Putting Your own Icon into Context
Artists in the twenty-first century have used the appropriation of icons to make political and personal statements. By changing parts of an icon they put it into a personal context (like Alma López's artwork) or a social or political context (like Esther Hernández's artwork). I will show students a variety of different artists who have done this with icons which are familiar to my students. For instance, both Esther Hernández and Lalo Alcaraz have appropriated the Statue of Liberty in her work Libertad (1977) and his work Statue of Information (2001). Libertad shows a woman carving the Statue of Liberty and exposing a pre-Columbian sculpture within her form. Statue of Information is a commentary about homeland security where the Statue is now shown holding up a huge microphone in the air, with a tape recorder and headphones. I will also review with students Beyte Saar's The Liberation of Aunt Jemima which will be an image that the students have discussed before, earlier in the year.
As a culminating activity I would like students to choose an icon which is interesting to them, and then choose a context in which they would like to appropriate that icon. They will need to determine how they would like the viewer to see that icon differently, and what symbols they are going to use to express that idea. We will review our definition of an icon, and will create a list of current icons which would be possible to use. Students will begin to design their own painting, line drawing, or print appropriating an icon and putting it into a new context.
I will use Alcaraz's Statue of Information as an example of this process for students. First we will brainstorm things that the icon of Statue of Liberty represents to people in the United States. Students should come up with words such as: liberty, freedom, immigration, "the Amerian Dream" and so forth. Alcaraz has chosen to use this symbol of the United States to make a commentary on homeland security's reaction to terrorism. This is the new, historical context Alcaraz is placing on this icon. We will then brainstorm a list of symbols about homeland security; possible examples might be racial profiling, heightened airport security, taping phone conversations and so forth. Alcaraz has decided to use the taping of phone conversations as a symbol, and by juxtaposing it with the icon of the Statue of Liberty it becomes much more ubiquitous. No longer is the government listening to a single phone conversation, but now any conversation, which is had in public in New York City, will be recorded by the Statue of Liberty's oversized microphone. The icon that once represented freedom is now depicted jeopardizing our right to freedom of speech. This is a very powerful image and is one that students will certainly be able to connect with.
I will assist students in going through this process of appropriation for their own artwork. They will choose an icon from the list we brainstormed before, and they will write a short paragraph stating what their icon symbolizes to them, and why. Then they will tell me how they think the meaning of the icon has changed in a certain context - is there a current event going on which changes the meaning of the icon, or did something happen in their personal life that has caused them to see this icon differently? Next students will need to brainstorm images to symbolize that change in the icon. The last step is for students to determine how to juxtapose the old icon and the new symbols together in an interesting composition. How are they going to change or alter the icon? What traits will remain so that the icon is recognizable? I look forward to seeing students' responses to this challenge.
While students are working I use a variety of strategies to monitor their progress. I am constantly walking around the room looking at what students are doing and asking them questions about what they are working on. If they have a question about how to do something my first response is always, "What do you think you should do?" I find that my students are programmed to immediately ask for the answers instead of trying to solve problems for themselves. Therefore, when they have questions I try to have them answer their own questions, or look to their peers for help.
Their final pieces of artwork will be displayed throughout the school, including their written explanation of their artwork.
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