Art Appreciation

[Earthmerlin]

Any ideas on art appreciation in elementary? I have lots of books & videos on art techniques for kids. Now I'm looking for ideas on how to appreciate art & artists. I have a deck of famous paintings cards but that's about it. Can you recommend a book or 2 (or videos or sites or kits) that go more in-depth with types of art & artists? I'm not an expert so it'd need to be accessible to be me & my 8 yr old (LOL).

 

Also, we are lucky & live near lots of art galleries (DC area) so any ideas on how to make better use of visits is appreciated.

Edited December 5, 2017 by Earthmerlin

[Earthmerlin]

Also, this is a bit different from my question above but we still read picture books. I'd like to better talk of illustrations in them. How do you knowledgeably do so in your house? (Can you tell art isn't my forte?)

Edited December 5, 2017 by Earthmerlin

[Sherry in OH]

We like Mike Venezia's Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series - http://www.mikevenezia.com/artists/

 

Have you looked at the resources on the National Gallery of Art's education pages?  Here's a link to just one of the resources - https://www.nga.gov/education/families/an-eye-for-art.html   

There are also family workshops you could attend - https://www.nga.gov/education/families/workshops.html

 

Check out the websites for other musuems of interest to you.  Many provide educational resources, self-guided tours, and information about upcoming workshops and lectures.

 

There is also nothing wrong with just going to the musuem and looking. 

[Rosie_0801]

I'm basing our art studies on the 'This is Art Day' figurines, lol. Except for their latest because I think his art is too ugly! (With international shipping, it costs too much to buy figurines of people who make art that gives me the heebie jeebies, lol.) We do our usual thing of read books and watch Youtube clips.

 

'This is Art Day's' first figurine was Vincent Van Gogh. By good luck, there was an exhibition of his less famous works at the art gallery in the city. We went to see it, then came home and watched the Dr Who episode  :laugh:  I found a book with glossy photos at a local bookshop and had bought a calendar featuring his work for dd for Christmas the previous year. (Usually she had a free one from the local politician, but she doesn't approve of the current one and refused to have his calendar, lol.)

 

The second figurine was Frida Kahlo. She featured in a few of the books we have around here, so dd read some of her story there. We looked at pictures online and watched some biographical clips on youtube, which told us why she painted what she painted.

 

Number three hasn't arrived in the mail yet. :)

 

I like to know the stories; why they looked at the world their way. Dd mainly seems to want to be taught a reason to care. We approach these things in an exploratory way, rather than a knowledgable way, obviously. :lol:

 

What is it you appreciate about art? 

[Earthmerlin]

We like Mike Venezia's Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series - http://www.mikevenezia.com/artists/

 

Have you looked at the resources on the National Gallery of Art's education pages? Here's a link to just one of the resources - https://www.nga.gov/education/families/an-eye-for-art.html

There are also family workshops you could attend - https://www.nga.gov/education/families/workshops.html

 

Check out the websites for other musuems of interest to you. Many provide educational resources, self-guided tours, and information about upcoming workshops and lectures.

 

There is also nothing wrong with just going to the musuem and looking.

I will look into your suggestions. We used to go to a preschool art program at a Baltimore gallery--those were fond memories. She goes to summer art camp at a local gallery too.

 

At-home resources are nice too so we can explore art leisurely in a snuggly setting. I'm totally learning here--even drawing--so I feel better with tangibles at home to practice on 1st before I venture into galleries, if you catch my drift. Nevertheless, I shall check out Venezia's stuff. Thanks!

Edited December 5, 2017 by Earthmerlin

[Xahm]

For picture books, one thing you can do is collect several that cover the same subject, like bears. Think together about haw the stories are all about bears, but are all different. This one is funny, that one is scary, that one teaches you things. Then, look at the illustrations. Do they all look the same? Which one looks the most like a real bear? How do you feel when you look at that one? Do any of them look like they are smooth, bumpy, or rough? How did the artist do that? Why do you think some artists did things one way, and some another? Does it go with the story? Add something new to the story?

