In Your Room
When we went to the Art Gallery of Windsor we visited a room
that had selection of paintings and sculptures from the permanent collection.
This activity seeks to have students examine what kinds of objects and artifacts are included in the depiction of interiors and relate them to their own lives and experiences.
Grades 6-8
Strands: 1.Creating and Presenting, 2. Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing.
Specific Curriculum Expectations D1.3, D2.3, D2.4
Gs 9-10
Strands: 1.Creating and Presenting, 2. Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing.
Specific Curriculum Expectations: A1.1, A3.3, B1.1, B1.3, B2.2, C3.2
Materials: (in Gallery) Sketchbook, pencil/pen. (In Class) Sketchbooks, drafting paper, watercolour paper, pencil/pen, pencil crayons, chalk, pastel, gouache paints, construction paper, scissors, glue, modeling clay, newsprint (basically any materials you have that the students want to work with)
In Gallery Activity: When you enter the gallery room you allow the students to make their own way through the room for approximately 5 minutes. Let them use this time to choose what they want to look at on their own, unprompted or guided by the teacher. (If students are using this time fore unrelated conversation, try to subtly redirect their attention or conversation to the artwork)
After this initial time is up gather the students around one or two of the works that depict objects, or possessions. Open up a discussion on the piece by asking the students to, in their own words, describe what they see in the work of art. Using subtle prompts broaden the scope of the description to what the art is depicting on a larger scale so that you start hearing words like: Interior, possessions, belongings, bedroom, Living room etc…
Rather than trying to focus on the larger meaning or significance of the pieces we are going to focus on the elements of the piece: the symbols.
Ask the students to name some of the objects in the artwork. With the list of objects provided by the students open up a discussion of the possible symbolic values of these objects. If this is difficult for them begin with a more broad discussion of visual symbols, begin with a stop sign or something very literal they will understand and gradually expand until they’re considering more abstract symbols like the Olympic rings or a peace symbol.
Ask the students to select one appropriate work of art that they want to engage with. Give them 5-10 minutes to make a list of all of the various objects, possessions and artifacts they see represented in the artwork they have chosen and to list potential symbolic meanings these objects could possess. Ask them to consider why the artist might have chosen to include the symbols they did and what meaning they might have when placed with everything else in the work of art. What kind of information can we deduce from looking at the object in the art? What do the objects tell us about the artist?
While you're still in the gallery have the students really focus on what they see in the artwork. If you have enough time in the gallery ask students go through the same steps with some of the other works of art in the room.
By the time you leave the students should have generated a list with no less than 10 objects/symbols.
Back at school Activity: Ask students to consider the objects/symbols they found in the artwork. Ask them if any of those objects are relevant to their lives?
Give them 3-5 minutes to generate a list of objects and possessions that are relevant to their lives and to consider what kinds of symbolic values those objects can represent beyond their literal functionality.
Creation: Instruct the students to plan a piece that will represent a selection of their possessions or objects from the list they generated in class.
Invite students to select materials they want to work with, let them know they have 15 minutes to experiment with the materials, but that after that they should start getting to work on their composition. Students will have between 2 and 3 classes to work on and complete their works depending on the scale and complexity of their undertaking (try to keep all of the students on a similar track, so if the majority of the students are working on elaborate developed pieces encourage those students who’s compositions are more rudimentary to build on what they are doing in order to develop some complexity.)
When all of the students have completed their works of art install them around the classroom and devote at least part of one lesson to an 'in class gallery visit,' encouraging students to ask questions and draw conclusions based on the works of their peers. Foster a student led discussion of each of the pieces and assign each student a 1 page reflection on how the objects they selected help to tell the story of their lives.
This activity seeks to have students examine what kinds of objects and artifacts are included in the depiction of interiors and relate them to their own lives and experiences.
Grades 6-8
Strands: 1.Creating and Presenting, 2. Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing.
Specific Curriculum Expectations D1.3, D2.3, D2.4
Gs 9-10
Strands: 1.Creating and Presenting, 2. Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing.
Specific Curriculum Expectations: A1.1, A3.3, B1.1, B1.3, B2.2, C3.2
Materials: (in Gallery) Sketchbook, pencil/pen. (In Class) Sketchbooks, drafting paper, watercolour paper, pencil/pen, pencil crayons, chalk, pastel, gouache paints, construction paper, scissors, glue, modeling clay, newsprint (basically any materials you have that the students want to work with)
In Gallery Activity: When you enter the gallery room you allow the students to make their own way through the room for approximately 5 minutes. Let them use this time to choose what they want to look at on their own, unprompted or guided by the teacher. (If students are using this time fore unrelated conversation, try to subtly redirect their attention or conversation to the artwork)
After this initial time is up gather the students around one or two of the works that depict objects, or possessions. Open up a discussion on the piece by asking the students to, in their own words, describe what they see in the work of art. Using subtle prompts broaden the scope of the description to what the art is depicting on a larger scale so that you start hearing words like: Interior, possessions, belongings, bedroom, Living room etc…
Rather than trying to focus on the larger meaning or significance of the pieces we are going to focus on the elements of the piece: the symbols.
Ask the students to name some of the objects in the artwork. With the list of objects provided by the students open up a discussion of the possible symbolic values of these objects. If this is difficult for them begin with a more broad discussion of visual symbols, begin with a stop sign or something very literal they will understand and gradually expand until they’re considering more abstract symbols like the Olympic rings or a peace symbol.
Ask the students to select one appropriate work of art that they want to engage with. Give them 5-10 minutes to make a list of all of the various objects, possessions and artifacts they see represented in the artwork they have chosen and to list potential symbolic meanings these objects could possess. Ask them to consider why the artist might have chosen to include the symbols they did and what meaning they might have when placed with everything else in the work of art. What kind of information can we deduce from looking at the object in the art? What do the objects tell us about the artist?
While you're still in the gallery have the students really focus on what they see in the artwork. If you have enough time in the gallery ask students go through the same steps with some of the other works of art in the room.
By the time you leave the students should have generated a list with no less than 10 objects/symbols.
Back at school Activity: Ask students to consider the objects/symbols they found in the artwork. Ask them if any of those objects are relevant to their lives?
Give them 3-5 minutes to generate a list of objects and possessions that are relevant to their lives and to consider what kinds of symbolic values those objects can represent beyond their literal functionality.
Creation: Instruct the students to plan a piece that will represent a selection of their possessions or objects from the list they generated in class.
Invite students to select materials they want to work with, let them know they have 15 minutes to experiment with the materials, but that after that they should start getting to work on their composition. Students will have between 2 and 3 classes to work on and complete their works depending on the scale and complexity of their undertaking (try to keep all of the students on a similar track, so if the majority of the students are working on elaborate developed pieces encourage those students who’s compositions are more rudimentary to build on what they are doing in order to develop some complexity.)
When all of the students have completed their works of art install them around the classroom and devote at least part of one lesson to an 'in class gallery visit,' encouraging students to ask questions and draw conclusions based on the works of their peers. Foster a student led discussion of each of the pieces and assign each student a 1 page reflection on how the objects they selected help to tell the story of their lives.
If you are unable to attend an art gallery with your students you can do this activity by giving your students a slide show in class. The images below are a selection I have made that are particularly germane to this activity.
Arts are: Vermeer, Cézanne, Hockney, Matisse, Pootoogook, Caravaggio & Van Goghe
Arts are: Vermeer, Cézanne, Hockney, Matisse, Pootoogook, Caravaggio & Van Goghe