Art and Technology - Promised Land/ starting out
Bonnie Bracey
Those powerful videos are doing what Martin Luther King could not do.( if
people choose to look at them and use them).
I was a member of the teacher advisory council that went to Mississippi. I
am a minority. I went with prejudice. On the first trip, I went with history
as my guide, on the second trip I had been enlightened. I think Martin
Luther King would be proud of the friendships and projects I have forged at
Mississippi State University. You will just have to visit the Discovery
Channel's Homepage and the Promised Land materials to see.
But I learned to see a place through geography. Geography is one of the
puzzles that helps to unlock the understanding of a place. The National
Geographic has a laserdisc, entitled Fabric of a Nation that is a powerful
artistic treatment of immigration of those who came to America. People who
understand their own migration and reasons for movement, learn when they make
comparisons.
Also , look at old copies of Cobblestone magazines, read poetry, and list to
the music.
Discovery has a tape which has a collection of music.
You will have to make your own pound cakes spoonbread , and shortening bread.
There is an extensive collection of artwork from the Library of congress
online and on the internet.
Have you used GIS? Have you looked at the geography of .. we made maps as an
art project.. you could practice using mental maps.. and then create art with
GIS, or wonderful online atlases. I am not going to tell you how to do this
as there is an artist in Alaska who was the initiator of this project and it
was not my original idea. But the art was awesome.
Use the videodisc " Lay of the Land " from GTV , National Geographic. It is
like a flyover of the United States , and wonderful. GIS is a new art form.
Pathrow maps of the us with photos of cities from the air/// beautiful.
GEOGRAPHIC LOOK AT U.S. HISTORY
"Geography in U.S. History", a series of 20-minute videos, emphasizes the
importance of spatial context to the understanding of past events. Designed
for high school students, each of the ten videos employs one of the five
fundamental themes of geography to explore a major event in U.S. history. A
100-page teacher's guide provides accompanying activities, resource
materials, and reproducible handouts. The guide contains a program outline
that allows teachers to determine at a glance the general historical topics
and geographic themes covered in each of the videos, as well as specific
cognitive skills--such as making evaluations and interpreting geographic
information--that the programs seek to develop. While geography--primarily
cultural--is an important component, the overall content of the series
focuses on the relationship between geography and history.
The series was produced by the Agency for Instructional Technology (AIT) in
cooperation with 34 state education, telecommunications, and geographic
agencies, including geographic alliances in Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut,
Mississippi, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Michigan Geographic
Alliance co-coordinator Joseph Stoltman served as chief content consultant on
geography for the series.
Teachers who are interested in obtaining individual tapes or the whole series
should contact their state department of education, or the Agency for
Instructional Technology at 800-457-4509.
You gotta get the posters of Jacob Lawrence's series on the migration. THey
are bold, strong and beautiful.
18 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS
The goal of Geography for Life is to produce a geographically informed
person who sees meaning in the arrangement of things in space and applies a
spatial perspective to life situations. The geographically informed person
knows and understands:
The World in Spatial Terms
1. How to use maps and other tools and technologies.
2. How to use mental maps to organize information about people,
places, and environments in a spatial context.
3. How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and
environments.
Places and Regions
4. The physical and human characteristics of places.
5. That people create regions to interpret the world's complexity.
6. How culture and experience influence people's perception of places
and regions.
Physical Systems
7. The physical processes that shape the patterns of Earth's surface.
8. The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems.
Human Systems
9. The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human
populations.
10. The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of cultural
mosaics.
11. The patterns and networks of economic interdependence.
12. The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement.
13. How forces of cooperation and conflict among people shape division
and control of Earth's surface.
Environment and Society
14. How human actions modify the physical environment.
15. How physical systems affect human systems.
16. The changes in use, distribution, and importance of resources.
The Uses of Geography
17. How to apply geography to interpret the past.
18. How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the
future.