I'm out of my depth quickly when it comes to technique and such things, so I just try to get my kids to observe as much as possible.

[Earthmerlin]

I'm basing our art studies on the 'This is Art Day' figurines, lol. Except for their latest because I think his art is too ugly! (With international shipping, it costs too much to buy figurines of people who make art that gives me the heebie jeebies, lol.) We do our usual thing of read books and watch Youtube clips.

 

'This is Art Day's' first figurine was Vincent Van Gogh. By good luck, there was an exhibition of his less famous works at the art gallery in the city. We went to see it, then came home and watched the Dr Who episode :laugh: I found a book with glossy photos at a local bookshop and had bought a calendar featuring his work for dd for Christmas the previous year. (Usually she had a free one from the local politician, but she doesn't approve of the current one and refused to have his calendar, lol.)

 

The second figurine was Frida Kahlo. She featured in a few of the books we have around here, so dd read some of her story there. We looked at pictures online and watched some biographical clips on youtube, which told us why she painted what she painted.

 

Number three hasn't arrived in the mail yet. :)

 

I like to know the stories; why they looked at the world their way. Dd mainly seems to want to be taught a reason to care. We approach these things in an exploratory way, rather than a knowledgable way, obviously. :lol:

 

What is it you appreciate about art?

Is that a box subscription? I have never heard of it!

 

We studied Kahlo a bit in October when we explored Dia de Muertos & Mexico. She led a fascinating life, which is obviously depicted in her art. I agree the biographies oftentimes make the art more memorable (w/ music as well, which is why my daughter loves Beethoven so much).

 

I also like the exploratory approach. That's how we got to know Monet so well years ago (LOL). I'm on a kick of 'covering all the bases' now though & with art in particular I'm out of my element. Basic vocab., styles, pieces, artists, etc. in one or 2 places as a reference.

[libbypr]

I love Confessions of a Homeschooler's World's Greatest Artists series.

[Farrar]

Have you done Stories in Art at the NGA, Earthmerlin? We loved that program when my kids were younger. And then Artful Conversations, which I'm actually sad we've outgrown. Both of those were really invaluable. But skip any NGA docent tours - they're the pits.

 

Also, have you been to the art room at the SAAM/NPG? Also a great resource and they often have something going on there.

 

And if you've never done an Imaginasia workshop, those are also excellent.

 

The Hirshhorn has been doing some more outreach to younger kids as well - they've always had a lot of teen programs (and they have that secret teen studio).

 

In general, I think, just go to the galleries often, keep the visits short, couple them with something else fun like getting ice cream after or stopping at a special playground or something. I know most people don't have the ability to do that so they have to do other stuff, but I honestly think that nothing can match just hanging out at a gallery for half an hour or an hour. Bring a book to read or some little sketch books and pencils. Keep it light. Don't skip the "weird" art either - my kids' favorite has always been the Hirshhorn. And have you seen the new Renwick exhibit? Weird and fascinating.

 

 

[Earthmerlin]

Have you done Stories in Art at the NGA, Earthmerlin? We loved that program when my kids were younger.--No, she has also outgrown that. She did programs at The Walters. From time to time when our schedule allows we still go there for programs in her current age group (ahhh, fond memories).

 

And then Artful Conversations, which I'm actually sad we've outgrown.--I will check that out for the upcoming summer season!

 

Both of those were really invaluable. But skip any NGA docent tours - they're the pits.

 

Also, have you been to the art room at the SAAM/NPG? Also a great resource and they often have something going on there.--This is news to me! I'm on it!

 

And if you've never done an Imaginasia workshop, those are also excellent.--Never heard of this! I shall look into it.

 

The Hirshhorn has been doing some more outreach to younger kids as well - they've always had a lot of teen programs (and they have that secret teen studio).---Yes! It is on our list for Christmas break!

 

In general, I think, just go to the galleries often, keep the visits short, couple them with something else fun like getting ice cream after or stopping at a special playground or something. I know most people don't have the ability to do that so they have to do other stuff, but I honestly think that nothing can match just hanging out at a gallery for half an hour or an hour. Bring a book to read or some little sketch books and pencils. Keep it light. Don't skip the "weird" art either - my kids' favorite has always been the Hirshhorn. And have you seen the new Renwick exhibit? Weird and fascinating.

