FILL IN THE GAP - Springville Museum of Art

FILL IN THE GAP:
Games, Activities & Puzzles
for teaching
Aesthetics and Art Criticism
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INDEX
Image List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
AESTHETICS LESSONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
I Spy with My Little Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Degrees of Beauty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Ugly or Beautiful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Handsome, Pretty, Beautiful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
A Beautiful Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
I’ve Been Wondering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
What-Is-Art?-Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Going. . .Going. . . Gone! Art Auction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Aesthetic Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Aesthetic Theories: Approaches to Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Who, What, Where, How, Why Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Puzzling About Aesthetics: Exercises in Critical Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Aesthetic Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Views of Art Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Aesthetic Theories Posters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Beauty vs. Ugly Yahtzee! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Squash That Term! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Aesthetics—Personal Attitudes About Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Aesthetics: A Game of Judging Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
ART CRITICISM LESSONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Art Criticism for Elementary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Criticism for Kids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Art Criticism Games & Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Art Criticism Worksheet—Feldman & Pepper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Art Criticism—A way to evaluate Art Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Museum Activity Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Art Criticism Worksheet: Description, Analysis, Interpretation, Judgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Art Criticism—The Art Critic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Anderson Criticism Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Questions in Art Criticism—Barrett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Making Meaning in Art: Artist’s Intent/ Viewer’s Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Making Meaning in Art: Interpreting Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Making Meaning in Art: Artist’s Intent/ Viewer’s Interpretation/Artist’s Response . . . . . . . . 98
Art Criticism—A Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
The Critical Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
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Image List
Karl G. Ackerman
The Blackbird that got into the Garden (1993)
(Armon) Valoy Eaton
Below Zion (2002)
Brad E. Aldridge
A Line as the Endless Horizon (2001)
John Owen Erickson
Gethsemane: Self-Portrait (1986)
Roman Andrus
Cadmium Crest (1964)
Linda Etherington
Calla Lilies (1996)
James R. Avati
Honesty and Virtue at the Tax Table (1988)
John B. Fairbanks
The Great White Throne (1919)
Wulf Barsch
Toward Thebes (1985)
Dale Thompson Fletcher
Abstract (1956)
Design No. 7: Intruder (1955)
Robert Brackman
Girl from the Village (1960)
Rick Nathan Graham
Portrait of Miss Jayne Blair
(1955)
James Calvin Christensen
The Egg, the Owl, & the Fish (1970)
(Michael) Clane Graves
A Matter of Choice (1979)
Jenni Christensen
Blue Magnolias XVIII second state (1990)
Neil Hadlock
Effron (1983)
Africa (1986)
Russell Cowles
Farmer and the Raincloud (1963)
Cyrus Dallin
Paul Revere (1899) SMA
And Paul Revere, Boston
Appeal to the Great Spirit (1912)
J. T. Harwood
Italian Flower Girl (1890)
All the World’s a Stage, Liberty Park (1893)
Michael Craig Hullet
Fall (1999)
Edwin Deakin
Great Salt Lake near Black Rock: Garfield Pier and
Pavilion (1883)
Rose Iver
He Said, She Said (1950)
Lee Deffebach
Zelda: Los Truches (1973)
Kathe Kollwitz
Rest in the Peace of His Hands (1936)
(Not SMA)
(Lafayette) Maynard Dixon
Calico Hills, Boulder Nevada (1933)
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Leon Kroll
Girls at the Exhibition (1964)
Charles L. A. Smith
Portrait of John Hafen (1910)
Ellenore Lawrence
Entanglement (1985)
David Smith-Harrison
Cottonwoods (1994)
Robert Marshall
Iridescence (1994)
The Shroud (1983)
John Heber Stansfield
Canadian Rockies (1926)
LeConte Stewart
Farmington in Winter (1926)
Frank McEntire
Offering: An Assemblage Tableau
Spirits in Prison Awaiting
Deliverance (1997)
Minerva B. Kohlhepp Teichert
Indians: from story `Myrtle Ann’s task’ (1940)
Layne R. Meacham
Reframing
Everett Clarke Thorpe
The White Halter (1953)
Joseph Ostraff
Albino Trout (1989)
Rod J. Walker
Acicula (1995)
Harold Petersen
Dan’s is Now Open Across the Street (1989)
Florence Ware
Nature’s Embroidery (1945)
Denis Ray Phillips
Evening (2000)
Mahonri Young
Agriculture: The Farm Worker (1907)
Bonnie Lee Blair Posselli
Winter, Near Woodland, Utah (1998)
Quilt Examples:
Quilt 1 Handquilted
Quilt 2 Machine Quilted
Quilt 3 “Art Quilt”
Frank P. Riggs
Tohatchi (1990)
Frederick Ferdinand Schafer
Indian Encampment in the Wasatch Range, Utah
(1891)
Ralph Schofield
Yalu River Dead (1954)
Alexander Dimitrovich Selytin
Childhood Memories (2000)
Veniamin Mikhailovich Sibirski,
Greeting the Champions: Winners of the Five Year
Plan (1963)
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Aesthetics Lessons
Aesthetics is the branch of the visual arts that looks at questions
such “What is art?” and “What is beauty?” The notions of what
constitutes good art changes over the years and from culture to
culture, although the aesthetics lessons in this packet look at aesthetics from a Western standpoint.
In aesthetics, students can explore the ideas of various time periods and styles and learn to examine their own ideas, so that as
consumers of art, they will be aware of the decsisions they are
making. In addition, having students discuss aesthetic ideas and
find reasons for theirs or others’ judgments will help students
learn to be self-aware and to use higher-order thinking skills.
Another reason to study aesthetics is that it’s FUN!
As you read through these lessons you will notice that not everyone uses exactly the same terms to discuss aesthetic theories—
some have been simplified, and some are designed for high school
students.
Included in the packet is a CD with a wide variety of artworks
that can be used for the lessons.
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I SPY WITH MY
LITTLE EYE
Aesthetics is a philosophical pursuit that
demands observation skills and an expressive
vocabulary with which to evaluate and
describe our world before one can discuss the
relative merits of beauty or lack thereof and
delve into the more exciting elements of the
aesthetic view.
Objective: Students will demonstrate an
understanding of visual elements as aspects of
their environment and an ability to articulate
what they see by playing a very simple “Hints
and Guessing” game.
Process: One student at a time will look
around the classroom (this can also be done
outdoors) until they find an object or place or a
detail in the room they want to describe. They
will use formula vocabulary to emphasize the
“correct” use of words.
In this version of the game we will use the
visual elements of Line, Shape, Texture, Value,
and Color as descriptive clues. Have the
student start by saying, “I spy with my little
eye, something that is . . .” The student who is
up first will start with naming and describing
and giving “a quality” to a line that is part
of the object being described, such as, “I spy
with my little eye something that has jagged,
pointed lines.” Students should not point
when describing or when guessing.
After the first student has given a
descriptive line clue, then student groups will
take turns guessing which object is being
described. With four groups there should be
four “line” guesses. After each guess, a little
more clue can be added like, ‘the jagged,
pointy, wiggly, wavy border lines. This can
be done as a whole class response or the class
can be divided in “working groups” or as we
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call ourselves in our art room, “THINKING
GROUPS.” I usually limit the guesses to 4 (I
have 4 thinking groups in my classroom), that
is one guess per group. This is a little different
than other competitive games because the
winner is the person who can give the best
clues and gets the object guessed in the least
number of guesses. Rather than trying to
trick and mislead the other students, we want
to give the best verbal clues so someone will
guess on the first try. Or in other words, the
winner is the student who can give the most
specific, concise, and accurate description of
the visual aspects of the object. The winner has
the least amount of points although this game
usually deteriorates into no one paying much
attention to the score. The next person up is
the person who guesses correctly.
After the first round of clues, the student
will give another round of clues, this time
giving a shape clue. After these guesses then
a value clue, then a texture clue, and last is
the color clue. Color goes last because it is the
easiest to describe and the most obvious. The
point here is to use the ELEMENTS of art as the
descriptive vocabulary clues.
We usually divide into four teams. Each
player’s team will really struggle to guess,
so they will guess sooner and have less
points. Be aware that some young people are
so acclimated to fudging and cheating that
they will try to undermine the process just
to win. My response is to stop keeping score
and shaking the process up enough to make
it impossible to have winners and losers. It
is important to remember that the winner is
the person giving the best clues . . . not the
person guessing correctly, but it is so much
like brushing your cats hair backwards that
most young students will not catch on at first.
This is not a good game to throw in for a
few minutes of free time. It works best when
all five clues can be given. We have been
keeping ongoing scores since last September.
If your students get good at guessing, then
let each clue be a different element rather
than repeating each element four times. Most
students will need some help in developing
descriptive words of lines, values, and textures,
so we usually start by “brainstorming”
descriptive words of specific visual elements
and write them on the board. They can stay
on the board during the game, especially for
younger students.
So we want to choose something that is
obviously visible and easy to see and stands
out among the other things in the room. The
point is to have students become comfortable
with using these kinds of words and it is O.K.
to prompt them with new words. It is amazing
the depth and quality of vocabulary that young
students can develop if given a venue and a
cultural setting in which explicit and specific
descriptive words are valued. By now, some of
my third grade students would give collage art
majors a run for their money.
Try using feelings and emotions or even
stylist descriptions such as, “I see something
that is happy” or “confusing.” Or use stylistic
hints such as “. . . something that is pointillist”
or “cubist” or “impressionistic.” You can also
use media words such as “. . . something that
is 3-D,” “sculptural,” “ made of clay” or “. .
. something that is pen and ink,” or “a value
study,” or “made with water colors.” The
clue can be as simple as “. . . something that
is a print of a famous painting,” or even “. . .
something that is a print of a painting by Joan
Miro.”
Student One: “No! I spy with my little eye,
something that has squiggly wiggly lines with
jagged pointed lines.”
A REAL SAMPLE DIALOGUE: (written
down by Whitney, a sixth grader)
Student One: “YES!”
Group Two Guess: “The print of the paper cut
called “Beasts of the Sea”, by Henri Matisse
in the middle of the wall by Mrs. Arringtion’s
music class?” (guesses must also be specific)
Student One: “No! I spy with my little eye
something that has squiggly wiggly lines and
has jagged pointed lines and thick fat lines.”
Group Three Guess: “The found object
cardboard relief sculpture on the back wall
next to music mural?”
Student One: “No! I spy with my little eye,
something that has squiggly wiggly lines with
jagged pointed lines and thick fat lines and
little tiny dotted lines going back and forth.”
Group Four: “The little speaker place on the
side of the TV where the sound comes out?”
Student One: “No! I spy with my little eye
something that has an “Irregular” shape.” (We
use the term irregular rather than organic)
Group One: “The large yellow shape in the
music mural?”
Student One: “No! I spy with my little eye
something that has an irregular shape with
dangling down skinny shapes at the bottom.”
Group Two Guess: “The little cut out paper
shape taped to the chalk board?”
The image on the opposite page is the object
that the hints and guesses were about. It is
a folded paper cut used as an example of an
ongoing project the students are working on.
Student One: “I spy with my little eye,
something that has squiggly wiggly lines.
Group One Guess: “The music mural on the
back wall?”
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This is a pretty long example but it only took
two or three minutes to play. The next table
would then send up their “Student One.”
They all must take turns and this game lasts
for weeks in my room. It is also a great filler
project and after the students understand the
subtleties of the game, it is very self contained
and takes very little coaching from the teacher.
After a while you may want to change the
element to get past the lines and shapes. You
may want to use the hinting element that
you are currently using in your art lessons.
This can be a quick little playtime game or
a serious ongoing cumulative game. In the
end the students will increase in their ability
to describe what they see, observe more and
more specific characteristics, and as guessers,
they will learn to be more discriminating in
identifying specifics in what might otherwise
seem chaotic.
Remember that the goal is to give the best hint
with the least amount of guesses.
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Degrees of Beauty
Elementary Visual Arts
focus more on the question, “What causes a
thing to be beautiful?”
Objective: Students will demonstrate an
understanding of the aesthetic concept of
“Degrees” by looking at a lineup of similar
objects and determining their order of Ugliness
to Beautiful.
Related Projects: Sometimes because of our
own lack of aesthetic education and resistance
to looking a little foolish to our students we
avoid that which is a tad uncomfortable for
ourselves. If the subtleties of this project seem
a little too much (no judgment intended) then
let us try the following one.
Take the same group of found objects and
line them up and give them titles (names).
When you name something you imbue it
with meaning, usually. Have students title
the rocks or sticks, compare the titles, and
discuss which is most appropriate and least
appropriate. There will be disagreement.
Controversy is not necessarily contention. The
wider the disagreement, the wider the point of
view and the larger the idea becomes. Puny
little rarefied ideas that everyone agrees on
are generally only a cliché of the larger, more
grandiose and insightful idea.
Another simple way to alter this project
is to use a continuum of “Interesting and
Boring” rather than beauty and ugly. Still,
the important idea here is the why. Push the
question and a lot of wonderful answers will
magically appear. This project could also
be done by having students choose which is
most handsome, most beautiful, most pretty
and most ugly, boring or interesting and why.
Remember that Handsome means built well,
Pretty means looks good and Beautiful means
is good. (see the examples on the following
pages
Materials:
• Any group of similar objects like rocks,
sticks, leaves or nails or screws. Five or
Six or Seven objects will be enough.
Process: Line up the objects in no particular
order and somewhere out of sight on the
bottom of each object number them so you can
keep the objects straight and identified. Have
students either one at a time or in groups come
to the table where the objects are displayed and
organize the objects in order of their beauty
or ugly priority. Keep track of the order.
Students should write either solo or as a group
why each object is in it place on the “Beauty
Continuum.” Where they place an object is
unimportant. Why they place it there is very
important and how they write about it is of
greatest importance.
Exhibit these objects and the writing in a
prominent place in your room or in the school
if you think the writing demonstrates an
astuteness and an awareness of the subtleties of
the aesthetic view in the visual world. Objects
convey meaning.
Remember there are no right or wrong
points of view in this project. This is difficult
for many teachers because our own “education
training” taught us to teach to prescribed
answers. We know something is correct
because we have been told so. In this project
we want to avoid that thinking and allow
students to extrapolate their opinions and
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3
4
5
6
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A bunch of lava rock numbering left to right 1 thru 7.
Examples:
Aesthetic Writing:
Rebekah, third grade.
#6 is the most beautiful because it is
the most different of them all. The shape is
different and the color is different and even the
texture is not like the others.
#5 is the ugliest because it is the only one
with a normal triangle shape. It’s just kind of
normal. It has a normal shape and a normal
color and all the others have interesting
irregular shapes.
Joseph B. third grade.
This is hard because they are all kinda
ugly. #3 is the ugliest to me because it has lots
of big holes and dents in the top and it looks
awkward and doesn’t even have a real shape.
The most beautiful one is #4 because it has
smaller bubble holes and it looks kind of like a
pot and pottery is my favorite kind of art.
Callie, third grade.
That is easy. #4 is the ugliest because
it is the biggest and the roundest and not a
natural shape and it looks like somebody did
something to it to give it a shape.
#5 is the most beautiful. It has a natural
triangle shape. It also has a very nice natural
color of purplish gray and the others just have
a dirty color of grayish.
Joseph S. third grade.
# 4 is the most beautiful because it has an
interesting hole in the top. You could use it to
put stuff in like other rocks or something to eat.
It is beautiful because you could use it. The
second most beautiful one is #5 because it is
like a triangle and you could stack it neat with
other triangle shapes and stack it up tall.
The ugliest one is #3 because you could
never skip it water and it is bumpy and you
can’t stack it or use it for any thing. It is dirty.
You would have to clean it before you could
use it.
These are excerpts of longer writing
projects. The only change in the original text is
spelling. Students entered the writing in to the
computer and the spell checker assisted.
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There are 136 third graders in 4 classes that I
see daily. We took a survey and came up with
these statistics:
No one thought that rock 1 or 2 was the
most beautiful, 8 thought that 3 was the most
beautiful, 64 thought that 4 was most beautiful,
43 thought that 5 was most beautiful, 11
thought that 6 was most beautiful 10 thought
that 7 was most beautiful and 7 students
thought that no rock was ever beautiful.
Remember that each student had to defend
his or her choice in writing and that it was
written primarily in a private mode not as a
cooperative exercise.
Twenty three students thought that 1 was
the ugliest, 8 thought that 2 was the most ugly,
0 thought that 3 was most ugly, 20 thought
that 4 was most ugly, 16 thought that 6 was
most ugly and 62 thought that 7 was ugliest. 7
students (probably the same as above) thought
all rock were equally ugly.
These are only numbers, but there are
some interesting ideas as to the nature of ugly
and beauty being expressed here. The point is,
right or wrong, we should be expressing our
impressions and ideas on these subjects.
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Ugly or Beautiful?
Elementary Visual Arts
Of course there are many more. I recommend
some research in these ideas just to clarify you
own thinking.
After the terms have been made fresh
in the students’ minds, have several or all
choose an object and write a short statement
as to the object’s level of beauty and ugliness.
These should be short (3 or 4 sentences) about
whether the object is ugly or beautiful and at
least three reasons why.
After the first student is finished, she
should find another student who disagrees and
wants to write down at least three reasons why
they think that an ugly thing is beautiful or
that someone else’s beautiful object is ugly to
them. Help students avoid the “CONTRARY”
mode. That is, argument for argument’s sake
because that point of view tends to undermine
the veracity of one’s own opinion. We have all
been there haven’t we!
When the objects have been written about,
exhibit them somewhere in the classroom, or
even better, in the hall or library so all students
can see. Make sure to post the aesthetic
response to the objects with the piece. Students
may wish to sign their opinions or not. Discuss
this and why with the student.
We are much less concerned with “right or
wrong” than creative and innovative thinking
in response to visual stimuli. The responses
the students use will give you an idea of their
level of “aesthetic maturity” and sensitivity
and give a standard from which to teach and
expand student awareness and sophistication
concerning these issues of “What causes beauty
and why is it O.K. that we don’t all agree?”
Objective: Students will demonstrate an
understanding of the aesthetic vocabulary of
Ugly and Beautiful by observing, analyzing
and writing their “Ugly” or “Beautiful”
response to found objects.
Materials:
• Pen
• Paper
• Found objects
Process: Have students bring “interesting”
found objects from home. Having the
students bring the lesson materials makes
this project be more about the students than
the teacher. Education is about learning, not
about teaching. When a few objects are in the
classroom have the students who brought them
explain what they are or what they think they
are and develop a label for each object just so
you can use a common title for it. Display the
objects in the room.