First of all the art. On the Discovery Homepage and on the AOL section you
can download wonderful art. Free!!
THE PROMISED LAND
Known today as the "windy city," Chicago was once considered the "Promised
Land" by southern blacks. The northern trek from Mississippi to Chicago was
the greatest peacetime migration in American History.
Jacob Lawrence's paintings are a part of the homepage and the AOL graphics.
Jacob Lawrence has wonderful artwork that you can access on line. Here is his
biography.
JACOB LAWRENCE
from Free Within Ourselves: African-American Artists in the Collection of the
National Museum of American Art
THE MOST WIDELY ACCLAIMED AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTIST OF THIS CENTURY, and one of
only several whose works are included in standard survey books on American
art, Jacob Lawrence has enjoyed a successful career for more than fifty
years. Lawrence's paintings portray the lives and struggles of African
Americans, and have found wide audiences due to their abstract, colorful
style and universality of subject matter. By the time he was thirty years
old, Lawrence had been labeled as the "foremost Negro artist," and since that
time his career has been a series of extraordinary accomplishments.
Moreover, Lawrence is one of the few painters of his generation who grew up
in a black community, was taught primarily by black artists, and was
influenced by black people.
Lawrence was born on September 17, 1917, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He
was the eldest child of Jacob and Rosa Lee Lawrence. The senior Lawrence
worked as a railroad cook and in 1919 moved his family to Easton,
Pennsylvania, where he sought work as a coal miner. Lawrence's parents
separated when he was seven, and in 1924 his mother moved her children first
to Philadelphia and then to Harlem when Jacob was twelve years old. He
enrolled in Public School 89 located at 135th Street and Lenox Avenue, and at
the Utopia Children's Center, a settlement house that provided an
after-school program in arts and crafts for Harlem children. The center was
operated at that time by painter Charles Alston who immediately recognized
young Lawrence's talents.
Shortly after he began attending classes at Utopia Children's Center,
Lawrence developed an interest in drawing simple geometric patterns and
making diorama-type paintings from corrugated cardboard boxes. Following his
graduation from P.S. 89, Lawrence enrolled in Commerce High School on West
65th Street and painted intermittently on his own. As the Depression became
more acute, Lawrence's mother lost her job and the family had to go on
welfare. Lawrence dropped out of high school before his junior year to find
odd jobs to help support his family. He enrolled in the Civilian
Conservation Corps, a New Deal jobs program, and was sent to upstate New
York. There he planted trees, drained swamps, and built dams. When Lawrence
returned to Harlem he became associated with the Harlem Community Art Center
directed by sculptor Augusta Savage, and began painting his earliest Harlem
scenes.
Lawrence enjoyed playing pool at the Harlem Y.M.C.A., where he met
"Professor" Seifert, a black, self-styled lecturer and historian who had
collected a large library of African and African-American literature.
Seifert encouraged Lawrence to visit the Schomburg Library in Harlem to read
everything he could about African and African-American culture. He also
invited Lawrence to use his personal library, and to visit the Museum of
Modern Art's exhibition of African art in 1935.
As the Depression continued, circumstances remained financially difficult for
Lawrence and his family. Through the persistence of Augusta Savage, Lawrence
was assigned to an easel project with the W.P.A., and still under the
influence of Seifert, Lawrence became interested in the life of Toussaint
L'Ouverture, the black revolutionary and founder of the Republic of Haiti.
Lawrence felt that a single painting would not depict L'Ouverture's numerous
achievements, and decided to produce a series of paintings on the general's
life. Lawrence is known primarily for his series of panels on the lives of
important African Americans in history and scenes of African-American life.
His series of paintings include: The Life of Toussaint L'Ouverture, 1937,
(forty-one panels), The Life of Frederick Douglass, 1938, (forty panels), The
Life of Harriet Tubman, 1939, (thirty-one panels), The Migration of the
Negro, 1940-41, (sixty panels), The Life of John Brown, 1941, (twenty-two
panels), Harlem, 1942, (thirty panels), War, 1946-47, (fourteen panels), The
South, 1947, (ten panels), Hospital, 1949-50, (eleven panels),
Struggle--History of the American People, 1953-55, (thirty panels completed,
sixty projected).
