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A Resource Guide of African American Art, Artists and Culture for Art Education

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A Resource Guide of African American Art, Artists and Culture for Art Education Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2014 A CULTURAL LENS INTO THE STORY UNDERNEATH: A RESOURCE GUIDE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART, ARTISTS AND CULTURE FOR ART EDUCATION Valerie Graves Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the African American Studies Commons, Art Education Commons, and the Curriculum and Instruction Commons © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/3595 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ©Valerie D. Graves 2014 All Rights Reserved A CULTURAL LENS INTO THE STORY UNDERNEATH: A RESOURCE GUIDE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART, ARTISTS AND CULTURE FOR ART EDUCATION A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Art Education at Virginia Commonwealth University. by Valerie D. Graves Bachelor of Fine Arts Art Education 1990 Associate of Arts Degree Liberal Arts 1984 Director: Dr. David Burton, Professor, Art Education Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia December, 2014 ii Acknowledgment In loving memory of Mrs. Alice T. Brown, the author’s mother, for her strength and encouragement. iii Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………v Introduction...………………………………………………………………………………….......1 Review of the Literature ………………………………………………………………………..4 Statement of the Problem……………………………………………………………………….....7 Methodology……………………………………………………………………………………..10 Purpose of Themes and Intent……………………………………………………………………12 Family…………………………………………………………………………………………… Narrative One- African American Male…………………………………………………16 Narrative Two- Matriarch……………….……………………………………………….25 Narrative Three- Children………………………………………………………………. 32 Spirit…………………………………………………………………………………………....... Narrative Four- Faith…………………………………...………………………………. 38 Narrative Five- Spirituality………………………………………………………….......45 Narrative Six- Inspiration……….…………………………………………………….…53 Identity…………………………………………………………………………………………... iv Narrative Seven- Artist’s Voice…………………………………………………………60 Narrative Eight- Triumph……...…………………………………………………….….68 Narrative Nine- Hope and Vision……………………………………………..……….. 75 Community……………………………………………………………………………………. Narrative Ten- Ancestors………………………………………………………………...83 Narrative Eleven- Social Issues………………………………………………………….91 Narrative Twelve- Cultural Voice ……………………………………………………..100 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………….......108 Appendix A……………………………………………………………………………………..110 References…………………………………………………………………………………........114 Abstract A CULTURAL LENS INTO THE STORY UNDERNEATH: A RESOURCE GUIDE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART, ARTISTS AND CULTURE FOR ART EDUCATION By Valerie D. Graves, M.A.E. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Art Education at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014 Major Director: Dr. David Burton, Professor, Art Education The goal of this study is to create a qualitative resource guide of African American culture, art, and artists for an art education curriculum. This project encompasses four main themes to reflect an area of African American culture via a work of art created by an African American artist. These themes are, Family with the sub themes African American Male, Matriarch, and Children; Spirit with the sub themes Faith, Spirituality, and Inspiration; Identity with the sub themes Artist’s Voice, Triumph, and Hope and Vision; Community with the sub themes Ancestors, Social Issues, and Cultural Voice. These themes constitute a basis depictive of the African American culture at a deeper level as resounded by ethicist Peter J. Paris’s reflection of the culture’s foundational building blocks, God, community, family, and person (Paris, 2004). This thesis looks beyond the composition, artistic essentials, historical relevance, and biographical sketches of the artists, to create an accessible and effective way to approach African American culture thematically. The resource provides connecting elements into a culture that has contributed to the very essence of the larger American culture. A Cultural Lens into the Story Underneath: A Resource Guide of African American Art, Artists and Culture for Art Education Introduction Having taught art education to young people in the public school system for 24 years, the author has experienced much growth and many attempts at educational reforms from a myriad of perspectives for the author. Every aspect of addressing student achievement, student engagement, and student learning remain unwavering and consistent. The diversity of student populations also remain consistent and therefore warrant our efforts to approach every student with the most effective and productive teaching strategies. Given the resources, supplies, and now technology that equip us to be the most effective educators possible, teachers have at their fingertips the ability to locate many resources for lessons supporting the current Virginia Standards of Learning. Within this wealth of resources, some art teachers, including the author, hold true to the basic concept of presenting art lessons with visuals, objectives, strategies, and a detailed outline of the content for student learning and engagement. Whether it is a lesson in art history, art appreciation, art criticism, aesthetics, or studio art making, art teachers try to incorporate a vast amount of visual references into their own research and content enhancement. As an art educator, one of the resources the author deems a valuable tool is presenting visuals that equitably represent the classroom population. Conversing with other art educators while presenting at state and regional art educational conferences, the author gained a consensus that more of the art education curriculum should include visual references of African American art and artists (Central Region Virginia Art Education Association, 2009). Although there are many ways of incorporating these works of art within the curriculum, for educators it can become quite time consuming to research artwork and artists, as well as incorporate them effectively into 1 lesson designs. The problem outlined in this thesis exists within the context of many areas: a need for greater cultural awareness, a need for expanded visual resources of African American art, a need for representation of a percentage of the student population that exists in most schools, and the means of placing this information in teachers’ hands. This thesis does not serve as a curriculum, but will organize a qualitative resource guide comprised of four main themes with three sub-themes within each theme. The four main themes are: Family with the sub themes African American Male, Matriarch, and Children; Spirit with the sub themes Faith, Spirituality, and Inspiration; Identity with the sub themes Artist’s Voice, Triumph, and Hope and Vision; Community with the sub themes Ancestors, Social Issues, and Cultural Voice. These themes constitute a foundation depictive of the African American culture at a profound level reflective of ethicist Peter J. Paris’ stance of the four spheres; God, community, family, and person (Paris, 2004) Current educational reforms that attempt to encompass student diversity, differentiated learning, and inclusion of 21st century skill building aim to strengthen cultural awareness for each learner. Accordingly there is a need for representation of all student populations when possible. These efforts are effective because they force educators to incorporate facets of content strategies into student learning. Educators must contend with the diversity within their given classrooms by attempting to establish a level of respect and acceptance by every one of the cultures different from their own. This reality necessitates a deeper level of intent, planning, and resources for teachers. The concept of developing a deeper level of multicultural education substantiates the organization of 2 information, biographical sketches, and personal aspects of each artist that the author has included in this thesis. Peter J. Paris (2004) provides a paradigm of pedagogical thought processes via his teachings on the values of the African American culture. Virtues and Values- The African and African American Experience, is a small book encompassing a valuable insight into the connections and foundations of this culture. The author constructs the basic components needed to understand the unifying elements of African Americans within their cultural community. These interdependent spheres; God, community, family, and person, serve as the groundwork for accumulating the information about each artist and their configuration within this resource guide. The selected themes are structured to provide accessible information when incorporating a specific artist or artwork within the resource guide into lesson planning. Educational terms such as visual culture, multicultural lens, cultural awareness, cultural responsiveness, cultural diversity, and cultural landscape sound alike semantically, but possess a host of different meanings. These terms, although different in meaning, allude to an awareness of the need to be inclusive of all students in a typical classroom setting on a daily basis. When we examine the ethnic diversity within our student populations,
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