CULTURE & FOLK ART

LESSON 2
 CULTURE

• What is culture?
• What are some characteristics that
make up one’s culture?
• Does everyone have a culture?
• Is identity related to culture?
 CULTURE

• Culture is beliefs and behaviors of a certain

age group, ethnicity, and social group.
• Culture is shared.
• Culture is adaptive.
• Culture is always changing..
• America is a great example = “Melting pot of
different cultures”

https://medium.com/@beautehealthy/what-is-culture-types-of-culture-elements-of-culture-characteristics-of-culture-
7b4d65caddc7
 FOLK ART

• What is Folk Art?

• Is Folk Art important?
• ”Am I a Folk Artist?”

https://caseantiques.c
om/item/lot-653-
appalachian-folk-art-
items-inc-banjo-
carvings-basket/ https://pixels.com/featured/durga-madhubani-folk-art-shinjini-thakur.html?product=art-print
PLEASE JUST TELL ME WHAT FOLK ART IS!!!

• May be decorative or utilitarian

• May be used every day or reserved for high ceremonies
• Is handmade; it may include handmade elements, as well as new, synthetic, or recycled components
• May be made for use within a community of practice or it may be produced for sale as a form of income
and empowerment
• May be learned formally or informally; folk art may also be self-taught
• May include intangible forms of expressive culture like dance, song, poetry, and foodways
• Is traditional; it reflects shared cultural aesthetics and social issues. It is recognized that, as traditions are
dynamic, traditional folk art may change over time and may include innovations in tradition.
• Is of, by, and for the people; all people, inclusive of class, status, culture, community, ethnicity, gender, and
religion
 CULTURE + FOLK ART

• Using the Cultural Traditions Checklist

Handout, let’s see what makes up culture in
our community and life.
• How does Culture & Folk Art relate to one
another?
• Is there an artist from Lesson 1 that you would
put in the Folk Art category? Why? Why not?
• Image: Florida Folk Art.What makes it Folk
Art?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1018603700/old-florida-folk-art-native-bird
“AM I A FOLK ARTIST?”

• Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture.
• Folk arts reflect the cultural life of a community. The art form encompasses the
expressive culture associated with the fields of folklore and cultural heritage.
• This lesson will explore your artist practice and you will answer this question for
yourself!
LET’S LOOK CLOSER AT SOME FOLK ART AND
THEIR MANY MEDIUMS
• Take note of what they have in • YouTube Link:
common! Folk Artist’s from all • Folk Art Across the World in 6 Minutes
across the world have similar: • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyherXpkwQk
• Theme
• Colors
• Patterns
• Symbolism
• Movement
 OLGA

• Artist from Greece

• Depicting the
Turkish occupation
of Greece
• On Marine
Plywood
• Completed in 2014

https://www.artmajeur.com/en/myfolkartpaintings/artworks/10020559/warriors
 FAMILY TRADITION: THE AKHRIEV FAMILY
DAUD, MELISSA, AND TIMUR

• Daud Akhriev
• Daud Akhriev was born
in the former Soviet
Union in 1959.
• Russia and lives in
Tennessee part-time
with his wife Melissa
and son Timmur.
• Daud does small scale
and large scale work

https://www.cutterandcutter.com/artist/daud-akhriev/
 MELISSA HEFFERLIN

• Image: Death of a
Watermelon,
• Realist Russian Painter

https://www.cutterandcutter.com/art/melissa-
hefferlin/death-of-a-watermelon/
 TIMUR (TIM) AKHRIEV

• Born in Vladikavkaz, the

territory where Southern Russia
meets Chechnya in 1983.
• Plein Air painter who focuses
on the smaller bits and pieces of
subject matter
• Gives his work a new “twist”
• Image: Ephemeral, 82”x119”
• Oil on Wood
 SAM SEIGAL

• Canadian abstract landscape

artist
• Artwork is based on land from
Canada

https://samsoriginalart.com/
 CARLI BITTNER

• Indonesian artist
• Stylistic patterns from her
environment

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AfXM6KZweGm4qL_XOKYePvgKM_PvXkLs0n40LDaDvh5c3FbdmEVx00M/
 STANLEY BERMUDEZ

• Venezuelan artist
• Professor of Arts in United
States
• Work focuses on political
issues, family, heritage of
Venezuela, Mexican, South
American

https://www.stanleybermudez.com/home
 ALEXANDRA (ALEX) KRAFT

• United States
• Ceramic Artist
• Professor of ceramics at the
University of North Georgia
• Work focuses on abstract,
sensory, organic structures, and
more

https://www.alexkraftart.com/
 RAPHAEL PEREZ

• Israeli Folk painter.

• born in 1965, studied art at the
College of Visual Arts in Beer Sheva,
and from 1995 has been living and
working in his studio in Tel Aviv.
• Artwork are personal diaries of his
life.

https://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/r/rafiperez/
 BILLY JOE CRAVED

• Potter for over 50 years

• 9th generation family potter
• Makes face jugs as well as
hand throws planters that are
sold are big box retailers
such as Home Depot, Lowe’s,
and more

https://www.chickenmanart.com/folk-and-outsider/pottery/billy-joe-craven.html
https://gainesvilletimes.anvilcms.net/life/people/celebrating-50-years-how-billy-joe-craven-molded-his-craft-multi-million-dollar-
pottery-business/
MY NAME IS ME
PROJECT
OBJECTIVE

• By completing research on your name with your family as well as completing the
handouts for this lesosn, you will be constructing a statue of your name. By learning
about colors, shapes, patterns, symbols, and so forth from the artist’s this lesson, you will
be using your favorite symbols, colors, and imagery and put them onto each letter of
your name.
 MATERIALS

• Handouts • Sketchbook
• Project Sheet Handout • Art supplies: paints, colored pencils, etc.
• Project Sheet Assessment Rubric
• Bristol Board
• Name Discovery Worksheet
• Self-Assessment Form • Hot Glue + Hot Glue Gun
• Name Interview Handout • Ruler