CHAPTER THREE
Art History
Introduction—The Big Eleven
Elementary and middle school art specialists have a general understanding that, by the end of eighth grade, students should recognize and remember the artwork and names of close to a dozen famous artists of various art periods—such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarotti, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Henri Rousseau, Georgia O'Keeffe, Henri Matisse, Faith Ringgold, and Roy Lichtenstein. Students love to look at pictures, but also enjoy finding out about the family lives of famous artists—the human side, and what these artists might have been like as young persons.
INCLUDE VARIOUS CULTURES AND TIME PERIODS IN WHAT YOU TEACH
Although the entire range of art history and the whole world of art would be of interest to students, it is all too easy for the teacher to rely on favorite periods, such as the Impressionist era, or cultures, such as Egyptian or Native American. Most art teachers try to include art history in a lesson, but too often this is omitted for lack of time. Some schools recommend the introduction of new artists and cultures at each grade level to encourage students to build on what they already know.
Great books, magazines, and art museum websites about artists have been created especially for children, emphasizing things about artists that they enjoy learning. Magazines for teachers such as Arts & Activities, SchoolArts Magazine, and Scholastic Art—the Art Magazine for Grades 7–12 are filled with suggestions for art projects and contain background information about the artists. Art museum websites are treasure troves of information and contain high-quality images. Most museums make a sincere effort to make copies of their works readily accessible to teachers through web pages, poster reproductions, and videos.
American Gothic, Grant Wood, American, 1930, Oil on Beaver Board, 30¾” × 25¾”, Friends of American Art Collection, Chicago Art Institute
Bring Art History to Life
Obviously, real museum visits are ideal. Well-developed docent programs encourage young people to un-self-consciously talk about what they see. Tell students that they are right now living in a “time period” where newsworthy things are happening in our current culture, not only in visual art and architecture, but also in literature, music, politics, and science. The purpose is to demonstrate that the artwork seen in a given time period did not occur independently but reflects the culture of the time.
Each timeline is followed by suggestions for so-called art projects that were developed during the time range shown in the list's title. Until the Middle Ages, no one would have considered things like church decorations, pottery, or weaving as art projects, but as items that were used for ordinary day-to-day living activities, such as cooking (pots), sleeping, working (grain baskets), dancing (to gods in many cultures), wedding finery, or decorating homes and places of worship. These objects have been appreciated and saved over thousands of years, and most have ended up in art museums or are visited where they originated (e.g., cave paintings may be seen by going underground to visit them).
Using Art Images
Vary the study of art history and appreciation by using a variety of visual images: posters, videos, books, and digital presentations of artwork from the Internet. A collection of art prints can be built up over a period of time that can be used as examples for students. Buy prelaminated sets or have the school laminate any that you purchase. Change displays frequently to keep students interested. Images that can be accessed by the artist's name on the computer are generally very good and can be printed out in color on 8½” × 11” Brochure and Flyer paper (inexpensive glossy print papers).
Students like to share what they can figure out by looking, even if they know nothing about an artist. Ask them nonthreatening questions (that cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no”) about what they see. It may be easier for you to discuss a work of art that has a recognizable subject, but young people also enjoy looking at work that is pure color or line—not one item in it that could really be described as a thing. And sometimes just looking and talking about it is all you need to do.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
Divide students into small groups to look at and compare two art reproductions from a specific culture, such as early Native American/contemporary Native American, Hispanic/Hispanic American, Asian/Asian American, or African/African American. The students should be looking for similarities and differences. The results of these discussions could be shared with the class.
GALLERY WALK
Ideally this could be done in a museum, but because students rarely are able to go to a museum, make a “Gallery” in your room or in the hall by hanging posters at intervals all the way around. Before beginning this activity, it would be helpful for you to stand in front of one painting and demonstrate a short analysis for the students.
TALKING ABOUT ART
Divide the class into groups of three or four. Assign a number to each group and put numbers above each reproduction equal to the number of groups. Ask each group to station itself in front of the reproduction with “its” number. Tell the students that each group member must say something about the painting, so they have to decide who will talk about one individual aspect such as color, line, subject, repetition, emphasis, and so on. Give the group a few minutes to talk about things they notice about the artwork. When you say “Walk,” the group moves on to the next painting, continuing until the group has visited several.
If the situation is comfortable enough, ask students to remain in front of the last artwork they analyzed and share what their group observed in that painting. Then ask students from other groups that analyzed the same painting if they saw something that wasn't mentioned.
