Sunnie Bybee and Professor Joseph Ostraff, Visual Arts

To whom it may concern, I’m writing to report on the results of my research and ORCA grant project. As my proposal explained, I was asked to participate in a project involving children’s artwork from Tonga by my professor, Joseph Ostraff. This project involved traveling to Tonga and living there for three months. I traveled with a group of people, including my professor’s family, a couple of fellow students and a filmmaker’s family. The other two students were also involved in similar projects that involved and the culture in which we lived.

I began the project when we were living on the island of Va’ vau, and ended it as we were living on the island of Hai’ pai. There was a very small public library that had been funded and built by the local Peace Corps residents in Vavau. We would go there on Saturdays after their weekly story time and work with the children on different drawings and paintings. In Hai’ pai we lived with a Tongan family and would ask the children and their friends to come paint with us after school. I found that the children in both groups did not have the same preconceived notions of art and making images as children from the states would. They were more uncomfortable with individuality and would often copy each other’s images. This was remedied, in part, when we decided to give them somewhat specific subject matter. Once they were given limits, they felt more comfortable with doing their own thing, though there were a few that would copy each other.

Another aspect that I noticed as I watched them use the materials that we presented to them, was that they were less awkward with drawing than they were with painting. Paint is not a material they are used to just having around to use. So they globbed it on thick and didn’t really know how to mix colors. Their drawings were more sensitive and reflective of their culture.