ART: Historical And Cultural Perspectives

Art For the Sky addresses all of the benchmarks below. In the presentation we view images of the 3000 year old sky art in Peru and try to understand WHY the ancients created gigantic art on the earth that only makes sense when viewed from the sky. They lived in an area that is the driest on Earth and, when commercialized, would probably be turned down even by the best mortgage agents in the world. How did their harsh environment influence their need to make art? We look at modern versions of sky art and try to understand why it is important and what it has to say about life today. What does sky art have to teach us? What message to we deliver when we create art that is temporary and leaves no trace and produces no material product?

CCG : Distinguish works of art from different societies, time periods and cultures.

CCG : Understand how events and conditions influence the arts.

A.05.3.0.1(1) Identify and describe the influence of events and/or conditions on works of art.

A.05.3.0.2(1) Identify and relate common and unique characteristics in works of art that reflect social, historical, and cultural contexts.

CCG : Understand how the arts can reflect the environment and personal experiences within a society or culture, and apply to one's own work.

A.05.3.0.3(1) Describe how works of art from various historic periods reflect the artist's environment, society and culture.

CCG : Understand the place of the arts within, and their influences on, society.

A.05.3.0.4(1) Describe how the arts serve a variety of purposes and needs in other communities and cultures.

Social Science Analysis

In this presentation we look at the issue of creating spectacular art as a response to living in the driest place on Earth: the Nazca Desert of Peru and the Mojave Desert of California. There are many points of view as to why the ancients created this art which is unique in the world. What were they trying to say and why did they direct their art so that it only makes sense when viewed from high above? How have others influenced their world by doing art of this nature and how can we influence our world by doing sky art? What does it have to teach us and how have others used it to affect the problems of our day?

SS.05.5.0.1(1) Examine an event, issue, or problem through inquiry and research.

SS.CIM.5.0.3(1) Analyze an event, issue, problem, or phenomenon from varied or opposed perspectives or points of view.

SS.05.5.0.4(1) Identify characteristics of an event, issue, or problem, suggesting possible causes and results.

SS.05.5.0.5(1) Identify a response or solution and support why it makes sense, using support from research.

Mathematical Problem Solving

Creating sky art is applied mathematics. We take a small scale drawing of a chosen design and turn it into a gigantic image. Via a grid strategy, we go from working in inches to hundreds of feet.  This is the same technique the ancient desert artists used as well as muralists through out history. It is an ancient technique called enlarging from scale and  children are fascinated by it..

CCG : Verification: Monitor and reflect on the process of mathematical problem solving.

M.05.6.E.1(1) Accurately solve problems using mathematics.

 CCG : Conceptual Understanding: Select, apply, and translate among mathematical representations to solve problems.

M.05.6.A.1(1) Interpret the concepts of a problem-solving task and translate them into mathematics.

CCG : Processes and Strategies: Apply and adapt a variety of appropriate strategies to solve problems.

M.05.6.B.1(1) Choose strategies that can work and then carry out the strategies chosen.