Provocative.  Eye-catching.  Mind-boggling. 
These were just a few of the adjectives that came to mind when walking from the bus entrance and down Main Street at SAS, Pudong Campus.  In Grade 8 Humanities, students were challenged to “Know. Care. Act.” as a part of the EARCOS Global Issues Network Conference 2010 unit.  Art teachers Kristi Thornbury and Jason Maddock collaborated with the Humanities teachers, Ryan Kulikowski, Angela Nall, Jordan Small, Jonathan Chambers, and Shannon Brown, so that their art students would highlight the global issues they worked on in Humanities through graffiti. 

In art, the students were introduced to Banksy.  Student Angela Shao explains: “You might be wondering who or what is this ‘BANKSY.’ So here we go. Quite surprisingly, nobody knows for sure the identity of this mysterious, urban street artist, but one thing we do know is that Banksy is a quasi-anonymous British graffiti (writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, sprayed on a wall or other surfaces in a public space) artist. His works are an excellent focus linking to global issues in a way because they always have a hidden meaning behind them which hints toward issues such as poverty and peace, and they are displayed in public areas, so everyone can see them, unlike artwork placed in museums.”  The Grade 8 students were charged with creating their own works of graffiti.  The result was awesome.

In our Global Issues unit, students learned that “systems can create inequities.”  Ivory Loh focused on a system that allows child labor. Ivory explained her piece:  “The message I would like the viewer to take away from seeing my finished graffiti work is the irony of the picture. A child laborer is struggling to carry a heavy bucket. However, the bucket contains everything a child laborer lacks: good and proper medical care, love and care, technology, and money. This image is pointing out that.” 

Another enduring understanding that was addressed from the unit was emphasized through Noah Berg’s work about labor laws and migration:  “Human needs depend on available resources.”  When needs shift, some people need to migrate to other areas.  Noah Berg shared his interpretation of his graffiti art, “My global issue was migration. The symbols I used were the birds as people, and the wall represented all of the borders that are in the world. An interpretation of my work would be that humans should be able to travel or migrate freely, no matter where they are from. Also, that these “walls” in the world shouldn’t exist. These walls could include actual border walls, like the one in between the USA and Mexico. They could also be and physiological wall; that makes people think they can’t do something.”

Angela Shao researched natural disaster mitigation and prevention.  “All around the world, natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons, tornados, tsunamis, etc. cause serious damages and loss. Even though there is no way to prevent natural disasters from happening, our modern technology and knowledge help warn us ahead of time so we can mitigate the seriousness and damage they bring to people.”  The Enduring Understanding, “the past and present affect our future” was a focus of many projects relating to natural disaster prevention and mitigation:  We need to learn from past natural disasters to be better prepared for future occurrences.  Angela identified the symbols she used including, the bandage — tape and medical aid; the fault — earthquake; the grass — land (because grasses grow on land).  She further explained, “Earthquakes happen every year, and quite often in particular countries. But the damages and destruction made can’t really ‘heal’ themselves together; the victims need people out there to help. So what this piece tells us is that even though we can’t prevent these earthquakes from happening, we can still control it (as in the damage it brings to people) to a certain degree by giving a hand to the victims that desperately needed our help and support.”

Finally, students discussed how “everything we do has an impact on ourselves and our environment” in the Global Issues unit and through this art project.  David Zhao, who also focused on natural disaster prevention and mitigation wrote:   “I was drawn to choose a volcano as a main element in my work. The volcano, widely known as something that can cause tremendous amounts of destruction, symbolizes the chaos and suffering caused by an actual natural disaster. The other symbols I used were a bouquet of flowers symbolizing happiness and joy, and white doves, the universal symbol of peace. When choosing the opposite for the volcano I settled on the flowers because when I think of a symbol of happiness I think of a stereotypical situation with cheery people surrounded by flowers.

“My interpretation of my image is that the volcano is usually thought of as spewing molten rock in all directions burning whatever is in its path. However, this time the volcano is shown erupting a bouquet of flowers and a pair of white doves. The meaning of this is that the effects of a volcano don’t have to be devastating; on the contrary, they can just be for the better as the lava would harden to create more land for people to inhabit. If I could leave the view with one thing it would be that disasters like a volcano erupting can be mitigated so that there isn’t any loss of life. With the technology we have today scientists are able to anticipate disasters like volcanoes and with the proper resources we should be able to evacuate soon enough so that no lives are taken. Disasters don’t have to kill; the more people who know about the destruction caused by natural disasters the closer we are to being prepared to deal with them.”

Provocative?  Yes. 
Thought-provoking?  Definitely. 
Illustrations of learning transferred?  Obviously. 

By Shannon BROWN, MS Humanities Teacher, Pudong Campus;
and Jason MADDOCK, MS Art Teacher, Pudong Campu