Lawrence's best-known series is The Migration of the Negro, executed in 1940
and 1941. The panels portray the migration of over a million African
Americans from the South to industrial cities in the North between 1910 and
1940. These panels, as well as others by Lawrence, are linked together by
descriptive phrases, color, and design. In November 1941 Lawrence's
Migration series was exhibited at the prestigious Downtown Gallery in New
York. This show received wide acclaim, and at the age of twenty-four
Lawrence became the first African-American artist to be represented by a
downtown "mainstream" gallery. During the same month Fortune magazine
published a lengthy article about Lawrence, and illustrated twenty-six of the
series' sixty panels. In 1943 the Downtown Gallery exhibited Lawrence's
Harlem series, which was lauded by some critics as being even more successful
than the Migration panels.
AND IT WAS NOT JUST MISSISSIPPI There were other migrations..
"FIELD TO FACTORY: AFRO-AMERICAN MIGRATION, 1915-1940
Hundreds of thousands of Afro-Americans left the rural South between 1915 and
1940 in search of better lives in urban areas of the North. This movement,
called the Great Migration, changed not only the lives of the migrants but
also the very structure of American society. It led to the emergence of
large, predominantly black urban enclaves in the North. This phenomenon,
which set the scene for modern life in most American cities, is now the
subject of a major exhibition "Field to Factory: Afro-American Migration,
1915-1940."
Opened February 5, 1987 at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American
History in Washington, D.C., "Field to Factory" marked the first time an
in-depth Smithsonian exhibition has focused on such an important part of
America's overall social and demographic history from an African-American
perspective.
Three major sections of the exhibition treat life in the South, the journey
north and the new Northern urban world.
For many blacks at the turn of the century, rural life was a deadening round
of sharecropping and debt, made harsher still by segregation, a lack of
economic opportunity and a poor educational system. "The decision to leave
the South was prompted by many circumstances," Spencer Crew, curator of the
exhibition, says. "Among the reasons were the systematic practice f
discriminating against Afro-Americans, known as `Jim Crow Laws,' and natural
calamities caused by the boll weevil."
Displays and objects in the first part of the exhibition, such as a late 19th
century southern Maryland tenant farmhouse furnished as it might have looked
in 1920, agricultural tools, a cotton gin, personal objects of migrants,
outfits and booklets of the Ku Klux Klan and period photographs, tell the
story of life in the South.
World War I ushered in a new era of industrial opportunity in the North for
Afro-Americans. Just as production demands increased, the fighting deprived
companies of their traditional sources of labor--immigrants and male
workers. Northern industrialists turned to Southern blacks. The promise of
jobs, the possibility of traveling to Europe with the armed forces, articles
in Northern black newspapers and the encouragement of labor recruiters
persuaded thousands of blacks to head North, by train, bus, truck, automobile
and even ship.
In the second part of the exhibition, documents from labor recruiters,
stories from black newspapers of the 1920s, vignettes of the lives of black
migrants, an audio-visual presentation illustrating how migrants changed
Northern cities and a re-creation of the Ashland, Va., train station portray
the lure of Northern opportunity and the trials of the journey itself.
Migrants who completed the trip north found a new and sometimes bewildering
world. Punching time clocks and doing piecework were novel experiences for
workers accustomed to the seasonal rhythms of farming. At times, black
families were separated, at least until they could save enough money to be
reunited. Many black women entered domestic service. Some migrants found
themselves unwelcome by Northern blacks and whites alike; others received
invaluable aid from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People, the National Urban League and black churches. These people went to
start their own businesses, join fraternal and political organizations and
settle into Northern society.
