For students: We hope this guide will help sharpen your reading skills and deepen your understanding of this issue’s articles.

For teachers: We encourage reproduction and adaptation of these ideas, freely and without further permission from Saudi Aramco World, by teachers at any level, whether working in a classroom or through home study.

— THE EDITORS

Jump to McRel Standards

Activities

Several articles in this edition of Saudi Aramco World focus on art. Two of them explore art that is being created and shown by artists in and from the Middle East. A third displays portraits made by photojournalism students in Bangladesh. The three articles provide opportunities to think about creativity—how and why people create, and where and why people view their creations. The activities in the Classroom Guide aim to help you explore these issues. It is divided into two themes: Making Art and Showing and Viewing Art. As you'll see, the distinction isn't always hard and fast, but breaking the material down into these two themes will give you a way to access it.

Theme: Making Art

Why do people create art? What is art's purpose?

Before you read any of the articles, consider this question: What is the purpose of art? Take a few minutes to think about it. Then make a few notes, or write a few sentences with some answers to the question. Don't worry: There are no right or wrong answers! You'll be reading some articles that will address the question. But the reason for this activity is to see what you think now, before you read what others think. Once you've finished answering the question, have volunteers share their answers with the class, and have the teacher or another student write them on the board. When you've got a good list, step back and think about the whole group of answers. What generalizations can you make about your class's thoughts on the purpose of art?

Now turn to Saudi Aramco World to see how others address the question of why people create art. Read "Mideast Cool." As you read, highlight the sections of the article that answer the question "What is the purpose of art?" Divide the class into groups. Each group should have a piece of chart paper. Turn it sideways (landscape) and draw lines dividing it in thirds. In the left third, write the phrase "art for art's sake." Now, what do you think "art for art's sake" means? If you don't know, do some Internet research to find out. Write your group's definition of the phrase on the left side of your chart. In the middle section, write down the purposes of art that you highlighted in "Mideast Cool." Discuss each of them with your group to be sure you understand them. With your group, role-play a conversation between someone who believes in art for art's sake and others who believe in art for the purposes listed in your middle column. (Each person should take just one "purpose for art," even though you may support several different purposes. By focusing on only one purpose, you can get clear on why someone would think that that purpose was the most important one.) After the conversation, make a few notes that identify which ideas about art's purpose you agree with (if you agree with any of them) and why. Hold on to the notes. You're going to have a chance to use them, but first you're going to think even more deeply about why artists create art.

You're going to do that by looking at art itself and then working backward. Consider the artwork on page 6, "Mother and I," by Houria Niati. With your group, talk about your first impressions of the work: At first glance, do you like it? Why or why not? Then look more closely at it. Notice that it contains two layers. Who do you think the people are in the base layer photo? What makes you think so? What does the top layer consist of? In what ways are the two layers different? What effect do the two layers have on you as a viewer? How do you feel when you look at them? Getting back to the artist's purpose, why do you think Niati made a two-layer piece? Why these two particular layers? Use your list of purposes to help you think about it. Then find the part on pages 7 and 8 where Niati is quoted speaking about her art. How does her explanation affect your thinking about the purpose of her art? Make any necessary additions to your list.

What is art anyway?

HOURIA NIATI, "MOTHER AND I," FROM THE SERIES "CURTAINS OF WORDS," 2006. COURTESY OF THE ARTIST.

As you know, both "Mideast Cool" and "Doha's New Modern" look at artists and the art they create. "Mideast Cool" identifies four characteristics of art by Middle Eastern artists. What are they? Read about each one. Then turn your attention to "Portraits of Commitment," which has a somewhat different focus. Read Dick Doughty's introduction. Who created the photographs and narratives (stories) that appear in "Portraits of Commitment"? In the introduction, circle the words or phrases that describe the creators of the portraits. Do you think that the work of photojournalist-storytellers is art? To get another perspective on that question, read "Setting the Scene," which follows "Mideast Cool" on page 9. Looking back at your chart, the purpose of art might be "for art's sake," or it might be any number of other purposes named by the people you've read about. Let's put the initial question "What is art anyway?" in a more specific way: Do you think there is a clear distinction between art and photojournalism? Why or why not?

Who makes art?

Now that you've thought about why people create art, think more about those creators: artists. Who are they? What characteristics do they share? What characterizes their vocation? "Mideast Cool" quotes author Nat Muller's description of the roles that Arab artists take on. Find the list and write it in the third column of your chart. Compare it to the list of reasons that people create art. Draw lines to match up the roles with the purposes. For example, artist-as-activist could match up with the purpose of art as "making statements about society." If you can't find a match, see if it makes sense to add (or subtract) from either list.

In what circumstances is art created?

Artists are people who live lives. In addition to creating art, they have to take care of such mundane matters as food and shelter. Some also have to deal with such difficult matters as living in exile or struggling with limitations in their homelands. Since you're exploring the making of art, it's worth thinking about whether such circumstances affect artists' creations. For example, "Doha's New Modern" says that "Baghdad under [the United Nations economic] sanctions [in the 1990's] became a difficult place for artists." In what ways do you suppose it was difficult? What very practical assistance helped the artists?

How might material support change the art that someone creates? Take big Hollywood filmmakers as an example. They have seemingly unlimited funds (relatively speaking) to do their work. Independent filmmakers, on the other hand, often have relatively little money. Bring in clips from different movies to share with your classmates. Make sure you have samples from both high-budget and low-budget films. Discuss: How can you tell which is which? Do you think these very different creative products can be compared to each other? Why or why not?

Take some time to pull together the work you've done on this theme. Write an essay that answers the question: What is the purpose of art? Use material from the three articles to support your answer. You may also want to use one or more of the artworks reproduced in the magazine, too.

Theme: Showing and Viewing Art

So far you've explored in some depth why artists create, what they create and the circumstances in which they create it. Now it's time to look at how they display the art, and how and where we view it.

Why does it matter to people to have their art shown?

All three articles that you've read address, in one way or another, how artists feel about having their work displayed. In some cases, they know even before they begin creating that their work will be shown in a specific place, and often to specific kinds of people. Divide the class into groups of three, and assign each person one of the three articles. Reread your article, find parts that talk about showing art, and summarize them. (Probably the easiest way to summarize is to write a few sentences, but if you can summarize without writing anything down, that's fine, too.) Share your summary with the members of your group, and listen as they share theirs. With the other members of your group, discuss this question: Do you think that knowing that their art will be shown affects artists while they are creating? To help you bring the question closer to home, think about doodling. When you doodle (say, during a class while the teacher is talking), do you think that anyone will see what you draw? If you think or thought your drawing would have an audience, would it affect what you do? How?

How important is the situation in which you look at art?

Find the part of "Doha's New Modern" that describes Mathaf's building. In addition, find the parts where people express their thoughts about that setting. Have you viewed art in a big, fancy museum? Write a journal entry that addresses these questions: How did you feel when you were there? Did the setting in some way enhance your experience of viewing the art? Did it in some way detract from your experience? On the other hand, have you ever viewed art in a small gallery? Or in an artist's
studio or house? How did you feel in those settings? Which kind of setting do you
prefer? Why?

Another factor that affects the viewing of art is whether a viewer has a guide. Mathaf has tour guides who are local university students. "The idea is that if these 19-year-old and 20-year-old college students speak to teenagers, they're more likely to listen," says Wassan al-Khudairi, Mathaf's acting director. What do you think? Would you like art more if a person took you around? If so, why? If not, why not?

How do you look at art?

Now that you've explored the making and viewing of art, try your hand at actually looking at a work of art. Choose a work of art from one of the three articles. What do you like about the piece? What drew you to it (so to speak)? What, if anything, does it mean to you? Connect the piece to what you've read about the artist who created it. Does that affect your appreciation of it?

MJ11 Standards Alignment
McRel Standards

Blessed By Two Oceans

Geography

Standard 4. Understands the physical and human characteristics of place

Standard 9. Understands the nature, distribution and migration of human populations on Earth's surface

Standard 10. Understands the nature and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics

Standard 11. Understands the patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface

Standard 17. Understands how geography is used to interpret the past

World History

Standard 29. Understands the economic, political, and cultural interrelations among peoples of Africa, Europe, and the Americas between 1500 and 1750

Standard 31. Understands major global trends from 1450 to 1770

Standard 34. Understands how Eurasian societies were transformed in an era of global trade and the emergence of European power from 1750 to 1870

Doha�s New Modern

Visual Arts

Standard 3. Knows a range of subject matter, symbols, and potential ideas in the visual arts

Standard 4. Understands the visual arts in relation to history and cultures

Career Education: Arts and Communication

Standard 4. Understands ways in which the human experience is transmitted and reflected in the arts and communication

Geography

Standard 5. Understands the concept of regions

Standard 6. Understands that culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions

Standard 10. Understands the nature and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics

Mideast Cool

Art Connections

Standard 1. Understands connections among the various art forms and other disciplines

Visual Arts

Standard 3. Knows a range of subject matter, symbols, and potential ideas in the visual arts

Standard 4. Understands the visual arts in relation to history and cultures

Career Education: Arts and Communication

Standard 4. Understands ways in which the human experience is transmitted and reflected in the arts and communication

Geography

Standard 5. Understands the concept of regions

Standard 9. Understands the nature, distribution and migration of human populations on Earth's surface

Standard 10. Understands the nature and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics

On the Surest Path

Geography

Standard 9. Understands the nature, distribution and migration of human populations on Earth's surface

Standard 10. Understands the nature and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics

World History

Standard 34. Understands how Eurasian societies were transformed in an era of global trade and the emergence of European power from 1750 to 1870

Standard 36. Understands patterns of global change in the era of Western military and economic dominance from 1800 to 1914

Standard 37. Understand major global trends from 1750 to 1914

Portraits of Commitment

Visual Arts

Standard 4. Understands the visual arts in relation to history and cultures

Career Education: Arts and Communication

Standard 4. Understands ways in which the human experience is transmitted and reflected in the arts and communication

Geography

Standard 10. Understands the nature and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics

Standard 13. Understands the forces of cooperation and conflict that shape the divisions of Earth's surface

Multipolar Future

Economics

Standard 2. Understands characteristics of different economic systems, economic institutions, and economic incentives

Standard 10. Understands basic concepts about international economics

Geography

Standard 5. Understands the concept of regions

Standard 6. Understands that culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions

Standard 9. Understands the nature, distribution and migration of human populations on Earth's surface

Standard 10. Understands the nature and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics

Standard 11. Understands the patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth's surface

World History

Standard 15. Understands the political, social, and cultural redefinitions in Europe from 500 to 1000 CE

Standard 18. Understands major global trends from 300 to 1000 CE

Standard 19. Understands the maturation of an interregional system of communication, trade, and cultural exchange during a period of Chinese economic power and Islamic expansion

Standard 20. Understands the redefinition of European society and culture from 1000 to 1300 CE

Standard 25. Understands major global trends from 1000 to 1500 CE

Julie Weiss is an education consultant based in Eliot, Maine. She holds a Ph.D. in American studies. Her company, Unlimited Horizons, develops social studies, media literacy, and English as a Second Language curricula,and produces textbook materials.