This Unit provides students with the opportunity to expand their knowledge of facial proportions, collage, patterning and symbol making. Students should be able to organize their ideas to create a Mexican Luchador wrestler identity through a limited color palette and a design to represent their personas, based on the masks created for professional Mexican Luchadors.
Relationship to Life
Students in the 4th grade will be continuing their education in Spanish. Learning about Mexican Luchador wrestlers will provide students with insight into another Spanish-speaking country’s culture. Students will use their established language skills to create a Spanish name for their wrestling persona. Students will also be able to expand on their portrait-drawing skills, using the analysis of their faces from previous projects to help plan the proportions and designs of their masks.
Children begin to become more concerned with expressing images in a realistic way. It is during this stage that children are most critical of themselves, and therefore, are usually unsatisfied with how their drawings turn out, because it is during this stage that children realize the difference between drawing for the sake of drawing and drawing to accurately represent something. Children become more concerned with details and specific characteristics that define gender, age, location, time, etc in an image. Children also want to “make art”, and are often frustrated with their inability to creatively and accurately portray an image or idea.
Themes start to come into play with the introduction of abstract thought. Children can portray both realistic and imaginary scenes. Gender-related themes often come into play: boys will tend to draw sports, cars, superheroes, and cartoon characters, while girls will draw animals, flowers, hearts, and fashion-oriented images.
Specificity in an image is important in describing age, gender, proportions, and definitive features, however children are now able to think abstractly.
Regression is a common theme in child art at this stage. If a child is unable to depict something the way they want, they often resort to stick figures or cartoon-like images to mask or compensate for their inability to draw realistically. Often times, children become so disconnected from the art making process due to their frustration that they begin to draw haphazardly, and details are often sketchy or ignored all together, (Simpson, 1998).
Progress is made in a child’s move away from drawing using frontal views only, and with their deeper understanding of perspective and depth in the picture plane. Horizon lines come into play, and children are aware of a foreground, middle ground and background.
Color is used in a more realistic way, however children begin to trade crayons and markers for pencils to allow for editing and corrections in their work. Pencils also allow for complete manipulation of the tool. This is important in this stage because children are concerned with perfection, and a material that is difficult to use or time consuming will only add to their frustration.
Problem/Activity Statement
Students are presented with the challenge of designing a mask based on the masks of professional Mexican Luchador wrestlers. Students must decide on a limited color palette, symbols and patterns to help represent their invented Mexican wrestling personas. Using the knowledge that they obtained during previous self-portrait lessons, students will construct a mask out of construction paper, adhering to accurate facial proportions. Students will first sketch out their ideas on paper, and then make a larger final mask. Students will learn the importance of preparatory work and planning, as well as the need to make decisions and be willing to accept changes made to their work.
Goals
Students should:
Understand: The meanings of artistic works by explaining how the subject matter and/or form reflect the events, ideas, religions, and customs of people living at a particular time in history
(MCAF Standard 6)
The art making processes necessary to design and create their object.
(MCAF Standard: 4)
Ways a final product relates to a variety of time images and objects produced in other historical periods.
(MCAF Standards: 5 and 8)
Know: The art making processes necessary to design and create their object.
(MCAF Standard: 4)
Be Able to: apply knowledge of other disciplines in learning in and about the arts
(MCAF Standard 10)
Produce/construct an object that enables personal voices.
(MCAF Standard: 1)
Objectives
Identify and use ideas of one’s self to communicate through art making.
Use a variety of tools and techniques to apply the formal qualities of art.
Analyze and apply thematic compositional approaches used in designing masks and costumes for Mexican Luchador wrestlers.
Demonstrate an understanding of ways artists plan and design personal symbols, logos and emblems.
Instructional Concepts
“Early masks were very simple with basic colors to distinguish the wrestler. In modern lucha libre, masks are colorfully designed to evoke the images of animals, gods, ancient heroes, and other archetypes, whose identity the luchador takes on during a performance. During their careers, masked luchadores will often be seen in public wearing their masks and keeping up the culture of Lucha Libre, while other masked wrestlers will interact with the public and press normally. However, they will still go to great lengths to conceal their true identities; in effect, the mask is synonymous with the luchador.”
“Luchadores are traditionally divided into two categories, rudos (lit. "tough guys", who are "bad guys", or "heels", literally "rude ones"), who bend or break the rules, and técnicos (the "good guys", or "faces", literally "technicians"), who play by the rules and their moves are much more complex and spectacular. Técnicos tend to have very formal combat styles, close to Greco-Roman wrestling and martial arts techniques, whereas rudos tend to be brawlers. Técnicos playing the "good guy" role, and rudos playing the "bad guy" role is very characteristic of Mexican lucha libre.”
Line can be thick, thin or curved.
Line can be used to invent forms.
Color can be used for emphasis in a composition.
Texture can be used to create surface variety.
Forms can be identified by the use of surrounding objects in the environment.
Forms can be described in relation to parts of a while.
