Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Gender, Sexuality, and Wellbeing

Define the following terms:

1. Biological Sex

2. Sexual Orientation

3. Gender Identity

4. Gender Expression


Question: How are the above terms connected to:

a) Identity?

b) Wellbeing?

c) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs?

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs


1. Define each category.  What do these labels mean?    /5

2. How are these needs being met in your life?  Give an example for each category.    /5

3.  Are any of these needs not being met in your life?  Explain.    /5

4. Maslow was one of the founders of positive psychology - looking at what contributes to human health and happiness, as opposed to looking at what makes people unwell and unhappy.  Why is this perspective important?          /4

5. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are divided into 3 subcategories: 
  1. Basic Needs
  2. Psychological Needs
  3. Self-fulfillment Needs

Which categories belong inside of each sub-category?              
     /5

6. Maslow later added further categories to his hierarchy of needs, including: 
a) Cognitive needs - knowledge and understanding, curiosity, exploration, need for meaning and predictability;  
b)  Aesthetic needs - appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc., and 
c) Transcendence needs - helping others to achieve self actualization.  

Where would you place these needs within the overall hierarchy?  Explain your answer.          /6

Monday, September 26, 2016

Biography of an Artist

Biography of an Artist

In this assignment, you will select an artist based on your own aesthetic and historical interest, and conduct research, in order to create a 2-3 page biography.  In your biography, you must answer the following questions:

  1. Artist’s full name.

  1. Date of birth (and date of death, if applicable).

  1. Place of birth.  

  1. Early life, including family life and education.

  1. Professional life, including training, mentors, methods, and techniques.

  1. Most significant works (pick 2-3) — give a brief critique of these, and indicate their historical, contextual, and aesthetic importance.

  1. Personal life, including lifestyle, habits, quirks, and personality.  Discuss significant friendships and relationships.  

  1. Later life, if applicable, and death - describe the circumstances of their death, and the location.  

Format:

Your biography should be submitted in research-paper format.  A research paper includes:

  1. A title, byline, and date.
  2. An Introduction. 
  3. Paragraphs divided by subject, with subject headings and citations.
  4. A conclusion.
  5. A bibliography or works cited page.

Method:

  1. Begin by selecting an artist.  You may do this in consultation with Michelle and Matt.  The book ‘Art’ categorizes art and artists by timeline and by category, so this is a good place to start.

  1. Find at least 3 reliable sources.  Ideally, one of your sources will be in print, or, in some cases, alive!  A reliable source is fact-based and cites other reliable sources.  

  1. Take notes in point-form.  Write down your source for your notes.  

  1. Organize your notes into subject areas under headings.

  1. Collect open-source images that show the work of your artist.

  1. Write your biography.  Use your own words.  Include citations.

  1. Edit your biography for punctuation, spelling, and word choice.  

  1. Write your works cited page, in alphabetical order.


Due: November 15, 2016

Thinking About Health: Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition

Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition

Definition of Health: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” 

  • The World Health Organization, 1948

Healthy Community Characteristics

  1. A common sense of community, including its history and values that are strengthened by a network of leaders.

2. People and community groups who feel empowered and have a sense of control.

3. An absence of divided turf, conflict and polarization.

4. Structures where people from diverse groups can come together to work out decisions about the community.

5. Leadership that functions both from the top down and the bottom up.

6. Effective channels for networking, communication and cooperation among those who live and lead there.

Definition of Health: “The extent to which an individual or group is able to realize aspirations and satisfy needs and to change or cope with the environment.”

  • The World Health Organization, 1984


Questions:

  1. Why do you think that, in 1948, the WHO defined health as ‘not merely the absence of disease’?        /4

  1. Think of the communities that you are involved in.  To what extent are these communities healthy?  Refer to the 6 characteristics of healthy communities in your response.        /8

  1. To what extent do your communities contribute to your personal sense of well-being?  Explain, using examples.        /4

  1. Why do you think that, in 1984, the WHO changed its definition of health?  How does the second definition build on or alter the first, 1948 definition?       /6

  1. Select a work of art from the WAHC exhibit “Draw the Line!  Graphic Histories of Work, Struggle, and Activism.”  What connections can you make between this work of art, and the evolution of healthy communities?  Be specific and use examples.        /8




Total: /30

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Elements & Principles of Design


Essential learning for all students of the visual arts... watch & take note!

