Our Canon!
2024
High School Lesson
something else
In this lesson, students will take inspiration from the artist Faith Ringgold, specifically, her works Dancing at the Louvre and The Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles. Looking at how Ringgold recontextualizes the ‘Canon’ in her quilts, students will be asked to examine how the art canon has been prevalent in their classroom and daily life, and in what ways the canon may be lacking.
Students will redesign the canon by collaboratively creating a timeline of the media they find relevant in their lives. Students will begin with a brainstorm to generate ideas, with the understanding that art is not limited to visual arts (think: music, movies, memes, etc!). During and after making their timeline, students will be asked to identify themes prevalent in the timeline and examine the patterns that arise, and the significance of themes in artmaking.