Balance can be achieved through the arrangement of line, shape, color, texture, space, or form within a composition.
Emphasis can be achieved through outlining.
Unity can be achieved through repetition of line, shape, color, texture, space, or form in a composition.
Rhythm can be achieved by varying the size of line, color, texture, shape and form.
Variety can be achieved through a change in tone or value.
Introducing children to art develops their visual awareness and provides a springboard for personal image making.
Narrative strategies help student artists develop their visual awareness and provide a springboard for personal image making.
Brainstorming helps students work through problems and eliminate challenges before working on their final projects.
Resources and Materials
Materials: Exemplars:
Newsprint “La Furia”, Teacher Exemplar
Oak tag “El Gato Negro”, Teacher Exemplar
Construction paper
Scissors
Exacto knives
Pencils
Glue
Motivation
The teacher will have prepared at least one example of their own work to show the class, including a preliminary sketch and the finished mask. The teacher will show the students, in the beginning of the lesson, examples of professional Luchador masks, and give a brief history and background of the importance of Luchador masks in Mexican culture.
The teacher will share a compilation of pictures of Luchador masks, and will hold a brief discussion with the class about what design aspects of the masks the students think is important in describing the wrestler’s identity. Students will then brainstorm ideas of different techniques and symbols they can use in their own designs.
Students will be asked to invent their own wrestler name. The name must be in Spanish, and students may use previously learned vocabulary and a Spanish dictionary if needed.
Questions
Topic Questions:
Why do you think Luchadores adopt a secret identity? What do you think informs their decision of what their wrestling identity is?
How might masks play an important role in helping to preserve the identity and reputation of a Luchador?
Association Questions:
Do Luchador masks resemble other masks?
Why do other people wear masks? What purposes do masks have?
Have you ever worn a mask? How does it make you feel to look like something else, and how might wearing a mask help you act differently?
Visualization Questions:
What kind of wrestling persona would you adopt? Would you be a “good guy” or a “bad guy”?
What colors, symbols and designs would you use to represent your wrestling persona?
Transition questions:
What Elements and Principles of Design are most important to remember when designing your mask.
Procedures
Demonstration
The teacher will first show students pictures of professional Luchador masks. The teacher and students will discuss the masks, identities, and culture of Mexican wrestling. The teacher will then show students the finished teacher exemplar. The teacher will start students off by showing them how to draw a simple face using basic facial proportions. The teacher will then discuss requirements for the assignment. The teacher will allow students to draw their masks first before instructing them to move on to constructing their larger masks.
Vocabulary:
Lucha Libre- Literally “free fighting”. This term is used to describe the style of wrestling used by Luchadors.
Rudos- The “bad guys”, that do not follow rules by the book. Rudos usually wrestle using underhanded, illegal technique.
Tecnicos- The “good guys”, that follow the rules of Lucha Libre. Usually, they use more complex and impressive maneuvers.
Collage- The act of layering paper and other materials to create form and pattern.
Distribution
Students will first be given sketch paper. They will be instructed to look at the teacher example and the examples of professional Luchador masks provided by the teacher. When they move on to creating their final masks, students will be able to choose colored paper. Scissors and glue will be provided, and exacto knives will be available pon request.
Work period
On the first day, students will be given sketch paper to begin designing their masks. Students will be shown pictures of professional masks to give them inspiration. Students will be asked to create an identity, and should create designs, symbols and patterns based on this identity. Students may choose their name now, or students may choose a name once their mask has been created. Once students have completed their preliminary drawings, students will be instructed to trace a template on oak tag to create the base of their mask. Students must cut out their mask from the oak tag, and may begin planning on the back of the oak tag. Once students feel comfortable, they may begin cutting paper and creating their masks.
Clean-up
At the end of each class, students must make sure their names are on their projects. If the student has not yet pasted all pieces to their masks, students must write their names on all un-glued pieces and keep them in a folder. Materials will be returned to their proper place, and all drawings and masks will be handed in to the class folder at the end of each class.
Closure
The teacher will go over what should have been accomplished by the end of the class, and what will be expected of each student during their next meeting. The teacher will review where materials and projects should be put away, and the class will be dismissed.
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated based on their creativity and execution. Students are expected to complete a preliminary drawing before moving on to their final mask. The preliminary drawings should demonstrate ability in planning, and should include evidence of brainstorming and development before moving on to the final project. Final masks will be evaluated based on the students ability to organize and lay out their designs with attention paid to accurate face proportions, and their ability to cut and layer paper to create interesting and inventive designs. Neatness, creativity and composition are important components of this assignment.
Did the students…
Did the students create a wrestling persona and come up with a Spanish word or name?
Did the students draw a preliminary sketch of their masks, showing an attempt to plan personal designs and symbols?
Did the students neatly trace and cut out their final mask?
Did the students plan their final mask designs around proportions that are accurate and sensible?
Did the students use a limited color palette in their final designs?
Did the students neatly cut out and paste paper shapes on to their final projects?