2016-2017 School Year: Synopsis

2016-2017 School Year

Health for Life PPZ3C

Key Concepts & Terms:
  • 4 quadrants of Health (Social, Emotional, Psychological, Physical)
  • Health Issues in Adolescence
  • Building a ‘Good Life’ through choices & habits
  • The Science of Longevity 

Key Thinkers & Readings: 
  • Conceptualizing the ‘Good Life’ - philosophers, novelists & poets
  • Research: Issues in Adolescent Health
  • National Geographic’s study: The Blue Zones

Related Art Work: 
  • Art related to concepts of wellbeing
  • Art that examines ‘the Good life’
  • Art that pushes us to see the world in new and interesting ways
  • Art that promotes thought, and possibly change
2016-2017 School Year

Visual Art  AVI1-4

Key Concepts & Terms: 
  • Principles & Elements of Design
  • Art Criticism
  • Art History
  • Art Techniques
  • The Creative Process

Key Thinkers & Readings:
  • Articles from Canadian Art & other Art publications
  • Youtube Videos from a variety of sources
  • In-class guests, demonstrations, and workshops by local artists
  • Videos by & about artists from the National Film Board of Canada

Related Art Work: 
  • Art work of the day - for you to respond to
  • Featured art works based on the project or theme of the week
  • Screen Prints - posters
  • Copper Etchings
  • Monoprints
  • Stencils - skateboards
  • Printing on Fabric - t-shirts
  • and MORE!
2016-2017 School Year 

English  ENG1-4

Key Concepts & Terms: 
  • Literary Devices & Conventions
  • Writing: essay, research report, creative writing, personal writing
  • Reading: for information, for entertainment, for understanding, to promote thought & conversation
  • Speaking: about your work, about ideas that come up in class, in response to the work of others, in encouragement of others
  • Conversation Skills: ping-pong or question-response-follow-up sequences; respectful self-expression; positive listening 

Key Thinkers & Readings: 
  • philosophers, poets, journalists and novelists
  • a variety of sources, from fact-based articles to fiction-based literature
  • Contemporary and historical works

Related Art Work:
  • works connected thematically to our area of study
  • works for you to respond to in writing
  • works for you to critique and explore further
  • works by artists whom you will research for an online biography
  • personal works created in response to the readings we do in class



Monday, April 25, 2016

Where the Concrete Desert Blooms - Class Novel Study

Where the Concrete Desert Blooms
by Tings Chak

Part 1: Hong Kong to Thornhill

  1. A simile is when we use ‘like’ or ‘as’ to compare two things.  What simile does Tings use to describe storytelling?   /2

  1. Make up three of your own similes.   /2

  1. What does Tings mean when she refers to ‘the grass through the concrete’?   /2

  1. Tings is from Hong Kong.  Describe the political situation in Hong Kong in 1989.   /5

  1. Make a connection between Tings’ description of the settlement of Thornhill and what we learned about land allotment in the graphic novel ‘Louis Riel’.    /3

  1. According to Tings, what makes Thornhill unique, and what makes it generic?   /3

  1. What does Tings mean when she says, “so in a way, you already know where I come from”?   /3

  1. What makes a place generic?  Draw a place you know that is generic.  Is there anything that makes it unique?   /4
Part 2: First Impressions of Hamilton

  1. What was Hamilton called, and who lived here, before colonization?  /2

  1. Draw an image of what you imagine Hamilton looked like before colonization.  /4

  1. Where does Hamilton’s modern name come from?  /2

  1. Explain some of Hamilton’s nicknames.  /4

  1. If you were to give Hamilton a nickname, what would it be?  /2

  1. Tings makes an awkward first impression.  Describe a time when this has happened to you?  /3

  1. Why was downtown Hamilton stigmatized?  Does this stigma still exist today?  Explain.   /4

  1. Why does Ancaster give Tings a sense of placelessness?  Have you ever had this feeling?  Explain.  /4

  1. A metaphor is when you compare two things without using the word ‘like’ or ‘and’.  Explain the Donut metaphor.  /3

  1. Come up with three metaphors of your own.  /3

  1. A reference is when you refer to a work of art or literature within your own work.  What reference does Tings make to Yeats?  /3

