2.3 Body adornment

ARTS AND CULTURE

Grade 7

EXPRESSION AND COMMUNICATION

Module 8

BODY ADORNMENT

Visual Arts

Activity 1:

To be able to discuss and appreciatethe origin, function and role of body adornment(individual or group work)

[LO 4.4]

Study the above quotation. What do you understand by the following:

Personal:

Decoration:

Discuss the meaning when the two words are consecutive (personal decoration) and form ONE definition:

Complete the following table individually:

Your educator will now listen to your answers and then represent them diagrammatically:

Example:

You are going to work in groups to make a collage. First decide which parts of the body you are going to decorate, e.g. the eyes, ears, face, hair, neck, hands, torso, etc.

Then complete the table:

Use old magazines to find examples of body adornments and illustrations without adornments. Tear out these illustrations and paste the pictures in collage form on newsprint. Paste the examples of body adornments on the left of the sheet of paper and the examples without body adornments on the right. In this manner you could create a person with a hat on the left and one without a hat on the right. Put up all the collages on the walls of the classroom.

Write down which half you prefer.Give a reason for your answer.

Study the collages on the wall and the examples in your modules and then answer the following questions:

What is beauty?

Is beauty the same to everyone?

Are there different types of beauty?

List a few of the changes that people undergo to acquire beauty.

Discuss the illustrations on the following pages by answering the following questions:

How did the people in each illustration adorn themselves?

What is the purpose of these adornments?

How do these customs of adornment compare with your cultural perception of beauty?

Are there similarities and/or differences?

Background information

BODY ADORNMENT includes painting the body, tattooing, piercing, decorative incision and scarification of the skin. Body adornment was originally done for rituals, aesthetic or medicinal reasons, as well as for magic or religious gatherings. Prehistoric burials, rock paintings and carvings provide evidence that body adornment was performed in ancient times. This art form is still practised today. In certain ethnic tribes this is done for religious purposes or to forge a covenant with a specific god, but it could also be done for protection against evil spirits and disease/illness. Marks made on the body can be a means of showing that the person belongs to a certain group or tribe or even that he has a personal rank or status within the group.

Examples of body paint that have been found in prehistoric excavations are the red ochre kohl used in Asia to darken the eyelids of beauties, henna on the finger nails in the Middle East and the war paint of some American and African tribes. Mehndi, henna body adornment and art, has become one of the most popular contemporary forms of body art. Mehndi, the antique Indian art of henna designs, is at present a popular accessory in the fashion world. Madonna made it famous through her "Ray of Light" video and then again at the 1998 MTV Award Ceremony with designs on her face and hands. Liv Tyler showed it on the cover of Vanity Fair and Naomi Campbell on the fashion catwalk.