Pre-Visit Activity: Art Talk

Please view the two reproductions with your class and lead a discussion using the following questions as guidelines.  There are no “right” answers.  The questions are meant to guide the group discussion.
Students will revisit and discuss the original works at BAM.  The vocabulary in this packet will aid discussion.

Research and experience have shown that students feel more comfortable when they can connect with something familiar once they arrive at the Museum.  The students are excited to find “their” works of art while they are at BAM.  They enjoy sharing their insights from the classroom discussion with the docent and making valuable comparisons between the textbook-like reproductions and the original works of art.

Faith Ringgold and John Taylor:  Rebuilding Memories

Artists Faith Ringgold and John Taylor recreate their childhood memories in distinctly different ways. Students will discover how powerful and changing memories can be and will then create their own works of art based on memories.

Faith Ringgold works in a variety of media. She illustrates and writes children’s books as well as creating quilts, masks, paintings, and etchings. In reclaiming memories from her childhood, she addresses critical social and cultural issues through her art, especially concerning African-Americans.

John Taylor, a landscape architect and self taught artist, brings back to life long forgotten steamships through his sculptures. While he has lived by the ocean almost all his life, Taylor is not sailor. Working from photographs and anecdotes, Taylor utilizes discarded materials to construct his sculptures and exaggerates certain aspects of the ships. He does not sculpt exact replicas, but recreates historic memories of ships.

Vocabulary

Rebuild: Saving an object or idea from disuse or negative meanings by giving it a positive new use and/or meaning.

Memory: An impression of an event, idea, object, or experience that occurred in the past.

Medium: A specific kind of artistic technique or means of expression as determined by the materials used or the creative methods involved:  the medium of lithography.  The materials used in a specific artistic technique:  oils as a medium.

Media: The plural of medium.

Mixed Media : A technique involving the use of two or more artistic media, such as ink and pastel or painting and collage, which are combined in a single artwork.

Curricular Connections
Building Memorable Curriculum with Faith Ringgold and John Taylor

• Structure a lesson around immigration to America. Discuss and contrast European and African immigration to America. How and why did people come to the United States? Have students conduct family history projects and situate their families in the larger context of immigration history (either immigration to the United States or migration to Idaho). What year did their families/ancestors come to the United States or Idaho? What mode of transportation did they use? What family memories or stories do their relatives have or tell about immigration? Have students share their histories and family memories with each other.
• Include a mapping component to the immigration lesson. Have students map the trail of their ancestors’ journeys to America. How many miles did their ancestors travel? How long did it take them? Post a world map and pinpoint starting locations for each student’s ancestors.
• Correlate with Black History Month (February) to study the history of African-Americans. Depending on grade level, cover the beginnings of slavery, the Civil War, the Reconstruction, migration west, important African-American figures, employment and social roles, Harlem Renaissance, birth of protest movements, Civil Rights Movement, and end with learning about modern African-American leaders. 
• Structure a history lesson around the steam engine and its impact during the Industrial Revolution, focusing specifically on the various types of vehicles, specifically ships that used steam engines. Make a timeline of the evolution of the steam engine and map its influence on other technological developments during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Reading and Writing

• Have students practice their reading skills by reading their books that they created in the “Make-it” activity to another student.
• Read and discuss one of Faith Ringgold’s books. What is the story about? Who are the main characters? Discuss the parts of a story arc and have the students identify the different parts of the story. Can there be more than one meaning to the story?
• Explain the difference between fiction and non-fiction. Have students write a fictional story which embellishes a memory or dream. Encourage them to have a beginning middle and end to their stories. Share Faith Ringgold’s book Tar Beach with students, and encourage them to be creative and inventive.
• Teach students how to make a bubble chart, flow chart, or other variation that encourages students to take time and to structure their thoughts.  For this activity ask the students to focus on five memories in their lives they find important.  After the chart is finished, have students write a paragraph describing each of these events. Students can also create decorative timelines with images they create to symbolize the events.  Encourage students to be inventive with their images.  If necessary, have students create additional organizational charts that communicate the emotions they had towards each event.

• Quilts involve a variety of patterns and geometric shapes. Have students examine a quilt which incorporates different shapes. This website provides example quilts that vary in complexity: http://www.minifarm.com/Dianes_quilts/pieced_quilts.htm  Discuss the importance of precise measuring, cutting, and sewing to make a successfully pieced quilt pattern. For younger students focus on patterns which involve a single geometric shape. Provide an example on paper and have the students count and measure each shape. Have them identify a pattern by using crayons to color repeating shapes (e.g. Each square that is 2 inches by 2 inches is colored orange). For older students encourage them to create a sketch for their own pieced quilt. How will they ensure that the final shape of their quilt is a rectangle?
• John Taylor’s ships are not exact replicas, but can be used to discuss how model ships are scaled down. Have the students build a to-scale model of a real ship based on actual measurements. Have them include a to-scale version of themselves so they gain a further understanding of scale and ratio.
• Signatures in a book are made by folding a large piece of paper and then cutting the folds once the book is bound. This website provides an example of how to make a single signature. http://www.doe.state.in.us/olr/grantprojects/books/Accordian%20Book.htm After explaining this process to the students, have students determine how many 3-inch pages can be made from a 36-inch long piece of paper. Adjust measurements in this exercise according to available materials.

Science

• Discuss the mechanics of a steam engine. How does a steam engine work? Use this as an opportunity to discuss different types of resources and fuel (renewable versus nonrenewable), kinetic versus potential energy, and byproducts of fuel consumption (e.g. heat, water vapor, carbon dioxide, other greenhouse gasses). Discuss whether the steam engine was an improvement from sailing or horse drawn vessels. Discuss negative and positive effects on the environment versus increased efficiency.
• Use John Taylor’s ship exhibition to explore underwater activity.  Discuss plate tectonics, underwater sea animals and environment.  Have students create a map of the plates or show different underwater habitats around the globe. 
• Discuss the impact humans have on the sea environment, both good and bad. Cover topics such as logging and coal mining which were essential for steam engines. Discuss the impact that sunken ships, similar to those seen in the exhibit, may have on the ocean floor environment as well as contamination from disasters like oil spills. Have students research a topic which they feel is important concerning the impact humans have on the oceanic environment. Have them explore both positive and negative aspects of this interaction. Have them provide evidence supporting the pros and cons and have them explore solutions to the negative impacts.
• Discuss the physics of ships. What makes them able to float? Have students build boats out of various materials, e.g. wood, aluminum foil, paper. Which materials float without much modification? How could a piece of steel or iron be made to float?
• Have students explore the parts of the brain responsible for memory. Discuss how the five senses are involved in creating and retaining memory. Does each person store memories in the same way?

Visual Arts

• Have students create works of art on the computer. They could use Photoshop programs or the drawing utility. Have them think about the tour and their discussion of rebuilding memories. Encourage them to rebuild a memory they have, while exaggerating it and making it more than real. Remind them of John Taylor’s ships and their imperfections as well as Faith Ringgold’s fantastical illustrations. Remind them that there is no right answer, but each work should symbolize a special memory. 
• Have students keep an idea book where they can draw ideas and practice illustrating important events that happen in their lives, like a sketch book.
• Students can recreate their art in a three-dimensional form by using their story pages and creating a cube or pyramid with each side telling a part of the story. 
• Encourage students to continue using illustration as a way to capture and rebuild or reclaim their lives, memories, dreams, and historical events.

