Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning “to cultivate”), generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance.
Different definitions of “culture” reflect different theoretical bases for understanding, or criteria for evaluating, human activity
Examples students have used in the past: Native American: Ojibwe, East African, Norse, Danish, Swedish, Chinese (there are many dynasties), Italian, French, Irish, Hmong, Mexican, Russian, Egyptian, Iraqi, Turkish, Indian, Japanese.
Using your own cultural heritage is a great start and do not feel limited to this list. Make sure your culture has a strong visual tradition that could inspire work on your future projects.
PART ONE
Imagery + Writing
Select 10 pieces of decorative art (paintings are not recommended) from the culture you chose using the following sources and put them into a google doc.
Write 2-3 sentences about each image. Possible questions to answer are: What is it? When and where was it made? What do you like about it? How does it represent that culture? What materials was it constructed with?
PART TWO
Sketching
Draw out a minimum of five patterns that they would use in their art work and daily living. It does not need to be the entire image copied – it could be just a section of the piece.
PART THREE
Summarize
Write a two paragraph summary about the culture on why you selected that culture, general information about the culture and art related information such as “Why was art important to their culture?”
PART FOUR
Plan
Plan four ideas for new patterns you might use on cups and vases based on your research.
Different definitions of “culture” reflect different theoretical bases for understanding, or criteria for evaluating, human activity
Examples students have used in the past: Native American: Ojibwe, East African, Norse, Danish, Swedish, Chinese (there are many dynasties), Italian, French, Irish, Hmong, Mexican, Russian, Egyptian, Iraqi, Turkish, Indian, Japanese.
Using your own cultural heritage is a great start and do not feel limited to this list. Make sure your culture has a strong visual tradition that could inspire work on your future projects.
PART ONE
Imagery + Writing
Select 10 pieces of decorative art (paintings are not recommended) from the culture you chose using the following sources and put them into a google doc.
Write 2-3 sentences about each image. Possible questions to answer are: What is it? When and where was it made? What do you like about it? How does it represent that culture? What materials was it constructed with?
PART TWO
Sketching
Draw out a minimum of five patterns that they would use in their art work and daily living. It does not need to be the entire image copied – it could be just a section of the piece.
PART THREE
Summarize
Write a two paragraph summary about the culture on why you selected that culture, general information about the culture and art related information such as “Why was art important to their culture?”
PART FOUR
Plan
Plan four ideas for new patterns you might use on cups and vases based on your research.
List Of Cultures
Useful Links
Geographic Locations
Africa |
Asia |
Australia |
Europe |
North America |
South America |