Lessons Two to Fifteen
(Option B): Identity and Gender

After viewing the video Toying With Their Future, examine the work of various Canadian artists concerned with topics such as identity, gender or violence in society.

•continue to use appropriate terminology when discussing, analysing and interpreting visual art

Select appropriate art works from a resource such as Ideas and Inspiration: Contemporary Canadian Art. Use a process such as "Responding to Arts Expressions" in the Planning Guide to encourage students to respond to the work of Canadian artists. The following are examples:

• Tom Grummett, "Superman"
• John Hall, "Pistol"
• Suzy Lake, "Suzy Lake as Andrea Stannard"
• Attila Richard Lukacs, "Nearing the End of the Voyage"
• Liz Magor, "Birdnester"
• Mary Pratt, "Cold Cream"
• Krzysztof Wodiczko, "Grand Army Plaza Projection, Brooklyn, NY".

•examine, analyse and interpret the work of visual artists within the work's cultural and historical context

How often do the students think about societal expectations and representations of men and women? How are men and women commonly portrayed on popular television shows? View advertising images of adult and teenage men and women. How do these images affect our self-esteem and our identities as men and women?

Have students create a work of art that incorporates their own ideas and viewpoints about identity, gender or violence in society.

•continue to increase skills and determine appropriate media, technology, forms and methods for their visual expression

Encourage students to consider which medium would be the most effective for the expression of their ideas. Perhaps the art works they have been studying can provide them with ideas for their own visual art projects. Allow students ample time to search through gallery catalogues and visual art resources for information and images that will help them formulate their ideas.

Refer to the section of the Planning Guide entitled "Transforming Ideas Into Visual Form" for information on helping students develop their ideas. Students might choose to express their ideas through installation, painting, sculpture, jewellery, fashion or furniture design, photography, video or performance art.

•continue to develop an understanding of how visual artists acquire and transform ideas

Encourage students to keep visual journals as they research and develop their ideas. Students may help each other in many ways throughout the creative process. For example, they may help each other by brainstorming initial ideas, assisting with technical problems, modelling for each other, or participating in a group project or performance.

•discuss and analyse their own decision-making and problem-solving processes

Teachers should keep anecdotal records of each student's problem-solving process. Teachers may also wish to photograph or videotape the students as they work on their projects and include this documentation in the students' portfolios. This material will be useful during portfolio conferences with the students, parents or other teachers. Slides of the students' completed work are also useful for the purpose of class discussion and peer evaluation. Refer to the section entitled "Discussing Student Work" in the Planning Guide. Also, refer to Annie Smith's book Getting Into Art History for ideas regarding the use of slides in the classroom.