Iristruqtiènal Resources

ablô
The Blue Ribbon:
The Art of
Appropriation
Recommended for Grades 6-12

eflect back on a time when a person

you cared about read you stories. What
were your favorite stories? What qualities
made tliem memorable? For centuries people from
around the world have celebrated storytelling
and puppetry for their educational and social
functions. In the comprehensive curriculum,
storytelling combined with puppet performances
enriches the classroom experience by providing
students with opportunities to engage in open
dialogue, creativity, and structured play.
Artist Pablo Cano's favorite story stems from his
childhood, when his mother, Margarita Cano, wrote
him a story in 1968 about a boy named Calum (see
Figure 1 ) who visits an art gallery filled with master
artworks. In the story, Calum desperately wants to hang
his own drawing on the museum walls alongside the
masterpieces. Decades later, her story inspired Cano's
marionette production. The Blue Ribbon, in which Cano
has transformed 10 inspiring master artworks and the
boy Calum into marionettes.

Figure 1. Pablo Cano. Calum. Found objects. 2008.

Photograph by Rafael Salazar. Used with permission.

BY DEBRAH C. S I CKLE R-VO I GT

July 2011 /ART EDUCATION 25

 Figure 2. Pablo Cano, tirona Lisa (after Leonardo da Vinci). Found objects. 2008. Photograph by Rafael Salazar. Used with permission.

26 ART EDUCATION/July 2011

 Instructional Resources

Objectives
The study of Cano's puppetry ties into thematic instruc-
tion and the National Standards for Art because it presents
a contextual story influenced by the artist's culture and the
history of art. It engages children in discussions about art
and provides them with safe and creative outlets to express
their ideas and tell meaningful stories through artmaking.
You can incorporate Cano's marionettes into your classroom
to motivate and inspire children to learn by having them
explore their identities through brainstorming activities and
the development of journal pages that include written and
artistic reflections about topics that are important to them.
Additionally, they can use their imaginations to develop
significant storylines, debate issues about the nature of art,
and resolve conflicts by creating art from found objects while
working in groups to create a marionette performance. After
learning about the nature of Cano's art, the students will be
able to complete the following tasks.
• Identify Cano's marionettes and describe how his life
experiences, use of imagination, work, and play influenced
his creation of The Blue Ribbon production.
• Define appropriation (the act of intentionally mimicking
or borrowing ideas from another artwork) and
Tomato
explain through aesthetic discussions how Cano used
appropriation to create The Blue Ribbon.
• Debate and defend cogently their positions on whether it
is ethical to copy an artwork directly and/or reinterpret
master artworks.
• Work in small groups to write an original script for a
marionette production to perform before an audience.
Each student will create at least one marionette using
found objects and work as a group to create a set for their
performance. Tliey will incorporate art forms—such as
music, dance, and video—into their production.

About the Artist

Pablo Cano, born iti 1961, immigrated to Miami from Cuba
just before the Cuban Missile Crisis. Growing up in Miami's
Little Havana community. Cano began making pttppets as
a child. As an adult, he continues to make puppets and uses
them to tell stories about his native homeland and explore his
Cuban-American identity' (Cano, 2011; Clearwater, 2005).
When Cano first started making art as a professional artist, he
did not have enough money to afford expensive art supplies.
Because of this. Cano made his marionettes from found
objects. In time. Cano received praise from the art world and Figure 3. Pablo Cano. Tomato Soup Can (after Andy Warhol). Found objects. 2008.
became an acclaimed artist. Nowadays, he can afford costly Photograph by Rafael Saiazar. Used with permission.
art materials, yet he continues to use found objects because he
prefers the challenge of working with them. Cano explained:
"My role as an artist... would be to show people that in
ordinary things you can find love and a beautiful delicacy no
to find color through trash and debris and things that reflected
matter what they are." He transforms lampshades into skirts,
life." He especially enjoys finding candy wrappers. Oftentimes,
shapes forks into hands, and stacks empty food containers
he imagines the things he could find if he were to walk upon
into body parts. Rather than using a sketchbook or fine
the streets of Cuba: "If I ever was in Havana, that's where I
drawing paper. Cano visits his favorite Miami restaurants and
would do it—like a human vaciumi cleaner—just collecting
sketches his ideas for his marionette productions on paper
all these fragments from my own homeland and making art
placemats. In fact, his sketches are so authentic that they are
out of it." Unfortunately, Cano has been unable to return to his
even adorned with Cuban coffee stains.
homeland due to political restrictions. Art historian Adrienne
When walking outside. Cano looks down to see what von Lates believes that Cano's use of recycled materials not only
treasures he can find on the street pavement: "I was trying grew out of a need, but was strongly influenced by his Cuban

