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Creative Thinking & Making
Historical & Cultural Contexts
Critical Thinking
Critical Response
Aesthetics
Teacher Reflections






Student Reviews


“I learned what the word aesthetics means, it’s an artist’s choice. Just like us, when we chose between blue, pink, or brown. I chose brown and black. [for the camouflage t-shirt print].”
Joshua K., 5th grade

“I think art should be difficult to experience. People don’t stop to think about paintings. I once went to an art museum for a field trip and the guide made us stop and think about the art. I got a lot more out of that trip than I ever got out of going to an art museum and just looking at the paintings and not thinking about it.”
Rachel, 6th grade

“I go to museums to enter a different world, one created by the artist. If the creation is very clear, it is simple to enter, but in more abstract designs, the artist leaves the world’s creation to the viewer. In that kind of art, the artist gives the people the freedom to invent their own world and to experience the artwork the way they want.”
Eric, 6th grade

 

 

 

Critical Thinking: Aesthetics School Projects
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Karen Jones, Art, Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program
Devlin, 5th Grade
Maddy Gillingham, 6th Grade
Nicole Dezelon, Warhol Education Staff
Jordan Crosby, Carnegie Museum of Art Staff

 

Summary:

Fifth and sixth grade students in the GATE program at Ross Elementary used the PowerPoint presentation and various lessons in the Aesthetics Unit to produce written reflections, visual representation, analysis, and stories identifying aesthetic qualities from various time periods and cultures. Both the literacy and social studies teachers worked in the development of this program as well as staff from The Warhol and Carnegie Museum of Art.

Adaptation

Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Devlin adapted the writing prompts from lesson 3 in the Aesthetics Unit to capture the students’ understanding and ability to synthesize both personal and philosophical definitions of aesthetics and their application in everyday life. Fifth grade students created photo-collages using magazine images to illustrate their own personal aesthetic. Staff from The Andy Warhol Museum visited the school with camouflage pattern silkscreens and led a discussion about the aesthetics of camo, both in fashion and as a functional disguise. The conversation led to a discussion about “real” camouflage vs. urban camouflage (brightly-colored fashion statements.) The students made their own camo-printed t-shirts, selecting colors based on their own aesthetic.

The 6th grade students used the Extension Activity in lesson 4 to respond in writing to the philosophical statement of a museum curator. During their visits to both The Warhol and Carnegie Museum of Art they explored the notion of Beauty Across Time. Working with the Art, English, and Social Studies teachers, the students filled out a chart about aesthetic details from different times as evidenced through artworks; they created prints and drawings to mirror aesthetics of those times and created mythological stories and fables from various objects that they experienced in the museums.

 
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