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There is another way to look at it, is it wrong to create African Masks in
the traditional ways with traditional materials in our context, or better
put, why do the African people create masks, are they art, or do they have
In our context, we are "recreating" African Masks, but why? I understand
that we want to teach students about the African culture.
There are contemporary artists in the Native American community dealing
with the very question you are asking. I cannot remeber the artist, but
they are creating Kachina dolls out of materials that are not
traditionally used when creating one. We covered this artist in class,
and it raised some great questions.
Depending on the grade you are teaching, you could present this artist and
what they are doing and ask the students what they think about it.
If you need more information, let me know, I can ask my professor about