In talking about artwork, effective criticism generally follows this order—description: stating exactly what is seen; medium; subject; colors; design; analysis: formal evaluation of the elements and principles used, and the personal style of the artist; judgment or evaluation: originality, craftsmanship; how the artwork causes you to react; artistic and aesthetic merit; interpretation: what you think the artist might have meant; what it means to you; what influence the artist's environment might have had on the work.
CONVERSATION STARTERS
- What is in the background?
- What do you think the artist was trying to say (interpretation)? How do you feel about the artwork (judgment)?
- What emotion does this artwork make you feel?
- Would you purchase this artwork if money were not an issue? Why or why not?
- What are some objects you see in this artwork?
- What colors do you see here?
- What are some objects from nature?
- Could you create a story from what you see in the picture?
- What shapes are repeated (circles, squares, and so on)?
- What title would you give this picture?
- What do you think the artist is telling you in this picture?
- What time of day do you think it is? Why?
- How did the artist show the time of day?
- What medium (watercolor? charcoal? oil?) do you think is used?
- Do you know anything about the artist?
- Do you think a museum might like to purchase this picture? Why?
- What kinds of things belong in a museum?
- What kind of music does this picture make you remember?
TALKING ABOUT ART: A GALLERY EXPERIENCE
These questions are just ways to help students feel it non-threatening to say something. Pick and choose from the following questions that you know your students might respond to. Ask follow-up questions to keep the conversation going.
A Real Museum Visit
Preparing students for an actual museum or gallery visit is worth the time it takes. Use the museum's website or its catalogue to find information about specific artworks or an exhibit or area that you plan to see.
VISUAL THINKING STRATEGIES
Most museums will assign knowledgeable teachers (docents) who are skilled in presenting the material for students' enjoyment. To prepare your students for a real museum visit, post a single, large artwork reproduction for them to observe (this could be a poster, a photo from an online resource, or an object from the museum's collection that is found on their website). When students respond, this offers you the opportunity to respond by repeating the student's question, perhaps asking “What do you see that makes you think that?” There are many questions you can ask, but here are some that seem to elicit sensitive responses from students.
- What do you see?
- What do you think?
- What do you wonder?
The docent may ask if someone else has a different idea, and why. The idea is to try to get them to seriously look, think, and wonder, keeping the conversation with the students going. If you have encouraged students to give their opinions about art, you are likely to be amazed at their perception.
AESTHETICS CONVERSATIONS
Aesthetics, the “philosophy” of art, is sometimes called “the art of the beautiful.” Consider how the idea of “beauty” changes over a relatively short time period. As an example, talk with students about how hair styles, shoes, or even the shapes of pants' legs have been transformed over the years. As they examine those things created by artists, help students identify such principles of design as proportion, exaggeration, function, form, simplicity, and classicism. Aesthetics questions rarely have specific answers because of the changing tastes of society, but they do get students to talk about preferences, which can lead to some interesting ideas.
When leading discussions, try not to ask your questions in such a way that you will get just a “yes” or “no” answer. Follow up answers with “Why do you think that?” or “Is there someone else here who agrees (or disagrees) with that answer?”
Here are a few sample aesthetics questions:
- Can something ugly be art? Give me an example.
- Can something such as a manufactured t-shirt be considered art? Why?
- Which automobile do you think has the best design? Why?
- Why do you think one artist becomes famous and another one does not?
- Is one work of art better than another if it costs more?
- If you exactly copy something from a magazine, could you feel that you have created an original artwork? Why or why not?
- Do we have to know what the artist was thinking to appreciate the art? If not, why not?
- Can you think of something that might improve the design of this work of art?
Writing with Art
To get students in the habit of writing reflectively about art, you could have them keep a journal in which they would write for a few minutes each time they come in the classroom. You might ask them to write about a painting reproduction that is shown on a whiteboard or pinned on the wall. Although you are interested in what they are writing, and perhaps read their journals occasionally, this is not the place to worry much about spelling and punctuation, but rather about content.
Suggest that they:
- Write a letter to an artist. Ask questions about the artwork.
- Describe an abstract work of art in writing.
- Look at a photograph or painting and write about the “sounds” you hear in the background
- Give a different title to an artwork than what the artist chose. Write why they would call it this.
- Write a conversation between two characters seen in a work of art.
DRAW AN ARTWORK FROM A DESCRIPTION
Have one student be the describer of a work of art in a reproduction. This student is the only one who will actually see what the artwork looks like. The other students must draw a picture (on photocopy paper) based on a verbal description. Ten questions may be asked of the describer that must be answered “yes” or “no.”