Related Web Sites

For Teachers

http://www.doe.state.in.us/olr/grantprojects/books/Accordian%20Book.htm –Provides a visual diagram of the folding process for book signatures

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/ringgold.htm  - Offers a short biography of Ringgold, and brief lesson plans

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/arts/ringgold.html - Covers Ringgold’s social activism career and controversial artworks, has a live interview link and the two PBS documentaries about Faith Ringgold

http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=32 - Lesson plan for third through sixth graders which encourages them to interpret themes of liberation and racism

http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.cfm?BenchmarkID=10&DocID=39 - Lesson plan on the Industrial Revolution and the impact of the steam engine

http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/teach/ships/ships1.htm - Discusses the history of ships and provides a lesson plan

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/brainpower/#mat – Lesson plan on the brain and memory

For Teachers and Kids

http://faithringgold.com/ringgold/d101.htm - Ringgold biography with quotes from personal website

http://www.ndoylefineart.com/ringgold.html - Detailed Ringgold biography and artistic progression, better for older students

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/listimmigratli.html - Resource for immigration

http://www.monitorcenter.org/ - Provides information about the history of the USS Monitor, which is being preserved underwater through a National Marine Sanctuary

http://www.nrdc.org/water/oceans/policy.asp - Discusses underwater ecosystems and current threats to that environment

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blenginehistory.htm - Website that details how a steam engine works

Post-Visit Activity: MAKE IT!

To extend the museum experience and connect the tour to your curriculum, please consider using or adapting this suggested lesson

Artful Environments:  From Ordinary to Extraordinary

Faith Ringgold and John Taylor both use childhood memories and dreams to create their works of art.  Both explore concepts of reclaiming, interpreting, and documenting specific events and subjects.  John Taylor’s sculptures reclaim and bring back to life historic ships, which might otherwise have been forgotten. As works of art, the ships create and house dreams, memories, and history. Similarly, Faith Ringgold uses memories of her childhood to write and illustrate books. In this activity students will create illustrations and write personal books in which they explore and retell favorite memories or dreams of their own.  

Materials

White Paper
Crayons, Colored Pencils
Watercolors
Markers
Masking Tape

Instructions

1. Have students review the two images in this packet and other artworks they saw in the two BAM exhibitions. Discuss the images and the ideas/memories/historical events that the artists are rebuilding or reclaiming.
2. Have students brainstorm their favorite historical events, memories, or dreams. Once they have chosen specific subjects, have them organize their thoughts. They can do this by using an organizational chart method.  Below their charts have students write the sentences that will go on each page. Encourage them to embellish their stories. They do not need to be non-fiction.
3. Remind the students of Ringgold’s artwork and book Tar Beach. Discuss with them whether or not people can fly, and encourage them to include a fantastic element in their stories.
4. Have students determine the number of pages they will need (count front and back and add covers.)
5. When students are finished, tape the pages together as shown below.
6. Next, students can begin the illustrations for each page.  Student can choose their media, depending on what is available in the classroom.
7. Finally, tape the bindings of the books as shown below. Have students read their new books. 

Bibliography

Teachers

• Sullivan, Charles. Children of promise:  African American literature and art for young people.  New York: Harry N Abrams, 1991. 
• Frohardt, Darcie Clark. Teaching Art with Books Kids Love: Art Elements, Appreciation, and Design with Award-winning Books. Golden Colorado: Fulcrum Resources, 1999. (See page 20 for a lesson plan that incorporates Faith Ringgold’s Tar Beach.)
• Pietromarchi, Sophie Benini. The Book Book. Tara Publishing, 2007.
• Rieseberg, Harry E.  Fell’s Guide to Sunken Treasure Ships of the World: A Handbook of World Treasure Ships, Including Submerged Cities, for Modern Day Salvors and Treasure Hunters.  New York, F Fell, 1965. 
• Ruby Bridges.  [United States]: Walt Disney Home Video; Burbank, CA: Distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., 2004. 

Memoirs
These exhibitions focus on memories, personal stories, and dreams. The following list of memoirs may be helpful in studying the expression of memories and how they replicate or change the reality of the past.

