Arts Integration: Geographically Speaking

by Elizabeth Van Allen

for scribblesbyartteachervanallen.blogspot.com/  

This batik-style piece was inspired by
the images and stories I shared with
students from my experience
studying art in Bali, Indonesia.

Teaching subjects out of context has never made any sense to me.  In real life no engineer separates out math, science and visual representation into individualized time slots.  These areas come together seamlessly because they need to.  It is important to have a functional understanding of each subject on its own, but students need a better grasp on how subject areas relate to each other in the real world.  Demonstrating the symbiotic relationship between areas of study has become an unofficial mission of mine.  I've come across many people who don't quite understand how art could possibly be so intertwined with the 'core' subject areas that are taught in school.  For those of you who are still wondering, I'd like to shine a light on the interdependence of art and other subject areas.  Today I'll start with my personal favorite, geography.

The foundation for this project was built by
reading about mandalas found in Tibetan,
Navajo, European and Aztec cultures. 

Art without geography is like tape without adhesive.  It's can be highly visible or blend in with it's environment, durable or expendable, but it has no real purpose.  Geography brings context to art.  It provides cultural insight, especially when combined with regional historical timelines, and allows the viewer to understand the intent of the artist or craftsman that produced the work.  Cultures are influenced first and foremost by their global location.  The geography (and topography) that surrounds a group of people determines the context within which their traditional art and craft would be created.  Historically speaking, it also determines the most common method of expression based on what materials were most readily available and which ones were valued more highly due to scarcity.  In other words, a non-nomadic, forest-based culture would be more likely to use wood as a medium of choice due to availability and stability.  A more nomadic plains- or desert-based culture might use more lightweight and easily portable mediums such as textiles, reserving heavy and/or costly wood or metal items for those who could afford the animals to carry them as their social group migrated. 

Students were fascinated by Huichol Nierikas
from Mexico and were excited to make one of
 their own.  This project depicts an important
ritual in one student's life, visiting her
grandmother in the islands each year.

The importance of the influence that geography has on a culture and their arts can not be overstated.  Historically speaking, knowledge that would otherwise have been lost through translation and time lives on through the art and craft that each group of people leaves behind.  Speaking in a more modern context, art does more than just define the unique cultural differences between us.  It also helps illustrate the similarities between groups that otherwise might not understand each other or see any common ground. While our global economy and open lines of communication have broadened the possibilities available to each individual artist or craftsman, the influences of location on culture as a whole are undeniable.  As an art teacher, presenting art and geography in tandem is a natural choice.  I look at this mission as broadening my students' global perspective one project at a time.

What connections have you made that, while obvious to you, needed explanation to others?