July 2011 / ART EDUCATION 27

 heritage. She expressed that due to economic
sanctions placed upon the country, Cubans have
become excellent recyclers. Because they cannot
import newer products, they must fix what they
already have by finding substitute parts to replace
broken ones. Similarly, Cano has transformed
recycled materials—which at one point were
someone else's trash—into art.
Cano's artistic style is also influenced by
20th-century artists including: Alexandra
Exter, a Russian Constructivist marionette
artist; Pablo Picasso's Cubist line drawings;
and Marcel Duchamp's ability to break down
harriers through his ready-mades. Like Russian
avant-garde artists, Cano's art bridges the fine
and performing arts. His productions have the
splendor of theatre performances as they include
lighting, live music, film, dancers, and choreog-
raphers who enhance and complete his artistic
vision. Each production takes Cano a year to
complete.

Behind The Blue Ribbon:

A Contextual Exannination
Using his mother's story and artworks that
moved Cano, the characters in Vie Blue Ribbon
production include Leonardo da Vinci's Mona
Lisa (see Figure 2), Andy Warhol's Tomato Soup
Can (see Figure 3), Jan van Eyck's The Arrwlfini
Wedding Scene (see Figure 4), and Salvador
Dali's The Persistence of Memory (see Figure 5) as
marionette figures. The Blue Ribbon- production
begins with a short film, portrayed by a living
boy—Calum. The film has an early 20th-century
feel with its black-and-white coloring and
scratchy texture. Cano desired for his production
to combine reality and fantasy—just like children
do as they listen to fairytales—by showing the
"real" Calum as a living boy in the film, who later
becomes a marionette. Cano uses the film to
give the audience a sense of going back in time
and reliving a memory. As the story evolves, the
audience continues to watch Calum, who feels
so inspired by the master artworks that surround
him that he climbs up a ladder and places his
own drawing on the wall next to the famous
artworks. Unfortunately, Calum has broken
the rules by hanging his art on the gallery walls
and the guard removes it. Immediately, Calum
begins to cry. Fortunately, his tears are not in
vain as his sadness captures the attention of the
artworks on the wall and brings them to life in
the form of marionettes. The leader of the group,
the Queen Elizabeth marionette (see Figure
6), sympathizes with Calum and announces a
children's Blue Ribbon Drawing Competition.
With her announcement, the live children in
Cano's audience learn that they have 20 minutes
Figure 4. Pablo Cano. The Arnoifini Wedding Scene {after lan van Eyci<). Found objects. 2008. to make their own replication of one of the
Photograph by Rafaei Salazar. Used with permission.
master artworks depicted in the show on a paper
placemat.

