chosen to include in this artwork? How do these items represent this culture? 4. Have each group briefly share their findings with the rest of the class. 5. Now, ask each student to choose one of those images to use as the background for his/her collage. This image should represent a culture different from the one he/she collected items for. 6. Instruct the students to create a collage that represents how their chosen culture could affect the culture shown in the background image. Leave the collage instructions loose. This is a chance for students to be creative with altering their chosen image and changing it into their own artwork. Encourage students to take ownership of the artwork they are creating. They are allowed to distort, rip, and/or destroy parts of the original. They can layer paper on top, or cut up the image and reassemble it into a new composition. Additional images, values, and color can be drawn onto the collage piece with colored pencils and markers. Give the students about 45 minutes to create their collage. 7. Once the students have finished their collages, have them write about their experiences. Here are a few journal/assessment questions you could use: • What culture did you choose to collect objects and images from? Describe the items you chose and your reasons for choosing them. • How did you change your background? What kinds of things did you do to change it? Why did you choose these methods? • How do the two cultures interact in your artwork? Are the interactions positive, negative, or a combination of both? How does your artwork reflect real life situations? • What did you think about taking control and changing some one else’s art? Should your collage be considered a piece of artwork as well? Why or why not? Extensions History-Social Science: Imagine and draw the areas of cultural convergence between European explorers and Native Americans. back to top  This lesson was based on work from MCASD’s permanent collection. Murals from San Diego’s Chicano Park also showcase a historical and regional cultural meeting and can be used as a launching point for a class mural project. back to top  CA Content Standards Fourth Grade Visual Arts Describe and analyze the elements of art (e.g., color, shape/form, line, texture, space, value), emphasizing form, as they are used in works of art and found in the environment. 3.1 Describe how art plays a role in reflecting life (e.g., in photography, quilts, architecture). 4.2 Identify and describe how a person's own cultural context influences individual responses to works of art. 4.5 Describe how the individual experiences of an artist may influence the development of specific works of art. Fifth Grade Visual Arts 1.3 Use their knowledge of all the elements of art to describe similarities and differences in works of art and in the environment. 2.5 Assemble a found object sculpture (as assemblage) or a mixed media two-dimensional composition that reflects unity and harmony and communicates a theme. 2.7 Communicate values, opinions, or personal insights through an original work of art. 4.1 Identify how selected principles of design are used in a work of art and how they affect personal responses to and evaluation of the work of art. 4.2 Compare the different purposes of a specific culture for creating art. 5.2 Identify and design icons, logos, and other graphic devices as symbols for ideas and information. Sixth Grade Visual Arts 1.1 Identify and describe all the elements of art found in selected works of art (e.g., color, shape/form, line, texture, space, value). 1.2 Discuss works of art as to theme, genre, style, idea, and differences in media. 1.3 Describe how artists can show the same theme by using different media and styles. 2.5 Select specific media and processes to express moods, feelings, themes, or ideas. 3.3 Compare, in oral or written form, representative images or designs from at least two selected cultures. 4.1 Construct and describe plausible interpretations of what they perceive in works of art. 4.2 Identify and describe ways in which their culture is being reflected in current works of art. Fourth Grade English-Language Arts 2.1 Write narratives. Fifth Grade English-Language Arts 2.1 Write narratives. Sixth Grade English-Language Arts 2.2 Write expository compositions (e.g., description, explanation, comparison and contrast, problem and solution). back to top  Teachers Hanor, Stephanie, et al. TRANSactions: Contemporary Latin American and Latino Art. Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, 2006. History of Chicano Park, San Diego This Web site includes an extensive history of Chicano Park, as well as images and descriptions of its murals. Keep on Crossin’ Perry Vasquez’s Web site that discusses his views of border crossing and immigration issues. KQED Arts and Culture Profile on and K-12 lesson plan about Enrique Chagoya and his artwork. SPARC (The Social and Public Art Resource Center) This Web site provides images and descriptions of many of the murals throughout Los Angeles and Mexico. back to top |
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Globalization - Cultural Viewpoints of Symbols 5th grade student San Diego, CA |
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