Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you today? I hope you're feeling really great.

My name's Ms. Afzal.

I'll be your art teacher today.

Our lesson is called "Critical thinking: Western art" and it comes from the unit of work "Art movements and global art." I hope you're ready.

I hope you've got some ideas, some enthusiasm, and focus.

Let's begin.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can use critical thinking to reflect upon connections, choices, and challenges in Western art.

We have some keywords in our lesson today.

These are critical thinking, Western art history, and appropriation.

Let's find out what these keywords mean.

Critical thinking, this is the ability to reason, ask questions, debate, and challenge what is presented to you, a very important skill when it comes to art and life.

Western art history, the study of how art has changed over time in continental Europe and North America.

And appropriation, when an artist takes elements from another culture without understanding, respecting, or giving credit to it.

These are our keywords, critical thinking, Western art history, and appropriation.

Our lesson is called "Critical thinking: Western art." It has three parts to it, "Critical thinking: connections," "Critical thinking: choices," and "Critical thinking: challenge." Let's begin with "Critical thinking: connections." So here's a question to start with, should we be critical thinkers who ask questions and challenge ideas about the art that we view? What do you think? Pause the video, share with someone nearby.

Let's hear some answers.

"No, the artists are the experts, so I think we should accept what we see and just enjoy and appreciate it." That's one view, and here's another view, "I agree.

I don't how to question and challenge it.

What does that mean?" Well, let's find out.

Let's find out what it means to be a critical thinker.

Critical thinkers might question, reason, challenge, and debate.

As fellow artists or as part of the audience of art, craft, and design, critical thinking skills are important.

Let's have a check for understanding.

What do critical thinkers do? A, accept and agree with ideas, B, question and challenge ideas, C, copy and mimic others' ideas, or D, ignore any different ideas? Pause the video, share with someone nearby, what do critical thinkers do? Well done if you selected B, critical thinkers question and challenge ideas, essential.

Critical thinking is important as it helps artists or audiences to think deeply about art, make connections between art, express their own ideas, respect different viewpoints, develop problem-solving skills, and connect art to the real world.

Check for understanding.

True or false? Critical thinking is important as it allows us to judge artworks and agree on a single viewpoint.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false, and explain why you chose your answer.

Well done if you selected false.

Critical thinking is important as it helps artists and audiences to think deeply about art and respect different viewpoints.

Critical thinking can be applied to any subject or area of art.

One area that benefits from critical thinking is Western art history.

There is already much critical thinking about different aspects of art movements and periods within Western art history.

Western art history is the study of how art has changed over time in continental Europe, which we can see in yellow, and North America, that is highlighted in green on the map.

Although Western art is well known, it only accounts for a small area of the world, so it only covers a small part of the story of art rather than the whole story of art history.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false? Western art history tells the full story of art history.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected false, and now I'd like you to say a little more about your answer.

Pause the video while you do this.

Perhaps you said something like this: Although Western art is well known, it only accounts for a particular area of the world, so it only covers a part of the story of art.

Thanks for sharing your answers.

Western art history is often separated into art movements and periods, including the Renaissance, from 1400 to 1600, Impressionism, much later, 1865 to 1885, Cubism, 1907 to 1914.

Maybe you can add some other movements and periods to this timeline.

Pause the video while you do this.

Well done for adding in some more periods and movements to the timeline.

The critical thinking skills of questioning and reasoning can help us to understand Western art movements and periods by examining connections within and between them.

For example, we can question what connects Renaissance, Rococo, Impressionism, and Cubism? We can reason why is it important to examine connections? So here's that question, what connects the Renaissance, Impressionism, and Cubism? Let's hear what Lucas has to say, "The styles and practises of these movements and periods are very different, but one thing that I think connects them is the way that artists represented the world around them according to their own perceptions." Thanks for sharing, Lucas.

And here we can see some different perceptions of reality.

So, perception of reality is how we see and interpret the world around us.

The artists across these movements all represented the world around them in different ways using different styles and practises.

So, on the left, we can see this landscape in Renaissance style.

In the centre, very similar landscape, but this time it's in an Impressionist style.

And then thirdly, we have the same scene, but this time it's represented in a Cubist style.

Pause the video and tell someone nearby which style are you most drawn to, and why? Renaissance, Impressionist, or Cubist? Thanks for sharing.

So onto reasoning.

Why is it important to examine connections? What does Lucas have to say? "Finding connections between these periods and movements is important as it allows us to understand art more deeply.

It also illustrates connections across different movements and periods.

We see there are similarities and differences." Thanks for sharing, Lucas.

Check for understanding.

Complete the sentence: Questioning and reasoning can help to start explore movements by examining within and between them.

Fill in the missing word.

Pause the video while you do this.

Well done if you completed the sentence with the word connections.

Questioning and reasoning can help to start explore movements by examining connections within and between them.

True or false? Finding connections between movements shows how there are similarities and differences.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected true.

Finding connections between art allows us to think more deeply about art and illustrates how even across different times and different styles, shared stories are created.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to research and choose two artworks from Cubism and use questioning and reasoning to examine connections between the style, subject matter, and techniques used.

