Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

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Today’s Presenters

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Chelsea Brown

Manager of Virtual Field Trips, NCMA

Christina Schaffer

Middle School Teacher

Smithfield Middle School

Jose Manuel Cruz

Art Teacher/Visual Artist

James E. Shepard IB Middle School

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Meeting Housekeeping

• We are using a meeting format today. Please keep mics muted unless speaking. We will use chat and other digital platforms for participation.

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• Closed Captioning available in Zoom

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• Questions? Use the chat to ask questions and to connect with other participants.

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Certificates of Participation

• This session will be counted as .1 CEU. You must follow your school/district’s process for approval.

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• At the end of today’s session, you will be given a link to a Google Form exit ticket.

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• You must complete and submit the Google Form to qualify for a certificate.

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North Carolina Museum of Art

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Participants will:

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• Become more familiar with afrofuturism, especially within the context of Ruth E. Carter’s costume design

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• Engage in an activity from a virtual field trip

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• Learn more about how two educators incorporated Ruth E. Carter’s work in their classrooms

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• Think about applications to their own classrooms

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Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design

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Open from April 1–August 6

NCMA East Building

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Costumes from:

• Black Panther and Wakanda Forever
• Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X
• Amistad
• Selma
• The Butler, among others

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Ruth E. Carter

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Ruth E. Carter in the NCMA West Building Galleries

• Born in 1960 in Springfield, Missouri
• Graduated from Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) with a degree in theatre arts
• 4 academy award nominations, 2 wins
• Has worked with Spike Lee, Steven Spielberg, John Singleton, and Ryan Coogler among others

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What is Afrofuturism?

Share ideas in the padlet: https://padlet.com/ncartmuseum/afrofuturismwebinar

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Costume Design vs. Fashion Design: Do the Right Thing

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Do the Right Thing

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Process

She credits the success of her designs to her research which she describes as a “slow and patient process which cannot be rushed.”

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Beyond studying images Carter also consults other sources. She includes time in her research process for, “reading about a time period, speaking to historians, studying the way the mind thought and body moved, and learning about innovative or ancient design techniques that can enhance the costume.”

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Afrofuturism and the Future of Possibility

Virtual Field Trip

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Patterns from African Textiles

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Workshop of Opanyin James Osei Kwaku Antobreh, Men’s Cloth in the Darkoro Yesre (“Certainly One Day You Will Laugh”) Pattern, Ghana, 2000

Unknown Shoowa Artist, Cut-Pile Embroidery Panel, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 20th Century

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Figures and faces from African Art

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Ancient Inland Niger Delta artist, Seated Male Figure in Beard (Nok), Nigeria, circa 600

Unknown Edo artist, Leopard Hip Pendant, Benin Kingdom, Nigeria, circa 18th century

Unknown Loma artist, Standing Female Figure, Liberia, early 20th century

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Educator Examples

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3. EXTEND

Do you know the work of Ruth Carter? She designed the costumes for the film Black Panther. Ruth is the first-ever black person to win the Academy Award for Costume Design, which she won for this film. Her creations are extraordinary!

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Ruth is an artist that has designed costumes for movies, tv, and theatre. You can now Color with Ruth and download her fashion illustrations, all sponsored by the Academy Museum. During the quarantine, they will drop a new illustration every week!

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https://www.academymuseum.org/en/coloring-with-ruth

3. EXTEND

After Ruth Carter’s historic win for Black Panther, her creative process became widely accessible. Her main takeaway message is that Costume Design is crucial to storytelling. Her costumes bring the characters to life.

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You can watch one interview here and admire her style.

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https://www.academymuseum.org/en/coloring-with-ruth

Be Inspired: Artist Ruth Carter

Artists are Knowledgeable

What specifics do you notice about Ruth’s research habits?

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Artists are Balanced

What specifics do you notice about Ruth’s work ethic?

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Step 1 Watch

Artist Interview

Ruth Carter

Costume Designer

Step 2 Answer Reflection Question 1

GRADE 8

Step 2

Answer Reflection Question 2

Costume Design Choice Menu Bar:

Design your own Costume using the Choice bar

Choose a TEXT

Choose a

CHARACTER

Choose a LOOK

Choose a COLOR.

Song lyric

Book

Movie

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Protagonist

Villiian

Supporting

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Colored Pencil

Or Watercolor

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What’s the Action?

Be a Storyteller!

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Things to consider:

Pull from your favorites!

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Things to consider:

Figure Drawing Tutorial

& Unit 7 slides

Things to consider:

Details Details Details

Things to consider:

Go for that storyboard look

Use your Value scale!

