Kara Walker
Born in 1969, Kara Walker had grown up in the aftermath of the Civil Rights movement. Walker attended the Rhode Island School of art where she obtained her MFA. Her work consists mainly of cut-out silhouettes of characters that she arranges into some sort of a story-telling narrative. She mainly focuses on issues regarding gender, race, and inequality. Upon the initial viewing of her installations, they seem quite whimsical and cheery. However, once you begin to take note of the actions that are being portrayed and the grotesque subtleties that are peppered throughout, the installation begins to take on a new perspective.
Although the subject matter may be a bit harsh for middle school-aged children, it would still provide a fun and engaging art project. As a class, the students can help one another in creating a Kara Walker-esque installation of all of their silhouettes. Students would learn how Kara Walker creates her silhouettes and how the gestures and body positions of the silhouettes signify certain characteristics about them. Once the students understand the properties and characteristics of a successful silhouette, they would be asked to come up with a narrative or a story that they would like to exhibit as a class. Once the narrative is established and the characters are in place, students would be asked to pair up and help one another as they trace their silhouette onto large sections of black paper. Students would have to pay close attention to detail and make sure that they capture all the little characteristics that make up the silhouette. Tracing and cutting out the silhouettes are precise activities that will help strengthen fine motor skills that are necessary for tedious tasks. Once the silhouettes are all cut out, the students can all participate in the installation process as they exhibit their classroom narrative. This is a great way to make art more personal and more engaging for the students since they are literally putting their entire bodies into the process of creating this project. The interactive aspect of this project ensures that all of the students will be motivated the whole way through.
The Learning standards that apply to this lesson include working on teams and making connections. Students will learn how to function in a group or pair and will also learn how to communicate to the other member(s) in their team in order to maintain productivity and efficiency. Making connections between the individual and society is another aspect of this lesson since students are being asked to create a narrative in which the individual silhouettes are interacting with one another.
Kelly Mclaughlin 