Rationale:
The Foreign Language (FL) program in the Prince George’s County
Public School System is dedicated to the development of second language
proficiency. In a curriculum driven by National Standards, known as
the 5 C’s (Communication, Connections, Comparisons, Communities,
and Cultures), students move toward proficiency in the target language
and develop cultural understanding through a variety of contextual activities.
The school curriculum now resembles a fusion of curricular agendas,
and the integration of other content areas—especially the arts—creates
a meaningful context of connectivity across the curriculum. Researchers
and practitioners have clearly identified and affirmed the importance
of using language in meaningful contexts (Curtain & Martínez,
1990).
In the Level I & II Spanish classes, students are expected to demonstrate
an intermediate knowledge of language and culture and be able to communicate
meaningful ideas in real-world situations. Students will be able to
demonstrate achievement in each of the three modes of communication:
Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational. The language program
is in a unique position to progress students toward language proficiency
goals and cultural understanding through the integration of content,
by including selected concepts from a variety of content areas.
The following is an integrated arts unit on Spanish language and related
communicative expression and symbolism in both Hispanic and West African
cultures. This unit is intended to develop students’ knowledge
about the cultural aspects associated with two cultures that demonstrate
significantly similar characteristics in musical expression and symbolism
in the creation of textiles. Throughout this unit, students will have
the opportunity to work individually and cooperatively to further explore
these similarities and construct meaning through instruction and exploration.
Essential Questions:
- What does the cloth speak of the person wearing it?
- What does the cloth say?
- How different is the culture next door?
- How do we all seem to have similar ways to communicate?
State and Local Standards
Domain 2– Historical, cultural and social content
- The students will investigate the role of the visual arts as a
basic aspect of human history and experience.
Expectation 2
- Explain how artworks reflect and influence beliefs, customs, and
values of a society.
Content standard: Indicator (a)
- Compare historical, social, and cultural themes in selected artworks
that communicate beliefs, customs, or values of a society.
Performance Standard:
- The students will read an article pre-Hispanic clothing by Irmgard
Weitlaner Johnson. The students will participate in a brief discussion
in regards to modern day symbols such a “NIKE” to guide
the student’s understanding. The student will create eight different
symbols that relates to self and label with its meaning. Next they
will review the map of Africa and color code Mali which is in West
Africa. The teacher will discuss important components of Africa and
its history. The process of creating the Bogolanfini mud cloth will
be discussed and explained. The students will use computers to access
the Smithsonian Institution web site http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices/mudcloth/index_flash.html
on creating computer generated mud cloth. The students will complete
a sketch of their mud cloth design and begin the project.
- Upon completion of this project, the students will take a short
quiz on the step involved in make a true mud cloth. The quiz will
be followed by a group critique.
Students (Spanish Classes I & II) will look at symbolism in textile
designs. They will use a graphic organizer to compare symbolic meaning
from two cultures. This unit has chosen the Hispanic Culture vs. the Western
African Culture. They will use data from symbolic imagery and make the
comparisons of two cultures to create a chart of symbols and possible
meanings. The integration of the arts comes in the form of the student
producing an imitation of the West African Mud cloth. The student will
view a variety of art objects/cloth from these cultures. The students
will be informed of the importance of cloth and the applicable designs
in the Hispanic Culture. The history of the African Culture will be shared
and the students will extend their experience by creating an imitation
mud cloth. This project is a modern imitation and is only meant to replicate
the symbolic choices and overall visual component of the Bogolanfini mud
cloth.
Materials:
| Modern day prints of clothing outfits |
Pre-Hispanic Clothing Article |
| Graphic Organizer |
Map of Africa w/labeling |
| 18 x 12 medium brown paper (bulletin board paper) |
Indian Ink |
| Stiff Paint brushes – sizes 4, 6, and 8 |
Dirt (mud) |
| White crayon |
|
Vocabulary:
| Bogolanfini |
Cellulose fiber |
| Negative Space |
Positive Space |
| Soy milk (the protein acts as a binder for cloth stain) |
Savon de sodani’ (bleaching agent) |
| Motifs |
Pigment |
Background information/introduction:
In Africa, art has always been a part of life. The arts belong to the
everyday existence, all woven together in the lives of the people. One
cannot separate the art of woodcarving from pottery, weaving to cloth
dyeing, or metal work. All these arts are bound up with music, storytelling,
poetry and dance. Their ways of living and their arts were shaped by
the land on which they lived. The land gave the artist a rich choice
of materials with which to work. The earth itself gave the mud and iron
used for the project we will be studying. The tribes of Africa are centuries
old, and over the years they have contributed great pieces of art and
intricate crafts. Works of art also serve as records of history and
tradition. Few people had written languages before the white men came.
Their histories and ancient wisdom, passed down by word of mouth, were
recorded in the artists’ language of pictures and symbols. Throughout
the invasions, explorations, trading systems and cultural exchanges
occurring after 1000 BC, the African arts flourished. Tribes moved on
settling in new regions, but still holding on to certain traditions
such as women adept to dying cloth.
Today in many African countries old customs and beliefs are dying because
the new artists find new ways (short-cuts) to create the old look. The
Bogolanfini is a wonderful example of this practice.
The Malian men grow cotton and then weave it into long strip called
finimugu. The narrow strips are sewn together to make the cloth. This
special cotton cloth is used by the Bamana women from Mali to create
Bogolanfini. Bogolanfini means mud cloth.