28 ART E D U C A T i O N / J u l y 2 0 1 1

Figure 5. Pablo Cano. The Persistence of Memory (after Salvador DaW). Found objects. 2008. Photograph by Rafael Salazar. Used with permission.
Meanwhile, Cano and his cast of dancers/puppeteers and
musicians perform The Blue Ribbon before audience members
who sit around large round tables filled with art supplies. The
marionettes with their accompanying performers move to the
different tables so audience members can get an up-close view
of each one. Rather than being a stationary object on a wall,
Cano's 77ie Blue Ribbon production is interactive. The dancers/
puppeteers wear some of Cano's marionettes on their bodies and
interact with the crowd. Tlie audience has permission to touch
the puppets as the dancers/puppeteers direct playful gestures
toward them. To conclude the production, the audience watches
a film of the real-life Calum waking up from a dream. Once the
fllm has ended, the children in the audience flnish their artworks
and Cano and his assistants hang them on the museum walls.
Cano selects a winner and awards the child with a beautiful
handmade blue ribbon.
Instructional Resources
Discussion
Do Artists Need to Use Expensive Materials
to Make Great Art?
Before sharing images of Cano's marionettes with the class,
ask the students to brainstorm a list of art supplies that artists
use. Many will name materials such as pencils, paint, and clay.
Next, project images of the marionettes in The Blue Ribbon and
have students identify the materials Cano used to create them.
Students will instantly recognize many familiar objects that form
the marionettes—including ones that they have in their own
homes, such as wooden spoons, cheese graters, and food pack-
aging. Based on their observations, ask the students to compare
the common art materials they listed with the ones in Cano's
work and answer the following questions.
July 2011/ART EDUCATION 29
 1. Do you think artists need expensive materials
to make great art? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think that Cano chose to use
nontraditional art supplies to make his mari-
onettes? Do you think Cano's innovative use
of materials makes his marionettes better?
Explain your answers.
3. What types of objects would you want to
include in your own art that isn't normally
considered an art supply?

Appropriation
Appropriation is a topic in aesthetics and contem-
porary art that asks whether it is okay for artists
to use other artists' artworks as inspiration to
produce their own art. Artists use appropriation
for different reasons. Some artists honor a prior
artist who inspired them through the creation
of new artworks with obvious references to the
original works. Others utilize appropriation as a
means to learn artists' techniques such as their
styles or manipulation of art media. Some viewers
of art see appropriation as copying because the
artists' appropriated objects look exactly like
the inspirational work—and furthermore, the
appropriating artists may call these products
their original creations. Others appropriate for
profit (Scañdi, 2005). Artists may take risks
of legal action for appropriating copyrighted
materials. While Cano has been influenced by
master artworks, he has not engaged in copy-
right infringement because The Blue Ribbon
marionettes are transformative, meaning that he
altered their appearances and changed the original
artworks' function by turning them into mari-
onettes. On the other hand, artists such as Sherrie
Levine and Jeff Koons have been found guilty
of copyright infringement because their works
were judged as too similar to the inspirational
artworks (see Buskirk, 2003; Owens, 2009). After
discussing appropriation, the class will respond to
the following questions.
1. What are your thoughts about directly
copying artwork? Is it ethical? How do you
feel about artists being inspired by and/or
reinterpreting master artworks?
2. Why do artists intentionally choose to
appropriate artworks?
3. What other examples of artistic appropriation
are you aware of in contemporary art and
society?
After this discussion, divide the class in half and
give them ample time to prepare for a debate in
which the students will defend their viewpoints
on appropriation. They can add to their debate the
work of other artists who push appropriation to its
hmits, such as Sherrie Levine and Jeff Koons.

Figure 6. Pablo Cano. Queen Elizabeth (after Marcus Gheeraerts). Found objects. 2008.
Photograph by Rafael Salazar. Used with permission.

