Suggested Activities |
Possible Resources |
Sample Theme: The Table
Disparities
The students will:
- discover how the elements of art and principles of design may be
used differently in various cultures
- generate ideas for art works and manipulate these ideas to achieve
meaning and personal expression
- become aware of how visual art can transmit or question cultural
values, ideas and beliefs
- recognize that cultural background and experiences affect their responses
to art works and their understanding of meaning and symbol within the
work.
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| When you eat a popsicle or candy, what colour do you choose?
Students will begin to discover that the colour and texture of the food
they eat is important to their desire to eat it. Bring foods to the classroom
which students are not likely to have experienced; for example, squid, caviar,
tofu, elk, deer, lima beans, etc. Have the students describe the food they
like and don't like and give their reasons.
Various cultures have different ways of eating and different attitudes
toward food. Discuss some of the trends within cultures. Examples include
eating at a low table/high table/the ground; rice/potatoes/bannock; turkey
dinner/snack; knives and forks/chopsticks/fingers; picnic/tea time; no
waste; prayer; no refusal, males serve. Some cultures may emphasize certain
differences; for example, bold/subtle, hot/cold, sweet/sour and bland/spicy.
Determine why they may have come about after experiencing some of the
differences.
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Books about foods from around the world, such as Mosaics
Series -- Food From Around the World by M. Billings and Indian Givers:
How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World by J. Weatherford
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| Discuss where various foods are grown. Research some of the
political and social realities of food production. Why are some people starving
in the world while others have excesses of food? Where does the food we
eat come from? Discuss the working conditions in some of the under-privileged
countries. How many stages does a product go through before it reaches our
supermarket? Question why food costs do not mirror the cost of production.
Discuss the chemicals and dyes that are used to enhance the food. |
Resource books on food production |
| Look at artists' works which relate to food production and
marketing. Examples include, V. Cicansky, R. Gorenko, F. Robson and R. McLellan.
Make a visual social comment about an issue relating to the problems involved
in food consumption, marketing or production. |
Saskatchewan Art Works slides #27, 30, 36, 64
Art of the World Through the Eyes of Artists -- Food by W. and
J. Richardson
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| The Media The students will:
- begin to evaluate, discuss and analyse the influence of visual images
in their daily lives, including mass media and popular culture
- understand that many works of art can be studied according to their
design, function and setting.
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| Look at designs for plates in catalogues, magazines and art
works. Choose the kind you would buy if you had a choice. What influenced
your choices; for example, male/female, new/different, tradition, etc.?
How do restaurants choose plates? (e.g., colour, functional, elegant, cultural
background, original, etc.)? Look for examples of foods displayed on different
plates and determine why certain choices were made (e.g., complementary
colours, textures, gold/value, etc.) Design and build a plate to enhance
a particular food. Clay or paper maché are possible materials for
use in the construction of the plates.
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Mass media for examples of advertising and packaging
Cookbooks with illustrations of serving suggestions
Magazines which have many images of food
Saskatchewan Art Works slides #24, 75
Papier Maché Today by S. McGraw
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| Symbol The students will:
- investigate how visual artists use symbols and other means to convey
meaning
- understand that many works of art can be studied according to their
design, function and setting.
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| Saskatchewan has very flat terrain in the southern half of
the province and food production is important to the economy. It has been
referred to as a table top, a sea and a bread basket. Discuss symbolism
and add more ideas to the list. Look at R. Burton's "Camper". Ask the students
what the camper symbolizes. Answers might include fun, holiday, family,
togetherness, etc. Students might see the empty parking lot as a symbol
for being alone or deserted. |
Art Synectics by N. Roukes Saskatchewan Art Works,
slide #51
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| The table can be identified with the unity of a family and
is the natural place for the family to assemble. Look for images of the
family and the table, both indoors and outdoors, in a variety of cultures.
Have each student choose a person from one of the pictures and write what
that person may be thinking. Have them share their monologues with the class.
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| List other activities that can occur at tables, such as business,
games, make-up, social events, hiding under (as in M. Hone's "A Small Chest").
