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DESCRIPTION: Art Criticism is how we look at, analyze, and evaluate works of art. It is a framework that helps us better understand artworks and the goals of the artist/s. Art Criticism allows us to see the artwork from a variety of different lenses to extract as much meaning as possible from the artwork. Also, within art history, art criticism helps us know where an artwork fits within the various artistic styles and movements. National Arts Standards:

• Anchor Standard #7. Perceive and analyze artistic work. • Anchor Standard #8. Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.

CURATE Artworks that work well for Art Criticism as ones who are captivating, complex, and communicative. Think about ones which will spark questions and drive students to look closer. To fully have students engage in the steps of art criticism, you want to choose an artwork that has a strong use of the elements and principles of art to convey a meaning or message that way students can back up their assumptions and interpretations with evidence from the work of art. Good Artworks to Discuss (PPT, PDF)

• Franz Marc, Fate of the Animals, 1913 (Lesson) • Salvador Dalí, Persistence of Memory, 1931 (Lesson) • Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas, 1939 (Lesson) • Edvard Munch, Separation, 1896 (Munch Lesson) • Eugène Delacroix, Selim and Zuleika, 1857 (Video, PPT) • Marc Chagall, I and the Village, 1911 (Lesson) • Hannah Hoch, Da Dandy, 1919 (Lesson) • Miquel Barceló, Sopa d’Europa, 1985 (Lesson) • Rufino Tamayo, El Hombre, 1953 (Lesson) • Soga Shohaku, Shoki Ensnaring a Demon in a Spiderweb, 18th century (Lesson)

Art Class Curator Online Training

• How to Talk about Art with Kids: Do you want to lead powerful discussions about art, but you are not sure how? This workshop covers the basic strategies needed to lead engaging art discussions in your classroom!

• Art Appreciation Master Class: In this workshop, dive deep into how to engage your students with works of art, how to discuss, what to discuss, and the many activities you can use to discuss a work of art.

UNIT 2: Art Criticism

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DISCUSS Essential Questions:

• What do I learn from looking at art? • What should I look for when looking at art? • How do I look at art? • How do I talk about art? • What are the four steps of art criticism? • What makes art good?

Related Lessons:

• The Four Steps to Art Criticism: This lesson covers the four steps of art criticism: description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation. There is also an Elementary Adaptation for this lesson.

• SPARK - The 5 Step Guide to Art Connection: As an alternative to the Four Steps of Art Criticism, we recently introduced SPARK, a new model for art criticism. Download a poster of the process as well as a worksheet to use with artwork.

Art Class Curator Blog Posts:

• What do kids learn from looking at art?

ENGAGE To engage with the concept of art criticism and the steps involved, use the following activities in your classroom. We’ve divided the activities below using the SPARK art criticism method.

• SEE – Students look closely at the work of art and note the content, subject matter, and artistic choices that make up the artwork.

o Memorization or Charlotte Mason Picture Study – Have students study an artwork silently for a few minutes. Remove the artwork and have students describe the artwork from memory either in words or have them recreate the artwork visually.

– OR – o Drawing Description Game – Have students describe an artwork to a peer and have

the partner draw the artwork based on the description alone.

• PERCEIVE – Students dive deeper beneath the surface of an artwork and perceive its emotions, meanings, and messages through their senses.

o Poetry – Have students use one of the poetry templates to analyze an artwork and uncover the emotions in a non-threatening way.

– OR – o Five Senses – Students use their senses to explore an artwork.

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• ASK AND ANSWER – Students figure out the meaning or message of the artwork by analyzing the artist’s choices and pondering their initial observations.

o Think Pair Share Q&A – Have students write a question they have about the artwork on an index card or sticky note. In pairs, have the students ask their partner the question and then have the students answer each other’s questions.

– OR – o I see... I think… I wonder… – Students see, think, and wonder about the art.

– OR – o Write a Letter – Students write a letter to the artist or to a character in the artwork

asking them the questions they have about the artwork.

• REFLECT – Students use their personal experiences, convictions, and emotions to connect with the art to better know themselves and the artwork in question.

o Reflect Connect Worksheet – Students reflect on an artwork and then connect it to their own life. We’ve found this activity to work best when you do it step-by-step alongside the class. Step 1 - write then discuss, step 2 - write then discuss, etc.

• KNOW – Students use their personal experiences, convictions, and emotions to connect with

the art to better know themselves and the artwork. o Question and Answer – Have students write three questions they want to know about

this artwork and then have them research the answers.

EXTEND Art Criticism Essay Have students write a formal art criticism essay. See “Writing Assignment” at this link for more information about the assignment criteria. Artist Presentation Have students research an artist, give a presentation, and share an art critique of one of their artworks. (See assignment.) Artist Research Have students do independent research on an artist using the artist research worksheet. (See assignment.)

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Art Criticism Lesson Sequence

The activities are broken up into 15-20-minute blocks below to allow you to customize in order to fit your schedule and allow for maximum flexibility.

Activity Description Recommended Artwork Resources Needed

Activity 1 Lead an open-ended art discussion about one of the works from CURATE discussion above.

Marc Chagall, I and the Village, 1911

• PowerPoint with artwork

Activity 2 Ask students “What do you learn from our discussions with art?” Make a list on the board of all of the soft and hard skills students learn when looking at and engaging with art.

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Activity 3 Introduce the SPARK method. Return to the artwork from Day 1 and go through each step with the students.

Marc Chagall, I and the Village, 1911

• PowerPoint with artwork

• SPARK Poster (1 per table or PDF to project)

Activity 4 See: Review the SEE step with the students. Choose either the Drawing Description Game or the Memorization Activity. (Click the activity links for artwork suggestions). Discuss how the activities allowed the students to notice things they may not have noticed otherwise.

Memorization Activity (Pablo Picasso’s Guernica) Drawing Description (Various, See PPT)

• PowerPoint with artwork

Activity 5 Perceive: Review the PERCEIVE step with the students. Choose either a Poetry template or the 5 Senses activity. Use the same artwork from activity 1 or choose a new artwork from the above activity links.

Marc Chagall, I and the Village, 1911

• PowerPoint with artwork

• Printed worksheet (1 per student)

Activity 6 Ask: Review the ASK+ANSWER step with the students. Choose Think Pair Share Q&A, I think/see/wonder, or Write a Letter.

Soga Shohaku, Shoki Ensnaring a Demon in a Spiderweb, 18th century

• PowerPoint with artwork

• Printed worksheet (1 per student or 1 per group)

Activity 7 Reflect: Review the REFLECT step with the students. Discuss with students how they can learn about themselves through looking at art. Do the Reflect Connect Worksheet.

Miguel Barceló, Sopa d’Europa, 1985

• PowerPoint with artwork

• Printed worksheet (1 per student)

Activity 8 Know: Review the KNOW step with the students. Have the students do the Question and Answer activity. Use the same artwork as the Reflect Connect Activity to deepen learning.

Miguel Barceló, Sopa d’Europa, 1985

• PowerPoint with artwork

Activity 9+

Tie it all altogether with the SPARK worksheet. Use the basic SPARK worksheet or have students write an art criticism essay or other extension.

Student choice. • SPARK Worksheet or Printed Writing Assignment Sheet