In this Instructional Resource, Denmead and Brown consider how "Ruffneck Constructivists," an exhibition curated by Kara Walker at the Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA), University of Pennsylvania, can disturb and provoke young creatives and art education more broadly. For this exhibition, Walker draws on the figure that MC Lyte…

When displayed in museums and classrooms, Renaissance-era (1420-1600) painting, architecture, and drawing masterworks are often decontextualized from the social reality of the Academy system under which they were produced. For centuries, the artworks of the Italian Renaissance have seduced viewers with technical mastery, exquisite pigments, and…

This tongue-in-cheek article calls for the critical reexamination of the history of modern art. The author believes that modern art is neither an extension of the Renaissance aesthetic nor a collective by-product of artists possessed of creative genius. Creators of modern art were actually representational artists suffering from visual stuttering.…

Finding "aesthetic experience" to be a difficult and paradoxical concept, the author argues that a social as well as an historical perspective may be a more beneficial route for the future of art programs in our schools. (Author/SJL)

The author challenges certain curricular conceptions, based on aesthetic discourse, professional occupational descriptions, and instrumentalist social applications which he believes have hindered the development and integration of art critical and historical education into the high school studio art program. (Author/SJL)

Nicolas Poussin's painting, "The Holy Family," is used to help secondary students comprehend the power, mystery, and significance of classical 17th century Western painting. Includes suggestions for classroom activities. (BR)

Presents an art lesson for grades 4 through 6 based on the wooden sculpture entitled Daruma. Daruma was the founder of religion of Zen Buddhism. The lesson's goals are to introduce student to Buddhist legends and to cultivate respect for a culture different from their own. (BR)

Citing a lack of teacher preparation and available curriculum materials for art appreciation, the author proposes an art criticism/art history approach for the secondary grades. He outlines a sequence of operations modeled after Bruner's stages of perceptual decision making and presents a sample lesson plan. (SJL)

Based on Joshua Johnson's 1897 oil-on-canvas painting called "The Westwood Children," this article offers a full-color reproduction and lesson plan designed to introduce students in the primary grades to early American portraiture. (JDH)

Offers an overview of the meaning and development of traditional Flemish and French still life painting. States that art history, as well as technical process, must be taught for discipline based art education to be effective. Describes Flemish still life classifications, eighteenth and nineteenth century French works, and still life symbolism.…

Presents a lesson plan based on John Singleton Copley's 1795 oil painting, "Portrait of Nathaniel Hurd." The goal of the lesson is to give students in grades four through six an awareness of portraiture and how portraits record not only character but historical times and customs. (JDH)

"At the Piano," an oil-on-canvas painting completed in 1859 by James Abbot McNeill Whistler, is used as the basis of a lesson designed to help junior high school students analyze the painting's mood, subject matter, and composition. (JDH)

Maintains that teaching the creation of art can be lost in the emphasis on discipline-based art education. Argues that much of art education is studying the art of others or the concepts and principles that can be derived from others. Contends that the process of personally creating art must be revived as an integral part of art education. (CFR)

Offers an art lesson designed to introduce junior high school students to a Shiva sculpture and to Hindu symbolism. The lesson is based on a full-color photograph of a 500 year-old bronze sculpture entitled Shiva Nataraja, King of Dancers. (BR)

Under the directorship of Holger Cahill, who drew upon John Dewey's principle of the universal communicability of art, the Federal Art Project of the Great Depression era gave all of the people the opportunity to study and enjoy art. Specific programs of the project are described. (RM)