5. Art as Metaphor

Art as Metaphor

Lesson 5. Art as Metaphor

Metaphors use a familiar concept to represent, symbolize, and teach a new or less familiar idea. Metaphors say things indirectly. They put two things together that are not alike in most ways to show how they are similar in one important way. For example in the Haitian proverb,

Famn se kajou: plis li vye, plis li bon:

Woman is like mahogany, the older the better.

Women and mahogany seem like they are very different, but you can put them together to emphasize that they both get better with age. Metaphors are an important part of art-making. Metaphors are one of the most powerful teaching tools of art-making.

The art-making process can be a metaphor to describe life. For example spotting in dance can be a metaphor for trust or for relying on friends and family for support during difficult experiences. Can you think of other art forms that might be a metaphor for something else?

Children can also use metaphors to express feelings that are difficult to express verbally. For example, you could ask a child to draw a tree that shows how they are feeling today. What would you think if their tree was bright green in a sunny forest with other green trees? What if their tree had no leaves and grew alone in an empty parking lot? These trees are metaphors for children’s feelings of happiness, sadness or loneliness.

Art-making can be a metaphor to teach things other than arts skills such as: wisdom, patience, goal-setting, asking for help, and parenting skills. For example, storytelling can teach values. Remember “The New King of the Forest” from the last course? What did the story teach you about? Did it tell you directly what you should learn, or did you have to figure it out? You can How to Create a Metaphor:

Decide on the message you want to teach

Choose an art form and the specific element of the art form that best relates to the message

Lead an art-integrated activity

As opportunities arise, make the connection of what’s happening with art making to what happens in life.

Ask children questions and have a discussion to help them realize the metaphor without telling them what it is. Ask, “How does this relate to the artwork that we just did?”

Example: Creating Metaphors through Arts Experiences

Message: Working Together

Art form: beading

Activity: Divide children into two small groups. Give all but one child a short piece of string and 2-3 beads. Give the last child a handful of beads a long piece of string and a needle. Tell the groups that they must make a necklace with their materials. They can work by themselves or in a group but the person or group with the longest necklace wins. Give them 5 minutes to make their necklace.

Discussion Questions:

· Who has the longest necklace? Is it a person or group?

· Are there any ways we could have made a longer necklace?

· What did you learn from this experience?

· How does your life relate to this experience?

use the steps on this page to create your own metaphor in your child-safe activities.

Example: Blow, Wind Blow!

By a Community Artist

Haitian folk music is a reflection of Haitian culture, heavy in symbolism, open to interpretation. Such music is a perfect tool for the Art-as-Metaphor model, which can allow the music to blow the activity in any direction.“Soufle Van” which is Kreyol for “Blow, Wind,” is a beautiful Haitian folk song that I learned as a child.

“Blow, wind blow, wind. we will see them.

Blow, wind blow, wind. we will see them.

My mother sails, my father sails,

Blow, blow we will see them.”

Different things about Haitian culture and history can be learned from this song. As descendants of African slaves, Haitians have high regards for the sea, the one thing that connects and divides Haiti from the homeland Africa. There is also, in Haitian Vodun culture, a high regard for ancestors, who were brought to Haiti on the Trans-Atlantic slave trade on big ships centuries ago. In times of hardship, Haitians have been known to get in boats embarking on treacherous journeys to surrounding countries in search for a better life. The winds are a major factor in whether or not these voyages make it to their destination.

The speaker in the song, whom I believe is a child, is urging the wind to blow. Her mother and father are at sea, and if the wind blows she will see them again. The metaphors in such a message are many. In the song, we see a child with hope, not afraid to voice her fears and desires. The song speaks about people on a dangerous journey trying to find their way through, fighting unfavourable winds, or being carried by favourable winds along the way.

The beauty of the Haitian folk song is that it can be taken in many directions, the winds of Haitian symbolism can carry a session to many destinations. Through this one song, children can learn about the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, refugees, the connection between Africa and the Americas, which are all relevant in both Haiti and the United States, both of which have descendants of African slaves.

This song is like life because just like the child in this song, we must always trust that things will work out. Hope.

This song is like life because just like people sailing on the sea, we can continue through life even though things are not going our way. Perseverance.

This song is like life because even though the wind may blow against us, we can remain strong. Resilience.

This song is like life because just like the child in this song, we should learn to voice our fears and desires, and the arts provides a way for us to do this.

Experience: Broken

Goal: Practice art-making as metaphor individually

Materials: Hammer or rock, pot or something that can be broken, glue, paint, markers, paper or plastic bag

Put your pot or dish into the paper or plastic bag. Break the pot by hitting it with the side of a hammer or rock. Remove all of the pieces and spread them out in front of you. Glue the pieces together as you wish. Decorate or label the different pieces of your pot to represent some aspect of your brokenness that you would like to heal. Tell a metaphor or story about your brokenness with the final piece. Draw a picture or take a photograph of the piece and paste it below.

Experience: Human Knots

Goal: Practice art-making as metaphor in a group

Stand in a circle with your group. Put your right hand into the center of the circle and take someone else’s hand. Then put your left hand in the circle and take a different person’s hand. Work together to untie the knot without letting go of anyone’s hands.

When your group is finished, stand in a circle and think about what this knot and the untangling process represents to you. How is life like this human knot? For example: Life is like this human knot: we get tangled up and we have to work together to straighten ourselves out. Write your metaphor below and share it with your group.

Life is like this human knot: _____________________________________

__________________________________________________________

Example: The Broken Pot

The Broken Pot is an art-making experience that is part of an advanced training in art-as-metaphor. In November 2011, BuildaBridge introduced the activity to professional volunteers in Nicaragua. Each person received a perfect terra cotta pot and a hammer. The leader instructed participants to break the pot onto the paper in front of them. They were upset and did not want to break the pots. One child said “How can I destroy beauty?” They wanted to be creators not destroyers, but eventually they all agreed. After they had broken their pots, the leader said, “Now put the pieces back together in whatever way you would like. Write your own areas of brokenness on the pieces.” The children looked surprised—why would the leader tell them to break the pot only to have them put it together again? One trainee named Meybelline became frustrated saying, “I can’t get this to go like I want it!” The leader acknowledged her frustration and encouraged her to try different ways to put the pot back together. Finally, she made something closer to what she envisioned. She made her pot pieces into a flower with many stacked petals. The completed flower was a symbol of her hard work and perseverance to recover from difficulties. Each of the children’s pots told a different story. However the process of experimenting with different methods and being patient until they found one that worked was a metaphor for how people overcome challenges.

Reflection: Metaphors and Healing

Reflect on your Broken Pot process. What happened during the art experience that could be used to teach about life?

Do you think making art metaphors helps children heal? Explain your answer.

Objective: Demonstrate the art-as-metaphor concept for helping children express difficult feelings and learn life skills