The women first dip and soak the cloth in a solution made from the
stems and leaves of a certain plant. When removed, the cloth is a bright
yellow. The mud solution is gathered from the bottom of dried ponds,
and placed in an earthen pot covered with water and allowed to stand
for one year while it ferments and grows richer in iron. The artist
uses this mud as a dye along with the flattened edge of a wooden knife
to make the outlines of the design and then uses a metal spatula to
fill in the background. This process is repeated several times, rinsing
and sun drying in between. To bleach the cloth from yellow to white,
the artist uses a caustic soda, millet bran and peanuts solution. With
the tip of a stick, they bleach parts of the cloth white. The artists
referred to are generally women. The women always prepared the mud mixture,
prepared the cloth after it was woven, and painted the patterns on the
cloth with mud. Their techniques were always passed down from older
women to the young girl. The whole process takes more than a year.
The cloths are used as women’s wrappers in rites-of-passage events
and also used by men in wrappers or shirts when engaged in hunting.
Some designs on the cloth are thought to symbolically ward off evil.
Motifs have names based on appearance of the pattern, such as fish,
stars. The artist learns to combine several special designs in very
skillful and exact manner. A woman is recognized by what village she
is from by the designs. She can also gain importance and fame by producing
a very beautiful Bogolanfini design.
Focusing student attention/"warm up":
The teacher will display examples of three modern day American people.
The teacher will begin a brief discussion on modern day clothing. The
student will be asked to share responses about three pre- selected pictures
of people dress in different outfits. Example: The student may notice
the absence or presence of a designer label. Upon conclusion of this
discussion, the student will realize classification by what you wear.
Next, the teacher will pass out the reading. The student will read
the prepared handout about Hispanic Cloth. This reading will also introduce
the Bogolanfini Mud Cloth of Mali, West Africa. The teacher will:
- Ask students what they know about cloth.
- Ask students what the outfit speaks about the person.
- Ask students what they know about color and pattern development.
- Ask students if they can see differences in how different cultures
use geometric patterns.
- Ask students if they can see examples of symbols from their own
environment.
Development activities:
(Direct students to do this after the introduction of the
mud cloth)
Computer Web-Site by the Smithsonian Institution: http://www.mnh.si.edu/africanvoices/mudcloth/index_flash.html
This web site will assist the student in understanding the process
involved in creating a true Bogolanfini Mud Cloth as well as produce
a computer generated mud cloth design with symbolic meaning.
The student will design a sketch of the type of design they choose
for their cloth. The student’s cloth can be designed with authentic
symbols of the Malian people or symbols they created earlier that are
a little more personal.
This project is a modern imitation and is only meant to replicate the
symbolic choices and overall visual component of the Bogolanfini.
The student will draw their design on an 18 x 12 piece of medium brown
paper. To simulate the mud, the student will use black Indian ink with
dirt shifted in to create mud. The student will paint the negative space.
Once the paper is dry, the student will use a white crayon to whiten
the positive space areas. The teacher will walk around and monitor student
progress and make sure everyone understands. The teacher will be available
to assist any one in need.
Guided practice (teacher monitored):
(Direct students to do this after the warm-up.)
In order to aid the students in a geographic manner, they will need
a visual of Mali. The student will receive a map of Africa and observe
while the teacher points out the location Mali. The student can add
a decorative design to the section labeled Mali.
The teacher will then introduce the theme of West Africa and discuss
the background information (refer to background informational section).
Next the teacher will introduce the art project for this unit and discuss
the history and development of the Bogolanfini Mud Cloth of the Bamana
of Mali. Students will then develop their own designs with guidance
from the teacher. The teacher will circulate among the students making
sure the students understand the assignment.
Independent activities:
The teacher will provide the needed materials and directions for the
students to carry out:
- Completion of a personal symbolic chart
- Completion of a computer-generated Bogolanfini mud cloth
- Reading of an article on pre-Hispanic cloth
- Completion of a design sketch
- Completion of an imitation Bogolanfini design
- Assessment quiz
- Participation in a group critique.
Assessment:
The final assessment will include a quiz on the true steps involved
in the process of creating a Bogolanfini.
The second assessment will be a group critique as the closure of this
unit. Without identifying individual work, students will discuss the
effectiveness of the designs:
- How were the various art elements repeated? Varied?
- How were positive and negative areas used?
- How effective were the symbolic choices?
Closure activities:
The students will: participant in a group critique comparing the compositions
and interpreting the cloth and what it speaks of the one who designed
it. (Refer to bulleted question under assessment section.)
Differentiation:
Art I is a course with a highly diverse student population. It may
be necessary to adjust the complexity of this lesson to meet the needs
of students. The teacher can substitute the brown paper for cotton fabric
or linen. Black Sharpie markers or black crayons can be substituted
for the mud dye. For the full experience of creating a Bogolanfini,
refer to the ingredients mentioned in the introduction of this lesson.
Further internet searching may be required.
Resources:
Information to further explore this subject is noted here:
Short Bibliography on Bogolanfini:
- Clarke, Duncan. The Art of African Textiles. Berkeley,
Calif.: Thunder Bay Press, 1997.
- Gillow, John. African Textiles. San Francisco: Chronicle
Books, 2003.
- Rovine, Victoria L. Bogolan: Shaping Culture Trough Cloth in
Contemporary Mali. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books, 2001.
Websites: