WELCOMING RITUAL

Start off by asking the class, “What and who do you think of when you hear ‘art’?” (allow wait time for students to share their thoughts)

Say: Paintings are a way that some artists use to express their identity and share personal and community stories. Today, we are going to learn about one Hmong American artist, Boon Ma Yang.

• Display profile picture of Boon Ma Yang (87)  (https://ucdavis.box.com/s/iavjwteppextah14iqu9rp3nq4m6rt9k). 
• Ask: What do you notice about this artist? What kind of art do you think he does?
  • Possible answers: He’s Southeast Asian (Hmong). It looks like an acrylic painting behind him.
• Ask: What do you think Boon Ma uses his art for?
  • Possible answers: He uses art to capture Hmong histories and cultures. 

INTERACTION WITH SOURCES

• Have students pair up with a peer and assign one student as Student A, and the other as Student B. 
• Student A will read the blog about Fine Artist Boonma Yang (https://bumahmongartist.blogspot.com/2007/02/fine-art-painter.html). This read will preview the type of art he creates. 
• Student B will read the “Txhawb Profile of Boonma Yang” (87) from the Txhawb California Directory  (https://ucdavis.box.com/s/iavjwteppextah14iqu9rp3nq4m6rt9k).
• Ask students to take down ideas that will help them answer the lesson questions:
  • Who is Boon Ma Yang?
  • How do artists shed light on Hmong American identity and issues?
  • How can art build a sense of belonging and empower communities?
• Once each student has finished their assigned read, have them discuss and share the following 3-2-1 prompt together for their respective source: 
  • 3 - Facts you learned from the read
  • 2 - Questions you still have
  • 1 - Idea that stuck with you

COMMUNITY COLLABORATION: Gallery Walk & Art Discussion

• Display or project a copy of each painting. Have students walk around for about 15 minutes, and silently observe and take notes about each painting. Notes can consist of the following: Questions for the artist, details of the painting that stand out, moods/emotions evoked by the painting, theme/main idea of the painting
  • Painting Links (a short description is provided to give context for each painting): 
    • HHCSMC Cover image (https://ucdavis.box.com/s/aulnewvbugqe7eouyie4xje8bj13hfab)
      • Description: This picture captures the historical sad yet hopeful scene of Hmong families saying good-bye to family members from a bus with other Hmong refugees at a refugee camp in Thailand. The bus headed out from the camp will take them to the Bangkok airport where they will board a plane (as seen in the bus windows) for the United States. In the reflections of the bus, you will also notice the joyous memories of gatherings and daily activities in the camps.
    • Area of Study 1: Hmong Ways of Knowing (https://ucdavis.box.com/s/x4hmqe21o8wf8cv79kvwgawf6460yaw7)
      • Description: The Hmong practice an oral culture, passing down their history, knowledge, stories, and art from one generation to the next through oral teachings and storytelling. Traditionally, Hmong elders (such as this grandpa and grandma who are also cultural bearers) would gather their children and friends to share folklore or life experiences. You will notice the clothes the Hmong children are wearing and the items they are holding all resemble some of the future hopes that their grandparents and parents have for their children.
    • Area of Study 2: Hmong Histories (https://ucdavis.box.com/s/qy9eg8edzeo2vog6uz9en38qva11cl3h)
      • Description: During the Vietnam War, the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) recruited groups of marginalized communities in Laos, with the Hmong people as the largest group of recruits, to navigate the lack of infrastructures and jungles in Southeast Asia. They were led by Vang Pao, former general in the Royal Army of Laos, who was a bridge between the Hmong people and the United States government. As the Hmong people demonstrate, their history is more than just the relationships between Vang Pao and the CIA, Hmong history is carrying the resiliency of our ancestors (as pictured with the hands).
    • Area of Study 3: Hmong Refugee Experiences (https://ucdavis.box.com/s/df0ow25k2soqpk0p6voer5b5gzqr2xvq)
      • Description: Thousands of Hmong families sought refuge in Thailand. This is where paj ntaub (story cloths) transformed from a culturally specific craft to a market good. Hmong women and men began sewing paj ntaub to sell in refugee camps. It was also a way to document their lived experiences on cloth because up until the 1950s, the Hmong language had no written form. Selling paj ntaub became a main source of income for Hmong women who were otherwise restricted from working in the camps. This scene portrays daily activity in a refugee camp - two Hmong sisters selling paj ntaub and carrying vegetables bought from the market.
    • Area of Study 4: Home-making, Community Building, & Empowerment (https://ucdavis.box.com/s/w497m6bwv0fmponfnp050nbrsnctxbq5)
      • Description: For Hmong people, farming is central to living. It was the skill for survival they brought to the United States. Since Hmong refugees began resettling from Laos and Thailand to the United States in the 1970s as political refugees after the Vietnam War, many families have relied on their agricultural heritage to make a living/support their families growing produce and flowers for local farmers markets. This image captures farming as a foundation of community building/home-making and the intergenerational wealth/resiliency that parents and grandparents pass on to their children and grandkids.
  • Once time is up, have students return to their desk and have them share the images that stood out to them, as well as notes they jotted down throughout the gallery walk.
  • Allow for class discussion and students to share out. 
• Art Analysis 
  • Share additional artwork from Boon Ma. Have students analyze at least one of the paintings from the following resources and jot down notes on the possible stories/meanings behind the painting:
    • Inside AB 2064 (80–81) https://ucdavis.box.com/s/f0wx0blr0pod1wns1kpygsd2vkuahxw7 
    • What is the Hmong Soul (22, 26, 28, & 30) https://ucdavis.box.com/s/7ebuavd068tgs6o9ouvbszb5pkwub2um 
    • My Old Street at Twilight (32–34) https://ucdavis.box.com/s/qxqlgso3kjz6frp1alllgcjqeexxorot 
  • As a class, discuss how Boon Ma used art to shed light on Hmong American identity and issues and build a sense of belonging and empowering communities.

