Responding to Art: Developing Skills of Observation and Inference

 

I just stumbled upon an incredible website titled "The Athenaeum," which catalogues hundreds of pieces of art according to artists, museums in which pieces are located, and date produced. On its Mission Statement page, the organization that produces the site explains it's ideals:

• "All creative work should earn its creator a fair wage."
• "All people should have maximum access to art and the good things that flow from creative works."
• "Following the first two rules, once copyright has expired (long after the artist has passed away and therefore ceased to be able to profit), creative works should be FREE."

Thus, "The Athenaeum" provides a center to share, enjoy, and discuss some of the greatest art ever produced.

 

So, how would I use "The Athenaeum" in my classroom? What place does art have in an English classroom? Well, I suppose my answer is rooted in the fact that literacy is not merely the ability to read and write traditional written texts; it is a skillset that reaches into all areas of communication and critical thinking. Thus, teachers must move beyond merely encouraging word recognition and reading comprehension and begin to offer alternative methods for developing higher-level thinking skills. And, one way to practice the skills of interpretation, observation, and inferencing is by exposing students to art and helping them understand processes by which they can take away profound/surprising/interesting discoveries from one image. Furthermore, the patience necessary to observe a piece of art and glean meaning from it is the same patience a student needs in order to delve into a text and make discoveries.

Practically speaking, I would present students with a piece of visual art and give them ample time to respond to it:

1. First, students would be directed to jot down pieces of objective information.
2. Then, students would be asked to write down questions raised by the situations depicted by the photo/painting/sculpture
3. Finally, students would be asked to write a paragraph hypothesizing about what is going on within that piece of art.