You could consider these questions: What type of mark making is used? Is it the same or different? Why do you think that is used? How is colour used? Is it used in the same way? What effect does it have? What subject matter is included? Are they similar or different? Does it represent a theme or message? So pause the video here while you research your two artworks from Cubism, and use questioning and reasoning to examine connections between the style, subject matter, and techniques used.

I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on using your questioning and reasoning to examine the connections between the artworks? There are many possibilities, but you may have said something like this: I asked the question, "How do Cubist artists depict reality?" It led me to understand that they didn't just show one perspective, but multiple perspectives all at once through breaking subject matter down into geometric shapes.

Great questioning and reasoning there from Lucas.

And now we're onto the next part of our lesson, "Critical thinking: choices." Debate is an important part of critical thinking, helping us to understand and appreciate different perspectives and views.

For example, in the Western art movement known as Cubism, debate can be used to examine the choices artists made when creating their art.

For example, is it right or wrong that Cubist artists used elements from other cultures in their work? Check for understanding.

What does debate allow us to do? A, agree on a perspective, B, avoid disagreements, C, hear different perspectives, or D, make others agree? Pause the video while you decide which of these is what debate allows us to do.

Well done if you selected C, debate allows us to hear different perspectives.

And why is debate about Cubism important? A, to copy the techniques artists made, B, to examine the choices artists made, C, to judge the styles artists preferred, or D, to understand the ideas artists believed? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you selected B, debate about Cubism is important to examine the choices artists made.

Cubism is known to have started in the early 1900s by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

Cubist artists broke their subject matter down into simple shapes and arranged them to show multiple viewpoints all at once.

If we take a look at this image, we can see this is a great example of Cubism.

At the time, artefacts from French colonies in West and Central Africa were brought back to France and displayed.

Here's an illustration of an Ivory Coast mask.

Picasso and other artists saw examples of West and Central African masks in Parisian galleries and museums. Some of the masks he saw were the Senufo people's masks.

Picasso was fascinated by the shapes, features, and form of these and chose to include them in many of his artworks.

And here we can see an illustration of a Senufo people's mask.

Check for understanding.

Where were the artefacts and artwork that Picasso viewed in galleries originally from? A, West and Central America, B, West and Central Africa, or C, West and Central Asia? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you selected West and Central Africa.

This choice of using elements from other cultures fuels much debate within the art world and can be further examined through debate of the question, is it appropriation or inspiration? There's our keyword, appropriation.

And appropriation is when an artist takes elements from another culture without understanding, respecting, or giving credit to it, whereas inspiration is when an artist learns from and respects another culture.

They study the meaning, collaborate, and credit the original culture.

Quite a difference, we can see.

True or false? Appropriation is when an artist takes elements from another culture.

Pause video while you decide if this is true or false, and say a little more about why you've chosen your answer.

Well done if you selected true.

Unlike inspiration, which is when artists learn from another culture, appropriation is when artists take from another culture.

True or false? Appropriation is when an artist takes elements from another culture.

Pause the video while you decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected true.

Unlike inspiration, which is when artists learn from another culture, appropriation is when artists take from another culture without understanding, respecting, or giving credit to it.

These pupils are contributing to the debate about Picasso's Cubist works.

Aisha says, "I think it's appropriation.

I think Picasso used elements from African masks without truly understanding their cultural importance and true meaning." And Jacob, "I don't agree.

I think through his paintings, Picasso shows an understanding and respect of the cultural significance of the Senufo masks." Who do you agree with, and why? Pause the video and discuss.

There are many examples where debate about appropriation or inspiration is applicable, such as the use or reproduction of art forms from Indigenous cultures.

For example, the use of dot painting from the Australian First Nation peoples.

Examples also exist within the design world.

The Italian fashion house Gucci, along with others, included a headpiece that resembled a turban.

The French fashion house Chanel incorporated traditional Native American headdresses into their 2013 collection.

For your task, I'd like you to contribute to the debate, is it appropriation or inspiration? Choose an artwork or design associated to this debate, and make sketches and notes about the artist or designer and the culture they are referencing in it.

You could choose an early Cubist artwork, use of dot painting in Western art, Gucci's headpiece, Chanel's Native American headdress.

Pause here while you have a go at this task.

So how did you get on contributing to the debate, is it appropriation or inspiration? You may have chosen the use of dotting in Western art.

Here's Aisha, "Some Western artists have been accused of making money or gaining recognition through appropriating the dotting technique.

I researched Del Kathryn Barton's portrait of Hugo Weaving, who uses dot patterns and intricate designs that look like classic Tjakamarra Papunya Tula painting, except the colours are mostly green and turquoise." And now for the next part of your task, I would like you to make notes about whether you think it is appropriation or inspiration, and why.

You could research the origins of the culture and significance of the elements that have been used, research the reasons why the artist or designer chose to use elements from a different culture and the context surrounding it, consider whether you think they appropriated these elements or were inspired by them and respects the culture of origin in their work.