TRIVIA: MIX AND MATCH
Using artists with whom you know students are familiar, write the names of famous artists and their most famous artworks in two nonmatching columns. Students can draw a line from the artist to the title.
CONVERSATIONS WITH A DRAWING
No talking is allowed in this exercise. Two persons face each other with a pencil, sharing one piece of paper and communicating with each other through drawing. One person makes a mark, and the partner continues on the same line, making a responding mark. This would of necessity be a relatively short conversation. When they have sufficiently covered the page with alternating marks (taking five minutes or fewer), suggest they work together with crayon, marker, or colored pencil to develop this “conversation” into an abstract work of art by filling in empty spaces.
Writing Poetry About Art
Students love to write poetry, but getting started is always difficult. The diamante (so called because of its shape) is a good icebreaker. Tape several posters in front of the class, then have students write a diamante poem about one of them. If you ask for volunteers to read their poetry, most are eager to do so, and the other students try to guess which poster was written about. This is particularly effective with Impressionists' work.
Students should know that many poets have written about works of art that have moved them, and that artists sometimes like to write about their own art.
Following are examples of the diamante form and other styles of poetry that may serve as models to encourage student writing. Some other poetry styles such as haiku, cinquain, free verse, limerick, or acrostic inspire students into writing about art.
DIAMANTE # 1
The name diamante describes the shape of this poem. Writing about art in a studio class may not yield a true interpretation of the diamante that an English class might inspire, but the diamond shape of the poem does.
| One-word descriptive equivalent: | Woman |
| Action phrase: | smiling mysteriously |
| Simile: | as if to keep her secrets forever |
| Summation (one word): | Mona |
DIAMANTE # 2
This larger diamante must have seven lines, with two subjects, using the language parts seen in the column on the left
| One noun (first subject): | Sky |
| Two adjectives: | dark, starry |
| Three verbs (-ing words): | swirling, shining, moving |
| Four nouns (second subject): | mountains, hills, town, cypresses, |
| Three verbs (second subject): | glowing, concealing, revealing |
| Two adjectives: | quiet, silent |
| One noun: | night |
BIO-POEM
A bio-poem is a short biography about the life of someone.
| Line 1: first name | Vincent |
| Line 2: four traits | volatile, impulsive, compulsive, eccentric |
| Line 3: related to | his friends, painters all |
| Line 4: cares deeply about | painting sunlight, moonlight, color, motion |
| Line 5: who feels | lost, in pain |
| Line 6: who needs | friends, money, respect |
| Line 7: who gives | everything to his art |
| Line 8: who fears | being alone |
| Line 9: who would like to see | his work acclaimed at last |
| Line 10: resident of | France and the World |
FREE VERSE
Unless this is an English lesson that also incorporates art, sometimes free verse is easier for students than trying to make a rhyming poem, because it does not have a structure or rules. Students usually ask, “How long does it have to be?” Even though this is not a sonnet, tell them that it must be at least 14 lines, just to get them to work beyond the minimum. Suggest that they look at an abstract work of art by such artists as Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock, and Helen Frankenthaler and write a poem about it.
HAIKU
Haiku is a short form of Japanese poetry, often focused on capturing a moment in nature. Haiku is often structured in three phrases, with five, seven, and five syllables each.
| Line 1: five syllables | Butterflies swimming |
| Line 2: seven syllables | Through the misty morning air |
| Line 3: five syllables | With gossamer wings |
| —Melissa Walker |
ACROSTIC
Expressing research in this type of poetry format is a nonthreatening way for students to learn about artists, as shown in this example about Claude Monet. Proper sentence structure and punctuation are not required.
Contributed the name Impressionism
Lived outside of Paris
Afflicted with cataracts
Understood the color wheel
Died in 1926
Exhibited many paintings
Michel was his youngest son
Outdoors was where he liked to paint
Nature was his subject
Entranced by light
The moment was what he sought
—Melissa Walker
Curriculum Connections
Art teachers are well aware that they teach many things besides art; that although art does have its own curriculum, this curriculum often can be effectively combined with subject matter from other sources. Art projects are used to enrich other subjects but mustn't take away from the doing and appreciation of ART particularly at the elementary level.
Interdisciplinary learning is beneficial to the classroom teacher, the student, and the art teacher. As the art teacher, you can help the students (and their teachers) with projects that serve both art and the subject being studied. Effective art specialists at the elementary level become aware of what students are studying in their regular classes. If you are a classroom teacher or home school educator who also teaches art, try some creative approaches to integrating art in your regular lessons. This eliminates some of the necessity of explaining to students how something is structured.