Edited December 5, 2017 by Earthmerlin

[HomeAgain]

We did Meet The Masters (there used to be a free copy floating around) as a jumping off point.  Now, we use Artistic Pursuits because the art study is built in, but our English program has one with it, too.  It has the students look at the painting for a few minutes, and then put it down and answer some questions about it, the first being, "Describe the painting to me."

 

That gets them looking for details and thinking about what's in the picture.  From there, we do a few more questions ("What do you think the dancer is waiting for?  What do you think the woman is feeling?") and then we read the author's blurb on the back of the card - what the picture is called, who painted it, when/where, what style.....

 

The next week, we'd pick something from the same artist or from the same style and compare to the first, and after a month we'd have 4 cards lined up along with art pieces done in the same style by the student.

[2_girls_mommy]

Things I have used: 

The What Your X Grader Needs to Know. These are very short art sections, but they have age appropriate teachings about a few pieces and types of art a year, with techniques for art appreciation, a couple of project ideas, and book lists. The years I used those, I would supplement with library books on the topics. 

 

And I LOVE LOVE the Usborne books. I have the Usborne Book of Famous Artists. - very good for young kids. It gives the artists stories and shows some of their art. And then I have the Usborne Introduction to Art- it is fantastic. I still use it with my middle and high schooler, but good for littles too. 

 

I like the Come Look With Me series too. I own a few when I find them cheap, but I often pick them up from the library to go with our studies for littles. Once I have found the art section at a library, I often just visit it often.

[Garga]

Have you looked at the resources on the National Gallery of Art's education pages? Here's a link to just one of the resources - https://www.nga.gov/education/families/an-eye-for-art.html

 

https://www.nga.gov/education/teachers/lessons-activities.html

 

Since you live near DC:

 

For the National Gallery of Art education pages, I used the above link. I see that Sherry posted a link to the NGA website, but to a different page.

 

We went through pretty much all of the lessons one year--one lesson a week. I would print out the art on a piece of paper in color and we'd do the activities and read about the artist. I created my own little worksheets for the kids to fill out about that week's artist. Maybe a vocab word to look up, or a fill-in-the-blank of info about the artist. Each worksheet would require that the kids write in the artist's date of birth and death, where they lived, their art style or other such facts. If the activities didn't seem to work for us, I'd tweak them. We put the prints of the pictures and the worksheets in a binder so we could look through all the art/sheets together.

 

At the end of the school year, we took a trip to the National Gallery of Art and looked at all the art we'd studied for that year. It had a huge impact on the kids to do that. Wow. It was probably one of our homeschooling highlights. It was so much fun to find out which pieces of art were HUGE vs what was little. When all the art is printed on an 8.5x11 piece of paper, you can't always tell. :)

 

There were a few pieces of art that we studied that weren't on display, but 95% of them were. Words can't express how satisfying it was to see them all in person at the same time. A beautiful cap to the school year.

Edited December 5, 2017 by Garga

[Lori D.]

Art Appreciation (to me) includes both a beginning understanding of art history, art movements, and artists AND some basic "questions" to ask yourself as you take in a piece of art, or some guidance as to how to be open to what the work of art has to say. :)

 

A few books we enjoyed in the early elementary grades:

Looking at Pictures (Richardson)

Come Look With Me series (Blizzard) -- early elementary

Looking at Paintings series (Roalf) -- late elementary/early middle school

(these are out of print, so you'd have to go used: Self-Portraits, Landscapes, Seascapes, Circus, Musicians, Dancers, Flowers, Cats, Dogs, Horses, Children, Families)

 

For middle school we enjoyed:

Usborne Internet Linked Intro to Art

Usborne Internet Linked Intro to Modern Art

 

For high school we enjoyed:

Sister Wendy's Story of Painting

 

 

No personal experience, but these look interesting:

Children's Introduction to Art (Alexander)

DK Eyewitness series on art topics -- Looking at Paintings; Great Artists; Sculpture; Impressionism; etc. (gr. 5-8+ level)

You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum (Weitzman) and The Museum (Verde) -- picture books just for fun, and to express the joy of art and our interaction with it

 

Ambleside Online has an Artist Rotation schedule that might be useful.

