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Modest Art History for Older Kids


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Or,as 12 yo DD put it, "Art history without all the naked butts."   :)

 

DD is a gifted artist and is very open to learning about art history, but feels uncomfortable with all the nudity.  We tried an episode of Sister Wendy but it was way too adult for her.  

 

What's good but still modest?  

 

(update, of sorts, in #7)

Edited by shinyhappypeople
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TBH, if Sister Wendy is too much, I might tell my dd that she needed to become more comfortable with nudity, because modesty wasn't the issue. 

 

I mean, Sister Wendy is a nun, and IIRC a hermit, in a fairly conservative Catholic order.

 

Wow.  I'm not accusing Sister Wendy of being immoral, but her discussions are rather direct and are probably better suited for older teens and adults.  Live and learn.

 

I'm confident if Sr. Wendy were presenting an art history lesson to a group of 12 year old girls, her examples and discussion would have been tempered by her understanding of what's appropriate for that particular audience.

 

Art is for everyone.  Even sensitive kids. There is absolutely no chance I will ever suggest DD needs to "get over" her natural modesty.  Good grief, she's 12.  

 

So, anyway, does anyone have a suggestion of an art appreciation program geared toward young teens that focuses on the many wonderful works that don't involve nudity?

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Wow.  I'm not accusing Sister Wendy of being immoral, but her discussions are rather direct and are probably better suited for older teens and adults.  Live and learn.

 

I'm confident if Sr. Wendy were presenting an art history lesson to a group of 12 year old girls, her examples and discussion would have been tempered by her understanding of what's appropriate for that particular audience.

 

Art is for everyone.  Even sensitive kids. There is absolutely no chance I will ever suggest DD needs to "get over" her natural modesty.  Good grief, she's 12.  

 

So, anyway, does anyone have a suggestion of an art appreciation program geared toward young teens that focuses on the many wonderful works that don't involve nudity?

 

She does have some things directed to kids, and quite a lot of books, so I think you could probably find something suitable.

 

However, my impression was your dds difficulty was specifically with nudity, so I wasn't thinking mainly of her commentary. 

 

The Hillyer book mentioned above is very good.  We had to buy it used, I think it is out of print.

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OK, so I've been searching and searching and I've uncovered two possibilities so far.  

 

(1) Harmony Fine Arts-  Are the pictures she assigns "PG"?  I'm looking specifically at the Grade 5 book (ancients).  A big bonus is that it includes Composer study.  Another big bonus is that the ebook is very affordable.  But, I would appreciate hearing from those who have used it.  Another question:  I was looking at the mini-units.  Would using one of those be a good way to test drive the curriculum or are they very different from the regular books?

 

(2) Another option, maybe:  God and the History of Art.  Has anyone used this?  Liked it?  Didn't like it? I'm confident, based on the author, it is thoroughly G-rated.  Would it work with a kid who is already a gifted artist, but doesn't know very much about art history and styles?

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By the way A Child's History of Art is still in print.  I found it at CBD.  It looks very cool, but unfortunately doesn't fit us.  The absolute WORST thing for this particular kid is to pull out anything that looks like a regular schoolbook.  She'll just shut down and walk away.  Art is her GIFT and her JOY.  I want this to be fun :)

Edited by shinyhappypeople
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(2) Another option, maybe:  God and the History of Art.  Has anyone used this?  Liked it?  Didn't like it? I'm confident, based on the author, it is thoroughly G-rated.  Would it work with a kid who is already a gifted artist, but doesn't know very much about art history and styles?

 

We just got the DVDs, not the whole set. I can't tell you anything about it because we haven't used it yet. But I own it and hope to entice my kids to watch them over the summer. :)

My reasons for choosing it are similar to yours, so I hope it's a win.

 

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OK, so I've been searching and searching and I've uncovered two possibilities so far.  

 

(1) Harmony Fine Arts-  Are the pictures she assigns "PG"?  I'm looking specifically at the Grade 5 book (ancients).  A big bonus is that it includes Composer study.  Another big bonus is that the ebook is very affordable.  But, I would appreciate hearing from those who have used it.  Another question:  I was looking at the mini-units.  Would using one of those be a good way to test drive the curriculum or are they very different from the regular books?

 

(2) Another option, maybe:  God and the History of Art.  Has anyone used this?  Liked it?  Didn't like it? I'm confident, based on the author, it is thoroughly G-rated.  Would it work with a kid who is already a gifted artist, but doesn't know very much about art history and styles?

 

Harmony Fine Arts requires real books.  So you buy the curriculum and then you buy the books to go with it - here is the book list required for 5th grade. http://astore.amazon.com/harmonyfineartsgrade5ancients-20

 

If she does not want to see nude figures, ancient Greek art is not a smart choice.  It is generally considered PG, and kids go see it in museums all the time, and I've taken my kids to see it. But, it does feature male nudity, lots of it, including full frontal. Pretty sure she will see nudity in Egyptian art as well.  

 

Maybe ....a unit study on specific artists? Vermeer?  Cassatt?   I don't know.  I'd honestly encourage her to view art a little less restrictively, because she is going to be missing out on so much.

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Calvert School!  We LOVED the two Art History curriculum we tried, from the adorable 5x7 books with beautiful glossy pages to the everyday language used to describe the art, to the art cards. There is SOME nudity as you can't talk about David or the SIstine Chapel without seeing any nudity at all...however, the books are fairly small and it's not really in-your-face.  Easily markered out. 

 

These are really precious, old fashioned well written art history books worth keeping on your shelf.  I think they would work for you.

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I talked with DD about her comfort level with seeing Greek nudes and she asked me to put little loin cloths on them, because they're too realistic. So, I guess I'll be making judicious use of my black Sharpie or little post-it notes :). She said Egyptian nudes are okay because they don't look real.

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We use Harmony Fine Arts.  She suggests previewing anything and gives some ideas for censorship.  I can't recall any nudity in the pictures she's chosen for picture study, but there is a bit in some of the resources used (like the DK Renaissance book).  She suggests covering it with a post-it or marker if it's an issue.  She does use the Sister Wendy books/dvds for the high school course.  

 

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Last summer I scoured the library shelves and found a great book on the Hudson Valley School of landscape painting. I was looking to jump-start the creative writing process and I wanted fantastic landscapes. It turned out to be an enjoyable read as well, and I found myself comparing some of the paintings and the artists as I read through it.

Perhaps a topical study of landscapes or nature paintings or drawings? To me, landscape art has always been the most inspiring art for my own creativity.

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