Visual Arts 6
Context

It is expected that students will:

• Have students research mandalas from a variety of cultures using both print and non-print resources. Challenge students to create mandalas representing their own cultural backgrounds.
• Ask students to compare and contrast the materials and processes used in Chinese and Polish paper cutting traditions. Have them plan and prepare simplified images for a paper cut.
• Have students research the time and events portrayed in a historical work (e.g., Francisco Goya's January 1806; Pablo Picasso's Guernica). As a class, discuss how art is used to portray and influence society. Ask questions such as:
• What is the artist's message?
• What do you think the impact of this image was at the time it was created? Is the impact the same now?
• Attend a local art show as a class. Ask students to note the artists' statements in the show catalogue. Have students collaborate to develop a classroom display for which each selects and mats an original work and prepares an artist's statement to accompany it.
• Have the class participate in a gallery walk. Ask some students to act as the artists, choosing for display several of their own works that show growth and development. The others observe the artworks and discuss with artists the use of elements and principles.
• Encourage students to use print and electronic resources to research art-related careers and recreational opportunities in many different cultures. Ask students to record their findings on tagboard sentence strips, placing them in random order on the board. The class brainstorms art career and art recreation categories and sorts the sentence strips, placing them under the appropriate headings. Have students individually choose a category that most appeals to them and ask them to explain why.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

• When students view and discuss artwork, questions such as the following can offer insights into their understanding of the role of context:
  • Where and when do you think this work was done? Why?
  • What messages, thoughts, or themes does it portray? What evidence supports your ideas?
  • Where would you display this artwork? Why?
• After students have visited a local art show, ask questions such as:
  • What stood out in your mind about this collection? Why?
  • What issues, ideas, or messages do you think the artist or the curator wanted to express in this collection?
  • How were the objects or images grouped? What did the curator do to make good use of the space and location?
  • Who was the intended audience for this collection?
• Review artists' statements that accompany students' work in a classroom display. Look for evidence that students have used appropriate language, made connections with other artists, and considered the audience and venue in making their selections.
• As students participate in creating and conducting a gallery walk, look for evidence that they are able to:
  • work co-operatively, sharing responsibility for the tasks
  • consider the audience and the space when making decisions about how to select and display their work
  • select images that demonstrate growth and development
  • seek responses to their work
  • respond constructively to the work of others
  • accept feedback and evaluation in an appropriate way

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