Shazia Sikander
Pakistani-American artist, Shazia Sikander was traditionally taught the discipline of Indo-Persian miniature painting. Currently, Sikander explores the various capabilities of drawing, painting, large-scale installation, animation, performance art, and videography. A woman of many mediums, Sikander moved from Pakistan to the East coast of the United States where she attended the Rhode Island School of Art and Design. Sikander received her BFA in 1992 and her MFA three years later in 1995. Shazia Sikander’s work is comprised of a collage of her various cultures. She integrates components of both her Hindu and Muslim culture in her art as well as the incorporation of some of her Western influences. Religion is also a largely evident theme in her works of art.
Through the incorporation of her Muslim and Hindu influences as well as certain Western influences, Sikander has used her artwork to visually embrace her collective identity. Through this, Shazia Sikander has discovered how the various components of her life’s experiences make up who she is as an individual. Instead of keeping each influence separate from the others and compartmentalizing them within her artwork, Sikander creates a beautifully diverse range of artworks and installations.
Sikander’s work would serve as an inspiration to introduce students to the idea of diversity and culture. Embracing your cultural traditions and values is an important part of discovering your true identity and that should be encouraged in the art classroom. For an art assignment, students could be asked to create a collaborative piece as a class in order to reinforce the idea of embracing diversity and striving for unity. Students would be asked to get into pairs and interview one another to determine what makes each other unique. Students will rotate and interview a different student until all students have interviewed one another. After the interviews, the students will have a plethora of information about each student and can use it to create a visual concept map of the entire classroom. Each student will put their name on a large sheet of paper from which the concept map will branch off from. After the names are in place, students can use the information they received during their mini interviews to create branches off of each student, eventually connecting them to other students and their interests or cultural traditions. This map will be created with a variety of colorful media and will result in a beautifully colorful map that demonstrates diversity and unity or connectedness. Giving a student the opportunity to get to know their classmates on a higher level will allow for a more safe and supportive classroom. Also, being able to see the similarities and differences between each student will allow for a greater sense of respect in the classroom.
The Learning standards that are addressed in this lesson pertain to collaborative or group work and diversity. Allowing students the opportunity to work in groups while creating a safe and comfortable environment will pave the way for a classroom that is engaging and respectful in regards to promoting unity and embracing diversity.
Source: http://sikkemajenkinsco.com/index.php?v=artist&artist=4eece5d50669d
Kelly Mclaughlin 