Crossing Borders/Breaking Boundaries The Portuguese Empire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries July 16-24, 2007 |
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I. Unit of Study: Three-Dimensional Pottery
The Visual Art program for the Harford County Public School System is dedicated to the development of all students, pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, in the Fine Arts Content Standards for the State of Maryland. This includes: historical, cultural and social contexts; creative expression and production; and aesthetics and criticism, in the area of visual art. At the elementary level, these goals are accomplished through the Essential Knowledge of our curriculum which contains units on: drawing, painting, printmaking, two-dimensional design and three-dimensional design. Elementary art students are given the opportunity through the teaching of our curriculum to experience the cultures of the world through literature, mathematics, science and social studies, which is woven into lessons on visual art. The following lesson on the Portuguese cultural exchange that took place during the 16th and 17th centuries with the indigenous peoples of Brazil, India, Africa and China, will give young students the advantage of gaining an understanding of how cultures interface. The goal is that students will apprehend knowledge of how this cultural interchange produces a transformation in those participating, thus allowing new ideologies, products or styles to be birthed. The students will also create an original piece of blue and white pottery, designed in the style of artisans from the 16th century in China, bringing their personal and cultural adaptations to the artwork.
VI. Background In the 16th and 17th centuries, Portugal colonized the world by traveling the seas under the direction of the Portuguese government, skilled navigators and astronomers. The Portuguese infiltrated many lands, including Brazil, India, Africa and China. During these excursions, cultural and artistic exchanges were made between the Portuguese and the indigenous peoples whose lands were being conquered. These exchanges resulted in the trade of precious commodities being exported and imported. Goods being exported back to Portugal were as follows: from Brazil- brazilwood (red dye), sugar, gold; from India- spices, silks, cottons; from Africa- ivory, gold; and from China- porcelain, silk. One such exchange took place between the Portuguese and the Chinese potters of Macau in 1557, of the infamous blue (cobalt) and white porcelain pottery. The Dutch capture of the Portuguese carrack Sta. Caterina, off the coast of Singapore in 1603 and the auction of the ship's huge cargo hold in Amsterdam in 1604, resulted in the fascination with the Chinese Ming blue and white porcelain in the Netherlands. This Chinese Ming porcelain is an ideal exemplar of a product of cultural and artistic interchange through trade, which travels all the way back in history to the cobalt mines near the village of Qamsar, Persia (now Iran). It was the Portuguese, not the Dutch, who first established trading networks and drew from the rich resources of the Far East, that brought the passion for the blue and white pottery to Europe. VII. Materials Day One:
Day Two:
Day Three:
Day Four:
Day Five:
Day Six:
VIII. Fine Arts Standards/Learner Outcomes 1. Identify and describe observed form. a. Describe similarities and differences between the elements of art in observed forms. 2. Identify and compare ways in which selected artworks represent what people see, feel, know, and imagine. a. Compare and describe how artists communicate what they see, feel, know, and imagine using art vocabulary. b. Represent ideas and feelings visually that describe what is seen, felt, or, known. 3. Use the elements of art and principles of design to organize personally meaningful compositions. a. Describe how qualities of the elements of art and principles of design are organized to communicate personal meaning in visual compositions. Content Standard 2.0 Historical, Cultural, and Social Context: Students will demonstrate an understanding of visual arts as a basic aspect of history and human experience. 1. Determine ways in which works of art express ideas about oneself, other people, places, and events. a. Identify different ways that artists use symbols to express ideas about self, people, places, and events in selected works of art. b. Select symbols that represent important aspects of life to express personal meaning in visual compositions. 2. Classify reasons why people create and use art by studying artworks and other sources of information. a. Identify techniques, processes, and materials from different times and places used to create visual art. b. Describe the origins of selected techniques, processes, and materials used in the visual arts. 3. Differentiate among works by artists representative of different times and cultures. a. Compare how selected artworks are similar in theme, content, form, and style. 4. Compare similarities and differences in the processes used to interpret and express ideas in the visual arts and other disciplines. a. Identify similarities and differences between the visual arts and other content areas Content Standard 3.0 Creative Expression and Production: Students will demonstrate the ability to organize knowledge and ideas for expression in the production of art. 1. Create images and forms from observation, memory, and imagination. a. Experiment with art media, processes, and techniques to generate ideas and express personal meaning. b. Manipulate art media, materials, and tools safely. c. Create artworks that explore the uses of color, line, shape,texture, form, space, and selected principles of design, such as pattern, repetition, contrast, and balance to express personal meaning. Content Standard 4.0 Aesthetics and Criticism: Students will demonstrate the ability to identify, analyze, and apply criteria for making visual aesthetic judgments. 1. Develop and apply criteria to evaluate personally created artworks and the artworks of others.
