Procedure:

When a person views an artwork for the first time he or she creates a first response that is intuitive, personal, and often purely emotional. This response is based on personal experience, feelings, associations, and creative imagination. This intuitive response shapes much of what we value—what we like and dislike. It is an important part of enjoying artwork and key to formulating critical and aesthetic responses.

The following steps and questions will help students make free associations with the paintings and express their own ideas about the works in a fun context.

1. Print out and hang up images of Andy Warhol’s Liz and de Kooning’s, Woman VI or project digital images on a wall. Link here to printable image.

2. Use the Intuitive Prompts Handout to generate intuitive responses to the artworks. This handout may be shortened for time constraints. Pick two or three prompts instead of all five.

3. Ask students to share their writing with the class.

4. Collect these responses from your students when they are finished and hand them out again later in the Unit as they write their formal criticism in Step 5.