Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

I'm really happy that you could be here today to learn about craft.

Today we are looking at a lesson on body adornment.

so let's get started.

I hope that by the end of today's lesson you can use body adornment as a form of communication.

Let's take a look at some keywords for today's lesson.

Adornment is decorating the body to express who we are.

Collage is an art technique where different materials are glued onto a surface to make a new artwork.

Stereotype is an idea or belief about a group of people, or it can be about an individual, and these beliefs are often not true and can lead to unfair judgments.

And we'll talk about this more during the lesson.

The lesson today is broken down into three parts.

The first part is an introduction to body adornment, so let's take a look.

Body adornment is how we decorate our bodies to express who we are, our cultural background, our personal feelings.

Body adornment is a powerful form of communication that goes beyond fashion.

In fact, it goes beyond words.

We can tell a lot about a person by the way that they decorate their bodies.

Body adornment dates back thousands of years.

Let's take a look.

Take a look at this image.

What patterns can you see on the hands? These intricate patterns can take hours and hours to complete.

They're often done on the hands and feet, but can be anywhere on the body.

They're made from a special paste that's created from the henna plant.

Henna designs symbolise good luck and blessings for the newly married couple.

Take a look at this image.

What colours can you see? Well done if you identified yellows, blues, greens, whites.

All of these colours have symbolism to the Maasai people of Kenya.

Red is for courage, white is purity, blue can symbolise the sky or rain, yellow for prosperity and the preciousness of life.

This is a powerful form of communication.

Take a look at this jewellery from northern Thailand.

This is an ancient tradition of the Kayan people These brass rings are added slowly over time to elongate the neck, which is seen as a symbol of beauty in their culture.

Body adornment includes anything we use to decorate or modify our bodies.

Now, a quick check for understanding.

Which of these is a form of body adornment? A, hairstyles B, tattoos, C, jewellery, or D, all of the above? Well done if you guessed all of the above.

They are all forms of body adornment.

Body adornment is used in performance.

Let's take a look at some examples.

This is a type of costume from an Indonesian carnival.

This shows a ritual in Brazil, and this one you might recognise, Morris dancers from England.

All very bright and colourful ways to decorate the body.

Body adornment can be a form of storytelling in carnivals, parades, rituals, and dance.

I wonder if you've ever seen a type of costume in these types of occasions.

Laura and Andeep are discussing how body adornment can communicate information without using words.

Laura says, "I wear a bracelet that goes back generations and tells a story of my family lineage." Andeep comments that, "I wear a turban to represent my religion and culture." How does what you wear communicate something about you? Maybe it's something you wear every day or has a special meaning.

Have a think.

Now, over to you for a task.

List types of body adornment used globally, so think big, think in other cultures as well.

You could think about what types of body adornment do people wear every day, like we thought about on the previous slide.

What body adornments are worn for special occasions, like the military or at weddings.

You may want to think of the examples we've discussed to give you ideas.

What are permanent or temporary types of body adornment, so think permanent, things you can't remove.

Things that are gonna stay around.

Have a think, have a discuss, and I look forward to hearing your answers.

Let's take a look at what you may have said.

So you may have said, everyday body adornment can include earrings, beadwork, watches, rings, bracelets or anklets.

Body adornment for special occasions may include wedding henna, as we've discussed, tiaras or hats, any type of hat that might be on the head, cultural garments like kimonos, saris, or dashikis, and maybe even medals as well.

Permanent body adornments can be piercings, skin marking traditions including tattoos and scarification and branding, which is where people in some cultures put hot objects on their skin to make marks, and this is a form of decoration and body adornment.

Let's move on to the second learning cycle, discuss body adornment as a form of communication.

Body adornment uses symbols to communicate beliefs.

A symbol is something that actually can represent more than just its literal meaning.

Take a look at this image.

Do you recognise what type of beetle it might be? Well done if you recognise it's a Scarab beetle.

In Ancient Egypt, the scab beetle was worn for spiritual protection and as a symbol of transformation and rebirth.

In Greek and Egyptian mythology, the phoenix is a legendary bird that rises from its ashes, symbolising renewal and the cyclical nature of life.

You may have seen an example of this in the Harry Potter movies.

Can you think of any other significant ancient symbols found in body adornment? You may have mentioned things like the evil eye, which is worn in many cultures to protect the wearer against bad luck and jealousy from others.

Over to you for a check for understanding.

What does the Scarab beetle symbolise? Is it A, strength and endurance, B, harmony and peace, or C, transformation and rebirth? Well done if you said C.

It is transformation and rebirth.

Body adornment includes permanent decoration, as we've mentioned.

Maori tattoos communicate family history and tribal connections.

Each design tells a story about ancestors and can signify bravery or leadership.

Maori tattoos, also known as moko, are more than just decoration.

They are deeply connected to the Maori tradition, spirituality, and ancestors.

Different shapes and lines have different meanings.

For example, a spiral can represent growth, which makes these tattoos a powerful tool for communication.

What other reasons do you think that people get tattoos? You may even know somebody that has one.

People get tattoos for all different reasons.

This can be to express their personality, beliefs, or experiences, or symbolise something important like a memory or a loved one or a personal achievement.

What is the main purpose of a Maori tattoo? Is it A, to show family history and tribal connections, B, to show skillful decorative patterns, C, to show the craft of making a tattoo with ink, or D, to show wealth and ward off evil spirits? Well done if you said A, to show family history and tribal connections.

Body adornment can communicate religious beliefs.

In some artworks, Vishnu, the Hindu God of protection, is depicted wearing gold jewellery and a headdress, which are symbolic of divine qualities.

So remember, they represent something else.

What other symbols express religious beliefs? Have a think.

