Making It Personal: Gender And Identity In Art

Making it Personal: Gender and Identity in Art

Developed By Shauna McCabe Suggested Length Four 50 minute lessons Suggested Grade Level(s) Eight Subject Areas Social Studies, Visual Arts, Language Arts

Overview In this unit, students will consider the role of gender and aspects of personal identity in art.

Links to Curriculum Outcomes Students will (be expected to)  assess and utilize the properties of a variety of art media and their ability to convey messages and meaning (visual arts)  analyze art work and determine artists’ intention (visual arts)  appreciate the use of art as a means to explore identity (visual arts)  consider issues involving the rights, responsibilities, roles and status of individual citizens and groups in a local, national, and global context (social studies)  develop writing skills in a range of creative styles (language arts)

Links to Telling Stories: Themes / Key Words  identity  gender  representation

Art Works  Book Sculptures, Three Generations (Female), Micah Lexier, CAG 93.7  Floor Mops/Laundry Soap, Clarissa Inglis, CAG 96.2.1  Man Brian Burke CAG 96.7

Lesson #1: Gender Roles

Objective Students will examine how gender roles have changed over time.

Materials  Recent elementary level reading textbooks or library books  Elementary level reading textbooks or library books published in the 1950s, 60s or 70s

Activities 1. Have the students view and consider a recent movie poster or newspaper ad or CD cover that suggests stereotypical gender roles. Students could identify what they think is suggested.

2. Discuss with students how stereotypes about gender roles can affect our relationships.

3. Have them review the art works in this section, identifying the stereotypes and symbols of identity and roles the artists use in their work. Explain that the following activity will explore how gender roles and stereotypes have changed.

4. Organize students in groups of four, presenting each group with a current and older reading book.

5. Have students investigate how the images of male / female relationships have changed, or not, in the stories in the books. Each group should report their findings.

6. Discuss with students how these stereotypes might affect goals, decisions, and relationships. Some points to address:  Is it easy or hard to look at male and female roles in a new and non-traditional way? Why or why not?  What are some of the ways changing gender roles have affected relationships between men and women in a) social settings, b) families, and c) the workplace?  If you could make one change in men's gender roles, what would it be? In women's roles, what would it be?

Ideas for Assessment Have students respond in journals about how they address issues of gender in their own lives. How do traditional gender roles affect them?

Lesson #2: Gender Bias in Art Interpretation

Objective Students will consider ways that gender bias may influence the ways in which they interpret pieces of art, comprehending that many artists express themselves in ways that do not conform to gender-role expectations. Materials  Overhead, digital, or slides images of a variety of art works that defy stereotypes, noting carefully that students may be influenced by both the content and the medium

Activities 1. Present images of the three art works in this section. Have students consider whether they would assume the artist is male or female.

2. Show the students a series of images of other artists' works. After each slide, ask if they can predict if this is the work of a male artist or a female artist, or if this is an impossible task.

3. The students jot down their responses and a brief explanation regarding their decision. Often, the students will predict the gender of the artist. Encourage the students to identify what element(s) of the work influenced their decision – are they falling back on common stereotypes relating to gender roles (i.e. only females would use laundry soap in their sculpture, or paint flowers, or would use the colour pink; only males draw dark or ominous scenes)?

4. In discussion, students should be guided to comprehend that many artists express themselves in ways that do not conform to gender- role expectations. Encourage them to identify their own biases regarding gender role expectations as they relate to artistic expression.

Ideas for Assessment Ask students to write a paragraph that summarizes what they learned from the experience. They might also plan a dramatic tableau to communicate what was learned.

Lesson #3: Written Self-portrait

Objective This lesson engages students in a writing exercise that encourages them to explore their sense of self.

Materials  Construction paper cut into pieces the size of business cards.  Pens Activities 1. Ask students to imagine what their own life will be like in the future, to identify their hopes and dreams. In their text, students will be encouraged to include the following:  What my high school years will be like.  What I want to do in college  What I dream about becoming  Where I will live  What places I will go  People I dream about meeting  What I imagine my life to be like over the next 20 years

2. Have them record the text first on plain paper, then take their cards and their answers and record a single question on one side of each, with the answer on the back.

3. Students may not wish to share their writing with the class, but after they have completed it, ask them to consider how their plans and dreams relate to earlier discussions of gender-role expectations.

Lesson #4: Messages in Bottles: An Installation Project

Objective Students will consider multiple media in the exploration and investigation of personal identity and cultural tradition

Related Art Work(s)  Emigratsii (On Emigration), Tanya Rusnak, NA  Book Sculptures, Three Generations (Female), Micah Lexier, CAG 93.7  Floor Mops/Laundry Soap, Clarissa Inglis, CAG 96.2.1  Man Brian Burke CAG 96.7

Materials  Cards created in Lesson #3  Have students bring small objects that mean something to them, that represent their interests and identity – these can be pictures, jewellery, toys, plants, or soil from a specific place, etc., different materials  A range of small jars, like baby food jars

Activities 1. Have students consider how the art installations in this section use a variety of materials. Introduce Tanya Rusnak’s piece, and the idea it is also an installation exploring personal identity, though not specifically about gender.

2. Have students reflect on how the work is constructed, and how the work changes in configuration depending on where it is located. Emphasize that in Rusnak’s piece, as in Inglis’ mops and laundry soap, these are everyday objects and materials that they can find all around them – such as eggshells, soil, plaster, seeds etc. You may want to ask students what they feel makes her use of such materials “art.” How does transforming these materials affect how we see them?

3. Distributing the bottles to students, present the idea that each bottle should hold a material or object that is significant to them. In each bottle, they should also place one of the small cards they created, with the side with the answer facing outwards.

4. Now explain that, with their bottles, they will create a sculptural installation, by organizing the bottles in a certain way and giving their installation a form. Challenge them to consider what kind of order they want to communicate by the way in which they install the bottles.

5. Isolate a long shelf or a table that can be used for the exhibition of their work. Ask students to install their work and create a label identifying their name and the title and date.

Ideas for Assessment Ask students to create a personal response to their installation. The response might take various forms (e.g., poetry, descriptive narrative, dance, dramatic moment).