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Lesson Title: Power and the Communication of Values in West African Art of the Past and Present

Name: Susan Cantorna

Discipline: Art I

School: Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School

Grade Level: Grade 9/ Art, Social Studies

Time Period: 3 days.

I. Conceptual Framework

Big Idea: Power

Power is an important topic for students to learn about because it represents a universal concept that is within the human experience. The students will study power structures and the communication of social values in the life of West Africans. Students want to feel that they are independent beings, and yet they value being a part of a group. They want to be unique, and yet they often conform due to peer pressure. The students will learn to recognize the relationship between power and the ability to influence the values of a society. They will come to realize that conformity can have its advantages and disadvantages, is related to the balance of powers, and is sometimes done out of necessity. They will compare and contrast the power structures and values within high school peer groups with those that are present in West African communities.

The students will examine a variety of artworks from West Africa, both of the past and present, in order to realize that there are similarities between West African communities and their own. They will compare and contrast the forms and functions of bodily adornments, both of their own and of West African communities. The students will observe a video of a West African community that works together in order to design and create art-forms to be used in community gatherings. They will organize themselves into communities, decide on the values they wish to express, and then design and create a bodily adornment (armband, vest, head ornament, etc.) which represents their community. They will wear their bodily adornment at a selected community event (African drumming and dance celebration) which culminates the unit. As a result, students will more closely identify with West African communities, and the students will be able to recognize some of the commonalities of communities in general.

Essential Questions:

• What is power?
• How does power relate to the values of a community?
• How do communities use art to communicate their values?
• What types of bodily adornments are used to communicate values?
• What do bodily adornments reveal about the status of the wearer?
• I n what ways do communities in West Africa use art making to help them gain power over situations that would normally be beyond their control?
• In what ways do communities communicate values?
• What are cultures and subcultures?

Key Concepts:

• Power is about control.
• Power is about symbols.
• Power is about directing the behavior of others, whether directly or indirectly.
• Power is about peer pressure and conformity.
• Power is about knowing one’s status within a group.
• Power is about cultures and subcultures and sometimes about insiders and outsiders.
• Power is about communicating and instilling values.

State and local standards:

Outcome II: Historical, Cultural, and Social Context
Expectation B: Determine factors that influenced the creation of art in specific historical eras and places by studying artworks and other sources of information.

Indicators of Learning

1. Critical Response: By studying selected artworks, examine information from a variety of sources and propose factors that influenced artists and inspired artworks
2. Creative Expression: Inspired by diverse cultural values and beliefs, stylistic trends, and technical innovations that have influenced artistic choices, create an artwork that connects art history with personal values or contemporary issues

II. Topic:

Communities in West Africa:

• West African mask making with a purpose (to announce participation in secret societies, to gain control over nature, etc)
• The Togu na: its use as a gathering place for men, and as an art form
• Communities in America:
• Art / functional versus decorative
• Groups: how they communicate values through art and their bodily adornments

III. Artworks/art-forms/artifacts:

• Togu na and Cheko: Change and Continuity in the Art of Mali (video)
  Reason for inclusion: The Togu na is a gathering place or meetinghouse for the men of the present-day community of Mali. It both enhances and suppresses the power of the men of the village. Men have to sit in a Togu na, therefore making it practically impossible to fight. The Cheko performance depicts masks created to signify membership in secret societies. The masks are made and worn by men. The students will be able to make connections with how West African communities use different types of functional art as a part of their lifestyle to support their values.
• African mud cloth designs from Bogolanfini Mud Cloth by Sam Hilu and Irwin Hersey
  Reason for inclusion: Bogolanfini mud cloth designs were originally made by only the women of the Bogolan community, with the original meanings behind the symbols kept secret by the women of the community, thereby empowering the women. Modern artists have found ways to mass produce designs similar to the original mud cloth designs, so they are seen today in American culture, although more so in African-American communities. African-Americans wear these fabrics and often utilize them in home décor as a means of empowerment and also as a way of connecting to their African origins. Others that are not of African origin use them for the inherent beauty and simplicity in design.
• African masks (photographs)
  Reason for inclusion: In West African communities masks are created for use in community performances or celebrations, to give the wearer or the community power over situations or occurrences over which they would normally not have control (such as nature), or to signify membership in secret societies.
• African drumming and dance exhibit
  Reason for inclusion: Drumming is a powerful call-out to the past and present communities
  of West Africa that they should gather for whatever the event that is about to take place. All
  members of the community join together and participate in the ceremony. The handcrafted
  drums are considered works of art.
• Museum visit (National Museum of African Art)
  Reason for inclusion: As a culminating experience for the students after they have studied some of the communities and art of West Africa.

IV. Lessons:

1. Power Structures, Values and Artistic Expression in High School Peer Groups
2. Examining Artwork, Values and Power Structures in West African Communities
3. Creating Bodily Adornments that Communicate Values