Understanding & Using Visual Qualities

Chapter 6 Reflection

This chapter gives us information on the visual qualities of art and how they may apply in a K-12 classroom. They specifically focus more on objects, space, light, and time by explaining how each of these tools works and how they can be used to create meaning by students in their artwork. There is also information provided on the elements of design and what they are in the traditional sense. I think including this information in a K-12 classroom can be very helpful to students when we are trying to teach them a lesson while also explaining what we are assessing them on. I remember not learning about the elements of design until a high school art class and I think learning about it earlier would have been helpful in understanding the different qualities of my own art. I also believe this would help students in art critiques because they would know what to look for and can therefore give and receive better feedback. After this, the authors go more in depth into each element and quality and give various helpful examples for how students can incorporate these things in their own art. One of the points they talk about towards the end is time. I found this part particularly interesting as well because I had never considered the expression of time in art that wasn’t video or animation related. Even the example they gave of the comics as a suggestion of time was not something I had considered before. The examples they also showed of how Duchamp and Balla would try and represent movement through repetition was interesting and is a technique I would be interested in trying out in my own art.

The section that most stood out to me in this section was towards the middle when the authors begin discussing color. In this context, they mainly focus on explaining how important color is with conveying moods and emotions in art. They discuss how learning about the color wheel and how colors are made when combined can be a good learning exercise for younger students while older students will likely branch out and begin experimenting with creating tertiary and neutral colors. What I most enjoyed was how they mention that a viewers perception of color can change depending on their cultural background. They give a few examples like how the color red is associated with stop signs and stop lights to symbolize danger while in a country like China, it is a symbol of good luck. Same thing with the color yellow symbolizing happiness in some cases and illness in others. I thought it was very educating that they would include this section on color differences between cultures.

Teaching about the color wheel and color perception is something I consider a staple in the art classroom. Like the textbook says, even young students can learn about primary colors and how to make them while older students can learn more advanced techniques for color mixing. Ideally, I would want to educate my students with as much knowledge as I possibly can so I would also like to teach them about how color can be perceived in different cultures. I think it would be a fun lesson and project to have my students create a piece with colors that mean different things in different cultures and then try and come up with a possible interpretation for their piece through the lens of each culture. It would help them gain a deeper understanding on how color can create different moods and meanings depending on who is looking at their artwork. It would also help teach them to consider where their art is displayed as the location and the type of people that will be around to view their art can have different interpretation of it than what may have initially been intended by the student.

Value Study Sphere by Lofton, Grade 6

References:

Freedman, K. & Boughton, D. (2023). Elementary Art Education: A Practical Approach to Teaching Visual Culture [Unpublished manuscript]. Art and Design Education, Northern Illinois University.

Lofton. (n.d.). Value Study Sphere. Artsonia. Retrieved from https://www.artsonia.com/museum/art.asp?id=112614802