Gallery Activities with Objects

EDUCATORS RESOURCE:

GALLERY ACTIVITIES WITH OBJECTS LOOKING CLOSELY FOCUS ON ONE PART Look at a work of art and ask students what they see. Then, assign students one part of an artwork to focus on. They can look as a small group or each student can work independently on their assigned section. Have them just focus on their section and find five things they did not notice when they looked at the entire work of art.

30 SECOND LOOKING Look at an artwork for 30 seconds. Have everyone turn around, so their backs are to the artwork. Ask them to say everything they remember. Then have them face the artwork again and find five things they didn’t notice the first time they looked.

WHERE DOES YOUR EYE GO FIRST? Ask students where their eyes go first.

After discussing that, ask where their eyes travel next? Then where else do they move? This is a good way to have a conversation about what the artist has done with lines, gestures, and movement to move your eye around a composition.

REPRODUCTIONS VS. “THE REAL THING” Discuss the difference between a “real” work of art versus a reproduction. How is it different to look at a work of art in the museum versus looking a t a reproduction in the classroom? Prompt them to think about scale, colors, brush strokes, and textures.

MOVING AROUND GET MOVING Have a group look closely and talk about what they see. Then have them switch places with another person in the group. Ask what they notice from their new position that they didn’t see before. Now move up close. What do they see? Now, move far away. How does changing positions change their perspective in looking at the work of art?

PERSONAL CHOICES Get groups moving around the galleries by asking questions that students answer by selecting and standing next to their chosen work of art. This works best in a smaller gallery. Questions can include: Which work of art is the most powerful? Which work of art fits in the least? Which work of art are you most curious about? After each question, have students discuss their choices.

TRUE OR FALSE Get groups moving by quizzing them. Develop a series of true/false or multiple choice questions that students have to move into position to answer. For example: George Washington wore a powdered wig- true or false? People who think the answer is true stand on one side, people who think the answer is false, stand on the other. As a group, look back at the painting and discuss which answer is correct.

USING IMAGINATION ASKING QUESTIONS After discussing a work of art with your group, distribute notecards. Have each student write down a question they have about the artwork. Have students pass the notecard to another person, who then answers it. If they don’t have an answer, have them write another question. Have students pass the notecards again. Take turns reading the questions and answers on the card.

CHARACTER, SETTING, PLOT, AND MOOD How is it different to read a story in a book versus look at a story in an artwork? How is it similar? This question can transition into a discussion about character, setting, plot, and mood.

THE BEFORE AND AFTER Get the group to talk about what is happening now in an artwork. Then ask them what they think happened just before. What do they think will happen next? You can discuss the with the group or have them draw the before, during, and after in a story board.

WORD POWER Ask students to say or write adjectives on a notecard to describe a work of art.

Discuss why they picked their words, having them provide evidence in the artwork. You can also ask them the first word that comes to mind when they walk up to a work of art.

EDUCATORS RESOURCE:

GALLERY ACTIVITIES WITH OBJECTS TOOLKIT FOR LOOKING