The student will:
X. Keywords/Vocabulary
XII. Scope and Sequence A. Teacher Directed Day One: Students will be asked about their travels on summer vacation. Put up some prints and posters of various destinations for travel on the board. Teacher will ask students, "When you go away, what are some things that you take with you?" We will create a list on the board. Students will be given five (5" x 5") pieces of drawing paper to create pencil sketches of things that they take with them when they travel. After drawings are complete, teacher will then ask students, “When you come home, what are some things you could bring back with you from the place you visited?” We will make another list on the board. Students can color their artwork with markers or crayons and place them in their table folder. B. Guided Practice Day Two: Explain to the students that when the Portuguese traveled to these new lands, they met different people with their own customs and artwork. Just like when you go someplace new, you also meet new people and discover new things. Show student drawings from day one. Say, "Today we are going to travel to the new lands, just like the Portuguese sailors did. Some of you are going to be the Portuguese and some of you will be the people of the lands of Brazil, India, Africa and/or China." Teacher will have stations set up to represent the various locations around the world. Students will travel from station to station and exchange their items (sketches from day one) for a new item. Merchandise for trade at each station will be: Brazil- red pieces of wood (brazilwood), sugar packets, gold nuggets; India- pieces of cotton cloth, cinnamon sticks, cloves, pepper; Africa- white pieces of plastic (ivory), gold nuggets; China- pieces of silk, blue and white porcelain. Teacher will be sure students get to rotate through all stations and have the opportunity to be both a Portuguese sailor and an indigenous person. C. Independent Practice Day Three: Teacher will share prints of pottery, including the blue and white Chinese porcelain, and also have on display varying forms of actual blue and white pottery. Teacher will lead discussion on form and functon, as well as, give historical information on the blue and white pottery. Students will be introduced to clay and will have this day to manipulate the clay into a pottery form. Artwork will have to be wrapped in wet paper towels and sealed into plastic bags in order to be kept moist. Day Four: Students will use this day to complete their clay pottery design. They will define their form and add varying textures with clay tools. If they want to add handles or spouts to their form, the teacher will demonstrate the technique of scoring in order to ensure that the parts will not fall off during the drying process. Pottery will be left to air-dry after today's lesson. Day Five: Teacher will explain that the people of Europe (Netherlands) did not have access to porcelain (like the Chinese), so they had to paint their pottery white before the could apply the blue (cobalt). Today we will paint both the inside and outside of your dry pottery white, in order to make it look like the Ming pottery of China that the Portuguese discovered on their travels. When students are finished painting the white base coat on their pottery, they will set their pottery aside to dry. They will then sketch on drawing paper, ideas for the designs that they will be painting in blue the next time they have art. Day Six: Students will use a pencil to lightly draw the designs they created on day five directly onto their pottery. Using small brushes they will carefully paint their designs with primary blue paint. A gloss of modgepodge can be applied to the finished piece in order to give it a sheen. XIII. Assessment Formative:
Summative: The student will be evaluated on:
Day One: Have students exchange one of the drawings that they created today with another student at their table. Have students guess what the object is and discuss it's importance when traveling. Day Two: After students have traveled the world, like the Portuguese, and made their exchanges, they will share at their table with other students what they exchanged and why they selected the new item for trade. Make a list on the board of the most popular new items that were chosen. Talk about how the Dutch "chose" the blue and white porcelain and made it become a mania during that time period. Day Three: Students will share how easy / difficult it was to manipulate the clay into a pottery form. Day Four: Students will discuss / share their success with creating texture on and scoring their pottery. Day Five: Students will share their idea sketches for the design to be painted on their pottery. Day Six: Students will critique their finished pottery design, as well as the designs of their classmates. We will invite the classroom teacher into the art studio to share the students' artwork. Artwork will also be displayed in the school, as well as in the art show. |
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