Teaching and Learning about Form and Texture

Design elements in the art world include form and texture. Form is defined, in art, as something three-dimensional having height, width and depth, such as a sculpture. Texture is the way something feels or the illusion of a texture is created with other elements such as lines, values and shapes. Texture can be actual/real or implied/simulated.

As themes emerged during our China travels, I quickly began noticing that I was focusing on photographing forms and textures. This realization was reinforced as we presented the lessons  developed based on the Terra Cotta Warriors in a workshop and observed teachers responding with creations of their own warriors, creatively using the elements of form and texture.

As I revisit the over 4000 photographs I took in China, I am reorganizing them to teach and learn about  basic art concepts such as the elements with my new images from a uniquely rich and diverse land.

~ Paige

Teachers exploring form & texture....

The College of Education at the University of South Alabama is sponsoring Ms. Siew Woei Ling during the fall semester as a visiting faculty member from the Multimedia University, which is located in the city of Kajang in the state of Selangor, just 13 miles from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital city.

Ms. Ling is supported by the UNESCO/Keizo Obuchi Research Fellowships Programme (UNESCO/Japan Young Researchers’ Fellowship Programme) to undertake research on “Training teacher to scaffold reflective and critical thinking for Malaysian students based on best practice from USA.”

Ms. Ling is one of many inservice educators participating in the Arts in Education grant where, in her workshop with Dr. Paige Vitulli, she explored the forms and textures of the Terra Cotta Warriors through her own wonderful creation.

Cradle of Talents and Ambitions

Cradle of Talents and Ambitions

Like a rat in a rice jar

I dwelt among pomegranate and plum blossoms

where nights were shiny and moony

the days melted clouds steeped in tea fragrance

Boldly I crept over the tiger’s tomb

wrapped in embroidered silk
patterns repeating bat and crane
bat and crane
feasting on jasmine, lychee, rose

In the garden home I caressed

dragons of jade cool to the touch
harbored in the dark recesses
of inner rooms, inner courts
listening to the high, yearning pitch of a woman
and the pluck of her fingers on instrument string

Now the stars have all fallen

there is no comfort here
only regrets, remembrances
and I am left
a hungry ghost

- Peggy

Fried Pies

Does anybody remember when McDonald’s used to fry their pies? You must be of a certain age to appreciate this, but McDonald’s pies used to be a glorious crispy, crunchy, golden, flakey pastry, filled with either apple or cherry and THEY WERE GOOOOOD. I understand that McDonald’s was doing its part to be a good corporate citizen when it started baking its pies, but they did away with something special. The baked pies just don’t have that same satisfying texture that can only be achieved through prolonged exposure to hot oil. I didn’t know that I even missed those fried pies of long ago until I happened upon them in China. Our tour guide in Beijing, Michael, had been rhapsodizing about the McDonald’s pies, but he never said they were fried. Instead what got my attention were the flavors he said they sold – pineapple, taro, and sweet potato. Naturally I had to try this exotic twist on an old standard so I made it a priority to get myself to a McDonald’s, which was not hard to do in Beijing. While not as ubiquitous as KFC, there are still a lot of McDonald’s stores in China.  

One day when I’d had enough of the haggling markets in Beijing I found a McDonald’s conveniently located next door and quietly slipped away. Chinese McDonald’s make ordering so easy, even for foreigners. I didn’t have to say a thing, just pointed to one of the handy laminated menus and my pies were bagged and ready to go. Yes, I said pies, plural. Just like in America, it’s more economical in China to buy two pies instead of one. Ahem. At any rate I didn’t eat them both in the same sitting…

I’m telling you I had a Proustian moment when I bit into that first pie. To my astonishment it was fried! I hadn’t thought of fried pies since I worked the night shift at McDonald’s when I was sixteen and seventeen. Meal discounts, cleaning the shake machine, coming home at midnight with lettuce stuck to my deck shoe, and oh, those pies.

Sigh. The pineapple pie was quite tasty. Unfortunately the taro didn’t fry up so well. The filling was gloopy and purple and the texture turned me off. I did not get a crack at the sweet potato variety, but the pineapple was definitely a winner. If the blog hasn’t made you want to go to China yet, then believe me, the McDonald’s fried pineapple pies alone are worth the trip.

- Peggy

Hungry Ghost Festival

China Blog Daily has an enticing article urging us to visit China in July for the Hungry Ghost Festival. The Chinese have the most fabulous, lyrical names for their festivals. Who could resist the Blue Dragon Festival, or the Clear and Bright Festival? The names alone promise great things.

According to the article (linked below), "Chinese traditionalists believe that this is a Ghost Month where the gates of hell are opened. Activities to keep the evil away include shouting, screaming, and whistling. It is also very important to stay away from water, it is believed that souls of the damned lie in the water waiting to pull you under. Halfway through the Ghost Month, large parties are thrown to please the spirits."

So, if you feel the need to shout, scream, or whistle in July you can attribute it to your desire to keep evil away. Also, the Chinese may be onto something in their warnings to stay away from water, at least in July. Though we on the Gulf Coast have lots of beautiful shoreline to tempt us in to water, it might not hurt to rethink that, especially given the often dangerous rip currents.

http://oncekids.blogspot.fr/2012/06/hungry-ghost-festival-visit-asia-this.html

- Peggy

What Was Your Favorite Thing About China?

I get asked this question a lot, and if we're talking about the favorite thing I saw, my answer is the Terra Cotta Warriors. I had seen a traveling exhibit of the warriors in Birmingham some years ago, so I was familiar with them before my trip to China. Maybe that laid the groundwork for my fascination with the warriors. I've mentioned in a previous post that the scale of the excavation site in Xi'an is staggering. Seeing what an enormous undertaking the project is and will be for years to come makes quite an impression. Reflecting on the manpower, labor and craft that went into creating the army, it's hard to come up with anything of a similar nature, except maybe...the Great Wall. As our traveling companion Jason said "Texas ain't got nothin' on China." They go BIG in China.

Paige has kindly lent me her June issue of National Geographic which has an article about the warriors, as well as the rather hefty book she purchased at the site's gift shop and hauled back to the States. After perusing them, I offer these highlights for your consideration.

Emperor Qin (China's first emperor to unify China under a single dynasty, ruled from 221-210, and gave the source for the English name for the country -- Qin is pronounced "Chin," hence "China") believed that life underground after death was a continuation of life on earth. Therefore he wanted those things he valued most to be buried with him in his mausoleum. Construction of Qin's mausoleum took 38 years. He ordered exact replicas of his army to be installed in the mausoleum, placing the artists who created them under the threat of death if any two warriors were found to be alike.

Believing it to prolong life, Emperor Qin drank mercury. We now know it will make you crazy or kill you, or both. Qin's grave, as yet unexcavated, is reported to be surrounded by a river of mercury.

Mass graves have been unearthed in a village southwest of the mausoleum containing over a hundred human skeletons. Evidence suggests that some of them were buried alive. These are thought to be the remains of laborers killed during or after the construction.

Emperor Qin died at the relatively young age of 50. Upon his death, his son and successor ordered all of Qin's wives who had no children into the grave with their Emperor. I was going to get on my feminist platform and say that China was not a good place for a woman during this time, but really China was not a good place for anyone other than the emperor during this time.

In 1985 when a Chinese worker stole a warrior's head from the excavation site, he was executed.
Despite the cruel conditions under which the Terra Cotta warriors were created, their beauty and finely detailed execution are undeniable.

- Peggy

China Launches 1st Female Astronaut

Five hundred years after Wan Hu (China's first "astronaut" -- see earlier post), China launched its first female astronaut on Saturday. Liu Yang follows in the footsteps of Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, who was the first woman in space 49 years ago. The term "taikonaut" is frequently used to describe Chinese space travelers. It is a combination of the Chinese word "taikong" ("space"), and the Greek word "naut" ("sailor").

Link to the article about Liu Yang's mission:
http://www.livescience.com/21026-china-launches-1st-female-astronaut-shenzhou-9.html

Link to infographic about women in space:
http://www.livescience.com/19879-female-space-explorers-infographic.html

Peggy

Starting a Conversation that Spans 10,000 Miles

I love The Chronicle of Higher Education. I always find things relevant to my classes, work, and now increasingly China. I found this article about Jinghua Liu, an international student at Penn State who has created a web site that allows Chinese and American students to ask each other questions. http://chronicle.com/blogs/saysomething/2012/06/11/episode-35-starting-a-conversation-that-spans-10000-miles/

The question/answer website is USA-China PhotoQuestion Exchange Project. Some of the questions are funny, like "Is your Chinese food WAY better than American Chinese food?" (-- um, yes. I can say that it is) or "Why do the Chinese like Lady Gaga?", but there are also serious ones like "What do you Americans think of Hu Jintao?"

Great learning tool. Check it out.

http://www.photoquestion.net/index.html

Peggy

Ming Dynasty Astronaut

In another instance of serendipity, today while I was observing a summer camp class on rocketry, to help illustrate her point instructor Jenny Parker of Davidson High School showed an episode of Mythbusters entitled "Ming Dynasty Astronaut." Now it seems everywhere I go China connections pop up. Maybe they were always there or maybe I'm just more aware of them since our trip to China.

In the 16th century, Wan Hu, a Chinese official, tried to launch himself into the air on a chair using 47 rockets lit simultaneously by assistants. It didn't work, in fact it was disasterous, but he did get a crater on the moon named after him. Wan Hu is the first attempted astronaut recorded in history.

I wasn't able to find a free video of the Mythbusters episode where the legend is recreated, but you can learn more about Wan Hu here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wan_Hu

Peggy

Illustration courtesy of Civil Air Patrol portraying Wan Hu

大山子798艺术区

798 Art District (the Greenwich Village or Soho of Beijing) was one of the areas I would have liked to have had more time to explore, especially the galleries. It is located in an old, decommissioned complex of military factories in Beijing. There were numerous cafes, shops, and art galleries. I found many of the sculptures, statues, and signs intriguing, often humorous and therefore photo-worthy. ~Paige