This activity was used with children in key stage 2, year 6.

Aim

• To promote understanding of artists working in different times and cultures.

Activity objectives

• To use artistic images of the celebrations that took place when the costumes were worn to stimulate the pupils' creative thinking (requirement 4c of the programme of study).
• To record from first-hand observation and explore ideas for their own designs (requirement 1a of the programme of study).
• To work on their own in two and three dimensions (requirement 5b of the programme of study).
• To apply their experience of materials and processes, developing their control of tools and techniques (requirement 2b of the programme of study).
• To develop their skills of comparing ideas, methods and approaches used by designers and makers and say what they think about them (requirement 3a of the programme of study).
• To discuss why the costumes were made and the effects of the use of different materials (requirement 4b of the programme of study).
• To learn about the roles and purposes of artists working in different times in the Caribbean.

This activity relates to the scheme of work unit 6b 'What a performance'. The key stage 3 unit 9a 'Life events' can be adapted for this activity.

Activity description

The teacher introduced the class to the extravagant costumes that are worn during Masquerade in the Caribbean and the people who made them.

The children discovered that Masquerade originated as a three-day celebration for slaves to relax and be released from their labour. The slaves would join together in bands and parade in extravagant costumes. As the tradition developed, different themes were adopted, based, for example, on plant forms, birds or animals. Increasingly, ideas were borrowed from other cultures or ethnic groups, such as from Native American people. Masquerade provides a means of political, social and satirical expression: the anonymity of participants allows freedom of behaviour and comment.

The teacher and the class decided to take a traditional theme as the starting point for designing their own costumes. They built up a collection of decorative and toy birds, which came from a variety of cultures and were made from different materials. The children drew some of these birds and used their drawings to develop an interesting composition for a large painting. One child posed as a model for the rest of the class to draw and the children used their drawings as the starting point for designing a bird costume for a Masquerade figure.

The children made a model sculpture to show their own designs for a costume, as might have been worn by a masquerader in the carnival. They were taught how to make a wire armature for the figure and to build up the figure using papier mâché, giving the figure solidity and adding shapes to create the effect of the costume. Finally they painted the figure and added other decorative features.

Commentary

The children learnt about a familiar tradition, the carnival, as it was developed in an unfamiliar culture. They studied it in depth, finding out about the origins, purpose and developments over time. This helped them to understand, respect and value the ideas and designs that they saw, and to appreciate the skill and imagination that was exhibited in them. They then developed their own creative designs, responding to a theme that might have been used in the Caribbean. They made it their own by the research that they carried out and the process by which they developed their own ideas.

Resources

Cam, J, Elia, R and Lawlor, T, Masquerade: schemes of work for art in the primary school, Visual Learning Foundation, 1998. This book contains a more detailed description of this activity as well as other examples and information about the Masquerade tradition. The book costs £25 (incl p+p). Details available at: www.visuallearningfoundation.fsnet.co.uk/