Observation

As a part of my EDU 3347 course, I visited an art gallery located in my college campus- I have chosen to let the name of the art gallery remain anonymous in order to protect the students at The Learning Academy. My main goal at the gallery was to assist the 3rd and 4th grade students from The Learning Academy. The students took a field trip to the art gallery as part of their visual literacy unit. I visited the gallery on Monday, February 8, 2016 and stayed there from 9:30am until 10:30am.

Fifteen minutes before the students arrived, my peers and I were able to look at the individual art pieces and their description in order to make our own interpretation of the artwork so that we could better guide the students once they arrived. The artwork displayed was done by Daniel Derwelis and Jennifer Viola. Daniel Derwelis displayed large oil paintings which employed a blend of figuration, landscape, and abstraction. Jennifer Viola’s work displayed her series of talking self-portraits, a series of intriguing images in mixed-media. Many of the pieces referred to the effects of social media, video games, and movies on the development on the mind and body as they affect our everyday lives.
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When the students arrived, the students took a seat on the couches provided and were given the proper etiquette breakdown that they were to follow while viewing the images in the gallery. For example, the students were to not touch any of the art pieces or displays around the art pieces. The students were then reminded of domain specific vocabulary previously learned in their art class, such as “curator.” The students then discussed a large painting that hung at the front of the gallery. The students were asked how the painting made them feel, and what the painter’s intent of the piece was. One student raised her hand and said, “I think that the painter wanted to tell the audience to keep the planet clean. After this brief discussion, the students walked with their guide to view certain images. They took a look at roughly seven pieces and dived deep into their meaning. Once they had a chance to look at various pieces of artwork, they were given two small pieces of paper to draw their two favorite pieces of art. This was my purpose for coming to the art gallery. The Learning Academy students were instructed to find a college student and roam the gallery with them. Many of my peers had multiple Learning Academy kids; however, I only had one student, Johnathan.

 

Johnathan is a third grade student at The Learning Academy and is in the same class as my case study student so I see him every Wednesday. I walked around with Johnathan, read the descriptions of some of the art pieces he had not previously looked at, and asked questions that probed deep into his individual understanding of the pictures. For example, I asked him, “Why do you think there is an American flag as the background of this painting?” ​Johnathan paused momentarily and asked me to read the description. After I read him the brief paragraph he said, “America likes a lot of things like a pelican does.”     

 

Johnathan drew his two favorite paintings (palm trees/fireworks and the beach) and returned to the couch to wait for further instruction. I later learned that the student’s drawings were going to be blown up onto larger paper so that they could color and paint them.

 

Once the students were finished, they were guided to the back of the gallery to watch a movie demonstrating how the artist painted certain pictures that they saw earlier in the exhibit. Once this occurred, my day at the art gallery was complete.

 

Reflection

I loved being able to get the opportunity to come to this art gallery as I had never been here before. I was drawn to the bright paintings as many of the students from The Learning Academy were. I enjoyed being able to take in each individual piece of work before the students arrived- I was able to reflect on each piece and think about what I was going to ask the students once they arrived. Had the students and I arrived at the same time, I may have been overwhelmed and would have not known what to say or ask the students.

 

The fourth grade student who reflected on the “clean planet” piece is one I admire. I previously looked at this piece, but did not see it in the same way. This piece had a Barbie doll, a Coke bottle, green grass, dark landscapes, and tangible pieces of trash below. The student was able to tie all of the elements together, and make a very reasonable inference. I also enjoyed spending time with Johnathan as I was able to pull answers from him that are difficult to do in the classroom. His response to the “pelican” piece was exactly the same as my reflection. There is no “right or wrong” answer when looking at and reflecting on art. I believe that these students need the time to discuss their thoughts without getting graded. Many of these students excel at art, and their reflections on the pieces show that. After visiting the art gallery, I am wondering if the students prefer art literacy rather than reading literacy. With reading literacy, they may feel restricted to the reflection process because of the reading barrier due to dyslexia. However, with art literacy, the students are able to make their own interpretations without feeling compared to their peers.

 

When I was in fifth grade, I was able to visit a local art gallery in my hometown. As I reflect back on my time in elementary school, I do not remember ever having a unit on visual literacy or the importance of artwork. At the gallery I visited in school, I was given one guide, and I did not stop to reflect on the individual pieces. Instead, we passed by the pieces, looked at the sculptures, and went back to school. I love that the students are given the chance to dive deeper into their thoughts on the pieces of art. I was never given as much individual attention as The Learning Academy students were. I think it was a great idea on my professor’s part to allow my peers and myself to come and assist the students during their time at the gallery. I was able to learn a little more about visual literacy along with the students. I love how the art teacher is going to continue the visual literacy lesson after visiting the art gallery rather than making the field trip a one-time experience and reflection.