DESCRIPTION: An activity related to Lorna Simpson's work Wigs (Portfolio).

OBJECTIVES: To explore issues of race, ethnicity, and cultural identity through a simple interactive activity, and think about the role of hair as a marker of social and cultural identity.

PROCEDURE: The silhouettes of four cut-out figures are presented, along with an assortment of wigs. The figures present the concept of "avatar". In computer games and virtual worlds, an avatar is one's surrogate computer persona or graphical representation in the imaginary world. In this simple activity, students select a form as avatar and choose a hairstyle to dress their own avatar. Students can select the wig they identify with the most or the one they would like to explore. This activity should be performer in conjunction with Lorna Simpson's work Wigs (Portfolio).

GO TO THE INTERACTIVE ACTIVITY

GRADUATION STANDARDS:
(1) Read, View, Listen
(2) Write and Speak
(3) Literature and the Arts
(5) Inquiry
(7) People and Cultures

Age Level:Appropriate for students at grades 6 and up.
Artworks Used:
Literature and books about hair:
Bernice Bobs Her Hair by F. Scott Fitzerald
Melanie Walker has written a book on hair.
The use of text, perhaps in a form similar to "magnetic poetry", may be used in conjunction with this activity.
Related to MSG: No

© 1998 WALKER ART CENTER