Conduct some sessions in the class
where you discuss the aesthetic vocabulary
of beautiful and ugly and discuss some
possible reasons for each. There several
official philosophical stances that impact the
perception of what constitutes BEAUTY. We
will not worry too much here about standard
names for these views but will list some
reasons humans perceive beauty:
A thing is beautiful if it
reminds you of something you like;
if it represents something you aspire to;
if it comes from a source you value;
because it has positive memory
associations.
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Examples:
The Wasp Nest
“This horse shoe is ugly because: It is all
rusty and broken, It has dead bugs in it and it
has dried dirt and bent nails. I don’t think this
horse shoe is beautiful. Dirt can’t be beautiful.
It’s just dirty!”
Amy, age 9
“This horseshoe is very very beautiful
because it was on a horse and I love horses.
Once it was shiny. Once it helped the horse
walk. It is meaningful to me. I love horses.”
Brogan age 9
Wasp Nest Writing:
“This wasp nest is ugly because it is a
broken up nest and has dead baby wasps in
it. I also think it is ugly because it is sorta
squashed and has webby type things on it.
That’s why I think it’s ugly. sometimes broken
things are ugly to me including smashed.”
Kalin age 9
“I think this dirty old horse shoe is very
beautiful. I like old things. My Mom and Dad
are very old and so is Grandma and Grandpa
and they love me and I love them and that is
what beautiful is. Old things are beautiful just
because they are old.”
Sierra, age 9
“This wasp nest is beautiful because it
has a few spider webs on it and I really like
spiders. I have a pet tarantula. This nest also
has an interesting texture. Also, it is beautiful
because it has lots of holes in it and they make
a very nice pattern.”
Seth age 8
Related Projects: This does not have to be
done with found objects it can be a great way
to discuss art history and the famous artists
and artworks that we are already teaching the
students. If your time constraints are anything
like mine, short, oral processes with intensified
learning outcomes are valuable tools. Here is
a short and easy project that we do as a warm
up at the beginning of each class while we are
in our Aesthetic Section of the curriculum. For
third graders we use Trevor Southey’s “Bloom”
and Lee Udall Bennion’s “Snow Queen”
to discuss and write about which is more
beautiful or more ugly. We will have a scribe
and write the ideas on the board. The point
here is to view publicly all the different reasons
things can be beautiful or ugly and why it is all
right to disagree. Notice that we are discussing
these works relative to each other rather than
in absolute terms.
The Old Horse Shoe
12
EXAMPLES:
Snow Queen, by Lee Udall Bennion
New Bloom, by Trevor Southey
More Related Projects: The aesthetic
discussion of beauty and ugly need not pertain
to visual art only. We have many assemblies
at our school and have an ongoing tradition
of writing the principal a short letter listing
all of the reasons we thought the performance
was either beautiful or ugly. (knowing that
there are a lot of other descriptive words and
variation of these two ideas)
“
Snow Queen” is beautiful because: It has
more colors; you can see the shapes easier; it
is easy to see details; you can tell where she is;
she is a little kid just like me; she doesn’t have
wrinkles; she is wearing fancy cloths like from
Old Navy; nice complementary colors of red
and green.
The Jr. High Dance Assembly:
“Bloom” is beautiful because: Lots of contrast
between light and dark so it is easier to see;
she looks a lot like my old Grandma who is
nice to me; she looks more real; a lot more
textures and other things to look at; lots of
details like wrinkles that are hard to draw;
many different values of light and dark;
interesting details like the flying flower.
“I think the dance was beautiful because they
were big kids and I like to look at big girls.”
Jason, age 9
“I think the dance program was very ugly
because when some of the dances were on you
could see the girls underwear and that is just
gross.” Steven, age 8
13
“I really loved the dance
assembly because I want to be
a dancer when I grow up and
I think I learned some good
cheer leading moves. My big
sister was one of the dancers
and she is beautiful. She is a
cheer leader.” Dianna, age 9
“The dance was ugly. The
whole assembly was ugly.
My teacher got mad at me
and made me stand up in the
back behind the sixth graders.
I hate sixth graders and my
teacher and the ugly, ugly,
ugly dancers.” Travis, age 8
“I thought the dance
assembly was very beautiful.
It was beautiful because the
movement and the music
went together like one big
idea. I could tell different feelings from the
music and the moving.” Courtney, age 9
John Held, Jr.
Dancin’ in the Jazz Age 1920s
SMA
“I don’t know if it was ugly but it was stupid.
Dancing is for sissies but the Jr. High girls are
cute and maybe I’ll like dancing some day but
right now I think it stinks.”
Justin, age 10
“The dancing was the most beautiful thing I
ever saw. The kids all moved together and
they all had the rhythm and the teachers
talking made a lot of sense and now I want to
be a dancer too.” Levi, age 9
“The dance assembly was beautiful because
everyone was having fun and they were all
smiling.” Whitney, age 8
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Handsome, Pretty, Beautiful
aesthetic education. We should try to get
past the obvious and move into the poignant
and significant. Aesthetics is a discussion of
meaning.
Elementary Visual Arts
Objectives: Students will demonstrate an
understanding of some primal terms in the
aesthetic vocabulary by discussing Handsome,
Pretty and Beautiful and bringing something
for “show and tell” that represents at least one
of these ideas.
Process: The objective here is to have students
engage in a discussion of how to discriminate
between something that is truly beautiful and
something that is merely pretty. These terms
are a little arbitrary and simplified somewhat
for the sake of learning. A Kindergartner or
a First Grader is not going to learn all that is
available in the literature of Aesthetics, so we
want to introduce simple, yet significant, ideas
to these young students that they can build
upon.
After some discussion of these three
terms, invite students to bring an appropriate
object or a story of something that represents
the aesthetic idea to the next show and tell day.
They should bring something that is either
Handsome: something that is Built Well;
or Pretty: something that Looks Good; or
Beautiful: something that Is Good. I usually
send notes home explaining to parents the
nature of this project because this specific
usage is usually new to the parents also, and I
would rather the parents reinforce these ideas
instead of arguing against them because they
seem a little different.
Some general misconceptions to watch
for are the ideas that handsome relates only to
the masculine and that pretty is feminine and
that beautiful is quantitatively greater or more
of pretty. While there is some justification for
this traditional point of view, it also illuminates
the problem of cliché in the discussion of
Remember:
Handsome= built or constructed well
Pretty= looks good
Beautiful= is good
Look it up if you disagree.
Some other issues and questions to address
during show and tell might be: Can a girl be
handsome? Can a horse be handsome? Can
a house be handsome? Can something be
handsome and ugly at the same time? Can a
rock be pretty? Can a rock be beautiful? Can a
thing be beautiful but not pretty? Can a thing
or a person be pretty but not beautiful? Can a
thing or person be pretty and beautiful at the
same time? Can a thing be beautiful and ugly
at the same time?
Obviously, the big question is WHY? It
is ok to have an opinion. Not all opinions have
the same value, though, and what we all want
to know is why one has that opinion. So, WHY
needs to be asked and some attempt to explain
needs to be made. Most young students will
need some help with WHY. They have learned
by example that “I DON’T KNOW!” is the
traditional answer for most of these issues.
When dealing with opinions and personal
preferences,
I don’t know is unacceptable. Try to get young
students not to shrug their shoulders and
assume that they have answered a question.
15
Related Project: Students can use magazines
to find and cut out pictures that represent
these three ideas. The real point is to have
them answer why or what is it in the picture
or object or person that makes it beautiful or
pretty or handsome. Students can find all three
and compare and contrast or focus on just one
and find the best example.
Josh says, “This tree is handsome because it is
built very well and looks so strong that even
when it is dead it is still standing up tall and
strong. I think I could put a tree house in it
without it falling down. It is handsome.”
Rebekah says, “This is a beautiful photograph
of a seagull. It is beautiful because when I
look at it I think of the seagulls and the crickets
and how the seagulls saved the pioneers from
dying. I don’t think seagulls are pretty because
they eat garbage from the dumpster behind the
cafeteria, but they are beautiful when they save
you from starving.”
Michael says, “This is a picture of a sunset.
It is pretty because it looks pretty good with
a lot of bright colors and blue and orange
complementary colors. It is pretty.
16
A BEAUTIFUL PLACE
guidelines currently being developed by the
educational collaborative groups throughout
the state. If you will prepare the students with
the “thinking” questions before they start, they
can think about the aesthetics and how they
can impact beauty as they work. A major part
of this lesson is focused on, “What can I do as
an artist to increase the level of beauty in my
art work?” Remember that beautiful does not
mean “pretty”.
Elementary Visual Arts
Objective: Students will demonstrate an
understanding of “sources of Beauty” and
“Why?” by creating a value landscape of a
place they think is “Beautiful” and writing a
short statement answering several aesthetic
questions.
Materials:
• Black Ball Point Pens (fine point,
medium point and wide tip)
• good “drawing” paper.
Process: After a comprehensive discussion of
Pretty and Beautiful (see previous lesson)
students should discuss and brainstorm about
“Beautiful Places” and what causes a place to
be beautiful. A list of beautiful places should
be listed on the board to help students start
their own thinking process on this subject.
When each student has decided on which
landscape is beautiful to them (let each student
develop his or her own aesthetic) students
should then render the place as a value/texture
landscape.
Students should use at least five layers of
landscape showing overlapping to create the
perspective illusion of near and far. Students
should be exposed to at least five ways to
shade with a black ink pen: Flat shading,
diagonal lines, stipple, cross hatch and scribble.
When students have completed their
landscape of a BEAUTIFUL PLACE, it is
time to think about the aesthetics of this
artwork. We need to discuss why we think
this “place” is beautiful. What causes beauty?
and what the artist did to give the “artwork”
a sense of beauty. The writing should be in
age appropriate form using the goals and
17
The Questions:
Where and What is this place?
Is it a beautiful place? Why?
What did I do as an artist to make this
artwork more beautiful?
Here are some examples of second grade art
work and aesthetic writing:
The Beautiful Sea, by Katey, age 8
with a partner and sometimes with the teacher.
I always look at the writing before we publish
or exhibit. After the students have a finished
writing product they enter it into one of our
computers, choose an interesting font, set
up paragraphs and punctuation and check
spelling. Because this is a dedicated art room
we have a wall of computers (discards for
other schools, homes and businesses) that we
use to learn about graphics and publishing our
writing projects. Nearly every art project has
some kind of writing associated with it.
Rough Draft for Katey’s writing
There are many strategies for learning writing
skills. Since most of the traditional core
teachers have a structural (law and order)
approach, I tend to use a more “creative
thinking” approach. I understand that both are
necessary and I always support the necessity of
structural accuracy. However, when teaching
intellectual strategies and problem solving I
like to have the creative idea drive the writing
rather the spelling, grammar and punctuation
dominate the ideas being generated. I know
both are important. Let students go through
the same 6 step process that we use in thinking
of and creating a work of art:
Desert Night, by Michelle
Michelle’s rough draft writing
1. THINK (brainstorming)
2. until you get an IDEA (see it in your
mind)
3. make a PLAN (thinking space
sketches)
4. DO IT (production)
5. EVALUATE (self criticism and
aesthetic writing)
6. EXHIBIT (publish)
So the students write a rough draft and then
proof read; sometimes alone and sometimes
18
In this instance we did this work at
home and did the writing in class. Again the
questions were;
1. Where is this place?
2. Why is this place beautiful?
3. What did you do to your art work to
make or increase its beauty?
The assignment was to build a threedimensional place that the student thinks is
beautiful. Build it in a box and try to add some
beauty to it by the materials and techniques
that you choose and use.
A Beautiful Valley by Levi
Levi’s “published” writing
Under the Sea, by Tyler
BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE EXAMPLES:
This place is under the sea. It is beautiful
because it is a place a wish I could go and stay
there.
I helped make this one beautiful by putting
aquarium plants and plastic models so it
would look realistic.
Related Projects: Writing about beauty and
what one did as an artist to add or increase
the beauty in ones work can be applied to
many kinds of projects. Here is one that lends
easily to this approach to thinking about and
producing works of art.
We make dioramas as a way to create a
personally specific landscape and to observe
the technical and visual problems and
questions inherent in trying to make a flat
piece of paper appear to be three dimensional,
that is perspective.
19
This is the ocean. It is beautiful because you
can fish in it and sail on it and surf. These are
fun. I made it more beautiful by using analogous colors for the water and complementary
ones for the fish.
This place is Fish and Waves, by Nicole
Lost at Sea, by William
This is a sinking ship in the middle of the ocean. This place is ugly
and beautiful because some people died and some people were
heroes. I made it more beautiful by using real pictures from the
internet of Titanic, a real sinking ship and I used cotton to look like
real fog and real waves
20
I’ve Been Wondering. . .
Elementary Visual Arts
Objective: Students will demonstrate an
understanding of aesthetics as a discussion
of “points of view” by defining important
aesthetic questions in the arts and discussing
the issues in small groups and presenting the
conclusions (pro and con) to the class.
needs or schedule). One of the difficulties with
younger children is their lack of sophistication
in trying to defend a point of view they don’t
actually subscribe to. I guess this might be a
form of honesty, but the ability to put oneself
on the other side of an issue is a strategy
that allows students to be more tolerant of
discussion and differing opinions. It also helps
us solidify our own opinion, and it may even
help us change our opinion occasionally, which
is another way to say “Learn something new.”
So here are some questions; feel free
to invent your own. Make the questions and
issues be a product or your own classroom and
the arts curriculum you have been teaching.
Process: This is a lesson I saw demonstrated
years ago at an arts networking conference.
I was so impressed with the students
demonstrating it that I wrote down the
process and questions and brought it straight
back to my third grade classroom. This is
sophisticated for third graders, and I found
that if I did not start them on these ideas in
Kindergarten and First Grade, they were
not ready to deal with these issues in third
grade. I also tried teaching this process to my
University beginning Ceramics students and
easily 90% could not engage in a discussion on
these simple aesthetic ideas. They had never
been exposed even though some of them had
been high school art majors. If this seems too
difficult for your students, try helping them
learn some of the more basic approaches to the
world of aesthetics.
Divide your students into small
(intimate) groups to discuss one point of view
concerning an aesthetic issue or question.
After discussion, each group should present
to the entire group the persuasive reasons to
support the group’s position. After one side
of an issue is presented, another group of
students should present the opposing view.
From each pair of questions below, assign the
first question to one group and the second
question to another (feel free to adapt the
number of issues discussed according to your
I’ve been wondering...
Do we all have to agree on what is beautiful
and what is not?
or
Is there only one right point of view and
everyone else is wrong?
Can a thing be both beautiful and ugly?
or
Are the ideas of beauty and ugliness mutually
exclusive?
Does an artist have a responsibility to the
public?
or
Is an artist’s responsibility only to himself?
21
What if a city buys a sculpture to place in a city
park and the citizens who use the park hate it?
Do the citizens have the right to demand that
the sculpture be removed?
or
What if the people who use the park want
the sculpture painted a different color than
the color chosen by the artist? If the city now
owns the sculpture, can the city council have it
repainted?
Neil Hadlock, Effron 1983
Is censorship appropriate if a work of art is
shocking and upsetting to a community?
or
Should artists have the freedom to present
anything they wish to the public?
Is art an object?
or
Can the idea be art?
How can someone know if she/he is an artist
or not?
or
Can anyone be an artist? Does someone have
to have special training to be an artist?
Have you noticed that the questions are
increasing in complexity and to some extent
increasing in ambiguity? These questions
can be used for upper grade students or jr.
and high school students or teachers. Try this
in the next faculty meeting while they are
addressing the State Legislature’s mandate in
the Core Curriculum! This IS part of the Core
Curriculum. . . in Visual Arts!
Can someone today fully appreciate works
of art from another culture without an
understanding of the cultural context in which
the work was created?
or
Is it appropriate to evaluate an object from a
non-Western culture in contemporary terms of
elements and principles of design?
22
Southwest, Navajo people
Classic Serape-style Wearing Blanket, 1875
www.umfa.utah.edu/index.
php?id=MTc&media_id=127
What if the maker and original culture from
which an object emerged did not consider the
object to be art, but it is in an art museum? Is it
Art now, even if it wasn’t art then?
or
Do viewers of the object have any obligation to
learn about the culture that produced a work
of art? Who decides what is art and what isn’t?
Can people disagree about their definitions of
art?
Related Projects: Aesthetics is primarily an
intellectual pursuit based on language. It, of
course, has visual results in the work of artists
who embrace the “aesthetic discussion.” For
another approach to the “aesthetic questions,”
have students write down their personal
opinion of the questions above. Have them
write in complete and specific sentences and
paragraphs. If you are looking for a good topic
in your writing curriculum, try this one.
If you really want to push the topic,
have students bring real-life examples of these
objects or issues and explain how the example
reinforces their “point of view.” Their writing
can be exhibited with their examples or photos
and drawings of their examples. It is always
good to have students make art about art and
art ideas. It is a way to clarify the concept.
Kroll, Leon
Girls at the Exhibition (1964)
Is art the thing you look at?
or
Is art the way you look at the thing?
There are of course many questions to
be included in this learning approach. Some
questions are very simple and some very
complex. Make up your own questions based
on the arts lessons you have been teaching and
stretch a little out into the big wide wonderful
world of AESTHETICS!
23
24
“WHAT-IS-ART?-LAND!”
3rd–6th Grade Visual Arts
3. Divide the class into four teams. Each team
will need to choose one member to act as the
team’s game piece (or the teacher could use
this as a ‘reward’ for something else done that
week). All of the game pieces need to start at
one end of the path.
Objective:
Students will form opinions as to what they
consider to be art through playing a game
modeled after Candy Land.
Materials:
• laminated colored sheets of construction
paper
• 3 x 5 index cards (to create playing
cards)
• scissors and glue stick
• an assortment of artworks of varying
media, subject matter, size, and meaning
• other objects that could be used for this
debate (objects around the classroom
work well, such as: a chair, a marker, a
stapler, a bulletin board, a stuffed
animal, an article of clothing, etc.)
4. To take a turn, a team member needs to
draw a notecard from the top of the stack.
The color on that swatch indicates where
that team’s gamepiece will get to move (for
instance, if the student picks a notecard with
a blue swatch, then the student will get to
move to the next blue space on the path. If the
student chooses a notecard that has an artwork
on it, the student has to move to that space on
the path, whether it takes the student further
ahead or sends him or her farther back).
Instructions for the game:
1. The teacher will need to place the colored
sheets of laminated paper around the room
to form a path. The colored pieces of paper
should be repeated in a pattern (i.e., red, blue,
orange, green, yellow, purple, brown, red, blue,
orange, green….)
2. The teacher will also need to create playing
cards by using small square swatches of each of
the colors used in the “path.” Glue one square
swatch of a color on each notecard, making
several cards of each color (just like the cards
used in the game Candy Land). Also, choose
about four artworks to color copy and insert
into the path randomly, while also creating a
notecard for each of these images.
25
5. However, in order to move, the teacher
needs to hold up one of the artworks or other
items and have that student answer whether
or not he or she thinks the piece is art or not,
and then give some reasons. There are no right
answers, but teacher should use the student’s
response to generate a little discussion as to
what qualities make something art or not art.
The goal is not to come up with right and
wrong answers as to what art is, the goal is to
allow the students to share their opinions, and
to debate back and forth as to why something
could or couldn’t be considered art.
6. After the student answers, the team gets to
move the “gamepiece” team member to the
space indicated by the swatch on the card (so
in this example, the next blue space on the
path).
7. The team that reaches the finish line of the
path wins.
Assessment:
This game can be played just for fun, or the
teacher may choose to have the students write
a quick journal entry at the end with their
personal definition of what art is to them.
Or, they could do this before and after to the
game, to see how their opinions had changed.
The journal entry could be graded by simply
checking off whether or not the student
completed it.
26
GOING… GOING… GONE!
ART AUCTION!
will determine how much money they will get
(i.e., all the #1’s get $500, #2’s get $800, and
#3’s get $1,000). Distribute money accordingly
to each student.
4th–6th Grade Visual Art
Objective:
Students will be able to participate in an
art auction and then engage in a follow-up
discussion to answer aesthetics questions
pertaining to the monetary value of art.
*ART PRODUCTION EXTENSION:
Using printmaking techniques, have
the students each come up with a simple
design to print to make their own money. A
fast and easy technique is to use pencils to
carve a design onto Styrofoam plates. Then,
use brayers (rollers) and ink (some types of
tempera paint might work also) to ink the
plate, and then press onto a piece of paper to
create a print. Remind the students that words
will have to be written backwards in order to
come out correctly.
Materials:
• Various art prints and a small amount
of background info on each piece (about
two sentences, if there is info on the
back of the print, that will usually be
enough)
•
numbered auction signs (popsicle sticks
glued to paper plates work well)
• play money or printmaking materials
for making “money” (see ART
PRODUCTION EXTENSION below)
3. Hold an art auction with art prints and
posters. (Students don’t actually get to
keep these if they come from a school set,
it is meant to be a hypothetical activity, but
maybe they could keep it by their desk for
the day, or the teacher could provide them
with postcard versions of the piece that they
could keep.) The auctioneer should provide a
short background on the piece before putting
it up for auction, 1-2 sentences is fine and will
probably already be on the back of the print or
poster.
• a gavel and a podium (or desk) are a
fun touch!
Instructions for the Activity:
1. Each student needs to create an auction sign
with a number written large and clear on the
front. (You can glue popsicle sticks or tongue
depressors to paper plates to make these. The
students can decorate them, but their numbers
need to remain very clear so the teacher or
“auctioneer” can read them.)
4. Afterwards, ask the students some
Aesthetics questions to get them thinking
about the philosophies behind the purchase
and value of artworks. Some questions to ask
are:
• Why did you bid for a certain artwork?
Did the background information
influence which pieces you liked?
2. Not all students will have the same amount
of “money.” To determine how much each
student gets, decide on three amounts (like
$500, $800, and $1,000, or whatever will best
correspond to the money you are using). Have
the students draw a number out of a hat that
27
•
•
Did you choose pieces for the subject
matter depicted, for how famous the
artist was, for the estimated value,
because your friends liked it, or because
you thought it would look good in your
room?
What makes an artwork worth more
than another? What if nobody had
bid on an artwork, does that make the
artist unsuccessful or ‘bad’ at what he
or she does? What if everybody tried
to bid on the same artwork, does that
make it seem to be more successful or
that it should be worth more?
There are a lot of questions that could be
asked, and there are many directions the
discussion could lead. That’s the great part
about Aesthetics—it is a universal discipline
that applies to so many areas of life because it
brings up questions about values and ethics.
Use this activity as a springboard for any
other subject area to create interdisciplinary
connections.
Assessment:
Students can easily be assessed using a 1-3
rating scale for each part of the activity
(1 = lowest, 3 = highest), with a 0 if the
student did not participate in a certain part
of the activity at all. Categories may include:
Participation in Art Auction, Participation in
Class Discussion, Journal Entry (if the teacher
chooses to have the students answer this way),
and Money Printmaking Activity (if the teacher
chooses to have the students make their own).
What does this activity tell us about
the ‘real world’—Who decides who the
‘best’ artists are? What factors do you
think lead to the success of an artist?
Does an artist need to become well
known in order for their artwork to
be valued? Could you have sold one of
your artworks in this class auction?
Why?
• ART PRODUCTION EXTENSION
QUESTIONS: If the students made their own
money, ask them if that made their money
seem more valuable than if the teacher had just
given them play money. Did it change what
art they bid on, or how much they were willing
to spend? If you trade money that you made
through an artistic process for an artwork, does
that make them the same value? If one student
didn’t spend much time making his money,
is he or she more willing to part with it to bid
on a piece of art? Likewise, if another student
spent a lot of time creating his or her money,
was that student more hesitant to trade it for
the artworks?
28
Aesthetic Puzzles
the sculpture. However, it took 40 years and 6
different models of possible sculptures before
the model shown here was finally accepted
by the committee. It took 18 more years and
some of Dallin’s own money to get the finished
sculpture installed in Boston.
The following are a group of “puzzles” or
problems about aesthetics ideas. They are
intended to provoke thought and discussion—
there are no “right” answers. Do make sure
students consider the reasons for the choices
they make and expect them to defend those
choices with specific reasons.
Ask students to consider the following
questions and give reasons for their answers:
• Having won the competition, should
Cyrus Dallin have been allowed to
decide what the final sculpture would
look like?
• If the artist doesn’t make all the
decisions about an artwork, is he still
the artist, or are the people who helped
make the decision also part of the
artistic process? Should they also get
some credit for the monument?
• Paul Revere is a public monument: it is
displayed in public and commemorates
a public event and person. Should the
public have a voice in what a public
monument looks like?
Public Monuments
Show the class the images of Cyrus E. Dallin’s
sculpture, Paul Revere. Give the students
the following background information: In
1983, Cyrus Dallin submitted an artwork to a
competition to create a statue commemorating
Paul Revere and his historic ride (give the
students a little background, if they do not
know about Revere’s ride to warn settlers
that the British troops were coming). No
artwork from the competition was chosen,
but Dallin didn’t give up. Two years later, the
committee accepted a new design of his for
• Like many sculptures, the sculpture of
Paul Revere was first modeled in clay and
then cast in bronze. The artists get the
credit for the artwork and not the
individuals who cast the piece in bronze—
is that fair? What would you do?
29
Assessment: Assess students participation
using a check list with a – for little or poorquality participation, a √ for adequate
participation, and a + for particularly
thoughtful participation.
Quality vs. Originality
Read the students the following made up
scenario:
You work for a museum that owns a fairly
famous painting by a local artist. Another
museum in the area owns a painting presumed
to be a copy of your painting. The copied
painting is of inferior quality and is seldom
exhibited. Last week, a historian found some
letters that indicate that the poor-quality
painting is actually the original painting, and
the high-quality painting is the copy.
Historical References
Show the class the image of the painting Yalu
River Dead.
Does the fact that your museum’s painting is
a copy of an earlier work make it less valuable
than art experts said it was before anyone
knew it was a copy?
What if no one had ever found out your
museum’s painting was a copy?
Which matters most, quality or originality?
Ask the students the following questions:
• What do you think the painting is about?
• How does the painting make you feel?
• Can you appreciate the painting even
though you don’t know exactly what it’s
about?
Tell the students that during the Korean War,
US and Allied forces near the Yalu River, which
separates China and North Korea (show map),
were overrun by Chinese troops and a terrible
battle took place at the Chosin Reservoir. It
was so cold the soldiers called themselves “The
Frozen Chosin.” Many soldiers were killed.
Those who lived had to find their way back to
the other troops through the mountains and
some died of the cold or the lack of food.
• Now that you know what the painting is
about, does that information change how
you see and what you feel when you look
at the painting?
• We are now fighting a very different war
in Iraq. Does this painting say anything
about the war in Iraq?
• Are photographs of war scenes art?
• Why do artists make art about war?
What is Art?
Show the students the image of the painting
Zelda: Los Truches, by Lee Deffebach. Tell students that they should imagine they work at a
local museum. This artwork, Zelda: Los Truches, is part of one of the exhibits. One of the
visitors to the museum angrily tells you that
the painting is not art: she claims her daughter
Assessment: Use a checklist–see previous
lesson
30
does better art and that anyone could make a
painting like Zelda by simply splashing some
paint on a canvas.
lation the museum serves. (For example, you
may want to increase the diversity of artworks
in your collection because of specific needs in
the population, or you may want to maintain
the focus of your collection)
• What could you tell the visitor that might
change her mind?
• What aesthetic stance would you use?
• What other artworks could you use to
support your position?
• Where else could you find information t
that might add to your argument?
• How do you feel–is Zelda: Los Truches
art?
• Which artwork should your museum
acquire?
• What values did you use to support your
decision?
• How will the painting you chose match
those values?
Teacher: you may want to help students set up
the values for their museum by assigning them
a specific museum orientation. You could have
any of the following:
1. A museum with
a focus on Utah
Art
2. A museum on
a university
campus, dedicated to serving
the needs of the
students
3. A museum that
has a collection
of very traditional artwork
4. A museum that
owns very few
works by women
5. A museum that
has the goal
of providing art experiences for school
children
Art and Other Values
Show the class the images of Florence Ware’s
painting Nature’s Embroidery and a traditional
Japanese or Chinese flower painting such as
A Single Bird on Lotus Stem 1971 ca. by Jingyi
Wang, byu.edu. Divide the students into small
groups Tell the students they should imagine
that each group is the board of a museum..
The museum has been offered both artworks
by separate art dealers. The museum can only
add one to the museum’s collection. As groups,
decide which painting to acquire, basing your
decision on values of the museum or the popu-
Jingyi Wang, Branch with Blossoms
www.lib.byu.edu/dlib/moa/ Put in Wang as search
term
Feminist Theory
The feminist theory of aesthetics values items
traditionally hand made by women. Included
in the feminist area are quilts, which may be
31
regarded as art pieces, even though the quilts
were originally made to put on beds. A local
museum has had a quilt exhibition for many
years. The quilt show originally had only
hand-quilted work. Recently, however, many
quilters have begun to have their quilts machine quilted. Another change is that more and
more of the quilts are small and are designed
to be hung on walls, not used on beds. Among
the quilts intended for display as artworks
are quilts that are often called “art quilts’
and which have designs similar to paintings
rather than the traditional quilt designs that
use repeated or similar elements to make an
overall design. Show the class the three quilt
examples.
• Which are better art, hand-quilted quilts or
machine-quilted quilts?
• Are the quilts that look like paintings
better art than those with traditional quilt
designs?
• Should all quilts be allowed in regular art
exhibits (not just quilt shows)? Should just
“Art Quilts” be allowed?
• How should the art world (and museums)
deal with the changes that are taking place
in quilting?
Temporary Art
Tell the students the following background
information:
Thomas Demand is a German photographer.
Originally a sculptor, he took up photography
to record images of his delicate paper sculptures. Then he began to make his sculptures,
which were generally assemblages, for the
purpose of photographing them. After photographing them, he destroys the assemblages,
and the photograph becomes the artwork.
Other contemporary artists such as Sandy Skoglund and Andy Goldsworthy do the same.
• Can something temporary be art?
• How long does it have to last to be art?
• Which is really the artwork—
the assemblage or the photograph?
In January 2006, a visitor to the Fitzwilliam
Museum in Cambridge, fell down the stairs
and into three large vases, smashing the vases.
The oriental vases were from the 1700s and
were some of the most important artifacts the
museum owned. Thomas Demand photographed the pieces of the vases, lying on the
shelf and landing of the museum.
• How is the photograph art?
• Are photographs of real incidents art?
http://www.absolutearts.com/cgi-bin/
news/arts-news-elaborate.cgi?output_
number=20&find=8942
Jenny Lee Snow, Labyrinth of Solitude
Springville Museum of Art Quilt Show
32
Choosing Art
Divide the students into small groups, and
present the following imaginary scenario:
Your school has a school carnival every year
that raises a lot of money. The school has decided that it will use some of the money from
the carnival each year to purchase an artwork
to display in the school. The question now is
who should decide what artwork to purchase.
You know that a lot of the teachers and administrators at the school don’t really know
much about art, neither do a lot of the students.
Come up with a plan for choosing each year’s
purchased artwork that will, in your view, be
fair, but will also help ensure that the artworks
purchased are high quality. Write a description
of your plan.
Assessment: Evaluate the students for participation in the group plan. Evaluate the plan
using criteria you have established as a class.
artworld call it a work of art, has not changed
the blanket, and it should not be considered an
artwork. It should be classified as a beautiful
example of weaving, and displayed in a museum of Cultures and Peoples. The other half of
the groups will take the position that displaying the blanket in an art museum separates the
blanket from its cultural context and makes it
possible for viewers to see it as a beautiful example of abstract design. By displaying it in a
reputable museum, the artworld has conferred
the status of “artwork” on the blanket.
For older students, have the groups prepare
a proposal for the (pretend) school that will
convince the school their plan is the best way
to choose the artworks.
Institutionalist Theory
Show the class an image of a Native American blanket such as the Serape-style wearing
blanket, from www.umfa.utah.edu/index.
php?id=MTc&media_id=127. Give the students some history of the blanket. Students
should understand that the blanket was made
as a utilitarian object—it was meant to be
worn. Based on the Institutionalist Theory of
Aesthetics*, the blanket, which is displayed in
the museum, is now considered an artwork.
However, a similar blanket, displayed in a
museum of Cultures and Peoples, would be
considered a cultural artifact.
The students must come up with reasons for
their positions and make a list of those reasons.
You may provide the students with background information that could support each
position.
When the students have completed their lists,
pair the groups up and let them debate their
positions. Students may want to add or change
items on their list as they debate together.
Have the class choose two groups to debate in
front of the class.
Divide the class into small groups. Half of
the groups must take the position that hanging the blanket in a museum and having the
33
Assessment: Student groups will self-assess
their participation in the group work. They
will assess the number and quality of their
arguments on their list. As a teacher, assess
the lists, providing a number of points that
correlate with the way you assess other assignments. You may want to give bonus points for
exceptional ideas.
* The Institutionalist Theory says that a utilitarian object, taken out of its cultural context and
displayed in a museum, becomes an artwork,
valued for its intrinsic beauty and workmanship.
Variation: Use a cultural item from a culture
your class is studying in Social Studies. You
can find images from many cultures using the
Google Image Search or another search engine.
34
AESTHETICS THEORIES:
APPROACHES TO ART
Following is an overview of various aesthetic
theories, or approaches to defining art. These
theories can be used with any image and can
be used collectively or as individual theories.
Some theories are more appropriate for certain
images and/or ages.
2. Expressive: Art should communicate strong
feelings, ideas, moods, or emotions of the
artist. It can be ugly because it is based on a
truth. Quality is based on the ability to arouse
the greatest emotions. It can use symbols.
Background Information on Aesthetics
3. Pleasure (Hedonist): Art is valued for its
ability to give individual pleasure. It is based
on the idea that pleasure is good and pain is
bad. Quality is based on degree of individual
pleasure achieved, not on how much everyone
gains pleasure from it. It usually presents an
idealized view.
Explain to the students that there are various
approaches to art and that some artists intend
for their artwork to look one way and others
intend for theirs to look another way. One
approach is not better than any other; they are
just varying views of how the artists perceive
what they think art should be. Stress that there
are varying views or perceptions on what art
should be and that these views change often.
The branch of philosophy that tries to define
these varying views or approaches to art is
called aesthetics.
4. Formalist: Artworks are mainly concerned
with the portraying the elements and
principles (i.e., line, color, shape, balance,
unity). Quality is based on degree of
coordination between all parts. It doesn’t rely
on subject matter or viewer’s past experiences.
Aesthetic theories are developed to help define
“What is Art?” or sometimes, “When is it Art?”
Aesthetics does not decide if art is “good,”
as that is what Art Criticism does. Usually
artworks do not fit entirely into one aesthetic
stance, rather the can include combinations
of several views. Following are simplifies
definitions of several prominent aesthetic
theories or approaches to art:
5. Feminist: Art should be interpreted
through a woman’s point of view. Quality is
based on aspects of being a woman. There
should be less distinction between art and
craft. The economic, class, gender, ethnic,
and social context of an artwork should be
considered.
6. Institutionalist: Objects become art because
they are exhibited, displayed or promoted. An
institute (gallery, museum, or publication) calls
it art, therefore it is art. Quality is based on
status or recognition of the institute.
These views hold that an object is considered
to be art when it meets the following criteria:
1. Realistic (Mimetic, Imitationalist): Art
should look real or life-like. It imitates, mimics
or copies the real object. Quality is judged by
faithfulness to the model. Originally, artworks
were idealized; later included accurate or
realistic representations of nature or life.
7. Instrumentatlist: Art should serve a social
purpose. Art is an instrument to produce
effects and should portray vivid and extensive
experiences or purposes.
35
These are several other theories (e.g.,
sociological, neo-rationalist) that are not
discussed. There are also new theories that are
being developed to help define “ new” aspects
of art. The field of aesthetics is constantly
evolving. Encourage the students to have their
“views” of art evolve too.
he appointed by his peers? The critics? Him/herself? Museum goers? The public? The
curator?
2. What makes something a work of art?
Is it art if:
It takes a long time to make?
It costs a lot to produce?
It required great skill to produce?
It required extensive training and
thought?
It has great historical value?
It looks similar to well-known artworks?
For a general aesthetic activity, have the
students decide which theory or approach
fits various artworks. Use a variety (i.e., art
forms, media, cultures, gender, subject matter,
purposes or functions) and encourage the
students to determine the “degree” that the
artwork fits a theory. For example, an artwork
might be 60% realistic but have 30% expressive
concepts and 10% instrumentalist.
3. When is something art?
When it is something of beauty?
Does it have to be beautiful?
Can it be ugly?
What makes something ugly or
beautiful?
When an artist says it is?
When an expert says it is?
When a critic says it is?
When it carries a price?
When it is sold? If so, then for how
much?
In aesthetic discussions encourage the
following behaviors:
Students:
• Should learn how to present reasons or
arguments in support of their view
• Must Try to respond to what someone else
says
• Should be allowed to stray from the original
decision
4. Where is something art?
When it is on display in an art gallery?
When it is on display in an art gallery?
When it is on a billboard?
When it is in a magazine?
When it is on television?
When it is in a book?
Teachers:
• Clarify what has been said
• Encourage everyone to be involved in some
way
• Ask questions, present varying views or
opposition
• Summarize arguments, positions, and
develop closure
• Remind students that aesthetics is not a
defined science, and is therefore open to
change.
5. Why is there art?
Is it because of a desire to:
Communicate visually?
Record people, places or events?
Express ideas, thoughts or feelings?
Stimulate thinking or reasoning?
Imitate real objects?
Abstract real objects?
Make a mark on society?
Illicit change in society?
Stimulate the senses of sight or touch?
ART AESTHETICS
1. Who can make art?
Animals? Nature? Children? Laymen?
Craftsmen? Artists? What makes an artist? Is
36
WHO WHAT WHERE HOW WHY
1. Who made it?
WHO WHAT WHERE HOW WHY
2. What is the story?
WHO WHAT WHERE HOW WHY
3. What is the mood?
WHO WHAT WHERE HOW WHY
4. How does it make you feel?
WHO WHAT WHERE HOW WHY
5. What symbols do you see?
WHO WHAT WHERE HOW WHY
6. What was your first impression?
WHO WHAT WHERE HOW WHY
7. What do you like about it?
WHO WHAT WHERE HOW WHY
8. What do you dislike about it?
WHO WHAT WHERE HOW WHY
9. What is the criteria you used to judge it?
WHO WHAT WHERE HOW WHY
10. What is your informed judgment of it?
37
Puzzling about Aesthetics:
Exercises in Critical Thinking
in the Visual Arts
4. Meaning and Interpretation: Should the
intent of the artist change the way we
extract meaning from an artwork? How
does the way we interpret a work of art
change the way we see or talk about it?
How do we know the true meaning of
a work of art without the artist being
present, or is it important to have the
artist present? Can we derive meaning
based on knowledge of the artist or
on the historical importance of the
artwork?
5. Critical Judgment (The Value): Is
aesthetic judgment up to the person
evaluating the artwork? Or can we
debate those evaluations? How much
should our personal likes and dislikes
affect the judgment of a work of art? Is
it important for the work of art to be
relevant to the time it is being judged?
Does the artwork need to make a
statement to be important? Who decides
how we judge a work of art? What are
the criteria?
7th–12th Grade Visual Arts
Standard Four: Contextualizing
Students will find meaning in works of art
through settings and other modes of learning.
Learning Target (Objective):
Students will explore the ideas and concepts
of aesthetic questions through critical thinking
puzzles or activities.
Materials:
-Read different scenarios from Puzzles about
Art: An Aesthetic Casebook or read through
some puzzles on http://www.arts.arizona.
edu/are476/files/aesCat.htm (which are
collage student examples, and a good reference
on aesthetic theory)
-Examples of different questions (read lesson: a
list of questions for display)
-Paper, and Pencils (Brainstorm)
Background Information:
(Information compiled and simplified from
the Puzzles about Art: An Aesthetics Casebook
and on-line at http://www.arts.arizona.edu/
are476/files/aesCat.htm)
Aesthetic Categories and Questions:
1. Art and Artwork: What is art? What is
an artwork? Who is an artist?
2. Beauty and Ugliness: Who defines
beauty? Who defines what is ugly?
3. Aesthetic Experience ( phenomenon ):
Can you only get an aesthetic experience
from a work of art? If a work of art does
not give you an aesthetic experience is it
still art?
38
Resources:
Puzzles about Art: An Aesthetics Casebook
(New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989)
http://www.arts.arizona.edu/are476/files/
aesCat.htm
http://www.art.unt.edu/ntieva/artcurr/aes/
aes2.html
Procedures:
1. Introductory Activity:
Take an ordinary object from your room,
anything will do (I like using a roll of tape),
and make a museum tag for that object.
Example: Title, Artist, Date, Size, and Museum
where the “artwork” is displayed. Place the
object in the front of the room without the tag
and ask your students if they think the object
is art. Now place the museum tag next to it,
and set the scene that the object is in a museum
and was picked or created by an artist. Now,
ask your students whether the object is art.
Start the discussion about who decides that
this object is art. Is it art because it is created or
found by an artist? Or is the object art because
it is in a museum or because your art teacher
is telling you that it is? Talk about why it is
important to discuss the idea of aesthetics.
3. Activity: Puzzles: Read the students an
example of an Aesthetic Puzzle (I like chapter
one, page 1 in the Puzzles about Art: An
Aesthetics Casebook, “The Chimpanzee.”) or
use one found online, and emphasize the use of
the questions that relate to the puzzle. Still in
their small groups, have the students come up
with an aesthetic puzzle of their own.
4. Brainstorm: (Setting up a story/ scenario as a
problem with questions.) Have some aesthetic
questions on the board for class members to
either use or to help them come up with one
of their own. On a sheet of paper for the small
group, have group members pick one or two
questions.
2. Warm-up activity for the students working
in small groups: Each small group will get
questions about different ideas in art. Here
is an example of a question, or you can go to
http://www.art.unt.edu/ntieva/artcurr/aes/
aes2.html for a list of more questions.
5. Now have them outline a plot or theme
for the scenerio or story that relates to the
questions they picked or created, and then
write a short paragraph or two on the scenario.
Have the students list the questions that relate
to their scenario under the paragraph. In the
small groups, have them pick a spokesperson
to share their scenario with the class.
6. Now have the students present their
scenarios to the class to see if there are any
problems understanding what the scenarios are
about. Then have all of the groups switch their
scenarios and discuss what they think about
the questions that are presented. Then have
each student write a short answer about what
the student’s response was to the scenario and
why it is important to talk about aesthetics.
A painting by the chimpanzee Congo
www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/majorwoolly.asp accessed Mar 2, 2007
(Other ideas: Have the groups create a comic
strip about the scenario. Have the students
go home and talk about their scenario to their
family. Ask students to consider what other
classes at school (science, English, etc.) involve
critical thinking questions?)
- Is art a skill to be learned? Or, can art only
come from a natural, “untrained,” talented
person?
-Can it be called art if the person who made
it did not consider it art? Or, can an artist
call something art just because he or she is an
artist?
image of chimpanzee painting from
www.lxxl.pt/aswarm/aswarm2.html
accessed March 2, 2007
39
40
AESTHETIC
ACTIVITIES
that theory. You could then use a second set
of images to have the students review the
theories. You may also want to start with just
3 or 4 of the theories.) For an advanced review,
have the students place the word strip along a
continuum (on a scale from 1 to 10) below the
images to decide to what degree an artwork
represents that view.
Elementary—High School
Introduction and motivation
Place several of the following objects into
a box: a dollar bill, a small plastic bowl, a
photograph from a magazine advertisement, a
decorated object (i.e., hot pad, dish towel), and
a small toy figure. Have the students choose
an object from the box and decide whether or
not the object is art. Emphasize the following
concepts: the dollar bill is a print, the plastic
bowl is similar to a painting, and the small
figure is a type of sculpture. Have the students
try to define the objects as art, but allow the
students to discuss the many possibilities.
Introduction to aesthetic theories
Explain that there are various approaches
to art and that some artists intend for their
artwork to look realistic and others intend
for theirs to be more expressive. Neither of
these approaches is better than the other;
they are just varying views of how the artists
perceive what they think art should be. Stress
that there are various views or perceptions
of what art should be. Introduce the realistic
and expressive views or approaches to art by
summarizing from the following background
information:
Tell the students that trying to define “What
is art?” And “When is it art?” It is not easy,
and that the views of art discussed in class
(i.e., realistic, expressive, hedonist, formalist,
feminist, instrumentalist or institutionalist) are
the result of the same decision-making process
they experienced with the objects in the box.
Show the class the following posters or other
appropriate artworks: Cyrus E. Dallin, Paul
Revere, Portrait of John Hancock,
Dallin w/
Massasoit, Sacajawea; Douglas Snow, Cockscomb,
Near Teasdale; John Hafen, The Mountain Stream;
Donald Olsen, Chelsea VI; Jeanne Clarke,
Entertaining Favorite Ladies II; Mahonri Young,
The Factory Worker.
•
Have the students review the various views
of art by using word strips with each of
the following aesthetic theories on it. The
word strips can be placed on the images that
represent those particular views. (If your class
has very young or inexperienced students,
you will probably need to define each theory,
and then as a class identify artworks that fit
41
1. Realistic: Also called the Mimetic or
Imitationalist theory. This view holds that
art should imitate or mimic nature, and
that it should accurately represent nature
and life. Therefore, quality is proportionate
to the artwork’s faithfulness to the model.
The artist should aim for the essence or real
character of things. The objects and events
are represented so they will be understood
by the beholder; therefore, interpretations
of the artwork are objective or factual rather
than subjective or personal. Originally
society and artists thought nature had
to idealized, but later, both society and
artists switched to a more accurate or true
representation.
•
2. Expressive: Also called Emotionalist
theory. This view holds that art should
communicate ideas, feelings, moods
or emotions, and that these should be
communicated forcefully and with
conviction. Quality is based on the degree
of arousal of the viewer’s emotions. The
artist should aim for the depth to which
the work expresses the emotions of its
creator. This theory holds that art can
be ugly because it’s based on a truth or
reality. The technical or formal elements
are subordinate to the expression of
ideas, moods, and feelings; therefore,
interpretations of the artwork are subjective
or personal rather than objective or
factual. This art form can use symbols.
More contemporary approaches (i.e., NeoExpressionism) stress crudity of rendering
and subject matter that deals with the
negative aspects of life (e.g., vulgarities,
violence, cynicism, and brutality).
who enjoy the artwork. Instead, quality
is found in the amount of enjoyment that
artwork gives to those people who are
discriminating enough to enjoy it. This
view holds that one person’s feelings
cannot be the same as another’s and that
feelings are radically individualistic.
Symbols can be used. The beholders are
so absorbed in the object that they forget
themselves as the experience is merged into
one pleasant whole. The artwork is liked or
disliked for itself.
Explain that because the hedonist theory deals
with personal interpretation of beauty and
what is pleasurable, it can and will change
from time to time and from individual to
individual. Further explain that there may
be some concepts or images that most people
think of as beautiful (i.e., a sunset, the ocean,
flowers, a mother and child), but usually
concepts of beauty are varied and divergent.
Tell the students that as their experiences
change, so will their aesthetic perceptions.
Have the students find their favorite
(Hedonist) artwork and describe why it gives
them so much pleasure. Provide resources for
the students to preview a variety of images.
You can use the images from the CD from
this packet as well as posters or postcards.
Emphasize to the students that, generally,
everyone has different (or divergent) views
of what they personally like or dislike in
artworks.
Draw a line on the chalkboard with “Realistic”
written at one end and “Expressive” written
on the other end. Have the students arrange a
wide variety of portraits along the continuum.
Make sure students understand that artwork
has various degrees of realistic and expressive
qualities and some artwork might fit right
in the middle or may not even be on the
continuum.
•
Formalist Theory
Explain that artists who make art based on
the formalist theory were not trying to make
their art look real or imitate real objects. Many
of their artworks were non-objective or nonrepresentational. The artists were mainly
concerned with the aspects of color, line, shape,
texture, or value. This approach to art became
known as the formalist approach because the
artists were emphasizing the formal properties
Hedonist: Also called pleasure theory. This
view is based on the premise that pleasure
is good and pain is bad. Quality is based
on the degree of individual pleasure that is
achieved by the viewer, and that quality has
nothing to do with the number of people
42
Show examples of artwork that emphasize
a formalist approach. Use some images of
African sculpture and include Picasso http://
www.picasso.com/life/index.html,
Kandinsky http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/
paint/auth/kandinsky/,
Albers, www.allposters.com/-sp/Study-forHomage-to-the-Square-Posters_i315966_.htm
(The Albers images are not big images, but
because they’re simple shapes, the images can
be blown up) also, www.artnet.com/Galleries/
Artists_detail.asp?gid=115716&aid=1335
Riley, www.mishabittleston.com/artists/
bridget_riley/
and/or Mondrian www.ibiblio.org/wm/
paint/auth/mondrian/.
From CD: Deffebach, Riggs, Walker. SMA
Posters: Donald Olsen, Chelsea VI; Raymond
Jonas, Abstract Configuration; The students
might find further examples from their cultures
or from the styles of Fauvism, Constructivism,
Suprematism, Futurism, and Minimalism.
These examples could be put on a cross grid
that shows realistic, expressive, hedonist,
and formalist. The students could then
determine to what degree the images reflect
these attributes. There could be numerous
combinations and degrees represented with
the cross grid. For example, a work could be a
combination of realistic and formalist; another
might be expressive and formalist. If the work
is more expressive than formalist, then place
it closer to the word expressive along the line
between the two characteristics. Following is
an example of a cross grid:
of art. List the formal properties (i.e., elements
of line, shape, color, space, texture, value, and
form; and the principles of design). Introduce
the formalist theory using the following
background information:
•
Formalist: Also called objectivist or
organistic theories. This view is based on
formal qualities (elements and principles
of art), stressing design and how the
various parts of the composition relate
to each other. Quality is based on the
degree of coordination between all parts.
Interpretation is not necessary because art
does not rely on subject matter or viewer’s
past experiences, but on whether or not
the viewer can perceive the relationships
among the visual elements. What is on the
canvas is important, not what it represents.
Formalist
Expressive
Hedonist
Realistic
Frank Riggs, Tohatchi (1990)
43
•
Quilt from the 2004 Quilt Show, SMA
Women Artists and Issues
Explain to the students that within cultures
there are art forms that are traditionally
related to gender. For example, in some
African cultures, weaving is considered to
be the responsibility of men only, while in
most Native American cultures, weaving is
the woman’s responsibility. These definitions
of roles are usually very well defined within
certain societies, but may change from one
society to another within the same culture. In
most Western societies, particular art forms
tend to be gender-related. Have the students
list those art forms that are mainly womenrelated (i.e., quilting, weaving, textiles, and
basketry). Have the students then list art forms
that tend to be men-related. Emphasize that,
generally speaking, most art forms are open to
both genders.
AESTHETICS:
Feminist Theory
Inform the students that the increased
awareness of the issues that center on women
has led to another view of art, called the
feminist theory. Introduce the feminist theory
from the following concepts regarding this
theory:
44
Feminist: This view is based on the theory
that women’s experiences differ from men’s
and this concept must be taken into account
when critiquing a work of art by a woman.
Quality is based on the consideration of
what it means to be female in the culture.
The artwork must be understood in the
context of what was possible for women
at the time the object was created (i.e.,
cultural attitudes, beliefs, and politics).
Class, economic, gender, ethnic, and social
considerations are important. This view
also holds that art should be interpreted
through a woman’s point of view and there
should be less distinction between art and
craft.
Oaxacan Lizard, UMFA Collection
www.umfa.utah.edu/index.php?id=NTY0
Institutionalist Theory
Explain to the students that as art historians
have tried to document the context of art
forms, many institutes have evolved that aid
in the research and preservation of art. Often
these institutes will remove the art works
from their original context and place them in
museums and galleries so that more people
can view and study them. When art museums
place artifacts in their exhibits, this act changes
the context of the artwork. Many of the
artifacts and functional items from various
cultures are put into museums where they
become classified as art, rather than as artifacts.
This concept of creating art by placing it in a
museum became known as the Institutionalist
theory. The following information explains the
background of the Institutionalist theory:
•
or circumstances of human needs. The
more vivid the experience, and the more
extensive and rich its quality, then the
greater the aesthetic value.
Institutionalist: This view is based on the
assumption that a work of art is made by
the act of exhibiting it; therefore, placing
the work on display, rather than the design
of the work, makes it art. Quality is based
on the status or recognition of the institute
that displays or promotes the artwork. Art
museums, galleries, art publications, and
publishers can confer the status of art on an
object. This view stresses the role of social
practices and institutions.
Have the students complete Views of Art,
at the end of the lesson. This handout
reinforces some of the concepts related to the
Institutionalist and Instrumentalist theories.
Display definitions of the theories and have
the students determine which theory or
theories are best represented in the examples.
Following are the examples from the handout:
•
•
•
•
•
Aleksei Alexandrovich Vasilev
They are Writing about us in Pravda
•
Instrumentalist Theory
Explain to the students that another view of
art also deals with the context or circumstances
surrounding an artwork. This view is called
the Instrumentalist theory. Following is
background information regarding the
Instrumentalist theory:
•
•
•
Instrumentalist: Also called the
contextualist or pragmatist theory. This
view is based on the concept that art is
an instrument to produce effects, usually
for social, political, moral, or economic
purposes. Quality is based on the greatness
of its purpose and on the depth or intensity
of communicating that purpose. This
view holds that art should advance the
interests of humanity and is the servant of
mankind. Art should portray the context
•
•
•
45
1. A Native American rug is hung on the
wall in a museum display.
2. A painting by Picasso depicts the
atrocities of the Spanish Civil War.
3. An Islamic mosque lamp is critiqued in
Art News magazine.
4. A stack of tires are removed from a
service station and installed in an exhibit
called “Stacks of Trash-An Environmental
Issue.”
5. Diego Rivera paints a mural for The
Detroit Institute of Art entitled Detroit
Industry.
6. Walter de Maria filled a New York
gallery with 220,000 pounds of dirt. The
de Menil family of Texas bought the entire
building in which the installation had been
made in order to keep the exhibit there
permanently.
7. A religious painting by Rubens is
borrowed from the Vatican for an exhibit at
University of Utah’s Museum of Art.
8. McGraw-Hill published a book on Andy
Warhol’s collection of cookie jars.
9. A polychrome vessel from the Mayan
preclassic era was purchased from The
National Museum of Anthropology in
Mexico City by The Metropolitan Museum
of Art in New York City.
10. One of Faith Ringgold’s story quilts
was purchased at a prestigious New York
gallery. The quilt was placed on a bed in
the owner’s guest bedroom.
11. During the Kamakura period (1185-
1333) in Japan the military government
commissioned realistic portraits of their
warriors.
Explain to the students that these theories
are rarely completely definitive. They raise
combinations of solutions and problems. The
study of aesthetics should cause the students
to question, answer, and question again. One
area that is exciting to explore with students is
the concept of “When does an object become
art?” Encourage the students to discover or
invent situations similar to those presented
above to help them define the many aspects of
art.
The answers to the above situations are
as follows: Situations 1, 3, 6, 8, and 9 are
Institutionalist. These situations emphasize
that museums, galleries, art publications,
and publishers can convey the status of art.
Situation 8 poises some intrigue because the
fact that they published the book does not
mean that Andy Warhol’s cookie jars are art.
Also, Situation 9 emphasizes that the object
went from artifact to art. According to the
Institutionalist theory, placing the object in
a museum does not make it art, but an art
museum conveys status. Ask the student what
would happen if the natural history museum
in Mexico re-purchased the object.
Situations 2, 7, and 11 are Instrumentalist,
although case 11 raises some concern because
the Instrumentalist theory is a Western theory
that was developed around 1900. This raises
the question whether ancient non-Western art
forms can be classified according to Western
contemporary theory. Situation 7 poises as an
Instrumentalist view because the image serves
religious purposes, but does the view change
to Institutionalist when the art is used in a nonreligious setting of a museum gallery.
Scape Martinez, Art Plans
keepmykhakiscreased.blogspot.com/2005_10_
01_keepmykhakiscreased_archive.html
Role of an Aesthetician
Situations 4, 5, 9, and 10 all pose a combination
of theories. Situation 4 begins to be an
Institutionalist approach, but because the
tires were displayed in an exhibit which
had social and political ramifications it can
be Instrumentalist also. Situation 5 is a
combination also because the theme of the
art work is Instrumentalist with social and
political overtones, but it was commissioned
and placed in The Detroit Institute of Art.
Ask the students if their classification would
change if the mural were painted on a freeway
overpass in Phoenix. Situation 10 might be
called a reverse-institutionalist, because the
object started out of art and then its function
was changed to utilitarian.
After the students have reviewed the
aesthetic views of art, explain that these views
were developed by Western and European
philosophers to help define developments in
Western art. Remind the students that some
of these approaches might help describe
characteristics of non-Western art, but they
were developed to explain characteristics of
Western art.
These philosophical approaches were designed
to help define “What is art?” and sometimes
“When is it art?” As art forms changed to
address new concerns and approaches, like
abstraction and exaggeration, philosophers
46
had to find new definitions for what would
be called art. These philosophers are called
aestheticians and they study the philosophy of
aesthetics.
to see if they could help him decide if the
notes were art, or just notes.
Tell the students they are the aestheticians.
Have the students write their opinions on a
sheet of paper without discussing the case
study with other students. They should
answer the following:
Tell the students that they are going to work
as aestheticians. Present the following case for
the students:
•
Last week, a prominent artist from Los
Angeles was contemplating on a new
project she was about to begin. As she
thought about the project, she started
to take notes to define the processes or
concepts she was planning on using in her
art work. She took copious notes and even
drew detailed diagrams showing exactly
what the art work would be like.
•
•
•
Are the notes art?
If so, then what would they call their view
of art, and what would be the criteria that
would define why the notes would be
considered art?
If the notes are not art, what is the student’s
reasoning?
After the students have written their decisions,
allow the students to discuss these questions
and see if they can come to a consensus.
Remind them that aesthetic theories do not
require a complete agreement. In fact, many
aesthetic theories were developed because of
disagreement with existing theories.
Most of the art works she completed were
large, sculptural pieces that required
several technicians to help her complete
the work. She would give the technicians
the detailed drawings and notes and they
would construct the art work. The artist
had become so skillful in her descriptions
that the completed projects needed no
modifications or adjustments from her
original notes.
Explain to the students that the aspects
described in the artist case study are currently
considered an art form or style. It is called
conceptual art or process art, and it asserts
that creativity or art is in the describing
of the concepts and processes, not in the
actualization. Have the students continue to
define their new view of art. Emphasize that
aesthetics is a changing science not a definitive
one. Allow the students to disagree and
discuss.
As she sat and thought she realized that
the majority of the creation of the art work
was in her descriptions of the processes
or concepts. She felt that the construction
of the art work was secondary, and that
the true creative aspect of the work was
in the notes. Therefore, she called her
agent and told him she had completed her
latest project and would he come and take
it to the gallery. The agent was amused
when the artist handed over her notes and
drawings and told him to display them,
as they were the true artistic creation. She
said that anyone with the least degree
of intelligence could see or visualize the
concepts she had described in her notes.
The agent was perplexed and decided to
take the notes to a group of aestheticians
Purposes of Art
Explain to the students that while most
aesthetic views were developed for Western
and European art forms, there are several
universal aspects which address world-wide
purposes for art. The purpose or reason that
art is created is different than the approach to
art. For example, an art work can represent a
realistic approach or view, but the reason it was
created was for religious purposes. Explain
47
to the students that when they decide the
purpose of art creation they are deciding why
art is created and what its function or use in
society is. Have the students list purposes of
art creation. The major purposes of art are:
•
•
•
•
•
Religious: every culture has art forms that
have a philosophical or moral basis. Some
uses are ritual, magic, or adoration.
Political: most cultures have art forms
which reflect the position of leadership
or politics. Some uses are promotion or
prestige, propaganda, or patriotism.
Social: most cultures have art forms that
help in the socialization of their societies.
Some are closely related to the political or
economical aspects of the society. Some
uses are educational, documentation of
history, narrative (story telling), advertising
(commercial), and entertainment or
amusement.
Decoration: most cultures use art as
decoration for functional objects. Many
cultures’ earliest art works were for
decorative purposes.
Self-expression: most cultures, especially
Western cultures, use art as a means of selfexpression. There are some cultures that
have recently developed methods of selfexpression through art.
The students can then classify artworks
according to their purpose(s). Emphasize that
many cultures determine if an object is art by
it’s purpose and the object’s aesthetic value is
also determined by its purpose.
48
VIEWS OF ART
NAME _______________________________________
PERIOD________
DATE _________
Based on the definitions of the Institutionalist and Instrumentalist aesthetic theories,
identify which theory best matches the following situations: (Some situations may match
both theories. Briefly explain the reasons for your choices.)
1. A Native American rug is hung on the wall in a museum display.
2. A painting by Picasso depicts the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War.
3. An Islamic mosque lamp is critiqued in Art News magazine.
4. A stack of tires are removed from a service station and installed in an exhibit called
“Stacks of Trash-An Environmental Issue.”
5. Diego Rivera paints a mural for The Detroit Institute of Art entitled Detroit Industry.
6. Walter de Maria filled a New York gallery with 220,000 pounds of dirt. The de Menil
family of Texas bought the entire building in which the installation had been made in order
to keep the exhibit there permanently.
7. A religious painting by Rubens is borrowed from the Vatican for an exhibit at University
of Utah’s Museum of Art.
8. McGraw-Hill published a book on Andy Warhol’s collection of cookie jars.
9. A polychrome vessel from the Mayan preclassic era was purchased from The National
Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
City.
10. One of Faith Ringgold’s story quilts was purchased at a prestigious New York gallery.
The quilt was placed on a bed in the owner’s guest bedroom.
11. During the Kamakura period (1185-1333) in Japan the military government commissioned realistic portraits of their warriors.
49
Realistic
Art should look real
or life-like. It imitates,
mimics or copies the
real object. Quality is
judged by faithfulness
to the model.
Originally, artworks
idealized; later, realistic
representations of
nature or life.
50
EXPRESSIVE
Communicates strong
feelings, ideas, moods,
or emotions of the
artist.
Can be ugly, because
it’s based on a truth.
Quality is based on the
ability to arouse the
greatest emotions.
Can use symbols.
51
HEDONIST
“I like the artwork, it
gives me pleasure.”
Based on the idea that
pleasure is good and
pain is bad.
Quality is based on
degree of individual
pleasure achieved.
Idealized view.
52
FORMALIST
Mainly concerned with
elements and principles
(line, color, shape, etc.).
Quality based on
degree of
coordination between
all parts. Doesn’t rely
on subject matter or
viewer’s past
experiences.
53
FEMINIST
Interpreted through a
woman’s point of view.
Quality based on a
woman.
Less distinction
between art and craft.
Considers economic,
class, gender, ethnic,
and social context.
54
INSTITUTIONALIST
It is art because it is
exhibited or displayed.
An institute (gallery,
museum, or publication) has called this art.
Quality based on status
or recognition.
Stresses role of social
practices and
institutions.
55
INSTRUMENTALIST
Serves a social,
political, moral or
economical purpose.
Quality based on the
greatness of its
purpose.
Art is an instrument to
produce effects.
Vivid and extensive
experiences or
purposes.
56
VALUE SYSTEM
This art reflects the
value systems of its
culture (i.e., sociological, economical, moral,
or political).
Quality is based on
degree of integration of
those values within the
artwork.
57
NEO-RATIONALIST
Follows a standard
guide as a masterpiece.
Evaluation determined
by rational rules
defining masterpieces.
Quality based on
degree of adherence to
objective criteria.
58
SOCIOLOGICAL
Displays strong social
ideas or values.
Similar to Instrumentalist, but has stronger
social determination.
Used to force
revolutionary ideas.
Quality based on deep
social or political
values.
59
60
BEAUTY vs. UGLY YAHTZEE!
6th–8th Grade Visual Art
indicates what category they will be addressing
about the artwork: the artist, the subject matter,
the time period, the medium, and the elements
and principles (plus a free space, where they
can choose any category for their answer).
For example, say a student rolls all three
dice and comes up a “4,” “Beautiful,” and
“artist.” He could say “this artwork is beautiful
because the artist struggled finding her talent
as a child and finally painted something that
brought attention to her skills.” If that was
an acceptable answer for the piece, then the
teacher could give that team the full 4 points
(or move 4 spaces, if the teacher wants to use a
board game).
Objective:
Students will be able to discuss how an
artwork could be perceived as being beautiful
and also ugly at the same time, and that
these two terms do not have to necessarily be
opposites.
Materials:
-various art prints with some background
information on each
-cardstock copies of each die pattern on the
following pages
-a cup for rolling all the dice at once (optional)
Or, if the student had rolled a “4,”
“artist,” and “Ugly,” his answer could have
been: “this artwork is ugly because the artist
changed her style in order to become a more
popular artist instead of sticking with her own
personal style.
Instructions for the Game:
1. Copy the images of the dice onto cardstock.
Fold and tape so that each becomes a die.
2. Divide the class into teams, with 3 or 4
students to a team.
Students can work together with their
teammates to come up with an answer. The
teacher should choose artworks that have a
good amount of information about them, yet
they do not need to know everything about
the piece in order for the game to be played.
The game is meant to generate students to see
both sides of something, and to think about
how an artwork (or something else) can have
a duality of both “beauty” and “ugly.” It is
not meant to answer strictly factual questions
about the artwork, but to use the background
information to springboard into aesthetic
discussions.
3. Display one of the artworks and give
the background of the piece. Explain to
the students that they may want to take a
few notes since they will not be able to ask
questions about the background later.
4. After explaining an artwork, have one
member from the first team roll all three dice
(you may want to use a large cup to help do
this effectively). The standard die indicates
how many points they can score if they give
a good answer. The “Beautiful or Ugly” die
indicates whether they will have to come
up with an answer for why the artwork is
beautiful or why it is ugly. The other die
5. After all of the teams have answered one
question about an artwork, choose a different
61
artwork to explain, and start another round
of the game. Alternate which teams get to
go first. The game is won by the team who
reaches a given point total first, or, if using a
board game, reaches the finish.
Assessment:
Students could be checked off for their
participation in the game. This game could
also be easily follow-up by a journal entry. The
ideas talked about and skills used in the game
could contribute to new understanding in
other subject areas, such as literature or current
events.
62
63
64
SQUASH THAT TERM!
teacher read one of the definitions or sample
quotations of the aesthetic philosophies. The
first student to ‘swat’ the correct philosophy on
the board will score a point for his or her team.
5th–12th Grade Visual Art
Objective:
Students will be able to learn the definitions
and attitudes associated with five aesthetic
philosophies.
Realism-Art that looks real, or that interprets nature as
the artist sees it.
-“That painting of the mountain is the best because
it looks just like the photograph.”
Materials:
• two fly swatters
• a whiteboard or chalkboard or large
sheet of butcher paper and something to
write with
• various art prints (the Springville
Museum of Art High School Poster Set
works well)
• masking tape
Expressivism-Art that expresses the feelings, emotions, or
ideas of the artist.
-“This artwork is successful because the dull colors
make the viewer feel calm.”
Instructions for the Activity:
1. The teacher should write the following
words randomly spread out on the board:
Realism, Expressivism, Instrumentalism,
Feminism, and Hedonism.
Instrumentalism-Art that makes a social, political, moral, or
economic statement.
-“This artwork is well done because it makes the
viewer think about what he or she believse.”
2. As a class, briefly go through the definitions
of these terms (given below) one by one to
learn them. If posters or prints are available,
display them and have the students identify
which artworks they think are successful,
based on each of the aesthetic views.
Feminism-Art made by a woman, or making a statement
about women in some way.
-“That is a painting of quilts, flowers, and vases, so
it is clearly about women.”
Hedonism-Art that makes the viewer feel good. Viewing
the art can elicit an aesthetic response
-“I like that work of art because it is pretty.”
3. Divide the class into two teams.
4. With the masking tape, mark off a line
about 8 feet from the board (putting this line
too far back from the board encourages all out
running and possibly violent contact, so don’t
put this line too far away, and be sure to warn
the students to be careful). Hand one person
from each team a fly swatter. While standing
behind the line, the students will listen to the
5. After the game, discuss with the students
how these same philosophies are used to
judge more than just art. Ask students
about other situations in which people judge
something based on these views. Is there a
view that they feel best describes what they
65
believe to be successful art? Do they also use
this perspective when they judge literature,
television, music on the radio, symphonies,
ballets, movies, or plays?
Assessment:
Students could be checked off for taking their
turn and participating in the game, or the
teacher could develop a short matching quiz
using the given terms and definitions for the
students to take following the game. This
could also be a fun way to just offer extra credit
as incentive for the winning team.
66
Aesthetics—Personal Attitudes
About Art
a little more. Aesthetics is the philosophical
part of art. It deals with how you personally
respond to, and set limits on, what you think
fits into visual art. It’s not something I can
just give you. I can’t open your head and
pour it in. It’s something you acquire through
personal experience.
Middle Level Visual Arts
Objectives: Students will explore personal
influences, attitudes, and experiences that
allow them to establish their personal ideas
and definition of visual arts.
Introduction: Aesthetics seems to be the
least concrete concept of Discipline-Based Art
Education; the other art products and concepts
are more tangible. Aesthetics is rather ethereal
and students may have a hard time nailing
down the whole aesthetic experience, which
is abstract in nature, with concrete examples
and experiences. What follows are a few
approaches that have worked for my middle
school students.
Aesthetics is like that. If I can share some
experiences and ideas with you, perhaps you
will understand and expand your personal
ideas and definition of visual arts. We may not
all become famous artists and produce great
art, but we all are influenced by visual art and
respond to it in some way every day.
ACTIVITIES:
Teacher: Can someone tell me what
“Aesthetics” is?
Significant Adults May Influence
Artistic Preferences
Response: Isn’t it something that makes you
stop hurting or puts you to sleep?
Before students arrive in class, have 4 art prints
from various art styles set up and labeled with
the name of the painting and the name of the
artist. I used Guernica by Picasso, Girl with a
Watering Can by Renoir, Vega-Nor by Vasarely,
and Young Artists by Carol Sideman. You can
use any from the Springville Museum of Art
prints, Shorewood prints, or others you may
have available. Just be sure they are good
quality. (Sources:
Guernica—www.stcronan.org/guernica/index.
html;
Girl with a Watering Can—www.ibiblio.org/
wm/paint/auth/renoir/
Vega–Nor—www.sjmusart.org/content/
exhibitions/exhibition_infoDetail.phtml?itemI
D=618&eventID=314
Teacher: I think you mean anesthetic. It
sounds similar but means something quite
different. Anyone else?
Response: No clue.
Teacher: Has anyone ever seen or heard the
word before? It is spelled a-e-s-t-h-e-t-i-c-s
Response: Never heard of it before.
Response: It’s that big orange word on the
bulletin board by the door.
Teacher: Yes it is. (Pointing towards the
classroom door.) Let me see if I can help you
67
Young Artists— www.susq-town.org/gsmith/
About%20Art%20Class.htm
by the choices and preferences of significant
adults in our lives, and it is fun and interesting
to reflect on how much we are aware of those
preferences. As we grow older we begin and
continue to establish our own feelings and
preferences toward art.
From this packet, you can use the following
artworks:
Yalu River Dead, Ralph Schofield
Iridescence, Robert Marshall
Italian Flower Girl, J. T. Harwood
Kesege, Victor Vasarely (Op & POP)
Or, use any 4 images of a variety of styles and
subject matter, including those from SMA ‘s
Poster sets—also UMFA’s and BYU’s MOA’s.
Many Ways to Judge and
Value “Good” Art
Before students arrive in class, have 4 art prints
from various art styles set up and labeled
with the name of the painting and the name
of the artist. Try and select at least one picture
that you think represents or expresses unity,
normality, pleasure, and intensity.
Ask for 4 student volunteers. Pass out 4
scripted descriptions of ways to judge and
value “good”art—unity, normality, pleasure,
and intensity. (See attached worksheet.)
Have the students read or paraphrase the
script they have and then choose a work of art
that they think best meets the requirements
they have described and tell why that was their
choice. The rest of the class members can make
their own choice based on the description. A
guided discussion can follow. The opinions
expressed by students do not have to
agree with the teacher’s. It is the student’s
explanation and justification that makes the
selection valid.