The sheer size of the Great Migration led to the emergence of large,
predominantly black "ghettos" in cities like New York, Philadelphia and
Chicago. Although hindered by poor housing, inadequate sanitation and health
problems, residents of these black neighborhoods influenced local elections
and supported the growth of businesses.
These black neighborhoods and precincts became a source of political
strength. The newcomers helped to create a new, more aggressive
Afro-American community.
In the final section of the exhibition, the facade and front steps of a
Philadelphia row house, as well as industrial tools and time clocks, labor
union artifacts, church programs and booklets, a 1920s beauty parlor, murals
and photographs of industrial and domestic work and many other objects and
images illustrate the new lives of migrants in the North.
Exhibition curator and current director of the museum Crew, was formerly a
historian in the museum Archives Center. William Withuhn, deputy chairman of
the Department of the History of Science and Technology, is project manager,
and James Sims of the Department of Exhibits and Public Spaces is the
exhibition designer.
The educational programs and materials that accompany the exhibition are made
possible through the generous support of Pepsi-Cola Co.
The National Museum of American History, a bureau of the Smithsonian
Institution, is devoted to the collection, care, study and exhibition of
objects that reflect the experience of the American people. Lectures,
concerts and other programs which interpret that experience are frequently
offered. The museum, located at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue N.W., is
open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily, except Dec. 25. Admission is free.
There are posters and library of congress files.
On the Discovery Homepage we have a listserv, recipes, and great discussions.
Other resources
75
African American Art Resources in the Washington, D.C.-Area: A Guide for
Teachers
Guide
Information on resources, programs, teacher services, transportation, and
facilities relating to African American art in and around Washington, D.C.
Published 1994, 41 pages.
Grades Pre-K-12
No charge for one copy; $5.00 for each additional copy.
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Arts and Industries Building
Room 1163, MRC 402
390
Field to Factory: Afro-American Migration, 1915-1940
Book
Spencer R. Crew's treatment of the migration of African Americans from the
rural South to the urban North in the early years of the 20th century.
Explores life on the farm, schoolwork, church, family life, the journey
northward, housing, discrimination, education, politics, and the integration
of blacks and whites in the cities of the North.
Published 1987, 79 pages, illustrated.
Grades 6-12
$6.95 plus $2.00 shipping and handling (send check, money order, or purchase
order).
Publications Division, National Museum of American History
Order from:
*Blues in America: A Social History.
The portfolio traces this art form from the Mississippi Delta to its
immense global popularity today.
Each portfolio costs $28.95. To order a portfolio, please write to the
publisher:
Golden Owl Publishing Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 503
Amawalk, NY 10501
Or telephone 914/962-6911 or fax 914/962-0034.
Periodicals for Teachers
The Smithsonian Institution's Office of Elementary and Secondary
Education publishes two periodical for teachers.
Art to Zoo
Art to Zoo is the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education's
quarterly journal for teachers of grades three to eight. Each
issue provides background information, a lesson plan, classroom
activities, and resources for further information on a science,
art, or social studies topic.
past issues
or free subscriptions--are available by writing to the following
address
Art to Zoo
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Arts and Industries Building 1163/MRC 402
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, DC 20560
Or, you may telephone 202/357-2425 during business hours (8:45 a.m.
through 5:15 p.m, Monday through Friday).
The following back issues of Art to Zoo are now available in hard
copy from the above address:
Life in the "Promised Land": African-American Migrants in
Northern Cities, 1916 - 1940 (January 1992) -- Migration of
African Americans; urbanization; U.S. history between the two
world wars
Let's Go to the Smithsonian is a quarterly newsletter highlighting
exhibitions, resources, and publications of interest to teachers
(grades pre-kindergarten through grade twelve) in the Washington,
D.C., area.
The current issue of Let's Go to the Smithsonian is available
online on aol or on the Internet. Copies are mailed only to schools in the
metropolitan
Washington, D.C., area.