  1. Draw an image based on the Yeats poem.  /6

  1. Do you agree with Tings’ first impression of Hamilton?  Explain.  /3

  1. Describe the aspects of the city that Tings refers to as a ‘revelation’.  /6

  1. How does one ‘become a tourist’ in their own town?  /3

  1. Tings asks two questions: “What happens when residual stories linger around a place?” and “What happens when old voices meet new ones?”  Answer one of these questions.  /4

  1. What does Tings mean when she says “from abandonment comes opportunity”?  How can you relate personally to this statement?  /4
Part 3: University and Social Activism

  1. Tings expected university to be a place of activism and social change, based on images of the student movement from the 1960s.  Find out more about this movement, and describe it.  /6

  1. Have you ever been disappointed by the reality of something, compared to the idea that you had in your head?  Describe.  /4

  1. Who is Bryan, and what does he mean when he says that “today we’re up against the larger masses, and those who are involved are involved in a deeper way.”?   /4

  1. Who is Randy, and what does he mean when he says “The settlers’ legacy has left us with a fear of the forests.”  /4

  1. What kind of imagery comes to mind when you think about “compromised nature”?  Draw an image.  /4

  1. What does Tings mean when she says that “the natural and alternative spaces around us can become lived spaces”?  /2

  1. What does Tings want to know about Binkley’s Pond?  /2

  1. The image of Binkley’s Pond had a powerful effect on Tings.  When has an image affected you emotionally?  Explain.  /3

  1. What does Tings mean when she says “our physical landscapes, no matter how permanent they seem, can indeed be changed, towards or even back to something we would like to see, something we would like to preserve.”  /3
Part 4: How to Love a Place

  1. Explain Tings’ simile about love and the city.  What does she mean?  /2

  1. Write three of your own similes about love.  /6

  1. Tings says, “What you love, you will invariably respect, care for, and protect.”  Give an example of this in your own life.  /3

  1. Answer Tings’ question, “Are we entitled to a place, just as we inherit our family histories?”  Sketch your answer.  /4

  1. Tings uses the Japanese term “mono no aware” to express the sadness of a landscape that has been irreversibly altered.  When have you experienced the sadness of ephemera, of things that did not or will not last?  /4

  1. Tings says, “No matter how much we change a landscape, it’s always there, and sometimes when you look hard enough, you can still see it.”  Look out at a part of the city’s landscape, and re-imagine it.  What would you do if this space was yours to re-create?  Sketch this.  /4

  1. What do you think would happen if developers had to negotiate with the people who live in a community, before they tore down homes and built parking lots and condominiums?  What would your community look like?  Sketch or write your response.  /3

  1. Respond to Steve’s experience.  What have you found, haphazardly, that fills you with delight?  Sketch it.  /3

  1. Tings says that her story is about “being present.”  What does this entail?  /2

  1. Tings describes a ‘contagious sentiment’ among her peers to live downtown.  When have you experienced a ‘contagious sentiment’?  Describe this.  /3

Part 5: To Live Creatively

  1. Tings describes an ‘overwhelming desire to live creatively, make art, eat good food, and build community’.  What are your overwhelming desires?  /4

  1. Go to Whitehern and look at the gardens.  Sketch what you see.  /6

  1. Tings says ‘I drew, only to know…”  Wander the city without an agenda, as Tings did, and let your eyes float and settle.  Draw what you see.  /6
  2. Mack says, “There’s a lot of character in decrepitude.  People like that stuff, for whatever reason.”  What is the reason, do you think?
Part 6: The Scale of Things

  1. Tings finds an old bike, that becomes dear to her.  What have you found or inherited, that has become dear to you?  Sketch it.  /3

  1. Ray goes into a state of shock when he first begins working at Stelco.  Have you ever experienced shock?  Describe your experience.  /3

  1. Why do you think a sense of futility pervades the steel mills?  What is the relationship between scale, and nihilism?  /6

  1. Tings responds emotionally to the ‘stripping’ of the marble off of city hall.  Describe a time when an object has evoked these kinds of emotions in you.  Sketch the object.  /6

