What's in a Name: Art That Honors Achievement
Artist: Faith Ringgold
Art Work: Eugenio Maria de Hostos: The Man, His Life and His Dream, 1994, quilted acrylic on painted canvas duck fabric, 9’ x 18’
Location: Hostos Community College, Grand Concourse at 149th Street
Grades: 3-6
About the Art: This story quilt is mounted inside a Plexiglas box on a wall of the atrium inside the Allied Health Building of Hostos Community College. It is a celebration of the life of the great revolutionary Puerto Rican educator, Eugenio Maria de Hostos, who lived from 1839-1903. He was an intellectual, teacher, sociologist, political scientist, philosopher and writer. He was dedicated to the spiritual, economic and social uplifting of the people of the Americas. This work portrays him three times: 1) in his youth as a law student in Madrid; 2) as a revolutionary thinker and worker for the liberation of Puerto Rico and the unification of Cuba, San Domingo and Puerto Rico; and 3) as an international educator, teacher and scholar. His words, which give hope to the struggle for Latin American independence, are an integral part of the composition.
Questions for Discussion: What do you notice about the quilt? Why do you suppose the artist arranged the picture the way she did, in three parts? What is the most important section, and why do you think so? What are some buildings besides this college that are named after people? Why do we name buildings after people?
Sample Art Activity: Make a fabric collage quilt block showing someone for whom a Bronx public building is named. Include details that show his or her contributions to our culture, and write a page describing the contributions. Display quilt blocks and writing in a class accordion book.
Purpose: To demonstrate understanding that public buildings are named for real people who contributed to our well-being, and that the choice of symbols and the way they are arranged add to the expressive power of a picture.
Materials: poster board or paper about 9" x 12" for each student or group of two; a variety of fabrics, ribbons, textured papers, recycled papers organized in piles for children to choose from; white glue on paper plates with glue brushes.
Teaching Strategies:
- Read from To Be a Slave by Julius Lester, and Faith Ringgold’s children’s book, Tar Beach.
- Students choose a person from among Bronx public buildings (see School District 10’s Directory of Schools for some school names), and research them from library resources and the Internet. Examples of public buildings named for people are DeWitt Clinton H.S. and Washington Irving H.S.
- The quilt block should represent the person, their name, and a significant event.
- On gluing fabric: using an even layer of glue applied with a brush to the back of the fabric will give a stronger bond than dripping glue from a bottle. Use a tablespoon of glue on a paper plate that can be discarded when finished.
- Keep a bucket of warm soapy water in the classroom so you can wash brushes before they dry out.
Closure: Donate the accordion book to the school library. Write a press release and mail to a local newspaper or a flyer to be posted in the school announcing its availability in the school library.
Extensions: For visual learning: Draw a family tree; create an autobiographical scrapbook. For logical/mathematical learning: Visit the Ellis Island Immigration Museum which has an interactive display of how, when and why people move from one continent to another. Develop a hypothesis about how different types of transportation cause journeys to be of differing lengths. For linguistic learning: Collect newspaper and magazine articles and Internet clippings about contemporary immigration patterns. Summarize these patterns in a journal for a portfolio.
National Art Education Learning Standards:
- Understanding and applying media, techniques and processes
- Using knowledge of structures and functions
- Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols and ideas
- Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures
