AANOTWORKINGriver

     river masks 7th/8th grades                  integrated projects

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In the past I’ve taught my students that masks were originally worn and used for an event. Then my students would make masks and I would display them on the wall, unworn and unused. I wanted to remedy this. When my 7th and 8th graders studied river ecosystems on the site of the Platte River, I thought this might be an opportunity for making masks with meaningful science content and in the meaningful context of public performance and spectacle.  INSPIRATION My students and I looked at several mask and puppet making communities. We started with several traditional West African countries and the purposes and traditions of their masks. Then we looked at contemporary mask and puppet organizations who use puppets and masks to inform, interact with, and enchant the public:  http://www.redmoon.org/ http://www.breadandpuppet.org/ http://www.horseandbamboo.org/ I also shared some of my experiences doing performance art.  “The Assessment Fairies” From these models my students and I described these kinds of masks and puppets: often large meant for public spaces worn in ceremony or event embodied a specific social message often made or worn by more than one person puppets not especially “cute” constructed well so that they could be worn while walking AFRICA WeMy students were also studying Africa in humanities. I’ve normally avoided African masks in my art class because the content is so hard to teach with integrity. This time we investigated the meanings behind the masks through internet research on the Brooklyn Museum’s website: http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/african_art I compiled the notes students took and created this next step for them to think about the mask they will make.  Then we discussed how these masks were appropriated by modernist artists in Paris in the early 20th century. This led us to discussions on the European need for a belief in a paradise of pre-industrial, people untouched by modern life. We looked at the human zoos or ethnological expositions of Carl Hagenbeck that were in Paris at the time.  We looked at the modernist’s borrowing of African and Pacific Island masks, discussing again the action of appropriation. Why is appropriation used by artists? We revisited the controversy between Shepard Fairy and Manny Garica over the “Hope” poster.   RIVER MASKS I challenged my students to create a mask that embodied the Platte River’s health from their science investigations. These masks would be worn downtown on a river walk to pay homage to the river and to raise awareness of its ecosystem to the public. I showed them a prototype that I made and they brainstormed how they could show the science of the river in their mask. Their science teacher and I had several conversations about the science content before and during the project. Students created a plan for a mask alone or with a group.  Two students created this split mask showing two aspects of the river’s health. The FORM and CONTENT criteria for our masks:   A finished mask made by six students which was mounted on a backpack frame:  This mask also showed two sides of the river’s health. “One side of the mask shows how the river is unhealthy with dead macro-invertebrates (skulls). The other shows how it is healthy with flowers, blue water and living macro-invertebrates.” Lee  LEARNING TARGETS AND RUBRIC  In a rubric table format, I circle the following learning targets as: NOT THERE, MEETS TARGET, or EXCEEDS TARGET: studio skills I can use formal art techniques with care and intention. o   I can use repetition for coherence in my design. o   I can create intentional balance in my design. o   I can use variety for interest in my design. o   I can contrast the elements in my design. idea I can use ideas that are complex and rich in my work. o   I can use deep scientific understanding about the ecological health of the Platte river in art. enchantment  I can combine studio skills and ideas to transform art materials into something new and full of wonder o   I can create a visual language that talks about river health through image, color, and shape. o   I can create a mask that expressively personifies the river. craftsmaneship I can use models, instruction, rubrics, and critique to guide my work towards quality.  o   I can construct a strong mask. o   I can construct a mask that works for wearing, seeing, and walking. o   I can change my work in response to feedback. o   I can use my mask group as a resource to make my work better. INFORMATION CARDS  When students finished, they used their original plans to create information cards about the Platte River mask to hand out to the public on our walk. THE WALK We met in the morning before the walk and together wrote a bill of health to read to the river based on the students’ collective knowledge about the river’s current ecosystem. Then we took our masks downtown. We walked our masks along the river and read the bill of health, made a loop through the town, stopped at the Museum of Contemporary Art to show the staff our masks, and then walked back to the river. We handed our our cards to wary and curious pedestrians. THE MEANING OF INTERVENTIONIST ART (OR WHY WE DIDN’T DO IT ON EARTH DAY) I wanted this event to be a juxtaposition and an intervention into the regular life of downtown Denver pedestrians. The masks were meant to be a spectacle that interrupted the city unaware. This was a way to help my students understand the nature of site specific performance art which is an intervention into an unsuspecting space rather than part of a planned event. Appearing at an Earth Day type event would not be an intervention. It would be a familiar type of exhibition tool that my students already have experienced and know well. THE INVISIBLE CURRICULUM I wanted my students to experience what interventionist performance artist experience: the disequilibrium of one’s role and the audience’s role in the spectacle the exhilaration when viewers are moved by the spectacle meaningful, unexpected dialogue with strangers the loneliness that accompanies street performance empathy for other performance artists MY ASSESSMENT OF THE PROJECT AND MY STUDENTS’ UNDERSTANDINGS: The mask making took too long. Some students were not engaged near the end. They were starting to distract and detach. Next time I will hurry this part along. I could use cardboard construction instead of paper mache. I needed to communicate better with the science teacher. My timing was off and when students made their plans for their masks they hadn’t learned all the science content. As a result masks lacked depth of content. Next time on the walk, I would have some students wear signs about who we are and what we are about. A lot of pedestrians were curious, but afraid to come near us for fear of a sermon or a request for money. Some of my students were too “cool” or embarrassed during the River Walk. Maybe this isn’t an appropriate middleschool project. It might be more age appropriate for younger grades. I could maybe include some college art students in the mask making and in the walk. That might help my students understand that radical puppetry is indeed very “cool.” RESOURCES Asher, R.. (2009). Radical Puppets and the Language of Art. Art Education, 62(3), 6-12. Griffith, C. (1995). Puppet Cookbook. Minneapolis, Minnesota:In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre. Ruby, K (1999). Wise Fool Basics. Berkeley, California: Wise Fool Puppet Intervention Rump, N. (1996). Puppets and Masks, Stagecraft and Storytelling. Worcester, Massachusetts: Davis Publication http://www.internationalfolkart.org/eventsedu/education/girard/puppets/puppetsingirard.html http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/7672/puppet.html http://www.redmoon.org/ http://www.breadandpuppet.org/ http://www.horseandbamboo.org/

