What Can You Learn About World Cultures by Comparing and Contrasting Art Forms?
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Questions to consider when researching:
How has the art of one culture influenced the art of another culture?
What is/was considered art?
What influence does art have in one culture?
What are some similarities you noticed in the art form between the three cultures?
What are some differences you noticed in the art form between the cultures?
How has the art of the past influenced the art of today?
How did a media of art develop through the growth of a culture?
What types of art media are/were available to each culture?
How are/were artists ranked in the hierarchy of a culture?
How does/did this hierarchy affect the influence of art on the culture?
What artists made great impacts on art that correlated with the beliefs of a particular culture?
What information about the cultures did you learn from looking at the art?
Project Procedures
Decide on three cultures you are interested in studying.
What art media can connect these cultures?
|Visual Arts|
Two-dimensional (painting, calligraphy, textiles or murals)
-Three-dimensional (architecture, masks, crafts, pottery)
- Performing Arts
- Music (vocal or instrumental)
- Dance
- Theater
Research the development of this art media over time.
Research influential artists of each culture
How has this art media influenced the cultures in the past and present?
Make a data retrieval chart related to the influential art of each culture
What conclusions can be drawn about culture through the study of art?
Make a table or list of what can be learned about each culture through study of its art
How do these conclusions compare to the art of another culture?
Make a Venn Diagram comparing the art of these cultures
Select a program using technology to share the comparisons of each culture and the information gathered from studying each art form
Art Forms Retrieval Chart
Graphic organizers help us organize our thinking. Select this link to access a Google Doc version of the chart below. Go to File> Make A Copy to make your own copy of the Doc. Save it to your GATP Google Drive folder.
Online Resources for Research
|The Arts by Time Period|
Art History Resources- An extremely comprehensive index of Art History sites indexed by culture and time period.
Art Images- Images indexed by culture and time period at the University of Michigan.
Met Timeline of Art History- This Metropolitan Museum of Art site has works sorted by World Region, Timeline, Theme, and Artist. The “First Time User” section has a useful tutorial Also includes some multimedia – audio of a few instruments, some video.
|The Arts by Culture|
~North & South America~
Campfire Stories with George Catlin- An Encounter of Two Cultures
National Gallery of Art- Search for specific artists and themes in American Art
Tesoros Escondidos- Hidden Treasures from the Mexican Collections
The Grandeur of Viceregal Mexico- Treasures from the Museo Franz Meyer
~Africa~
African Art from the University of Virginia
African Life Through Art from University of Indianapolis
National Museum of African Art
~Europe~
The Louvre- European collection of art
The British Museum- European collection and some Egyptian art
The Rijksmuseum- European collection of art
~Asia~
Himalayan Art- Items from Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, India, China, and Mongolia
Chinese Visual Resources- Chinese history, culture, and society. Timeline with links to information and images, and essays on topics such as ancient tombs, Buddhism, clothing, and gardens. Includes maps, discussion questions, and bibliographies.
Asian Art Museum of San Francisco- One of the largest museums in the Western world devoted exclusively to Asian art.
Freer and Sackler Galleries- Smithsonian Institution Asian art galleries
Seattle Asian Art Museum- Collection of Asian art
Islamic Art, Music and Architecture Around the World- A Collection of Links
Access the Resources section for databases.
Library Books