As students enter the classroom, have each of
them pick up a white paper square from a table
at the front of the room and take it with him/
her to their table or desk. After students are
settled, introduce or review what aesthetics is.
Have students then take the white square in
their hands. Ask them to look at the 4 prints.
Tell them the name of the print and the name
of the artist. Then ask, “If your mother (father,
grandparent, significant adult) could choose
one of these paintings which one would they
choose?” In an orderly manner, have students
place their white squares in front of the picture
they think their mother (father, grandparent,
significant adult) would select.
Help students understand that if there were
only one way to judge and value good art,
everything would look exactly the same.
Making Personal Choices
with Explantion
When they return to their seats, let them
volunteer to share which print they selected
and why they think that person would have
made that selection. After an open discussion,
explain that as children we are often influenced
Before students arrive in class, have 4 art prints
from various art styles set up and labeled with
the name of the painting and the name of the
artist.
68
As students enter the classroom, have them
pick up 4 different colored squares (red, yellow
green, and blue) from a table at the front of the
room and take them to their tables or desks.
squares are not in front of one picture. There
are usually 3 or 4 colors in front of all pictures.
Tell them the name of the print and the name
of the artist.
Have students then take the colored squares in
their hands. Ask them to look at the 4 prints.
Tell them that they are going to make personal
selections from these four prints. They are
to place the blue square in front on their first
choice, red by their second choice, yellow
by their third choice, and green by their last
choice.
Use this time to explain that they each had
personal reasons for making the choices they
did. There is not just one right answer, but
this is an opportunity to share their thoughts,
reasons, and explanations, as well as to listen
to others do the same. The result can be a
broader understanding of art and individual
perceptions.
Other Activities
Find interesting examples in Puzzles about Art:
An Aesthetics Casebook by Margaret P. Battin,
John Fisher, Ronald Moore, Anita Silvers
Give the students a moment to think and
decide and then have them place their squares
according to instructions.
Bring in ongoing articles from magazines,
newspapers, or the Internet about current
events and decisions being made relative to
visual art.
When they return to the seats, ask for
volunteers to share where they put their
blue squares and why that was their first
choice. Accept their choices and take as many
responses as there are volunteers. Then ask
where they put their green squares and why
that was their last choice. Again, accept their
choices and take as many responses as there
are volunteers.
After students have shared their choices and
reasons, point out or have them look to see
how the colored squares were placed in front
of the pictures. In most cases, all the blue
69
AESTHETICS
A Game of Judging Art
We will assume that there are four main ways to look at value in works of art. We can
judge an artwork to be good because of the PLEASURE it gives us; we can value art that
provides an INTENSITY of experience; we can judge quality in art that has a high degree
of UNITY; or we can insist that art is good only if it provides NORMALITY.
PLEASURE—This view holds that:
The best art has the capacity to give us the most pleasure. It delights our senses and deals
with topics that we enjoy, avoiding unpleasant aspects of life. The art can, however, be
very complex and require the viewer to put forth effort to achieve pleasure.
INTENSITY—this view holds that:
The best art causes us to respond intensely. It makes experience vivid and often deals with
the conflicts of life. The full range of human experience is fit subject for art, but it must be
presented with intensity and strong emotion.
UNITY—this view holds that:
Regardless of the subject, the best art is well organized so that each part relates to every
other part. Every part of the work is essential and nothing is superfluous. It has formal
unity and is internally consistent, exhibiting good craftsmanship by the artist.
NORMALITY—this view holds that:
The best art is that which normal people can respond to. It deals with topics that are within
the normal range of experience and can be easily understood by ordinary people. Neither
the topic for art nor the art style should be “far out.”
© 1987 Michael Day
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Art Criticism Lessons
Art Criticism, at its most basic level, is simply talking or writing
about art. Not everyone agrees on how to talk about art, so the
packet contains a variety of lessons and worksheets. The lessons in
this packet suggest various ways to discuss art and to lead student
discussions and help the students to have thoughtful and
knowledgable discussions. Also included are worksheets
The CD contains a wide variety of images for use in the lessons.
Posters also work well for these discussions. If the students are
working in small groups, they can easily use postcard-sized
reproductions of artworks.
71
72
Art Criticism for Elementary
• What ideas and emotions do you think
this work of art expresses?
Objectives
• Students will identify basic elements in
a piece of art through speaking and
writing.
• Do you have a sense of how the artist
might have felt when he or she made
this work of art? Does it make you feel
one way or another?
• Students will enhance their observation
skills.
Materials:
• Art work (reproductions, or their own
works)
• Journals
Procedure:
1. This lesson works wonderfully with young
children; simply hold a discussion. With older
students, hold a discussion or ask them to
write responses to the following questions:
• Look carefully at the work of art in front
of you. What colors do you see in it?
List the specific colors that you see.
• What objects do you see in the work of
art in front of you? List the objects that
you see.
John Owen Erickson
Gethsemane: Self-Portrait (1986)
• What is going on in this work of art?
Mention whatever you see happening,
no matter how small.
2. If the class is looking at more than one piece,
you can ask:
• Does anything you have noticed in this
work of art so far (colors, objects, or
events) remind you of something in
your own life?
• Take a look at the other works of art
displayed around this one. Do they look
alike? What is similar about the way
they look ( e.g. objects, events, feelings,
the way they are made)? What is
different?
• Is this work of art true-to-life? How real
has the artist made things look?
73
• What would you have called this work
of art if you had made it yourself? Does
the title of the work, if there is one,
make sense to you?
3. Have students reflect on their observations.
• Think back on your previous
observations. What have you discovered
from looking at this work of art?
Have you learned anything about
yourself or others?
• Do you like this work of art? Why
or why not? Has your reaction to the
work changed? Do you like it more
or less than you did in the beginning?
Why?
See this website for a rubric: http://www.
goshen.edu/art/ed/rubric3.html
Douglas Snow
Desert Landscape (1959)
74
Criticism for Kids
Not only can children engage in dialogues of
criticism but they should. Such discussions
help the child to articulate their feelings and
thoughts about art and it’s value. Activities in
criticism give children voices filled with art
terminology, interpretative views and critical
judgments. These higher level skills help the
child give structure to their ever changing
feelings and thoughts about art and how it fits
in their life.
if the artwork is nonobjective, encourage the
child to describe the element(s), art form or
media.
The following activities in criticism are geared
from youngest to oldest and are meant to help
the educator led a constructive conversation
with children about art and art forms. The
questions to be asked by educators are in
bold, the different components of criticism are
underlined, and desired responses are in italics.
Bonnie Lee Blair Posselli
Winter, Near Woodland, Utah (1998)
Look and Look Again
Description
Analysis
Look, tell me what you see.
Look again, what part of the artwork do you
see first? Why?
Usually the child will describe or list the
objects within the work (e.g., house, trees,
people) and then the child might include
some of the more evident elements (e.g.,
color, shapes, textures). Some children will
answer with the subject matter of the work
(e.g., landscape, portrait, still life) and older
children might describe the art form or media
(e.g., painting, sculpture, print). Any of these
responses is appropriate, but encourage
the child to use descriptive terms by asking
extending questions such as “Tell me more
about the flowers, what colors are they?” Note:
Encourage the children to analyze why they
see a certain part of the artwork first (this is
center of interest or emphasis). See if the child
can identify the main element(s)that help
achieve this principle. Another principle that
most children can recognize is balance. See if
the child can determine what element(s) help
achieve balance. You can move on to other
principles such as movement or repetition, but
choose a principle that is prominent within the
work.
75
It’s important that the child feels free to express
their likes or dislikes regarding the work but
encourage the child to determine why. Help
the child validate her feelings about the work
in her statement(e.g., I don’t like this work
because it looks messy). Also help the child to
make a judgment according to the quality of
the work, regardless of his personal feelings
about the work. It helps to determine quality
according to a specific criteria (e.g., looks real,
expresses emotion, or emphasizes an element.
See aesthetics lessons). Introduce a rating scale
so the child can determine the degree to which
an artwork “works.”
Interpretation
Look again and tell me how this artwork
makes you feel or,
Look again. What do you think the artist is
trying to tell us with this artwork?
This requires that the child put into words
what feelings or moods they are perceiving
from the artwork. Encourage the child to
interpret symbols or symbolic uses of elements
(I.e., color choice). Most of the time the child
will interpret the work using their personal
background of knowledge. Encourage the child
to discover new or alternative meanings as
well as this will help the child to understand
that art can have many meanings, all valid.
Have older children determine what might be
the main intent of the artist (e.g., to make the
objects look real, to express feelings, to focus
on a particular element.)
Critical Poetry on Art
Have the child write a short poem responding
to an artwork. The child should determine
a title for their poem and follow the outline
below:
• Initial Response: One or two words
describing their first impression of the
work
• Description: Two or three words
describing the objects or elements
within the work
Harold Petersen
Dan’s is Now Open Across the Street (1989)
• Interpretation: Four words interpreting
the meaning or feelings portrayed
within the work or the artist’s intent
Judgment
• Judgment: Four words evaluating the
work
Look once more and tell me if you like the
work. Why/why not? Personal preference
Look once more and tell me how well you
think the artist did. Informed preference
• Speculation: One to six words
summarizing or speculating on the
artwork’s context or value
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Get on Your Mark - A Criticism Game
Description
Tell the students they are going to play a game
dealing with looking at artworks. Arrange
teams of 5 or 6 students each and have one
of the students on each team be assigned as
a scribe. The scribe will make a list from all
the information that other team members tell
them. The only other directions they are given
at this time is that they are going to describe
what they see, and the scribe will make a list of
their descriptions.
Provide an image for this assignment. You can
either project the image, use a large print, or
have the same print in a smaller format for
each team. Generally, for this activity any print
can be used; however, for younger learners use
an image with many objects or symbols. An
excellent example of these qualities are evident
in the image I and My Village, by the artist Marc
Chagall. Or use the SMA poster, Entertaining
Favorite Ladies II, by Jeanne Clarke, or an image
from the CD, such as Farmer and the Raincloud,
by Russell Cowles.
Lee Greene Richards
Sunflowers
byu.edu
Following is an example:
Allow the students 5 to 10 minutes to make
their list from what they see. After the allotted
time, have the scribes count up the items on
their lists. Have the team with the most items
read its list to the whole class. Inform the
other students to listen carefully as the list
is read. Remind the students of the original
instructions--to describe what they see. As the
list is read, encourage the students to define
what things can be seen. Students from other
teams can request that items be deleted from
the list if they feel that they are inappropriate.
Help students question items on the list that
deal with emotions, feelings, or moods. While
these concepts might be alluded to, they
cannot be seen. The aspects of moods, symbols,
and feelings will be discussed later when
interpretation is discussed. Other aspects to
eliminate from the list are principles of design
(e.g., balance, movement, center of interest,
Nature’s Bounty
Visually stimulating
Bright, sun-drenched colors
Reflect nature’s finest moments
Van Gogh’s best to offer
Would his life was so bright
reflections on Van Gogh’s Sunflowers
77
variation), as these aspects are outcomes of
using the elements and will be discussed in
the analysis portion of this criticism model.
Encourage items on the list that deal with the
elements of art (i.e., line, color, shape, value,
texture, space, and/or form) or actual objects.
In addition to listing the elements of art, the
list can include descriptive terms such as wavy
lines, complementary colors, geometric shapes,
dark red.
After the list is read, have other teams state
items on their list that might not have been
mentioned on the first list. Rewards can be
given to the team that has the most complete
list after reviewing and editing the lists.
of interest. For example, you might discuss
how the element of shape is used to achieve
the principle of balance; or how the element
of color is used to achieve the principle of
variety. You do not need to go through every
element and principle, but you should decide
on the most evident ones found within the art
work you have chosen. It is also important to
note that not every element and principle will
be evident in every artwork. Explain that the
students are trying to analyze the ones found
within the artwork they are critiquing.
After the list has been completed and
approved, explain to the students that they
have just completed the first step of criticism.
Explain that the first step of criticism is
description; remind the students that they
described what they saw, not what they felt.
Emphasize that providing a description of the
art work is something that critics do when they
complete a critique.
Explain that after the critic analyzes an art
work he/she will often interpret the meaning
of it. This stage is called interpretation and
often involves the critic’s personal experiences.
Emphasize that as critics the students will
also interpret the art work according to their
personal experiences, but there are several
other aids that can assist in their interpretation.
Some of these aids are listed as follows:
Interpretation Note: background information
on Chagall follows this lesson
Analysis
• Symbols used within the artwork.
Explain that the next step in art criticism is
often analysis. In this step, the students will, as
critics, analyze an art work. Help the students
define the term analysis. Explain that with
analysis the critic tries to analyze how the
various parts of the picture are arranged so
that certain principles are achieved. Tell the
students they have already listed the parts.
Have them list the parts of line, color, shape,
space, texture, value, and form (i.e., elements).
Now, the students need to determine how
those various parts are used in the art work
to achieve various principles of design (i.e.,
balance, variety, unity, movement, rhythm,
emphasis, contrast and/or repetition).
• Title of the artwork.
• Name of the artist.
• Background of the art work - where,
when, and why it was created.
• Feelings or emotions that might be
expressed in the artwork.
• Familiarity with traditions or customs
illustrated in the artwork.
Using these aids, assist the students to
interpret the artwork. Some artworks are
going to display very evident meaning, while
in other works the meaning might not be
as evident. Allow the students to use their
personal experiences to aid in interpreting.
Direct them to achieve various interpretations,
Help the students choose an evident element
and discuss how that element is used to
achieve a particular principle. Some of the
most evident principles are balance and center
78
stressing that interpretations will vary among
individuals.
into barrels for a living. Chagall was not
exposed to art because his parents were devout
Hasidic Jews who followed the commandment
against graven images. He saw a schoolmate
copying a magazine drawing and was so
astonished that he, too, began copying. The
schoolmate so praised Chagall’s attempts that
he toyed with the idea of art as a career. His
parents apprenticed him to a photographer, but
he didn’t like it and later talked his parents into
letting him study at art schools, first in Vitebsk
and later in St. Petersburg.
Judgment
Explain that the final stage of criticism is
judgment. Emphasize that this stage is usually
at the end because it allows the critic to come
to the judgment portion with information and
knowledge. The critic has had to describe,
analyze, and interpret the artwork, and is now
in a position to judge it. The following aspects
need to be discussed regarding judgment:
A St. Petersburg lawyer, who liked Chagall’s
works, sent him to Paris in 1910. In 1911 he
painted I and My Village, which includes many
of the images that he would repeat throughout
his art. In his autobiography, My Life, the
artist recalled that in Vitebsk “all about us
were churches, fences, shops, synagogues-simple and eternal like the buildings in Giotto
frescoes.”
There can be a pre-judgment or gut-feeling
judgment that happens when a person first
encounters an artwork. This is not an informed
preference, because the critic has to “work
through” the other stages of description,
analysis, and interpretation in order to become
informed. There is also a judgment that is
based on personal preference rather than
informed preference. Even if an artwork is not
successful according to an aspect or criteria, it
might still be valued personally.
Russian Christianity also influenced Chagall.
His work echoes the flat, blankly staring saints
of Russian icons, the mystical Eastern images
that he once said he loved because “they are
magical and unreal.”
When arriving at a judgment, the critic should
be able to support their evaluation (i.e., state
the reasons why they have come to that
conclusion).
Chagall returned to Russia in 1914 and married
his childhood sweetheart, Bella, in 1915. They
lived in St. Petersburg for two years.Following
the 1917 Bolshevik seizure of power, Chagall
was appointed minister of culture for Vitebsk.
The Communist took a dim view of his art
and he finally left town under pressure. In
Moscow he designed sets and painted murals
for the Kamerny Jewish Theater, but there, too,
his work was frowned upon. Finally, in 1922,
he left Russia for Paris and did not visit his
homeland until the early 1960s. He and Bella
moved to New York in 1940 after the Nazis
invaded France. In New York he not only
worked on mosaics and stained glass windows
but designed ballet sets and costumes in
Mexico City and New York.
Encourage the students to distinguish what
kind of judgment they are making (i.e., prejudging, informed preference and/or personal
preference). The students should also be
encouraged to state the reasoning behind
their evaluation (e.g., I don’t like the art work
because it is too abstract for my personal tastes,
or the art work is an exceptional example of
an expressive work because it conveys strong
feelings through its use of symbols and colors).
Background Information on Marc Chagall
Chagall, born in 1887 and the oldest of nine
children, grew up in the ghetto of Viteksk in
Russia. His father, who changed the family
name from Segal to Chagall, packed herring
Three years after the war ended, Chagall
79
Where is the center of interest? What
element(s) help create the center?
returned to France where he lived until his
death in 1985.
What type of balance is used in this work?
What element(s) are used to create balance?
Criticism Questions
These questions can assist children evaluate
(critique) a work of art.
Where is emphasis or contrast used? What
element(s) are used to achieve it?
What? Description
Choose any other dominant principle and ask
how that principle is achieved.
What are the objects you see?
What are the dominant colors in this work?
How would you describe them?
Why? Interpretation
What is this about?
Where are the dominant lines in this work?
How would you describes them?
What feelings or moods are evident within this
work?
Where are the dominant shapes in this work:
How would you describe them?
What do you think the artist is trying to tell us
with this work?
How would you describe the textures you see
in this work (both implied and actual)?
What symbol(s) are evident in this work? How
do they help/hinder your interpretation of this
work?
What is the main value (degree of lightness/
darkness) of the work? What is the range of
value displayed in this work?
What do you think was the main intent of the
artist with this work? Realism? Expressionism?
Formalism? Other?
How would you describe the use of space in
this work?
What background information (title, artist,
context of work) do know about this work?
How would you describe the threedimensional quality (form) displayed in this
work?
Why would this information help/hinder your
interpretation of this work?
Optional:
Decisions! Judgment
What is the subject matter of this work?
Rank this work according to how well you
think the artist achieved their intent (e.g.,
realism, expressionism, formalism, other).
Support your choice with evidence (critical
information)
What is the art form of this work?
What is the media of this work?
What are some of the skills or techniques used
in this work?
Rank this work according to how well you like
this work personally. Support your choice with
valid explanations.
How? Analysis
80
ART CRITICISM
GAMES &
ACTIVITIES
DRAMA ACTIVITIES FOR ART
CRITICISM:
Interpretation of works of art may extend
to dramatic presentations through reader’s
theater (students write dialogue for the
people in an artwork, then perform the parts
with different voices), “living paintings” or
tableaux, and sound symphonies (students
act out the sounds that are suggested by the
artwork). A variety of approaches will lead
students to enter and interpret many works of
art from multiple perspectives.