30 ART EDUCATION/July 2011


Figure 7. Pablo Cano. Urinal (after Marcel Ducharmp). Found objects. 2008.
Photograph by Rafael Salazar. Used with permission.
Collaborative Writing: Creating a Storyline
Once students have grasped an understanding of Cano's art and how his culture,
personal interests, and the appropriation of master artworks have shaped the look and
meaning of his art, students will work in groups to write a storyline for a marionette
production to present before a live audience. Using a thematic approach, provide
students with possible ideas for their storyline such as:
• Our cultures/our diversity
• Family/community stories and traditions
• Creative works that inspire us
• Social or political issues
Remind students that Cano incorporated diverse art forms into his production of The
Blue Ribbon. For example, he created a black-and-white film that showed Calum as
Instructional Resources
a real boy and worked with a choreographer and
dancers to bring the marionettes to life. Live musi-
cians set the mood for audience members with
sounds that replicated the marionette's movements
and thoughts. Have students contemplate how
they will incorporate these or other art forms to
enhance their marionette production.
Studio Activity:
Marionettes from Found Objects
Reference the materials Cano used to make his
Blue Ribbon marionettes and collect a range of
found objects for constructing new marionettes.
When searching for materials Cano suggests:
"Think of yourself as a caveman and you're
dumped here in the 21st century. All of a sudden
you see all these weird objects and colors. How
would you create art out of it all?" As students sort
through their collections of found objects—such
as old appliances, toys, and packaging—they
can brainstorm to determine how to arrange the
different parts to produce a unique marionette.
Furthermore, they will decide how the history of
art can influence and inspire the marionettes they
will design for their own production.
While students can readily identify the found
objects in Cano's tnarionettes, inform them that
Cano also used materials—such as air dry clay—to
form hands and body parts. Iti fact, he created
the Duchamp Urinal marionette (see Figure 7) by
carving the body out of Styrofoam. When making
their own marionettes, students can apply art skills
they are already familiar with such as painting,
sewing, and carving. As they work on their mari-
onettes, students will also design the stage area
for their marionette production using found and
original objects. For example. Cano uses empty
picture frames to define a space for the marionettes
and then combines recycled signs and his unique
drawings and paintings in the background.
Assessment
Use the following methods to assess student
knowledge of Cano, his art, and their own studio
productions.
1. After discussing Cano's art and appropria-
tion, students will write a 150-word essay that
explains what appropriation is, how artists
use it, and whether they believe it is ethical
to borrow or use other artists' ideas. (Note:
Before this activity, you can engage students
in a discussion on how humans, by nature,
continually borrow and adapt ideas from each
other as part of our survival.)
2. Using found objects, each student will create
a marionette that has at least three different
moving parts. Teachers tnay evaluate the
student's ability to torm an aesthetically inter-
esting and functional marionette that relates
to the theme of their production.
July 2011 /ART EDUCATION 31
 3. Students will answer the following self-assessment questions and
share their answers with the class.
• How did the artwork of Pablo Cano and appropriation
influence my art?
• How did I create my marionette? Which found objects
did I use? How did they enable me to produce an original
marionette that enhanced the storyline my group developed?
• How did performing with my marionette using various
art forms tell a fuller story than just creating a marionette
without a performance? In which ways did my marionette
performance effectively communicate my story's theme? How
did I feel about performing my marionette show in front of
the class? How do I know if my classmates understood the
message of my performance?
Conclusion
Quality stories and artworks—such as Cano's marionettes—have the
ability to capture our interest and imaginations. In the classroom,
students desire curriculum that enhances their motivation to learn,
challenges them, asks them questions about their own identities,
and engages them in activities with their peers. Research shows
that many adolescent students feel bored at school due to a narrow
focus on test preparation and limited curricular choices, which can
lead to dropping out of school (Noguera, 2008; Yazzie-Mintz, 2009).
Fortunately, comprehensive art lessons under the guidance of a
nurturing teacher have the potential to engage students in the curric-
ulum and spark their desire to learn more (Anderson & Milbrandt,
2005; Stewart & Walker, 2005). Learning from artists—like Pablo
Cano—can captivate students' imaginations and encourage them to
take learning into their own hands as they address relevant themes
such as appropriation, culture, identity, and recycling to connect what
they learn about artists and their art to their own personal lives. By
studying Cano's use of appropriation, students learn how artists from
the past and present visually communicate their ideas, and in the
process they use problem-solving skills by transforming found objects
into something new—original art. Additionally, learning about living
artists demonstrates that art is a worthy career choice and a reason to
stay in school. When speaking to students. Cano advised: "Validate
the fact that you can be an artist in this world. Even though it's hard
in this life and you have to sacrifice a lot to create, it's all worth it.
It's a beautiful way to live." To be successful. Cano explains, requires
students to continue to practice making art and also find quiet times
that they can dedicate to their artmaking and self-reflection. Indeed,
it is during those quiet times that Cano's imagination and training as
an artist enabled him to transform master artworks that fill the pages
of art history books into new art that is truly original and spectacular.
Debrah Sickler-Voigt is an Associate Professor of Art Education at
Middle Tennessee State University. E-mail: dsickler@mtsu.edu