Pause the video while you complete this part of the task.

You may have said something like this, here's Aisha, "I researched the significance of the use of dots and realise that there are many meanings associated to them.

It showed me that copying or reproducing these images from First Nations Australians without permission is considered offensive because they are deeply sacred.

Importantly, each image, symbol, or pattern often belongs to a specific community, family, or individual, carrying meanings that are not meant to be shared or used by outsiders without proper permission.

Therefore, I think this would be considered appropriation as the examples I researched hadn't asked permission to use them." Thanks for contributing to the debate, Aisha, and sharing your research.

And now we're onto the next part of our lesson, "Critical thinking: challenge." Challenge helps artists express and share their opinions about the debates in art they are passionate about.

For example, how can I use art to challenge choices made by some art movements? Artists sometimes visually challenge art and artists, including those in Western art history, through creating works of art that express and share their opinions.

Take a look at this work of art.

What do you think this artist is challenging? Pause the video, tell someone nearby.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

And now complete the sentence: Artists can challenge past choices made in Western art history through creating works of art.

Pause the video while you complete the sentence.

And the word was visually.

Artists can challenge past choices made in Western art history visually through creating works of art.

The Guerilla Girls are a group of women artists and activists who challenge sexism and racism in the art world through their artwork.

The group wear guerilla masks to remain anonymous.

They started in 1985 because they noticed that most famous artists in galleries and museums were men from Western art history.

They used bold, eye-catching forms of public art to challenge inequality, especially the underrepresentation of women and people of colour in galleries, museums, and art institutions.

How do you think this illustration is challenging these issues? Pause the video and share with someone nearby.

Thanks for sharing your responses.

Check for understanding.

What do the Guerilla Girls challenge through their artwork? A, equality, B, inequality, C, uniformity, or D, inconsistency? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you selected inequality.

This is indeed what the Guerilla Girls challenge through their artwork.

Another artist who uses his art to challenge is artist Titus Kaphar.

Aisha asks, "How does his painting, sculpture, and installations challenge Western art history?" And here's Jacob, "He changes historical imagery by tearing, cutting, and layering to reveal erased or marginalised Black stories." Why do you think Kaphar's technique is so effective? Pause the video and share with someone nearby.

Thanks for sharing.

These pupils are discussing how Barbara Walker's work can be compared to Kaphar's.

"Barbara Walker and Titus Kaphar both focus on how Black people have been left out of history," says Aisha.

And Jacob, "Yes, but Walker fades parts of her drawings to show how people are forgotten, while Kaphar cuts, rips, or covers his paintings to reveal hidden stories." What do you think the similarities and differences are between them? Pause the video, share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Check for understanding.

How does Titus Kaphar challenge Western art history narratives? A, preserves historical images, B, copies historical images, C, destroys historical images, or D, changes historical images? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you selected D, Titus Kaphar challenges Western art history narratives by changing historical images.

What style of painting and drawing is Barbara Walker MBE well known for? Is it A, landscape, B, figurative, C, still life, or D, portraiture? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done if you selected figurative.

Jeffrey Gibson is a Choctaw-Cherokee Native American artist whose work challenges ideas in Western art history about Indigenous people and highlights their strength and resilience through exploring themes such as identity, history, and culture.

He's known for his colourful artwork that mix traditional Indigenous crafts with modern art styles.

Who's correct? Aisha, "Jeffrey Gibson uses his work to agree with ideas in Western art history about Indigenous people." Or Jacob, "Jeffrey Gibson uses his work to question and contest ideas in Western art history about Indigenous people." Pause the video while you decide who is correct.

Well done, it's Jacob.

Gibson uses his work to challenge historic ideas about Indigenous people.

And now it's time for your next task.

I would like you to create an artwork, inspired by the Guerilla Girls works, that challenges the use of elements from other cultures and poses the question of "Whose art is it anyway?" So first of all, choose an image or motif that relates to this debate of appropriation.

Think of a slogan to accompany your image.

And then create a poster-style artwork.

You could use pens or collage from magazines, newspapers, or coloured paper.

And we have an example there on screen to inspire you.

So, pause the video here while you have a go at creating your own Guerilla Girl-inspired artwork.

I'll see you when you're finished.

So how did you get on with creating an artwork, inspired by the Guerilla Girls works, that challenges the use of elements from other cultures and poses the question of "Whose art is it anyway?" You may have used a recognisable motif or symbol from a different religion or culture and created a slogan to question its use.

I hope you enjoyed this activity and this lesson and sharpened your critical thinking skills along the way.

In our lesson "Critical thinking: Western art," we've covered the following.

As fellow artists or as part of the audience, challenging and questioning art is important to develop critical thinking skills.

This helps us examine many aspects of art within Western art history and contemporary Western art and design.

As critical thinkers, we need to question, reason, challenge, and debate.

Well done for doing all of these four things in our lesson today and for creating your own piece of Guerilla Girls-inspired art.

Stay creative, and I'll see you at another lesson soon.