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Fashion Design Choice Menu:

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HIGH FASHION

3. Practice the Figure

1. Choose a Category.

2. Research the Category

Start with the Link

4. Design your own

Khan Academy

CASUAL FASHION

ATHLETIC

FASHION

MEDICAL

NC State

Wilson College of Textiles

A fashion student

30 Under 30

Project 1: Wedding and Work

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Project 1 Date : March 22nd 2021

Beginning

Mid Point

[drag your image here]

[drag your image here]

Project 1: Many styles later

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Project 1: March 24th 2021

[drag your image here]

Final Project

Step 1: Pose

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Project 1: [insert date]

Beginning

Mid Point

[drag your image here]

[drag your image here]

Project 1: [Yazmine G]

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Project 1: [insert date]

What does this work of art mean to you?

Why did you make this work of art?

This artwork to me shows the significance of little details. The mistakes I made and solutions I found are all within the lines of color. All parts have a role in this whole piece.

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Use the Text box tool to answer reflection questions about your work. Please be honest.

I made this artwork to create something that has small details that relate to today’s world. The outfit seems basic but it is still a style that many today choose to wear. The pictures I found for reference all had women with straight blonde hair and a body that was skinny. I made my person have curly hair and gave them curves that some may not find flattering. The reference photos I found have women who are all beautiful but people in today’s society seem to see them as the only example of beauty. I want my artwork to show just one example of beauty which in all is being yourself!

Project 1: fashion Art

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Project 1: 11/9/2020

[drag your image here]

Final Project

Project 1: [insert title]

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Project 1: [insert date]

[drag your image here]

Final Project

Fashion Art and Design requires artists to know skills in drawing, sewing, textiles, research, storytelling, business, and marketing.

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To find out more about Zachary, a young student in

Fashion Design, watch here.

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1. BE INSPIRED

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffidm.edu%2Fen%2Fnews%2F&psig=AOvVaw0iqNBX-6EfzCyujzRKPg3A&ust=1588299334791000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCLjHiaaKj-kCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAT

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2. MAKE IT.

• Get paper and pencil.
• Part 1: Draw the human figure.
• Watch the video.
• It may be helpful to pause the video as you draw along with each step.
• This figure is very generic. The most important part is to get your proportions right.

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https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/image-library/partners/bang/land/1000/j/jimmy-choo-shoe-design-instagram-3d312901fd9ebf82b6ef5264d7e.jpg

https://www.ceros.com/originals/nike-creative-storytelling-sneaker-design/

http://gsshoe.com/images/blog/design1-full.jpg

https://www.silver-shoes.net/gallery/cool-shoe-designs-from-best-graphic-artists-picture/cool-shoe-designs-f

rom-best-graphic-artists-1.jpg

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3. EXTEND

Watch famous shoe designers share their sources for inspiration here.

Sponsored by the Victoria and Albert Museum.

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Is a Shoe Designer your dream job?

To find out more about stepping into this career, read here.

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3. Extend: ETHICAL FASHION

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The world of Fashion is not all Glitz and Glam. They are also fighting battles within their own institution.

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Here are three serious issues to consider:

• Body Image and Model Stereotypes
• Working Conditions and Wages
• “Fast Fashion” and its Environmental Impacts

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The good news is that there are several Artists, Designers, and Companies that are fighting against the pitfalls of this industry.

Tour three socially-inspired groups on the next screen.

3. EXTEND

Travel to see how these artists are using their craft

to change stereotypes in the Fashion world.

Highlighting Environmental Impacts from Fast Fashion: Ben and Laura*

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*Note: You might remember the work of Eco-Artist Benjamin Von Wong from our research in doing our Ocean Sculpture installation.

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Overcoming Body Image and Model Stereotypes: Universal Standard

Companies that give back:

TOMS

Bombas

ConsciousStep

FEED

Olivela

Combat Flip Flops

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Sustainable Materials & Zero

Carbon Footprint:

Everlane

Allbirds

Rothys

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Overcoming Living Wages

and Working Conditions: ABLE

Wakanda Forever Crowns

Jose Manuel Cruz

James E. Shepard IB Middle School

Grades 7 & 8

Reflections and Ideas

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• What have you tried?

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• What would you like to try?

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Virtual Field Trips at the NCMA

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Sign-up calendar: https://ncmavft.youcanbook.me/

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Topics:

• Ruth E. Carter (summer)
• Celebrating Artists from Africa and the African Diaspora
• SEL
• Math/STEAM
• Inquiry & Science
• Social Studies
• Celebrating
• Women artists
• Black artists
• LatinX artists
• Power, Place, & Identity
• Bilingual programs available

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Chelsea Brown

Manager of VFT

Charlena Wynn

Teaching Artist for VFT

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Exit Ticket for CEU’s and Slides

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Exit ticket: https://bit.ly/NCMArcafrofuturism

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Slides: https://bit.ly/RCwebinarncma

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Jill Taylor, jill.taylor@ncdcr.gov

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