If you see this message, your browser is unable to view the answers through dynamic HTML. The answers to the questions are:

  1. Which part seems most important? (The raven.)
  2. Which part seems most important from this view? (The human.)
  3. Are the shapes that make up this sculpture geometric or organic? (Organic.)
  4. Do these lines form organic or geometric shapes? (Geometric.)
  5. How has the artist integrated these two different kinds of shapes on this sculpture? (The LINEAR geometric decorations are placed so that they conform to the organic shapes on which they appear.)
  6. Is the Chief's Rattle an example of additive or subtractive sculpture? (Subtractive.)
  7. What makes you think so? (Evidence of the wood being carved is visible in the decorations on the sculpture. Parts are not visibly joined together; they appear to have been carved out of one mass.)
  8. How could you make an additive sculpture of wood? (By gluing or nailing pieces of wood together.)
  9. What other kinds of rattles can you think of? What are they used for? (Baby rattles are used to amuse and soothe. Maracas or other rattles are used to mark rhythm in music. A rattlesnake uses a rattle to issue a warning.)
  10. Can you think of other animal characters that appear frequently in stories that you have heard? (The wolf in stories such as the Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, Peter and the Wolf. Anansi the Spider is a popular character in West African folktales. Many stories have been written about the mythical unicorn.)
  11. Which other works of art in this image set represent animals in mythology? (The Antelope Headdress from Mali, image 6; Lakota Woman's Dress with representation of a turtle, image 19; New Ireland Malagan Pole with the wild pig, image 20; the Chinese Dragon Robe, image 22.)
  12. Do you think it is possible to appreciate the rattle as a work of art even though we can't see it as the artist originally intended it to appear? (No right answer.)
  13. Should you display this rattle as it is, without its original painted colors, or should you attempt to repaint the rattle in order to display it as the artist intended? (No right answer.)
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Chief's Rattle



Discussion Questions:

Chief's Rattle
Chief's Rattle
19th-20th century
Wood, leather, and haliotis shell
The Christina N. and Swan J. Turnblad Memorial Fund

Key Ideas
Story
Background
Discussion Questions

Look

  1. Review the story of Raven. Where do you see the Raven on this sculpture? Where is his head? Where are his wings? Where is the human form on the sculpture?
    Which part seems most important? The raven.
    Another view of the rattle

    Another view of
    the Chief's Rattle


    Find these features in this image of another view of the rattle.
    Which part seems most important from this view? The human.

  2. The five different figures that make up this rattle fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Imagine that you have taken this puzzle apart. Would you still be able to identify the figures if they were not attached to one another?
  1. GEOMETRIC SHAPES are shapes that come from simple geometry - for example, the circle, square, triangle, and rectangle. ORGANIC SHAPES are irregular shapes.
    Are the shapes that make up this sculpture geometric or organic? Organic.
    Now consider the lines on the sculpture that decorate the organic shapes.
    Do these lines form organic or geometric shapes? Geometric.
    How has the artist integrated these two different kinds of shapes on this sculpture? The LINEAR geometric decorations are placed so that they conform to the organic shapes on which they appear.

Think

  1. Why might the Haida people want to associate with the mythological character of Raven? Recall the story: Raven is associated with Haida creation mythology and possesses the powerful ability to change form.

  2. What other kinds of rattles can you think of? What are they used for? Baby rattles are used to amuse and soothe. Maracas or other rattles are used to mark rhythm in music. A rattlesnake uses a rattle to issue a warning.

  3. Raven is one of the most popular characters in Haida mythology.
    Can you think of other animal characters that appear frequently in stories that you have heard? The wolf in stories such as the Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood, Peter and the Wolf. Anansi the Spider is a popular character in West African folktales. Many stories have been written about the mythical unicorn.
    Which other works of art in this image set represent animals in mythology?

Woman's Dress

Woman's Dress
United States. 20th Century A.D.

Dragon Robe for an Empress of China

Dragon Robe for an Empress of China
China. 19th Century A.D.

Malagan Pole

Malagan Pole
Papua New Guinea (New Ireland). 19th Century A.D.
  1. The artist who carved the raven rattle painted it with black and bright colors that helped to structure the design of the decorations on the rattle. You may see some traces of the paint still on the rattle, but most of it has worn away.
    Do you think it is possible to appreciate the rattle as a work of art even though we can't see it as the artist originally intended it to appear? No right answer.
    Challenge: You are the curator of a museum's collection of American Indian art.
    Should you display this rattle as it is, without its original painted colors, or should you attempt to repaint the rattle in order to display it as the artist intended? No right answer.
Key Ideas Story Background Discussion Questions
 
 

 

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