Search the Creative Activity Library

Tea Bowl

An artist making a tea bowl must think about many things—how the bowl will be used, how it will look and feel in the hands of the host who makes the tea, and how it will look and feel to the guests who drink from it. The base is important because the bowl must sit firmly and not tip over. The lip is important because that is where the bowl will touch the lips of the guests when they drink. The inside is equally important. When the bowl is used, host and guest will see it from all sides, including looking straight into the bowl while drinking.

Sword Guard of Bamboo and Tiger

The artist was probably paid to make this sword guard, or tsuba [tSOO-buh], so the inspiration would have come from both the artist and the samurai who wanted it for his sword. This tsuba is made for a katana blade, which is a long samurai sword (samurai traditionally wore two swords, the other was shorter). The purpose of a sword guard is to protect a samurai warrior’s hand from the blade of an enemy sword during battle, as well as to give the warrior’s own sword balance in his hand.

Mud Woman Rolls On

Artist’s Statement on Mud Woman Rolls On, written by Roxanne Swentzell:

I propose creating a piece that is made from different forms of “mud.” A large female figure holds a few smaller figures (her children). This style of figure is known as a Storyteller. Pueblo Storytellers are about how knowledge is passed down through generations.

This piece is telling us a story; a story about generations and our connection to the Earth.

Mandarin Duck, Seventh Rank Civil Official

Every official wore two badges: one on the front and one on the back of a plain overcoat. Civil officials wore badges with birds (like this mandarin duck), while military officials wore badges with animals. Since birds could fly into the heavens, they were considered superior to animals, and Qing society valued the erudition of scholars over the bravery of the military. The imperial government published books of rules about what officials should wear and how badges should be decorated.

Summer Official's Hat

Hats were an integral part of Chinese clothing, worn on all public occasions. Hats were strictly regulated as far as rank, occasion, and time of year. Not only did officials wear different hats in the summer and winter, but everyone changed their hats on a specific day announced by the emperor!

This hat is a summer hat because it’s made of bamboo (winter hats were made of fur, velvet, or satin). Summer hats were worn from the middle of the third month until the middle of the ninth Chinese month, according to the lunar calendar.

Nellie and Her Italian Soda, Boulder

Of his photographs, Benjamin says, “I wasn’t trying to achieve anything other than satisfy my own sense of beauty. I made [my photos] to satisfy something I had never seen before in other photography; I knew of no other photographer that’s photographed his family from birth to death. I was tired of seeing contrived project pictures and angst and social comments about the world ending. That’s all easy to me.

Los Angeles

Central to Winogrand's philosophy was that a photograph is about only itself—not about the life or motivations of the subject or the photographer, and not about how the photo came to be. "I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed," he said. "In the end, maybe the correct language would be how the fact of putting four edges around a collection of information or facts transforms it."

Ancestor Portrait

Family members commissioned ancestor portraits to commemorate deceased relatives. These paintings were treated with the greatest respect. On certain holidays, families would honor their ancestors by bowing before the portraits and placing food in front of them. If properly cared for, ancestors contributed to wealth and good fortune for their descendants. If ignored, ancestors could turn into nasty ghosts who would bring bad luck.

Manchu Man's Semiformal Court Robe

Imperial rules dictated what a dragon robe could look like. Some of the symbols on the robe signaled what rank the wearer held. Other symbols were designed to bring good fortune to the wearer.

Dragons were believed to bring rain. Since China was mostly an agricultural economy, rain was incredibly important. Dragons were thus symbols of fertility and masculine vitality. The dragon also represented the emperor and, therefore, China. A dragon was believed to appear in the sky at the birth of the emperor.

Wedding Headdress

In Chinese society during the Qing (CHING) dynasty major life events like a marriage followed exacting rituals that included what the bride wore. Virtually every bit of ornamentation on the bonnet has a symbolic, auspicious meaning. You can see some of these details close up in the "Details" section. Filling a wedding hat with symbols for good wishes made it likely the bride and groom would have happy lives.

Summer Dragon Robe

Government officials and members of the imperial court were entitled to wear dragon robes. Designs and colors were regulated by rank; for example, only the emperor, the heir apparent, empress, and empress dowager could wear yellow robes. Only the imperial family and high-ranking princes were allowed to wear robes with nine dragons. Only the upper echelons were allowed to wear dragons with five claws; the lower orders wore four-clawed dragons.