Although you will work on various assignments throughout the course to support you in completing this assignment, this project is not due until Week 6.
Artifact
What is your chosen artifact? Include a link to or a picture of the artifact.
I chose a dress that was made by Rosa Parks.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/we-dont-know-what-rosa-parks-wore-the-night-she-was-arrested-but-she-was-carrying-this-dress/2016/09/21/ca5b9700-5e5b-11e6-af8e-54aa2e849447_story.html
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I. Describe the artifact in detail. For instance, how would you describe it to someone who could not see it?
The floor length pleated dress has an ivory colored background with mustard colored leaves and flowers. It has a V-shaped plunging neckline that crosses over the left breast. The long sleeves are ruffled and fitted around the wrists. There is a thin belt around the waist with an oval, cloth-covered buckle. The fabric looks to be silk. |
II. Choose elements of the artifact that you believe are most important to how you experience it and explain why. For instance, what particularly catches your senses or makes you want to keep experiencing it? Does the choice of medium impact your experience?
The simplicity and elegance of the dress is what drew me to research it even more especially after I read that it was made by Rosa Parks. To know what Rosa Parks stood for and the things that she fought for is mesmerizing and when you add her talent as a seamstress, it adds more interesting facts.
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Assumptions about your artifact
III. State your opinion on what you believe is the purpose of this artifact and the success of the creator in achieving the purpose. For instance, what message do you believe the creator is trying to express, and is that message successfully expressed?
I believe that the purpose of this artifact was bring attention to the civil right activists Rosa Parks and her talent. Many people only know Parks to be the lady that refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus. They may not know that she was also talented seamstress. I think that the creator did an excellent job in bringing more attention to the dress and Ross Parks because became more intrigued the more that I read.
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IV. Discuss how the artifact reflects the culture (or context) in which it exists. Be sure to address what aspects of culture have relevance for this artifact: politics, history, religion, social perceptions, technology, media, education, and so on. In other words, how do the artifact and its culture interrelate? For instance, how would a particular form of body modification reflect the urban culture in which you encountered it?
The dress was probably not expected to be created by an African American woman because during the era in which it was created, African Americans were portrayed to be ignorant and talentless. Their religion and beliefs kept them strong and their unwillingness to fail helped them to persevere. The dress is elegant and the culture during which it was created reflects this. Rosa Parks was a woman of substance and grace and this dress reflects it. It speaks to a culture of vibrance and expression through art by way of fashion.
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V. Use the artifact to discuss how acts of creative expression impact and are impacted by the people and situations that surround it. How might the artifact and the person who created it have impacted each other? For instance, how might the geographic location where the artifact was made, the materials used to create the artifact, the medium of the creative process, or the environment where the artifact is displayed influence the creator’s life or future creative work? How might the artifact and the culture or context in which it was created have impacted each other? For instance, does the artifact add to the understanding of the culture from which it was created? What contributions does it make to continuing on a dialogue about that culture and the importance of its artifacts? Comment by Louturia Stradford:
The dress was created by a woman had experienced troublesome times because of the color of her skin. I think that the person who preserved this artifact and decided to make it an artifact did so to pay homage to Rosa Parks. The dress provided a more in-depth look into the life of a woman to fought for what she believed in and she did not allow her circumstances to hinder her from doing what she loved. Her tenacity says a lot about her character and the role that she played in the lives of many African Americans during her era and today. In 2020, we are still discussing the great works of this amazing and resilient woman.
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VI. Questions: Pose questions you have after thinking deeply about this artifact. What more do you want to know regarding:
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A. The relationship between human culture and expression
B. Question 1: Where is the dress being preserved?
Question 2: How is the dress being kept intact?
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C. Your personal assumptions about artifacts of this sort and why they exist
D. Question 1: Why are fashion pieces important to preserved?
Question 2: Do fashion artifacts hold the same weight as artifacts that are made of stone?
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C. How your values have shaped and are shaped by your expression and that of others
Question 1: Would you consider this dress to be an artifact? Why or why not?
Question 2: What do you think about a civil rights activist that was also a seamstress
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E. The relationship between the possible intent of the creator and your own interpretation of its meaning
F. Question 1: Why did you choose this particular dress?
Question 2: Did Rosa Parks stand out to you because of her works as a civil right activists?
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VII. Speculate on how you would go about answering these questions. For instance, what sorts of things would you study about these kinds of artifacts and their contexts that might begin addressing these questions?
I would read bibliographies and novels that relate to Rosa Parks. I would also look for articles and pieces of media/audio from reliable sources. |