REFERENCES
Anderson, T., & Milbrandt, M.
(2005). Art for life. Bcston, MA:
McGraw-Hill.
Buskirk, M. (2003). The contingent
object of contemporary art
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Cano, P. (2011). Cano art. Retrieved
from www.canoart.com/artistbio.
htm
Clearwater, B. (2005). Pablo Cano:
Eull circle. D. Fields (Ed.).
North Miami, FL: Museum of
Contemporary Art.
Noguera, P. A. (2008). Vie trouble
with black boys and other
reflections on race, equity, and
the future of public education.
San Francisco, CA: John Wiley
& Sons.
Owens, C. (2009). The discourse
of others: Feminists and
Postmodernism. In D. Preziosi
(Ed.), The art of art history: A
critical anthology (2nd ed., pp.
335-351). New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.
ENDNOTES
Scafidi, S. (2005). Who owns culture: 1 Unless otherwise noted, all references to the artist are based on personal
Appropriation and authenticity in communication between November 2008 and January 2011.
American law. New Brunswick,
NJ: Rutgers Universit)' Press.
2 (See Cano's website at www.canoart.com for a video sliort clip on 77je Blue
Ribbon).
Stewart, M. G., & Walker, S. R.
(2005). Rethinking curriculum 3 Levine and Koons have both appropriated other artists' photographs.
in art. Worcester, MA: Davis Levine purposely re-photographed an image of Edward Weston's young son
Publications. Neil as a means to shed light on how artists sometimes take advatitage of the
Traub, J. (2008). Art Rogers vs. Jeff oppressed—including children, women, and the poor—by photographing
Koons. Retrieved from http:// them. Weston took a photograph of his nude son with the intention of
observatory.designobserver.com/ replicating the look of a Greek statue. In the act of taking a photograph of
entry.html?entry=6467 Weston's art, Levine e.xpanded her role as an artist into the role of an expro-
Yazzie-Mintz, E. (2009). Charting priator, one who sets a subject free—away trom the constraints ot a paternal
the path from engagement to relationship (Owens, 2009). Koons lost a legal battle against photographer
achievement: A report on the 2009
Art Rogers because he asked artisans working under his guidance to directly
High School Survey of Student
Engagement. Bloomington,
copy Rogers' copyrighted photograph called Puppies and turn the photo-
IN: Center for Evaluation & graph into a colorful, three-dimensional sculpture. Koons was found guilty
Education Policy. because he stole Rogers' creative expression (Traub, 2008). In his defense,
Koons argued that his original sculpture was different than Rogers' because
he created it as a social parody—and, therefore, had not stolen Rogers'
artistic intent.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Special thanks to Pablo Cano, his family, and museum personnel from the North
Miami Museum of Contemporary Art and the Coral Springs Museum of Art. The
original Pablo Cano marionettes for Tlie Blue Ribbon production were commis-
sioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art. North Miami, Florida. Funding
for this research wa.s provided by MTSU's Faculty Research and Creative Activity
Committee. All artwork copyrighted by the artist.

32 ART EDUCATION/July 2011