Teaching elementary art is often as rewarding as it is exhausting. I have the luxury of introducing countless fun art materials and tools to my students and seeing their delighted reactions almost daily. Within a unit, we regularly spend time discussing an art element, principle of design, or a specific technique, then we use supporting materials and tools to explore those vocabulary terms or techniques further, before finally planning out and creating a "free choice" piece that relates to that subject matter or demonstrates the technique. In that general unit scope, I try to incorporate an artist study or art history prior to art-making (this is something I would like to continue more in-depth next school year), yet students are usually most excited to create. Occasionally, though, an art discussion can really take off. My best day in education was just such a day...
My fifth grade students (like most across our country, I'm sure) are behind in their art studies. As such, I've included some of my 4th grade units for them this school year. One such unit is their study of Māori koru art, and the significance of korus to their culture. We then take this inspiration to examine our own cultural identities and create organic-shape symbols to represent these facets of who we are in our own artwork. Many Māori artists (native peoples of New Zealand) create art that celebrates treasured symbols from their culture such as the koru - a spiral related to the ponga plant that symbolizes new growth, rebirth, or the start of a significant new relationship. Korus are positive and powerful symbols that have inspired artists for generations. In the beginning of our unit, I introduce my students to the work of contemporary New Zealander artists Raewyn Harris and Reina Cottier, and we discuss several of their commonly used symbols in depth.
On this special day in particular, I had my "toughest" class (in terms of behavior) for Art, and knew that I had to immediately get them as excited about this unit as I already was. Thankfully a student in another class brought to my attention that the Disney movie Moana directly lined up with one of the symbols in my presentation... I looked a bit deeper and discovered there was a lot that we could analyze from the movie given their connections to real symbols in Māori culture. It was not long into my introductory Powerpoint before a student in this "tough class" noticed that one of the symbols in the presentation was called "Moana" (symbolizing the ocean, and symbolically meaning harmony with nature), and loudly exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, it's Moana, like the movie!!" The class erupted. Suddenly everyone was fully engaged in the presentation and started making connections to what they had seen in the Disney movie. Students noticed that the symbol known as the "mangopare" was the same symbol as the one the Grandmother had tattooed on her back. It symbolizes strength and determination--we discussed how this character knew herself well and steadfastly honored her beliefs despite having unpopular ones. Someone picked up that the "hei-matau" symbol was the same as the giant, magical fish hook that Maui carried in the film. He taught her how to sail, and the symbol means "safe journey" in Māori culture. Another student noticed the "koru" was the same symbol that was located on the "heart of Tafiti" in the movie. When the "heart of Tafiti" was restored to the lava-monster's chest, she was healed and immediately bloomed into an island resplendent with lush new growth. The koru's meaning is directly related to new growth. Our discussion was so lively and full, it was seriously the most fun I think I've ever had discussing art. We naturally found ourselves analyzing how and why artists make these deeper connections in their art, and everyone walked away with so much to consider when planning out their own cultural symbols to create.
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