  1. Tings says, “Hamilton is a city with few symbols, and what was happening to City Hall seemed indicative of the way Hamilton fails to embrace and preserve what it has.”  Respond to Tings’ statement.  What symbols does Hamilton have?  Sketch these.  Can you embrace these symbols?  /6

  1. About Hamilton, Graham says, “Being the proud poor that it is, Hamilton will always give you the shirt off it’s back.”  How can you relate to this statement?  /4

  1. Tings says, “reclaiming an old building might be the most political thing you can do here.”  If you can’t afford an old building, what else can you do to save Hamilton’s bones?  /3

  1. Tings asks, “Is it elitist to want to celebrate the qualities we have?”  Respond to this question.  /3

Part 7: Take Up Space

  1. One of Bernadette’s holy moments occurred when she and her daughter “looked up at the same instant to see a shooting star split in two.”  Describe one of your holy moments.  What did it mean?  /4

  1. Bernadette returns to Kentucky, only to find Hamilton inside an old trunk as she was closing up her family home.  What uncanny coincidence have you experienced?  What do you make of it?  /4

  1. Bernadette spends the new year “paying attention to the earth.”  How do you pay attention?  Sketch this.  /3

  1. Tings says that the city “seems beholden to the modernist logic of replacing the human scale, the street level store front, and the pedestrian language of the city with automobile arteries, skyscrapers, and mega complexes.”  What is the problem with the modernist logic?    /4

  1. What did downtown look like before 1971?  Find an image, and respond to it.  How do you feel?  Do you prefer the city now, or before?  Explain your response.  /6

  1. Bernadette describes Hamilton as having two identities.  One is “male, with a donut and a cup of coffee in his hand,” and one is “an artist - a tough artist.”  a) Which parts of the city reflect the first identity, and which parts of the city reflect the second?  b) Is this duality appealing, or do we need a new, united sense of self?  /6

  1. Tings describes what Gary and Barbara did to the Pearl Company, saying “The Pearl Company symbolizes the possibility of community building that takes place when a single space is liberated and its value realized.”  How do we liberate space?  Sketch this process.  /4

  1. Tings meets a woman who says “the richness of our lives could be better measured by songs and poems than by our average household incomes.”  If you measured your riches in art, music, and literature, what would that look like? Sketch this.  /6
  2. Tings quotes Plato, the Greek philosopher, saying, “There is no greater good in a state than that the citizens be known to each other.”  Sketch of the map of the city using only images or symbols of the people you know.  /6

  1. Tings learns about the importance of “claiming a place as your own, starting with your home.”  Describe or sketch the part of your home that you have claimed as yours, using detail.  /6

  1. Tings discusses the importance of throwing away our inhibitions and founding a community.  Why do we need community?  Why do we need to let go of our inhibitions?  Explain.  /4

  1. Tings says that a lot of activism is “claiming and creatively re-imagining a place.”  Describe a way that you have done this.

  1. Tings says, “activism is, can, and should be a form of playful, public art.”  Imagine your own brand of public art activism.  What does this look like?  Sketch or describe.  /6

  1. Tings asks, “how do we take up space?”  Respond personally to this question.  How do you, or how should you, take up space?  /4

  1. Tings describes the waterfront trail as a place where “community health begins.”  a) Go and walk the trail, and then explain what Tings means. b) What else contributes to community health?  /6

  1. Bryan points out that the waterfront trail is an example of development that results in community pride.  a) Should all civic development result in civic pride?  Explain.  b) What parts of the city are you proud of?  Sketch or describe.  /6

  1. Tings likes to block traffic.  Why is traffic blocking good for civic pride and community?  /4

  1. What is the difference between how you treat people who are known to you, and how you treat strangers?  Sketch or respond.  /4

Final Project:

At the end of her book, Tings instructs us to “dream up a new city,” but she also reminds us to look back before moving forward.  She says, “the grass through the concrete, in a town once called orchard city, this is where the concrete desert blooms.”  

Using imagery from Hamilton today, and from its pre-industrial past, dream up a new city, and draw it.  Print your image, using at least 2 colours.  

Evaluation:

Imagery reflects Hamilton’s past, present, and future.

Imagery reflects the student’s own original thoughts and ideas.

The student uses the principles and elements of design to create a visually appealing image.

The student follows the steps of the print-making process in order to create clean, professional-looking prints.