This article describes how the author exposes her students to the world of Jackson Pollock, the artist who brings to mind dripping, meandering, splashing puddles of paint. Pollock's action paintings of the late 1940s-'50s call out for unfettered movement, fluidity, and freedom of application. Is it even possible to capture the action, rhythm and…

Bright, shining gold, so daring and intense. Patterns reflecting the spirit of the portrait's subject, wisps of a look that intrigue the viewer. Something sultry in the eye, something shimmering on the lip... these are the works of Gustav Klimt. Klimt was Vienna's golden boy of painting. Through his use of pattern and the mosaic qualities in his…

Many of the paintings of 20th-century American artist Philip C. Curtis defy clear classification. Curtis's artworks often show dreamlike and fantastical qualities and are therefore frequently pigeonholed as Surrealistic. While this classification is not completely erroneous, it fails to acknowledge some subtle differences between Curtis's artwork…

In his book "A Whole New Mind," Daniel Pink describes the aptitude of Symphony as the ability to synthesize, or to put pieces together. Symphony is the capacity to see relationships, detect broad patterns, and to create by combining diverse elements together. The artist Wassily Kandinsky exemplifies Symphonic thinking. A pioneer in nonobjective…

In this article, the author describes how her intermediate art class used silhouettes expressively and interpreted ancient and contemporary silhouettes in a personal way. The students analyze relationships of works of art to one another in terms of history, aesthetics, and culture, justifying conclusions made in the analysis, and using such…

Describes the functions, styles, and methods of creating medieval tapestries. Illustrates a narrative tapestry titled "The Prophecy of Nathan," attributed to Master Philip. Describes how textile artists' personal styles can be recognized. Suggests art activities for elementary and secondary students. (KM)

Describes how the author, motivated by Esther Krichevsky's fishprints, introduced fishprinting to a middle school. Students explored the origin of fishprinting and other Japanese arts as well as learned about printmaking, collage, and painting. Maintains that, for children to grow creatively, they need freedom to experiment. (KM)

Discusses formalist/universalist, personal response/ antiformalist, and pluralist approaches to aesthetics. Recommends using a pluralist approach because it accounts for the aesthetic principles of non-Western art forms. Discusses pluralism in art education and how the criteria of Western aesthetics are now being challenged by art educators. (KM)

Describes how three groups of twentieth-century U.S. artists--Landscape and architectural artists, pop artists, and the photo-realists--used the object as the primary image in their artwork. Maintains that this approach to studying still life may be more relevant for teachers and students today. (KM)

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)

This document consists of a two-page outline and seventeen photographs of Romanian art objects. This unit focuses on advancing the high school student from the art of Western Europe to the art of Eastern Europe. The curriculum projects are geared for the 11th and 12th grade student. Students begin with a study of Rodin and progress toward that of…

In post-medieval times, art became sacrosanct rather than special as it had been regarded in previous cultures. This notion still drives art education and prevents the inclusion of entire cultures in contemporary curricula in art education. The myths that any society lives with, whether religious, political, or economic, are embedded in that…

Describes how children six years and older can create plaster friezes. Children were first shown examples and then drew plans before creating their own friezes. (KM)

Describes how artist Betye Saar collects technological debris that she manipulates to create her artwork. Compares her work with African art which has a long history of transforming materials from the environment into symbols and objects. Suggests activities for students to create art with debris from their environment. (KM)

This report documents the proceedings from the second series of regional roundtable discussions sponsored by the Getty Center for Education in the Arts. These roundtables were established to provide a forum in which people could discuss aspects of Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE). The topics of these roundtables were as follows: Roundtable I…