Maybe you can recognise a symbol of a religious belief in this slide.

Take a look at all the images.

Well done if you said C, this necklace clearly shows the symbol of Christianity, which is the cross.

Body adornment can communicate status and power.

In Unknown artist, Queen Elizabeth I of England, the Armada portrait in 1588, Queen Elizabeth I's elaborate gown and jewellery highlighted her wealth and power.

How does body adornment today show wealth and power? Well done.

You may have said things like fashion brands or statement jewellery, maybe even hair and decorative nails.

Having the latest smartphone or smartwatch are all ways to show wealth and power in today's world.

Fill in the missing words.

Queen Elizabeth I's elaborate gown and jewellery were designed to reflect her? Wealth and power.

Well done.

Over to you for our second task.

Discuss, if you designed a body adornment, what would it be and what would it communicate about you? You could communicate your identity, so what makes you unique? Your gender, your religion, your heritage, or your status.

You could represent your hobbies, favourite music, friends or sports.

Have a discussion about what inspires you.

Where would your adornment be placed on the body? I look forward to hearing your ideas.

Let's take a look at what you may have said.

Lucas says that he would make a ring with a wave design to show how much he loves surfing at the beach.

So he's inspired by his environment and his hobbies.

Sophia says, "I would paint colourful animal designs on my arms to show my love of nature," and this is a temporary type of body adornment, a bit like the henna designs that we've looked at.

Now for our last learning cycle, collaging body adornment.

Collage is an artistic type of technique where different materials like paper, fabric, or pictures are glued onto a surface to make a new artwork, and you may be able to recognise some of the materials that have been used in this artwork.

Just as collage combines different materials to create a unified artwork, body adornments like jewellery, clothing, and accessories can also be designed by combining materials.

Take a close look here.

What material do you think has been used for the necklace in this collage? Well done if you said plasticine.

And there's been a tool that's been used to press into the plasticine to make these small decorative marks.

How do you think you could use collage to create body adornment? Let's look at some additional artists for some ideas.

Ellen Gallagher is an artist that looks at how people are seen and how they see themselves, and we're gonna look at her in a bit more detail as we go through this section of the lesson.

John Stezaker is a British artist who takes old photographs and combines parts of them to create new faces and bodies.

His art expresses how we see ourselves and others and what happens when we mix different pieces of the human form.

Wangechi Mutu, a Kenyan-American artist, combines collage with painting to make powerful images of women.

She mixes a human body with nature, animals, and fantasy to show strength, change, and personal stories.

Hannah Hoch was a German artist known for her collage art, where she cut out pictures of people and mixed them to create new and surprising images.

Laolu Senbanjo is a Nigerian artist who uses body adornment to create painted detailed patterns inspired by his heritage.

His work shows how the body can be a living canvas for storytelling.

Ellen Gallagher is an African American with Irish heritage.

Her work investigates issues of racial identity and belonging.

Her artwork, Bouffant pride, was named after a hairstyle that was popular in the 1950s and '60s.

It symbolised elegance and glamour.

It was made with layered cutouts from old beauty magazines, collage, acrylic, plasticine, and toy eyes.

Her work highlights a stereotypical Caucasian beauty standard often imposed on African American women.

What might be these stereotypical beauty standards? Think back to the 1960s, what may have been happening around that time? Some of the beauty standards that were advertised in these magazines would've been for things like hair straightening products or even skin whitening creams, things that were really not acceptable for African American women.

Let's have a quick check for understanding.

Frottage is an art technique where different materials like paper, fabric, or pictures are glued onto the surface to make a new artwork.

Is that true or false? Well done if you said false.

It's actually collage.

This is a technique for sticking different materials such as paper, photographs, and fabric onto a surface of a new artwork.

Think about what are today's stereotypical beauty standards.

This can be unrealistic expectations, what you might see in a magazine or on advertising, for example.

Have a discussion.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Jun says, "You need to have perfect skin, so people apply filters in photos to remove blemishes." Sam comments that having white teeth and the perfect smile.

Aisha says, "There can be pressure to have a specific body shape," and Lucas said, "Gendered beauty standards like being manly or feminine." These are all types of stereotypes.

Take a look at this example.

What collage materials can you see? You may have recognised that these are quite similar to Ellen Gallagher's use of collage.

She used things including coconut oil, glitter, toy eyes, and yellow plasticine to represent these stereotypical beauty standards.

What materials could you use to challenge beauty standards today? You could push the boundaries of what's traditionally seen as beautiful.

Think about recycled or discarded objects, or rough materials that show wear and tear, like old fabrics.

Maybe even unconventional materials like food could be used as a form of decoration.

Maybe try bright or unusual colours like neon or glitter.

Ultimately, the key is to make people question the narrow defines of beauty and celebrate imperfection.

Over to you for our last task.

Take a current beauty advertisement and reimagine it by adding body adornment using collage.

You're gonna need to a magazine image for this, or to print one off of the internet.

Think about how body adornment might celebrate culture and identity and how you might challenge stereotypical ideas of beauty and body image.

I'm really excited to see what you create and what materials you'll use.

Let's take a look at what your work may look like.

I hope you've had fun experimenting with materials, and I'm sure you've come up with something that's really unique to you.

These are the examples we looked at during the slide deck, so maybe you've tried plasticine or toy eyes, maybe you've decorated different parts of the body, or maybe you've experimented with these interesting hairstyles.

Well done for your efforts today.

Let's look at a short summary.

Body adornment is the practise of decorating or modifying the body through our hair, nails, skin, clothing, or jewellery.

Body adornment is a visual language which often has cultural, religious, or personal meaning.

Body adornment is used in many different ways all over the world.

Thank you for learning with me today, and I look forward to seeing you soon.