Examine a variety of tables for their use and function. Design a table for
a specific function or aesthetic.
The Table and Art
The students will:
- continue to hone skills of observation and image-making in order
to become more aware of the detailed information in their visual environment
- examine a variety of new and non- traditional art forms
- begin to understand the principles of design in the work of others
and increase the ways they use the principles in their visual art experiences
- support opinions about art works and defend preferences for particular
types of art based on evidence found in the work
- increase their understandings of the contributions of Saskatchewan
and Canadian artists, including Aboriginal artists, to the field of
visual art
- consider art works in the context in which they were produced when
interpreting and evaluating them.
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Saskatchewan Art Works slide #61 Books with furniture
design
With These Hands -- Furniture: Form and Material (video)
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| Look at artists' works which deal with still-life. What kind
of compositional balance has the artist used? Is there a focal point? How
is it created? Is there a colour scheme? etc.
Set up a still-life, keeping in mind compositional concerns. Have students
draw the still-life using a variety of styles; for example, contour, scribble,
pointillism and tone. Discuss the reasons why some renderings may be more
successful than others. Refer to "Adapting the Viewing Process for the
Discussion of Student Work".
Make works of art using any food materials which are available. Remember
that presentation is as important as the taste of the food. Make a drawing
of the finished products so as to have a documentation of the work. Have
an "Eat Your Art" day and invite special guests.
Compare the principles of design with eating-related ideas; for example,
balance -- food from all the food groups, variety -- eat
different foods each day, proportion -- don't overeat.
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Art works of still-life
Saskatchewan Art Works slides #10, 27, 83
Behind the Scenes with Nancy Graves (video)
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| Cookbooks are very popular. Examine different cookbooks from
a variety of cultures. Why would you buy one over another? Many men and
women spend a great deal of time reading these books. Why? Answers could
include the following: the family, expression of love, creativity, skilled
artists in the kitchen, satisfy one of the senses, survival, etc. Recipes
provide the information needed to make the dish. Design a recipe for the
recreation of a famous art work. |
Cookbooks from a variety of cultures |
| Discuss whether cooking is an art form. In some cultures,
such as the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, art traditionally was not something
that was separate from day-to-day life. View films and read books about
various cultures and how the arts are part of their lives and not considered
as objects to be placed in a museum or gallery. Discuss.
Change
The students will:
- develop co-ordination and skills for using art tools, technology,
materials and techniques
- examine how artists' views about visual art have changed over time
and will continue to change
- identify and explore environmental, historical and social factors
that influence artists and their work
- continue to extend their understanding of the traditional and contemporary
visual art of various cultures, including the Aboriginal cultures
- examine how technology has influenced visual art and artists.
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Children of Japan Series (video)
Communicating Through Art (video)
The Flower Beadwork People by S. Farrell Racette
Art of the Inuit Series -- Pictures out of My Life (video)
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| Over the years, people's eating patterns have changed. Examine
some changes; for example, fast-food, TV dinners, doughnuts, butter/margarine,
fewer sweets and more nutrition. Discuss why the changes have occurred.
What are some of the effects that poor nutrition and life-style can have
upon our bodies?
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Advertisements for fast- food outlets, packaged food, nutritious
food, etc. |
| Discuss how artists' ideas about art have changed in different
times. Compare, for example, Van Gogh's " Potato Eaters" to Hogarth's "Breakfast
Scene". Note that Van Gogh portrays the ordinary man rather than the wealthy.
Compare these works to the work of an artist of today. Students could choose
to compare a period in history that they are studying in another subject
to one which has special appeal to them. How did the events of the time
effect the art work produced?
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History books for examples of art from different times
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| Discuss how the media and technology have affected changes
in the arts; for example, film-making. Film-making technology has become
more advanced due to the improved technology. Tour a film or television
studio and become familiar with some of the jobs and activities which are
involved in production. Read books, watch films about the making of a film,
and talk to film-makers for more information. Use video cameras or a
story board to make a comment about an issue in our society.
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That's A Wrap by Ned Dowd Films on the making of
a specific film
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