Each group should choose a group recorder to
write for the group. Students brainstorm words
that relate to the image. Words can relate to
subject matter, media, meaning, and general
critical observations. The recorder writes the
words on Post-It Notes as they are generated
and attaches them around the edges of the
study print.
Students then look at the vocabulary they have
generated and divide the words into parts of
speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs).
The group then works together to write a
summative sentence or paragraph about the
work of art. All vocabulary generated does not
have to be used and other words may be added
as needed. When all are finished, each group
identifies and displays its image and reads
aloud its sentence or paragraph to the entire
class.
With Entire Class:
Display a print or project a slide or image so
that it can be seen by all the students. Have
Howell Rosenbaum
students brainstorm words that relate to the
Children at Play in Mantua
work. As students call out their responses, the
teacher or a student writes the response words
DESCRIPTIVE WRITING USING POST-IT
on large Post-It Notes or index cards and
NOTES:
places them below or around the art image.
The words can then be reviewed and grouped
With Small Groups:
in a variety of ways to initiate discussion
Assign students to groups of three or four. Give or writing activities. Students can write
each group a study print (or let each group
summative sentences or paragraphs about the
choose an image) and a pad of Post-It Notes
reproduction. Complexity of vocabulary will
(the smallest size available). Ask students to
vary according to the level of the students.
use only the visual evidence in the work for
this study.
81
Procedure
1. Distribute writing paper and ask each
student to write one complete sentence
about the image.
2. Tape the “Fact” sign to one side of the
reproduction and the “Opinion” sign to
the other.
3. Ask each student to read aloud the
sentence that has been written then
classify the sentence as a fact or opinion.
COMPARE/CONTRAST TWO WORKS OF
ARTWITH A VENN DIAGRAM
4. Tape the sentence under either the Fact
or Opinion sign, depending on the
category that has been chosen by the
writer.
Comparing and contrasting art works is a
useful strategy for art criticism. Choose two art
works that share a common theme or subject,
or two works by the same artist. In the open
area of the circle on the left, write words that
are true only of artwork #1. In the open area
of the circle on the right, write words that are
only true of artwork #2. Where the two circles
overlap, write words that are true of both. On
a separate paper, use your words to write a
compare/contrast paragraph.
5. In collaborative groups, students
decide if the sentence has been correctly
classified. Require justified reasons for
placement in either category.
6. When most students agree and have
given valid reasons for the placement of
the statement, continue until all other
sentences have been read, sorted, and
justified as fact or opinion.
DECIPHERING FACT AND OPINION
Materials
3” x 5” paper for writing
pencils
a poster-size art reproduction
masking tape
one large sign that reads “Fact” and one large
sign that reads “Opinion”
7. Ask students to re-evaluate individual
sentences. Determine if each sentence is
a fact or an opinion or if any sentences
should be moved to the opposing
category.
8. Divide students into two collaborative
groups, a Fact Group and an Opinion
Group. Students whose sentences
comprise the Fact Group compile their
work to create a descriptive paragraph
about the image. Typical information in
this group could include the title and
date of the work of art, the name of the
artist, materials used, where the image
is now located, its country of origin,
or other fact-based critical chronicles.
Students whose sentences make up the
Opinion Group combine their work to
write a paragraph indicating judgments
Motivation
Display an art image so all students can see
it. Allow a few moments for careful, silent
observation of the work. Briefly discuss the
difference between a fact and an opinion. A
fact is properly defined as something that is
true or real, actually exists, or has occurred.
An opinion falls short of absolute knowledge
and is a conclusion or judgment that cannot be
proven to be true.
82
about the image such as the artist’s
craftsmanship, effective use of the
elements of art and principles of design,
or if the image is liked or disliked.
Characteristic information should lead
the reader towards interpretation, the
artist’s intent, or viewer perception of
the work of art.
UMFA, or BYU MOA websites. Incidentally,
any lesson that invites students to talk about
art is helpful with ESL kids as they apply the
new vocabulary directly to the image being
discussed.
METAPHOR
ART CRITICISM: PARTNER RESPONSE
Working with a partner, use postcards as
a prompt to describe (either verbally or in
writing) the work of art (do not let your
partner see the actual image). While the
description is going on, the partner draws
his/her interpretation of the artwork. When
drawing is complete, then the actual image
can be shown and compared (comparison
should not be based on drawing skills, but on
inclusion of drawing skills).
Students Have a “Write” to Art-CLUSTERING
The procedure is similar to “webbing,” or
“clustering,” a method familiar to elementary/
middle schoolteachers. Demonstrate the
procedure to the entire class by placing a
selected artwork on the chalkboard and asking
a student to give it a one-word or brief title;
write it on the board. Ask another to elaborate
that title with a further word or short phrase.
DIAMANTE
A diamante is a diamond-shaped seven line
poem that goes from one idea to its opposite.
The first line is one word, a noun. Line 2 is
two adjectives describing the noun. Line 3 is
three verbs ending in –ed or –ing which relate
to the first noun. Line 4 has four nouns—two
are related to the first line and two suggest the
change to line 7. Line 5 has three verbs ending
in –ed or –ing but the words are related to line
7. Line 6 is two adjectives describing line 7.
Line 7 is a noun opposite to the first noun.
As students volunteer more words, attach
them to the key word, or, when they open a
new idea, begin a new cluster. After half a
dozen related clusters have been formed, ask
a student to build a sentence using the words
in one group, then another and another, as in
topic and support sentences in a paragraph.
Encourage the use of vivid adjectives and
action verbs. As you can see, this process leads
into descriptive and imaginative paragraphs
that can become a story or a “composition
about a composition.”
Example:
Day
Bright, cheerful
Shining, warming, blazing
Daybreak, sun, shadows, sunsets
Cooling, darkening, ending
Mysterious, dark
Night
As students become familiar with this
procedure they can build their own
individual clusters from small reproductions,
independently, or they can work in pairs
or small groups, cooperatively. They can
read their rough drafts to the class and then
write them up in polished form to post next
to the reproductions on the bulletin board.
Some pictures that work especially well are
paintings by Henri Rousseau, Marc Chagall,
Jacob Lawrence, and Winslow Homer, but
don’t overlook the poster sets from SMA,
UMFA, and BYU as well as works on the SMA,
Prewriting:
83
List topics explored by an
artist, which could be used for
a diamante. Write a diamante
together as a class.
Writing: Write a diamante about a work of
art of your choice that shows
opposites in some way.
Revising: Can you think of any words that
would be more vivid? Is there
a change from one topic to
another?
Editing: Check for any errors. Write your final
diamante clearly on an index card
and try to show the SHAPE of the
poem. Display your poem on the
bulletin board next to the artwork
you have written about. If you
have chosen a work of your own,
be sure to bring a Xeroxed copy
to display with your poem.
THE ART POEM
Directions: Follow the directions below to
write a poem about your favorite
work of art.
LINE 1.
LINE 2.
Begin with the words It is
Write three nouns that are related to
the painting. Begin each with a
capital letter.
LINE #. Write a complete sentence about two
things the painting makes you
visualize.
LINE 4. Begin with three nouns that describe
qualities reflected in the painting;
end the sentence with a verb and
phrase of your choice. Capitalize
each noun.
LINE 5. Write a sentence containing a
thought or feeling prompted
by the painting; or, express a
dichotomy. The sentence can tell
what you find of value in this
painting.
LINE 6,7. Use these two sentences to contrast
something in the painting. The
word “but” may be used in the
second sentence to link the two
thoughts.
LINES 8,9,10 Each line is a short sentence
or phrase relating to a sensory
impression inspired by the
painting. For example, sentences
may begin with “I feel. . .” “I
hear. . .” “I see. . .”
LINE 11 End with the artist’s name and the
title of the painting or artwork.
You may also add anything else
you feel is relevant.
NOTE: I have numbered the lines in my poem
so you can follow the pattern.
(Do not number the lines in your
poem).
1
2
3
It is
Motion, Life, Sky
Swirling stars sweep and soar
while specks dot the village below.
4 Passion, Exuberance, and Emotion
flood rampant in this textured tapestry.
5 I feel a violent energy, a creative cosmos,
an eternal cycle.
6 No simple village resting peacefully at
night
7 But a writhing turmoil of gushing
spontaneity.
8 Noisy stars.
9 Singing steeple, cypress
10 Passioned painting
11 Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
Cindy Clark
Quotes about ART CRITICISM:
84
•
"The true work of a critic is not to make his
hearer believe him, but agree with him."
John Ruskin (1819-1900), English critic.
•
"I don't know anything about art, but I know
what I like."
Gelett Burgess (1866-1951).
•
"What distinguishes modern art from the art of
other ages is criticism."
Octavio Paz (1914-), Mexican poet.
•
•
"The more minimal the art, the more maximum
the explanation."
Hilton Kramer (1928-), The New York Times art
critic, in the late 1960s, referring to minimalist
art, which was in vogue at the time. See art critic
and text.
"Don't everlastingly read messages into
paintings — there's the Daisy — you Don't rave
over or read messages into it — you just look at
that bully little Flower — isn't that enough?"
John Marin (1872-1953), American modernist
painter. See modernism.
•
"The least of things with a meaning is worth
more in life than the greatest of things without
it."
Carl Jung (1875-1961), Austrian psychiatrist.
Modern Man in Search of a Soul, 1933.
•
•
•
"Without the meditative background that is
criticism, works become isolated gestures,
historical accidents, soon forgotten."
Milan Kundera (1929-), Czech author, critic. “On
Criticism, Aesthetics, and Europe,” in Review of
Contemporary Fiction (Summer 1989; originally
from Kundera’s introduction to François Ricard,
La Littérature Contre Elle-Même).
•
•
Albert Camus (1913-1960), French-Algerian
philosopher, author. The Rebel, part 4, 1951;
translated 1953. See existentialism.
"In interpretation, understanding does not
become something different. It becomes itself
. . . . Nor is interpretation the acquiring of
information about what is understood: it is
rather the working out of possibilities projected in
understanding.” [italics in the original]
Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), German
existentialist philosopher. Being and Time,
Macquarrie trans., 1962, pp. 189-190.
“All photographs are there to remind us of what
we forget. In this — as in other ways — they are the
opposite of paintings. Paintings record what the painter
remembers. Because each one of us forgets different
things, a photo more than a painting may change its
meaning according to who is looking at it.”
John Berger (1926-), British novelist, critic. Keeping a
Rendezvous, “How Fast Does It Go?”, 1992.
References
Barrett, Terry (1994, Summer). Critics on criticism.
Journal of Aesthetic Education, Volume 28, Number
2. University of Illinois Press.
"Human life itself may be almost pure chaos, but
the work of the artist — the only thing he's good
for — is to take these handfuls of confusion
and disparate things, things that seem to be
irreconcilable, and put them together in a frame
to give them some kind of shape and meaning.
Even if it's only his view of a meaning. That's
what he's for — to give his view of life."
Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980), American
short-story writer, novelist. Interview in Writers at
Work, Second Series, edited by George Plimpton,
1963. See chaos.
"Today, each artist must undertake to invent
himself, a lifelong act of creation that constitutes
the essential content of the artist's work. The
meaning of art in our time flows from this
function of self-creation. Art is the laboratory for
making new men."
Harold Rosenberg (1906-1978), American art
critic, author. Discovering the Present, part 4,
chapter 24, 1973. See art critic.
Barrett, Terry, editor (1994). Lessons for Teaching Art
Criticism. ERIC, Getty Center for Education in the
Arts.
Burton, David (2004) Art criticism. Visual Art Education
Association Newsletter. Retrieved 2/6/04 from
http:// www.vaea.org.
Cartwright, Lisa and Sturken, Marita (2001). Practices of
Looking. Oxford University Press.
Costantino, Tracie E.(2001). Philosophical heurmeneutics
as a theoretical framework for understanding
works of art. University of Illinois. Retrieved
2/29/2004 from http:// www. edtech.connect.
msu.edu
Cromer, Jim (1990). Criticism - History, Theory and Practice
of Art Criticism in Art Education. National Art
Education Association
Dawtrey, Liz and Jackson, Toby and Masterton. Mary
and Meecham, Pam, Editors (1996). Critical Studies
and Modern Art. The Open University.
Edwards, Dorothy (1989). Drawing on the Right Side of the
Brain. G.P.Putnam’s Sons.
"Just as all thought, and primarily that of nonsignification, signifies something, so there is no
art that has no signification."
Jackson, Phillip K.(1998). John Dewey and the Lessons of
85
Art. Yale University Press.
Mirzoeff, Nicholas (1999). An Introduction to Visual
Culture. Routledge.
North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts
(2004). Art Criticism. Retrieved 2/6/2004 from
http://www.art.unt.edu.
Ragans, Rosalind (2000). Art Talk. Glenco/McGraw-Hill.
Sayre, Henry M.(2002). Writing About Art, Edition 4.
Prentice Hall, New Jersey.
Watts, Michelle (2004). Practice of art criticism. Charles
Stuart University. Retrieved 2/6/2004 from
http:// hsc.csu.edu.au/visual_arts
Winebrenner, Susan (1992). Teaching Gifted Kids in the
Regular Classroom. Free Spirit Publishing, Inc.
Wyman, Marilyn (2003). Looking and Writing. Pearson
Education, Inc., New Jersey.
86
Name_____________________
Period_________________
Art Criticism
Criticism is responding to, describing, interpreting, and making judgments concerning the
properties and qualities that exist in an artwork.
Step One: Description (What do you see?)
Artist:____________________________________________________________
Title:_____________________________________________________________
Medium:_________________________________________________________
Size:_____________________________________________________________
Subject:__________________________________________________________
Mode: (painting, drawing, photo, print, sculpture. . .)_______________
Description of what you see, facts only:
Step Two: Analysis (How is the work organized?)
This is there you look for the elements of art organized by the principles of design
(balance, unity, variety, proportion, emphasis, repetition, etc.), center of interest, size
relationships, color relationships, value relationships, etc.
Step Three: Interpretation (Why?)
What meaning does the work have? What single large idea or concept sums up or
unifies the message of the artwork? What is the artist trying to say?
Step Four: Informed Preference or Judgment
What do you think about the artwork and WHY? Does the artwork have value? How
does it make you feel? Does it express an emotion you can share? Does it provide a
specific purpose? Can you apply a major aesthetic theory to the artwork?
Adapted from E. Feldman, and S Pepper, Principles of Art Appreciation, pp. 298-301
87
Art Criticism—A way to evaluate art
I. Description: describe what you see in a work of art (elements and objects)
2. Colors
1. Lines
__bright
__sharp
__dull
__thick
__strong
__heavy
__bold
__jagged
__thin/light __weak
__light
__vertical
__horizontal __pastel
__diagonal __neutral
__warm
__fuzzy
__cool
__curved
__opposite
__smooth
__straight
__choppy
3. Shapes
__circle
__rectangle
__curved
__soft-edged
__squares
__triangles
__angular
__organic
__hard-edged
4. Textures
__rough
__smooth
__shiny
__soft
__hard
__dull
__grainy
5. Value
__dark
__light
__medium
__varied
6. Space
__crowded
__shallow
__deep
__vast
__flat
7. Form
__flat
__rounded
__full
__cutout
__lifelike
Objects
__people
__buildings
__animals
__trees
__sky
__water
__food
II. Analysis: analyze how parts (elements) are used to achieve principles
What element is most dominant? (i.e. line, color) What principle is created because of the use of
that element? For example: lines were used to achieve movement, or color was used to create
balance.
Balance: What type? Asymmetrical (each side different) or symmetrical (each side same) or
Other.
Center of Interest: Where is the center of interest, emphasis or contrast?
Unity or harmony: Where is unity/harmony evident?
Variety: Where is variety within the artwork?
Movement/rhythm: Where is movement/rhythm evident?
III. Interpretation: interpret the meaning or content of a work of art
Which words describe what you think is the meaning or content of the work?
What is the title of the work?
What does the title tell you about its meaning?
Who is the artist or what culture did the artwork come from?
What do you know about the artist or culture that might help you in determining the meaning?
What symbols are evident within the work?
What do the symbols represent?
What is the general mood or feeling displayed within the work?
IV. Judgment: judge the artwork according to informed and personal preferences
Informed Preference Determine the major intent evident within the work and then judge to what
degree the artist was successful in achieving that intent or purpose.
a. To imitate or show a likeness (imitationalism, mimetic)
b. To express an emotion or feeling (expressionism)
c. To show relationships between the parts or focuses on the elements/principles
(formalism)
d. Other
Personal Preference (hedonism)
Do you like the work? Tell why or why not.
88
MUSEUM ACTIVITY
Step 1. Select a work of art from the museum collection or the CD.
Step 2. Record below the following information.
Title________________________________________________ Date___________________________
Artist_______________________________________________ Media_________________________
Country of Origin_____________________________________
Step 3. Which one of the following descriptors best “fits” this work of art?
a. Imitational/Representational
b. Imagination/Fantasy
c. Formalism (emphasis on design)
d. Religious
e. Political
f. Functional/Decorative
g. Other
Step 4. Write below the reasons you selected this work of art.
Step 5. Using as much of your new art vocabulary as possible, describe this work below.
Step 6. Describe below the personal “gut” feelings/responses you have about this work.
Step 7. Is the present context (a museum in Utah) different from the context at the time it was
created? If yes, please explain.
Step 8. List below aesthetic questions or issues that this work causes you to consider.
89
90
3. Interpretation
Interpret the meaning or content
of a work or art
1. Description
Describe what you see in a work of art (elements and
objects)
Place image here
4. Judgment
Judge the artwork according to
informed and personal preferences
2. Analysis
Analyze how parts (elements) are used to achieve principles
Name ______________________________________________
Art Criticism
Background for the teacher:
What is ART CRITICISM?
Art criticism is responding to, interpreting
meaning, and making critical judgments about
specific works of art. Usually, art criticism
focuses on individual works of art.
Many people associate the word “criticism”
with destructive talk. This is understandable;
the first definition given for criticism in
Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary is
“the act of criticizing, usually unfavorably.”
Yet Webster’s second definition is more
appropriate for art criticism: “the art of
evaluating or analyzing works of art.” Art
criticism, in practice, generally is positive.
Art criticism can include praise, comparison,
description, explanation, and conjecture.