When students measure something, they are using knowledge gained in math. When they write a poem about an artwork, their language arts training is used. If students can make a work of art in the manner of people of a certain country, then it is both an art project and a social studies project. The following text offers suggestions for several interdisciplinary connections.
Poetry. Have students select a picture from a magazine or newspaper, and then write a poem about the subject. It could be snow, a field of flowers, a car wreck, or a major storm at the seashore. Emphasize that it isn't at all necessary to make the lines rhyme.
Poetry collection. Suggest to students who particularly enjoy writing poetry that they might keep a collection of their poetry, taking the time to carefully copy each poem onto a single page to go into a three-ring binder (these poems could be typed on the computer), and adding the date it was composed. They may also choose to decorate it with a small drawing, or they could unify these poems with a border around the edges.
Colors. Ask students: “What is your favorite color? What does it make you think of?” Have them describe how they would decorate their room in that color. They could do a painting or marker drawing mostly using that color with a tiny amount of the complementary color (e.g., red and green; purple and yellow; blue and orange; and red–orange and blue–green).
Favorite places. Have students draw their favorite place to be (ocean, mountains, their bedroom, in front of the TV). They can write about the time of day it is, and if there are any favorite smells that remind them of that place (fishy smells, pine trees, dirty socks, or popcorn).
Daily diary. Ask students to write and draw on one page about what happened to them yesterday. They can draw small figures or faces of themselves and the people they saw (or talked to on the telephone). Maybe they could include in the drawing a pet or a meal they ate. At the very least, have them draw something decorative on their “diary” entry, even a beautiful border.
Ancestry portraits. Have students paint a portrait of themselves with family symbols in the background. These symbols might be items that have been in their family for a long time, numbers such as their address, or some objects from a culture that represents a country from which one or more family members immigrated.
In-depth interview. Have students make a small booklet about one grandparent, or a person who is a hero to the student–– even their classroom teacher. They should get basic information such as full name, date of birth, names of close relatives such as all their children (and ages), parents, brothers, and sisters. Students should ask questions about the person's first job, what his or her favorite food (or candy) was as a child, and how that person occupied time: (1) as a child, (2) as a teenager, (3) as a young adult, and what they hope for (4) as a mature adult. This can be an ongoing project over a period of a couple of months. Questions can be asked by mail, telephone, or text, and the book will be more interesting if it includes photocopies of documents such as diplomas, photographs of this person at various ages, and the student's own drawings to illustrate some of the answers.
Shapes and forms. Have students use pencil on paper to change 2D shapes (circles, squares, triangles) to 3D forms (spheres, cubes, pyramids) by shading one side.
Scale drawing. Have students use a tape measure or measuring stick to measure where they sleep and the furniture in the room. They can use graph paper to make a scale drawing of the room and furniture (0.5” equals 1’). Have them cut out the furniture and rearrange the room.
Personalized check. Have students design a personalized check (while learning how to fill one out).
Symmetry. Have them create an Islamic geometric design using symmetry.
Trees in season. Ask students to draw the outlines of trees with leaves on them, then identify the trees by shape.
Weather. Ask students to listen to a weather report. Have them write what is predicted for the next 5 days. They can make a chart with visual symbols about the predictions, then check the chart to see how accurate the forecast is.
Birds. Ask students to each select one bird to draw and learn about. Have them investigate how that bird's bill determines what the bird's diet is.
Animals. Have students learn about how some creatures are camouflaged to go with their natural habitat. They can do an environmental drawing, hiding the animal somewhere within the drawing (much as Henri Rousseau did).
Inventions. Suggest students invent something they see a need for. Perhaps it is an improvement over something that already exists. They should make a drawing of their proposal for the invention.
Celebrations
Art has a curriculum, and a sensitive teacher can find many activities within that curriculum that do not involve teaching about the holidays of only one segment of the population. There is no lack of themes for students. Formerly, art educators and classroom teachers took advantage of monthly calendar celebrations in the American school year for creating artworks. In the diversity of today's classroom, however, much less emphasis is being put on specific religion-based holidays, because these are not celebrated by everyone and may leave some children on the “outside.” The following material gives something appropriate for each month that is not geared to a particular religious celebration; instead, the themes are based on seasons of the year. Be sure to emphasize new or creative images for each of the following themes. If you have students from other cultures, perhaps one of your students from a different culture would talk about celebrations in his or her country with the rest of the class, and you could add to the list that follows. Avoid cliché images.