http://www.redmoon.org http://www.breadandpuppet.org http://www.horseandbamboo.org The_Assessment_Fairies..html http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/african_art Point_of_View..html Point_of_View..html http://www.internationalfolkart.org/eventsedu/education/girard/puppets/puppetsingirard.html http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/7672/puppet.html http://www.redmoon.org http://www.breadandpuppet.org http://www.horseandbamboo.org The_Assessment_Fairies..html The_Assessment_Fairies..html

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constructing fish head

constructing fish head

leaving spaces for seeing

leaving spaces for seeing

constructing river's face

constructing river’s face

sewing on macroinvertebrates onto river tail

sewing on macroinvertebrates onto river tail

attaching to backpacking frame

attaching to backpacking frame

building arms

building arms

symbols of temperature, cycles, and micro and macroinvertebrates

symbols of temperature, cycles, and micro and macroinvertebrates

"clean" and "dirty" signs for the river

“clean” and “dirty” signs for the river

making a mini theater for a macroinvertebrate wire sculpture

making a mini theater for a macroinvertebrate wire sculpture

on the river front

on the river front

on the river front

on the river front

mask about river’s varying temperatures

mask about river’s varying temperatures

the river's story embodied in fantasy characters of good and evil

the river’s story embodied in fantasy characters of good and evil

from the city back to the river

from the city back to the river

way above the river

way above the river

"tolerant" here refers to macroinvertebrates tolerant of certain pollutants which is an indicator of water health

“tolerant” here refers to macroinvertebrates tolerant of certain pollutants which is an indicator of water health

we needed more than one drum

we needed more than one drum

reading the river its bill of health

reading the river its bill of health

the pedestrians who took and read our cards were our heros

the pedestrians who took and read our cards were our heros

sharing our work to the staff at the Museum of Contemporary Art

sharing our work to the staff at the Museum of Contemporary Art

true assessment for mask construction quality

true assessment for mask construction quality

debrief and reflection

debrief and reflection