James R. Avati
Honesty and Virtue at the Tax Table (1988)
Feldman writes that art criticism is “spoken or
written ‘talk’ about art” and that “the central
task of criticism” is interpretation. Feldman
developed a widely used sequential approach
to art criticism based on description, analysis,
interpretation, and judgment. Stephen Dobbs
states that, through art criticism, people
“look at art, analyze the forms, offer multiple
interpretations of meaning, make critical
judgments, and talk or write about what they
see, think, and feel.” Terry Barrett, author of
Criticizing Art: Understanding the Contemporary,
bases his approach to art criticism on the four
activities of describing, interpreting, judging,
and theorizing about art. Barrett suggests that,
although all four overlap, “Interpretation
is the most important activity of criticism,
and probably the most complex.” Though
interwoven with description, analysis, and
judgment, interpretation of the meaning of
individual works of art is of foremost concern
in contemporary art criticism.
Benefits of ART CRITICISM:
91
•
Perfects the power to perceive
•
Provides a way to exercise higher
order thinking skills while investigating
and critiquing one’s own or other’s
works of art
•
Expands works of art through the
critic’s experience
•
Provides viewers with the full import of
works of art
•
Informs, explains, and enlightens
regarding art
•
Helps viewers understand their own
responses to work of art
We live in an increasingly visual world where
visual literacy is essential to daily success.
Art criticism is writing about the aesthetic
experiences in the visual world. As students
become engaged in composing their responses
to art criticism, they are practicing the writing
process, exemplifying good writing traits,
practicing higher order thinking skills, and
accessing cognitive domains that will enrich
learning and functioning inside and outside
the classroom. Imagine the possibilities for
future success if problem solving and decisionmaking skills are properly practiced and
honed. Critical writing demands proficiency in
these areas.
In both journalistic and scholarly art criticism,
the viewer, according to Feldman, “confronts
works of art and determines what they mean,
whether they are any good, and, if so, why.”
Important art critics:
•
John Ruskin (English, 1819-1900)
•
Charles Baudelaire (French, 1821-1867)
•
Roger Fry (English, 1866-1934)
•
Guillaume Apollinaire (French, 1880-1918)
•
Walter Benjamin (German, 1892-1940)
•
Harold Rosenberg (American, 1906-1978). Also
see Abstract Expressionism.
•
Clement Greenberg (American, 1909-1994).
Among the greatest art critics of the 20th
century, Greenberg was also one of the most
vilified. Here is a site containing essays by and
about the man and his work. Also see Abstract
Expressionism and kitsch.
•
Ernst H. Gombrich (English, 1909-2001)
•
Michel Tapié (French, 1909-1987)
•
Roland Barthes (French, 1915-1980)
•
Thomas B. Hess (American, 1920-1978)
•
Michel Foucault (French, 1926-1984)
•
Hilton Kramer (American, 1928-)
•
Jean Baudrillard (French, 1929-)
•
Milan Kundera (1929-)
•
Pierre Restany (French, 1930-2003)
•
Henry Geldzahler (Belgian, 1935-1994)
•
Lucy R. Lippard (American, 1937-)
•
Robert Hughes (Australian-American, 1938-)
The Art Critic
•
Germano Celant (Italian, 1940-)
An art critic may be a newspaper reporter
assigned to the art beat, a scholar writing
for professional journals or texts, or an artist
writing about other artists.
•
Peter Schjeldahl (American, 1942-)
•
Rosalind Krauss (American, contemporary)
•
Kathy Acker (American, 1947-1997)
•
Douglas Crimp (American, contemporary)
Art Critic Clement Greenberg
Photo: Eleanore Lazare
http://www.sharecom.ca/greenberg/
92
•
Hal Foster (American, contemporary)
•
Michael Kimmelman (American, contemporary)
•
Arthur C. Danto (American, contemporary)
•
Donald B. Kuspit (American, contemporary)
•
Martha Rosler (American, contemporary)
Barrett’s Principles of Interpretation
Art Criticism in the Classroom
The work of art itself should guide the
approach to inquiry.
Ideally, “Critic’s descriptions are lively. Critics
write to be read, and they must capture their
readers’ attention and engage their readers’
imaginations. Critics want to persuade their
readers to see a work of art as they do. If they
are enthused, they try to communicate their
enthusiasm through their choice of descriptors
and how they put them together in a sentence,
a paragraph, and an article.” --Terry Barrett,
Criticizing Art: Understanding the Contemporary.
Written art criticism can be thought of as
persuasive writing, with interpretations of
meaning supported by reasoned judgments.
Terry Barrett calls for “good, lively, interpretive
writing about art” that may take many forms
in the classroom. Similarly, Feldman states
that words are virtually indispensable for
communicating a critic’s understanding and
that “words enable us to build bridges between
sensory impressions, prior experience, logical
inferences, and the tasks of interpretation and
explanation.”
References
Barrett, Terry. (1994) Criticizing Art: Understanding the
Contemporary. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing
Company.
Dobbs, Stephen Mark. (1992) The DBAE Handbook: An
Overview of Discipline-Based Art Education. Santa Monica,
CA: The Getty Center for Education in the Arts.
Feldman, Edmund Burke. (1994) Practical Art Criticism.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
93
•
Artworks have "aboutness" and demand
interpretation.
•
Interpretations are persuasive
arguments.
•
Some interpretations are better than
others.
•
Good interpretations of art tell more
about the artwork than they tell about
the critic.
•
Feelings are guides to interpretations.
•
There can be different, competing, and
contradictory interpretations of the
same artwork.
•
Interpretations are often based on a
world view.
•
Interpretations are not so much
absolutely right, but more or less
reasonable, convincing, enlightening,
and informative.
•
Interpretations can be judged by
coherence, correspondence, and
inclusiveness.
•
An artwork is not necessarily about
what the artist wanted it to be about.
•
A critic ought not to be the
spokesperson for the artist.
•
Interpretations ought to present the
work in its best rather than its weakest
light.
•
The objects of interpretation are
artworks, not artists.
•
All art is in part about the world in
which it emerged.
•
All art is in part about other art.
•
No single interpretation is exhaustive of
the meaning of an artwork.
ANDERSON CRITICISM MODEL
Three major questions:
1. What is it? (Description)
2. What does it mean? (Interpretation)
3. What is its significance? (Judgment)
All criticism MUST include evaluation or judgment because no human thought can be value
neutral. Judgments may be emotional, intellectual, or both, but they cannot be avoided. Since
valued judgments underlie all criticism, criticism is “an act of persuasion.” The purpose of art
criticism is to understand and appreciate works of art.
Stages:
1. REACTION—an initial, intuitive, “gut reaction.”
2. Perceptual Analysis (DESCRIPTION)
a. Representation: theme, subject, elements, medium, techniques
b. Formal Analysis: a deeper stage of description—relationships including
principles of design
c. Formal Characterization: taking the qualities that appear significant and
giving them personal qualities (identify something it reminds you of) i.e. using
figurative language such as similes and metaphors.
3. INTERPRETATION
a. PERSONAL INTERPRETATION
i. Brings personal associative experience to bear
ii.
Meaning from a synthesis of reaction and perceptual analysis
b. CONTEXTUAL EXAMINATION
i. Contextual and historical information
ii.
Information gained about the work rather than from it
4. SYNTHESIS (JUDGMENT)
a. RESOLUTION
i. Development of a personal argument for meaning based on all evidence
ii.
Beginnings of aesthetic inquiry
b. EVALUATION
i. Justifying the work based on aesthetic theory
ii.
Statements of judgment based on sound criteria and observable
evidence
Adapted from Anderson, T. (1993) “Designing and Structuring Art Criticism for Education” Studies in Art Education,
pp 129-208.
94
ART CRITICISM
Questions In Art Criticism*
1. Description: What do I see? ( feel, hear, smell, taste)?
1. Subject Matter: Does the artwork depict anything? If so, what?
2. Medium: What tools, materials, or processes did the art maker use?
3. Form: What elements did the maker choose and how did the maker organize the
elements?
2. Interpretation: What is the artwork about?
1. Interpretive Statement: Can I express what I think the artwork is about in one
sentence?
2. Evidence: What evidence inside or outside the artwork supports my
interpretation?
3. Judgment: Is it a good artwork?
1. Criteria: What criteria do I think are most appropriate for judging the artwork?
2. Evidence: What evidence inside or outside the artwork relates to each criterion?
3. Judgment: Based on the criteria and evidence, what is my judgment about the
quality of the artwork?
* based roughly on Terry Barrett’s Criticizing Art: Understanding the Contemporary, Mountain View, CA: 1994.
95
Meaning Making in Art
Artist’s Intent / Viewer’s Interpretation
Artist: Write what you meant to express
through your artwork.
Viewer: Without looking at what the artist
wrote, write what you think the artwork is
about and what it means to you.
Artist and Viewer: Based on what each of you
wrote, have a conversation about the artwork.
Then share your ideas with the rest of the class.
Now fold back the paper so that what you
have written cannot be seen.
96
Meaning Making in Art
Interpreting Art
Name__________________
Directions: Answer these questions about the artwork you are viewing. If you are working with
other students, choose one student to write down what the group decides. Then discuss the
artwork as a group.
What do you see?
What does it mean?
How do you know? What does it mean??
97
Meaning Making in Art
Artist’s Intent, Viewer’s Interpretation, Artist’s Response
Artist: Write what you meant to
express through your artwork.
Viewer: Without looking at what the artist wrote, write
what you think this work is about and what it means to
you.
Artist: Read the viewer’s comments and think about them
carefully. If you then would want to change your artwork to
improve it and better communicate your intent, write notes
about what you would do.
Now fold back the paper so that what
you have written cannot be seen.
98
Art Criticism—a Journey
In discussing Art Criticism in the classroom,
the art educator and writer, George Geahigan
points out that students usually don’t have
enough knowledge of art to say much of
interest about a particular work. (His ideas
run counter to some established criticism
approaches that use Description, Analysis,
Interpretation, and Informed Judgment.)
made of. Ask students to examine their reactions to the artwork and to discuss the reasons they might feel or think the way they do.
(Perhaps a student may be struck by the feeling the piece has of a tree blowing in a breeze
or they think the artwork is ugly, or dumb, or
they think the artwork looks like a large, sixfingered hand.) Accept whatever the students
say, but ask them to try and discover why they
have the response.
He suggests an approach which has an initial
introduction to an artwork, style or artist, then
research to learn about the artwork, style and/
or artist as well as other pertinent information
such as previous styles, cultural information,
society of the times, etc., that might provide
important information in gaining an
understanding of the subject.
In addition, students might learn about,
debate, or discuss the aesthetics theories that
apply to the artwork(s). Then students should
return to the original subject and discuss the
artwork based on their new knowledge. This
discussion may include an evaluation, but does
not have to. The process is like a journey down
a winding path, with a variety of views, and a
cumulative result that is greater than the sum
of its parts.
The following lesson is a simple process that
could be expanded to include the history of
contemporary ceramics, the use of metaphor in
art, or many other related issues.
Show the class the image of Von Allen’s Coast
(1989). Ask students to respond to the artwork.
Tell them how big the artwork is and what it is
99
Then relate some of the biographical information that is included in the Ceramic Sculpture
packet at sma.nebo.edu to the class, being sure
to include the fact that as a result of her moving from a very different and far away place,
What can you see in the sculpture that might
relate to the word “Coast” in some way?
Ms. Allen started making sculptures based
on arrow shapes. (draw some simple arrow
shapes on the board.) After realizing that she
most liked those that pointed upward because
you don’t see many of them (you might ask
the class why you don’t see many arrows that
point up), she started making sculptures where
the shapes bent and flowed. Coast is from this
series of work.
You could ask the students to think about and
discuss the reasons artists often make series
of work (a number of works that are similar,
based on a similar design, idea, theme, or feeling). Ask students what Coast means. Why,
based on what you’ve learned about Ms. Allen, where she used to live, where she moved
to, might she have named this piece “Coast”?
Monterey Pines shaped by coastal winds
Ask students what aesthetic theory this work
most matches and why. (Students do not need
to agree, they just need to learn to articulate
the reasons for their choices. This process assumes that in finding reasons for their choices,
students will eliminate obviously unsupported
choices. Make sure your students know they
can change their minds as they think through
their reactions to the artwork.)
You may also want to ask students if they think
the artwork relates to another aesthetic theory
and if so, which one. (For example, students
may decide the artwork best matches the formalist theory due to its emphasis on shape and
form and color and texture, but also relates to
the expressivist theory due to the artist’s exploration of how she felt about arrow shapes and
moving and changing her life.)
If students have made objects before with clay,
talk to them about the challenges and rewards
of working with clay—many of the students
may have liked the feel of the clay and how it
responds to their lightest touch. They may also
have liked seeing a project go from wet clay to
dry, to bisque, to a glazed, finished artwork.
Students will also have struggled with clay
projects that fell apart, or cracked or warped in
the kiln, that slumped, or didn’t come out at all
like they had imagined. Show the class how
big the sculpture is — 48” x 36” x 8”. Remind
them that clay shrinks, so the piece was at least
4-6 inches taller before it dried.
Have them think about how long it took the
artist to make the piece, and what difficulties
she faced such as how to keep the part of the
sculpture on the bottom dry enough to hold
the rest of the sculpture up but with the part
she was working on moist enough to accept
new coils of clay. Have them think about the
size kiln they would need to fire the finished
sculpture and how they might get the piece
into the kiln—it would have been very heavy.
100
Let them respond with their ideas about the
challenges and benefits of making such a large
clay sculpture. Ask the students why Allen
may have made her piece so large. Also ask
them to think about where the piece would be
displayed.
in responding to. Give each student a piece of
paper to use for planning the sculpture.
Students should make at least 4 sketches of
possible artworks—the sketches need only
vary slightly, but must indicate the process of
planning the artwork. If the student changes
her idea as she works on the sculpture, she
should make new sketches to show the revised
artwork.
If your class has not worked with clay, give
each student a ball of clay and teach them to
make clay coils and how to attach one coil to
the next. Then help them discuss the previous
ideas.
When the sculptures are completely dry, bisque
fire them to cone 06. You can have the students
glaze the pieces and refire them or use watercolor and then a clear sealer when the paint is
dry dry. If you glaze the sculptures, be sure to
avoid glazes with dangerous chemicals.
After completing the coiled sculpture section
of the lesson, go back and look at the image of
Coast. Ask the students to discuss their
experience:
• What did you enjoy about making the
ceramic sculpture?
• How well were you able to relate the
shape of the piece to an idea, feeling, or
image?
• Does your finished piece resemble the
drawing you chose?
• What was the most challenging part of
the assignment?
• How has making a ceramic sculpture
changed your feelings about Coast?
Show the image of Coast again. Ask students
to think back, or to read, if they wrote their
initial reaction down, and see if they feel differently about the artwork, now that they know
more about the artist, the process, and the ideas
the artwork may be expressing. Have students
share their “educated” responses and explain
why their view has or has not changed.
If possible, give students a chance to create a
clay image based on an idea and/or an image or visual element they have been thinking
about. Review clay construction methods with
the students, reminding them to always scratch
and slip joins, to make the clay pieces the
thickness of their pinky, to avoid small, thin, or
projecting sections.
See the Ceramic Sculpture Packet at sma.nebo.
edu for directions.
Assessment: students should self-assess for
participation, the sculptures for criteria such as
whether the sculpture relates to the drawings,
whether the student completed at least 4 drawings, and the craftsmanship of the finished
sculpture. The teacher can assess the same
areas and average the scores. If the students
help create the assessment criteria, they tend to
perform better.
Before students begin to work on their sculptures, have them write down a description of
what idea, feeling, or image they are interested
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THE CRITICAL EYE
Secondary Visual Arts
Objectives: through viewing and
discussing art, the students will become
informed observers and consumers of
modern culture through activities of
analysis, interpretation and judgment.
Guided worksheets and various writing
prompts are provided. This is an
interdisciplinary approach for humanities,
history, English, science, and arts subjects.
This activity can be conducted with
several classes together and will take
approximately 45 minutes of instruction
and an additional 30 to 45 minutes
to complete the writing assignments.
Through guided instruction and
interactive strategies, the students will
become informed viewers and consumers
of modern culture.
Teacher: Read the following handouts
to ensure your students have the
background information they need to
explore and discuss the questions. You
may choose to use the worksheets in
a class setting, as small groups, or for
individual use.
Sharon Gray
A Well-Red Individual
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THE CRITICAL EYE
Did you know you are an active member of today’s Visual Culture?
1. Can you recognize the following visual symbols?
2. Why is it important to study Visual Culture?
3. What are some important characteristics of Postmodern art?
4. Provide an example of a visual pun.
5. What would you do if you were the curator of the museum?
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THE CRITICAL EYE
6. Brifly describe the following views:
a. Realism
b. Instrumentalism
c. Expressivism
d.
Feminism
e. Hedonism
The Job of an Art Critic:
An art critic is someone who is considered to have a trained and informed eye concerning the
value of a work of art or an art exhibit. The following are the questions an art critic asks:
DESCRIPTION: (Describe the details in the work of art.)
Question: What do you see?
ANALYZE: (Compare the objects in the work of art and
determine whether they relate to one another or not.)
Question: How are things put together?
INTERPRET: (Determine the meaning or the artist’s
intent.)
Question: What is the artist trying to say?
JUDGE: (Make an informed judgment about the value of
the work of art.)
Question? What do you think of the work of art and
why?
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THE CRITICAL EYE
Study Over Three Billion Served (1974) by Alex Basil Darais. Using the art
criticism formula discussed earlier, anser the following:
7. DESCRIBE:
8. ANALYZE:
9. INTERPRET:
10. JUDGE:
11. What is different about Postmodern
art criticism?
Study The Guest (1994), by Silvia Liz Davis. Using the same formula used by
Postmodern art critics, answer the following:
12. DESCRIBE:
13. ANALYZE:
14. INTERPRET:
15. JUDGE:
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THE CRITICAL EYE
16. Design a Postmodern artwork that uses the following criteria:
a. a visual pun, metaphor, or double meaning
b. a political, economic, or social statement that reflects what your art is
about
c. the presentation format and/or media your artwork would be created in
Optional:
d. the text you would include in your artwork
e. the art historical reference (appropriation) that you used in your
artwork
17. Leaner Report: What are two important things you learned about Visual
Culture and Postmodernism that relates to your life in some way.
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