 

 

PS

We also enjoyed the old (now vintage!) board game from my childhood of Masterpiece. Over the years, DH and I have added postcards of favorite artwork from our visits to art museums, so that was fun. :)

Edited December 5, 2017 by Lori D.

[Rosie_0801]

Is that a box subscription? I have never heard of it!

 

We studied Kahlo a bit in October when we explored Dia de Muertos & Mexico. She led a fascinating life, which is obviously depicted in her art. I agree the biographies oftentimes make the art more memorable (w/ music as well, which is why my daughter loves Beethoven so much).

 

I also like the exploratory approach. That's how we got to know Monet so well years ago (LOL). I'm on a kick of 'covering all the bases' now though & with art in particular I'm out of my element. Basic vocab., styles, pieces, artists, etc. in one or 2 places as a reference.

 

No, it's not a box subscription. It's sort of behaving that way because I was supporting them on Kickstarter. They're a bit pricey and I wouldn't spend the money (like I said, international postage!) if I was still homeschooling. Since I'm only 'every second weekend schooling' it's good to have something kind of cool like that as an anchor.

 

The exploratory approach will eventually teach you those things, so maybe you want to keep doing that but with one of the DK Eyewitness books as a reference for yourself? 

[Earthmerlin]

Art Appreciation (to me) includes both a beginning understanding of art history, art movements, and artists AND some basic "questions" to ask yourself as you take in a piece of art, or some guidance as to how to be open to what the work of art has to say. :)

 

A few books we enjoyed in the early elementary grades:

Looking at Pictures (Richardson)

Come Look With Me series (Blizzard)

Looking at Paintings series (Roalf)

 

For middle school we enjoyed:

Usborne Internet Linked Intro to Art

Usborne Internet Linked Intro to Modern Art

 

For high school we enjoyed:

Sister Wendy's Story of Painting

 

 

No personal experience, but these look interesting:

Children's Introduction to Art (Alexander)

DK Eyewitness series on art topics -- Looking at Paintings; Great Artists; Sculpture; Impressionism; etc. (gr. 5-8+ level)

You Can't Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum (Weitzman) and The Museum (Verde) -- picture books just for fun, and to express the joy of art and our interaction with it

 

Ambleside Online has an Artist Rotation schedule that might be useful.

 

 

PS

We also enjoyed the old (now vintage!) board game from my childhood of Masterpiece. Over the years, DH and I have added postcards of favorite artwork from our visits to art museums, so that was fun. :)

I'm responding only to your PS right now. Yes, I've seen Masterpiece & even a used (vintage) copy is too expensive for my tastes (although it'd be up my alley). I've found Musee instead--have you heard of this board game? At under $30 it's an artistic indulgence I can live with! Edited December 5, 2017 by Earthmerlin

[Lori D.]

I've found Musee instead--have you heard of this board game? At under $30 it's an artistic indulgence I can live with!

 

No, that's a new one on me. Looks fun! :) I figured that *someone* must have come out with another art-based game since the 1970s Masterpiece. ;)

Edited December 5, 2017 by Lori D.

[nixpix5]

My favorite art and appreciation combo has been Meet the Masters. Love love love it. Easy to teach, a nice intro to artist and technique and then getting to practice the technique with a nice project is fun. I will often throw in a meet the artist book or something like that we read before the lesson. We have art at our umbrella school this semester and their teacher was so impressed with how much they knew about artists.

[Lori D.]

Also, this is a bit different from my question above but we still read picture books. I'd like to better talk of illustrations in them. How do you knowledgeably do so in your house? (Can you tell art isn't my forte?)

 

How to Look at Art: Questions to Ask in Front of Paintings

Pretty much recommends the 5 Ws and 1 H question (who, what, where, when, why, how).