• Angelou, Maya. My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me. Illustrated by Margaret Courtney-Clarke. Crown Books for Young Readers, 2003. (Grades K-3)
• Delgado, Maria Isabel. Chave’s Memories: Los Recuerdos de Chave. Illustrated by Yvonne Symank. Houston: Arte Publico, 1996. (Bilingual Picture Book)
• Houston, James D., and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. Fairwell to Manzanar. Houghton Mifflin, 2002. (Young Adult)
• Jiang, Ji-Li. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution. Collins, 1998. (Young Adult)
• Libby, Megan McNeill. Postcards from France. Harper Torch, 1998. (Young Adult)
• Liebster, Simone Arnold. Facing the Lion: Memoirs of a Young Girl in Nazi Europe. Grammaton Press, LLC, 2000. (Young Adult)
• Lied, Kate. Potato: A Tale from the Great Depression. National Geographic Children’s Books, 2002. (A picture book about a family’s store of traveling during the Depression from Iowa to Idaho)
• Medlicott, Mary, ed. The River Went to the Sky: Twelve Tales by African Storytellers. Illustrated by Ademola Akintola. Kingfisher Books, 1995. (Ages 9-12)
• Soto, Gary. Baseball in April and Other Stories. Harcourt Paperbacks, 2000. (Stories for 9-12 year olds about childhood memories and growing up)

Pre-K

• Ringgold, Faith.  Tar Beach. Dragonfly Books, 1996.
• Ringgold, Faith.  Aunt Harriet’s Underground Railroad in the Sky. Dragonfly Books, 1995.

• Donnley, Judy.  True Life Treasure Hunts.  Random House Books for Young Readers, Nov 23, 2003. 
• Landstrom, Bjorn.  The Ship, an Illustrated History.  Garden City, NY.  Doubleday, 1961.
• Ringgold, Faith.  Dinner at Aunt Connie’s House. Hyperion, 1996.
• Ringgold, Faith.  The Invisible Princess.  Crown Books for Young Readers, 1998.
• Ringgold, Faith.  If a Bus Could Talk.  Aladdin, 2003.
• Murdico, Suzanne. Railroads and Steamships: Important Developments in American Transportation (America’s Industrial Society in the Nineteenth Century). Rosen Publishing Group, 2003.

• Bolden, Tonya.  Wake up Our Souls:  A Celebration of African American Artists.  New York: London: Harry N. Abrams, 2004. 
• Ringgold, Faith.  My Dream of MLK. Dragonfly Books, 1998.
• Ringgold, Faith.  Bonjour, Lonnie. Hyperion, 1996.
• Spectre, Peter H.  Wooden Ship: The Art, History, and Revival of Wooden Boatbuilding.  Boston: Houghton Mifflinn, 1991. 
• Tan, Shaun. The Arrival. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007.

• Everett, Gwen.  Lil’ Sis and Uncle Willie:  A Story Based on the Life and Paintings of William H. Johnson.  Washington D.C: National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution; New York: Rizzoli International, 1991. 
• Konstam, Angus.  Pirate Ship, 1660-1730.  Oxford: Osprey, 2003
• Kaufman, Louis.  A Fiddler’s Tale:  How Hollywood and Vivaldi Discovered Me.  Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2003. 
• Lawrence, Jacob.  The Great Migration:  An American Story.  New York: Museum of Modern Art; Washington DC: Phillips Collection; New York: HarperCollins, 1993. 
• Driskell, David. Two Centuries of Black American Art: [exhibition] Los Angeles, County Museum of Art, the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, the Brooklyn Museum.  Random House, 1976.

Young Adult/Adult

• Bearden, Romare.  A History of African American Artists:  from 1792 to the Present.  New York: Pantheon Books, 1993. 
• Cottman, Michael H.  The Wreck of Henrietta Marie: An African American’s Journey to Uncover a sunken Slave Ship’s Past.  New York: Harmony Books, 1999. 
• Delgado, James P.  Ghost Fleet: The Sunken Ships of Bikini Atoll.  Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai’I Press, 1996. 
• Lonsdale, Adrian L.  A Guide to Sunken Ships in American Waters.  Arlington, VA: Compass Publications, 1964. 
• Sills, Leslie.  Inspirations Stories About Women Artists: Georgia O’Keefe, Frida Kahlo, Alice Neel,    Faith Ringgold. Albert Whitman & Company, 1988.