CULTURAL PRODUCTION

• Brainstorming / Inspiration: In preparation for the Cultural Production final activity, students will reflect on their identity, family stories, and experience growing up in the US. Teachers can share a few more art paintings for inspiration from collections of other Hmong American artists (a list of other artists can be found in the “Enrichment” section). Prompt students to start to think about what visual or scene they would like to express their sense of identity, community, and empowerment to help them in the creation of their own painting.
• Demonstration & Experimentation: Select a technique or tool that you would like to demonstrate to support students in developing their  technical knowledge. You could demonstrate how to use a new medium, such as acrylic paint. You could model a particular technique, such as mixing your colors on a palette, or you could model your own artistic thought process. Let students know that they can make their own choices while making art, but that your demonstration might help them to learn some new approaches and techniques that they might want to try.
  • Students need time to experiment with tools and media before using these to execute an idea. This experimentation phase can also help students decide which media they will use for their project. Let students know that they don’t need to create anything specific during this time. They might experiment with color mixing, achieving different line weights or with combining media. Set out a variety of artistic media for students to try and some small scraps of paper for them to work on.
• Studio Time: Give students time to create their art piece that reflects their own identity and/or experience as Americans. Have students also write an artist statement to accompany their painting.
  • Studio time is the portion of the lesson when students will create their final project. Depending on the level of depth with which you would like for students to engage with this project, the amount of time you dedicate to it will vary. For this project, students will need a variety of art materials. 
  • It works well to set out the materials at different stations spread out around the room so that students can access them as they need. This organization of materials in stations will also help to facilitate cleanup at the end.
  • Let students know that they will need to start by deciding which media they would like to work with. Students may begin work as they are ready. It is often helpful to lightly sketch out an idea before using darker or more permanent lines or paint.
  • By circulating and checking in with individual students as they start the process, you will be able to get a sense of what questions they have and who might need extra support. You may also need to remind students to be kind and patient with themselves and others as they start to work through the creative process. 
  • Part way through the studio time, it might be helpful to stop for a pair-share reflection. Ask students to talk with a partner about their process so far. Here are some questions they could talk about:
    • What are they working on? 
    • What is something they’ve discovered about the media they are using as they’ve worked? 
    • What is a challenge they’ve encountered and how are they trying to overcome it? 
    • What are they going to work on next?
  • As students return to work, make periodic announcements to let them know how much time they have left so they can better pace their work. You can also use a visual timer like this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15zFOnLGr1s to help students keep track of the time. 
  • As the studio time comes to an end, let students know the steps they need to follow to clean up. 

CONCLUSIVE DIALOGUE/CIRCULAR EXCHANGE

• It is satisfying and instructive for artists to look back on work they have completed, to share parts of their process with others, and to celebrate their accomplishments. This is also an excellent chance for the teacher to gather information on their students’ interests and learning. An Artist Statement gives students a chance to reflect on and to articulate important aspects of their artistic process. Give students some time to write their own artist statement about their painting. They may write their Artist Statement under the portrait or write it on a notecard. (You may want to conclude this activity with a pair-share, allowing for each student to share their thinking with one other student, to hear and to be heard.) 
• Art Show: Display students’ art pieces in a classroom or open space and invite families/community members to come view the students’ artistic pieces. Teachers can also facilitate a modified gallery walk where half the class will start with being a presenter of their own art, and the other half will walk around to look and learn about their peers' creations. Then, students would switch roles from observer to presenter, and vice versa.