 

Incredible Art: Looking at Art: Seeing Questions

Has a terrific list of 6-10 questions in each of 5 areas (Socratic questioning style :) ) -- "describe it", "relate it", "analyze it", "interpret it", evaluate it".

 

Art Class Curator: 82 Questions to Ask About a Work of Art

Some rather public school-ish anthropomorphic questions in there ("If this artwork were a person, what would it want to eat for lunch?"), but some others are more straight-forward and useful.

 

 

I also think that, as with discussing literature, starting with what background info you've learned about the artist and his/her times is really helpful. If you have read a little something about what techniques the artist was using (and why), and also think about what was going on historically / economically / socially / politically, you can often see how the artist was reacting to previous art movements, or to past or recent events. Then you can decide if it is successful, or just appreciate what the artist was trying to do. That's something more that *you* can do, as that's pretty tough for a young student to do without a lot of guidance. :)

 

Again, for you, as these are adult films, but I really recommend watching The Mill and the Cross, which is a fantastic film about Peter Bruegel explaining his painting "The Way to Calvary", and how Bruegel was embedding the current political situation (Dutch oppression of Spanish troops who occupied the country) into the religious subject of Christ carrying the cross to his crucifixion. As with just about all religious art of the Medieval and Renaissance time, the figures are in contemporary clothing and settings, rather than an attempt to accurately represent the actual ancient setting. The intention was so that those contemplating the work of art would put themselves "into the story" -- it was an aid to spiritual contemplation while viewing the art. Bruegel's work does that, too -- but also allows his audience to identify with the current political oppression, and connect it with the Roman occupation and oppression of Jerusalem at the time of Christ.

 

Seraphine is another lovely and fascinating film. It is more about the artist and how she was driven to paint, rather than an attempt to "explain" or analyze her art.

 

I haven't seen it, but National Gallery is a 2014 documentary that looks like it provides tidbits about art and artists to help with appreciation. I have seen some of the Sister Wendy PBS series from the 1990s, and those are good for high school/adult shows on art history/appreciation are good.

 

No personal experience, but I stumbled on these RSE Art Appreciation for Kids videos on YouTube.

[Ausmumof3]

Enrichment studies I think it's called do a free set of pages most months. They also have more premium paid products. If you use artistic pursuits they have some art appreciation included.

 

Or you could use my current technique which is

 

Go to library.

Borrow art book.

Show kids one picture each day for three minutes

Have them narrate what they saw on the picture.

 

I'm not well educated in art but I guess its exposure and we enjoy it at least.

[Ausmumof3]

There are also heaps and heaps of really nice art related books in the kids picture section of the library.

[Hobbes]

We really liked the Usborne Art Treasury. You read briefly about an artist, discuss one of their works, and then do an art project based on that. The kids loved it.

 

If I was feeling like more, I would add a library book or two about each artist and Google additional works to round things out. It's been a bit since we did this and we only did about half, so recently I was thinking of pulling it out again and doing the other half. I'd add the above and do narrations about a work and a summary about the artist.

 

We also use the Page A Day art calendar extensively. At the least, we discuss the artwork each day (it's quite varied). If we are interested, or I work it into morning time, we look up the artist and other works, discuss, etc. They do a weekly picture study on a work that they glue into their journals as well.

Edited December 6, 2017 by indigoellen@gmail.com

[ktgrok]

We like this series. http://www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php?id=059439&subject=Art+%2F+Crafts/16&category=Child%92s+History+of+Art+Courses/12474

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

We like Discovering Great Artists. It introduces an artist, and then it has a project using a technique this artist used.

[AmandaVT]

We really like Vincent's Starry Night and Other Stories: Children's History of Art.

 

It's a really neat book and I've learned tons, DS (9) likes it a lot.

[Earthmerlin]

I'm glad I've asked for ideas as reading slowly through the responses and exlporing the links has given me plenty to mull over. I especially appreciate the local tidbits--as they will prove extra special artistic outings. All the books and sites named are quite informative, making it nearly impossible to narrow down to just a couple, LOL! Thanks!