文章基本信息

标题：Art Appreciation
作者：Waldman, Neil
期刊名称：Teaching Pre K-8
印刷版ISSN：0891-4508
出版年度：2005
卷号：Mar 2005
出版社：Early Years, Inc.

Art Appreciation

Waldman, Neil

Art can serve as a launching for exploration, discovery, personal development and fun. Through drawing, kids are given the opportunity to express themselves in non-verbal, non-academic venues. These lessons will give creative, right-brained kids a chance to shine. Even for the less artistically person, art can supply a productive and satisfying outlet for self-expression. During this month, projects will focus on two areas: Studio Art and Art Appreciation.

Project One: Studying the Work of the Masters

(Tuesdays and Thursdays - 30 minutes)

Goal: To introduce and deepen an understanding of the work of the great painters.

On the first Tuesday you begin this project, explain that centuries ago, painter's lives were spent rendering realistic portraits, historical events and biblical scenes. Library books, photos of the works of Rembrandt, DaVinci, Rafael and Michelangelo are helpful. Be sure to also check out www.artcyclopedia.com The books are preferable because of size of image and clarity.

Discussion should last 30 minutes. On Thursday, lead a discussion of the skills that were necessary to render things so realistically. Explain that in the middle of the 19th century, things changed dramatically. The camera was invented and painters were no longer needed to provide a visual record of history. The result was that painters became free to create iersonal and subjective images of the world and their feelings about it.

Start with showing your students paintings of the impressionists, particularly Claude Monet, then works of Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky.

Explain that Kandinsky was the first artist ever to create an abstract painting. Discuss what abstract art entails.

Project Two: Copying a Master's Work

(Tuesdays and Thursdays - 30 minutes)

Goal: Let's try to better understand the great paintings.

On the second Tuesday, begin your lesson by explaining that for centuries, art students were required to visit museums and reproduce paintings found there. This was done because in copying a master's work, the student would be forced to go through the same physical process that the masters did, and thus learn many lessons about composition, design, color and so on.

Using books or www.artcyclopedia.com, each student chooses a particular painting. If the Internet is used, images can be downloaded. "The Starry Night" by Vincent van Gogh is a usual favorite.

On the following Thursday, the students begin rendering their copies. Let them spend half an hour, twice a week, until the paintings are finished.

If you'd like to take this further, lead a discussion of the different painter's styles. Students can then create a painting of their own design in the style of the master they've chosen.

Neil Waldman is an artist and children's author/illustrator living in White Plains, NY. His most recent work for children is The Snowflake: A Water Cycle Story (Millbrook Press, 2003).