Art
263
Option #3
Due: October 25, 2018
Value:
Understanding how the arts have functioned to record and transmit
history in culures with oral, rather than literate, traditions.
Cross-cultural comparison of images and symbols that convey
meaning.
Learning about your own history.
Instructions:
First:
Listen to the class discussion on Plains cultures and arts.
Next:
Visit the "Lakota Winter Counts" on-line exhibit (notice that this is an archived website--you may choose to view either the flash or html versions and can elect from either to explore the winter count exhibit and the background information presented). Review the "Who are the
Lakota" and "What are Winter Counts" sections before you actually view
the Winter Counts themselves. Note that you can zoom in and move
around each of the the Winter Counts. Think about the iconography
of
the Winter Counts--how one symbol captured a year in time for the
Lakota artist and Winter Count keeper who painted these Lakota
calendars.
Then:
Create your own version of a Winter Count for at least 6 years of your
life. Select a symbol to summarize each year (you will have a
total of
6 images). You may complete this in any medium you feel is appropriate
for
you. Write a brief, typed paper that addresses the
following: What did you learn about Lakota Winter Counts from the on-line exhibit? What impressed you most about these records? What would be the strengths and weaknesses of this way of keeping a people's history? What
are the events that you have represented? Are these personal or
communal events? How did you organize your Winter Count (ie.
chronologically? In a line? In a circle?). How is
this similar or
different from the Winter Counts you viewed in the exhibit? What
medium did you use for your Winter Count? Is the medium you chose
different from that of the
Winter Counts in the exhibit? What are the other similarities and
differences you see between your Winter Count and those of the exhibit?