From the Visual Art Faculty

From the Visual Art Faculty

Not all we do in Visual Art is practical work.  

Much of our work is in Visual Literacy.  All our students, Reception to Year 12, are asked to DESCRIBE, ANALYSE, INTERPRET AND JUDGE/EVALUATE. We aim to build our students’ art knowledge and understanding of art.  Every aspect of our world is visual, and having skills in visual literacy is vital now and in the future.

Working from the principle of LOOK, OBSERVE, SEE; we encourage students to spend time with art work, to slow down and decipher what they see with purpose.

Inspired by a book, “Are You an Art Sleuth?” by Brooke DiGiovanni Evans, I have started the year playing a game in our Junior Primary Lessons.  The game is EYE SPY.  It has a bit of a twist from the game played on long car rides.

Instead of looking out the window students are looking at FAMOUS WORKS OF ART.

I started our first class with Tom Roberts’ The Break Away, oil on canvas, 1891.

Starting with subject matter.

Eye spy with my little eye something that looks like              …  two horses … dam … three birds … two dogs

The horses were hard to spot, this is where arts language comes in to play … for the clues! 

Below/above the horizon, in the foreground, in the background, where the colour changes, it is dark brown

The game will strengthen your son’s understanding of arts language, terminology and build their vocabulary in a practical and fun experience. Please join in our game at home!

Yours in the Arts,

Mrs Emily Kenny

Visual Art and Design Teacher