Events & Activities
The Critical Eye
Grades: 4-12
Length of Tour: 1 hour
Tour Description
This tour encourages student participation. It teaches ways to see more when looking at art and stresses the unique quality of each student’s perception. By learning how to describe, analyze and interpret works of art, students practice critical thinking skills and gain confidence in their ability to look at art and make informed judgments.
Goals
- To understand that each person perceives art through their experience, point of view, values, and beliefs.
- To establish that looking at art is a complex process involving the conscious examination of an artwork, the thoughtful consideration of the artist’s choices and their execution, and the artists’ final results
- To learn ways of describing, analyzing, and interpreting art
- To experience the fun of looking at art as a personal discovery
Rationale
Successfully decoding and understanding art objects requires critical thinking skills. Observation, analysis and interpretation lend a richer appreciation of the object and comprehension of its relationship to the place, time, and culture in which it was made. Skills developed in the process of looking at art translate to many disciplines across the curriculum.
Topics
- How to look at art i.e. comparing the use of color in different paintings
- Vocabulary to describe art, including the elements of art, materials, techniques, and styles
- The importance of the context in which art is created, for example the country, the culture, the period of time
- Recognizing the artist’s intent in a work of art.
- Arriving at informed opinions through analysis and interpretation
Arizona Education Standards
Visual Arts Standards
Strand 2: Relate
Concept #2 Materials, Tools, Techniques (PO 102, PO 203)
Concept #3 Elements & Principles (PO 001)
Concept #4 Meanings & Purposes (PO 001, PO 102, PO 203)
Concept #5 Quality (PO 001)
Strand 3: Evaluate
Concept #1 Art Issues/Values (PO 001, PO 002, PO 003, PO 202, PO 301)
Concept #2 Materials, Tools (PO 001, PO 202, PO 302)
Concept #3 Elements & Principles (PO 001)
Concept #4 Meanings & Purposes (PO 001)
Concept #5 Quality (PO 001, PO 202, PO 203)
Language Arts Standards
Grades 4 – 8
VP-E1 Analyze visual media for language, subject matter and visual techniques
VP-E3 Compare, contrast and establish criteria to evaluate visual media for purpose and effectiveness
VP-P1 Analyze and evaluate visual media for language, subject matter and visual techniques
VP-P3 Analyze and evaluate the impact of visual media on the intended audience