• General Guide
• Ideas that have worked before
• Art terms
• Becoming a TIC TOC Rep for your school - list of responsibilities

BEGIN YOUR PRESENTATION WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

1. Introduce yourself.

2. Give the name of the artist and a brief biography. (Use the chalk board if possible, or signs.)

3. Title of the art object, painting, sculpture, you are presenting to the class, and of its creation.

4. Tell the type of art medium the artist uses: (for example, oil paints/canvas, pastels, watercolors, acrylics, for painting; wood, plaster, metal, stone, clay, for sculpture; clay for ceramics; yarns for weaving or needlework)

5. Tell the style of art (classic, modern, cubism, impressionism, realism, "op-art," "pop-art," primitive, surrealism, etc.) and define it simply.

6. Tell the favorite subject matter of the artist if any (people, scenery, events, flowers, still life, the sea, ideas, feelings, etc.)

DON'T WORRY IF YOU DON'T HIT ALL OF THE POINTS BELOW.

OTHERS WILL SEE THINGS IN THE WORKS OF ART THAT YOU DID NOT REALIZE WERE THERE - THAT'S THE WONDERFUL THING ABOUT ART!!!

TIPS FOR LOOKING AT THE ART WORK:

Point out some of the following by asking the class a few questions:

Questions:

(You may make up some of your own if these are not suitable, depending on the grade level)

1. How did the artist use COLOR? (tones, primary/secondary, shadows, outlines, etc.)

2. How did the artist use LIGHT? (where is its source, what is its effect? etc.)

3. How did the artist use  GEOMETRIC SHAPES? (triangles, circles, ovals, squares, rectangles)

4. How did the artist use COMPOSITION? (the arrangement of objects and the spaces between)

5. How did the artist use LINE?( diagonals, curves, horizontals, verticals, etc.)

6. How did the artist use PATTERN? (repetitions of shapes, lines, colors, etc.)

7. What seems to be the FOCAL POINT of the art work? (the place to which the eye seems to return)

SOME PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURE WILL BE GOOD EXAMPLES OF A FEW OF THE ABOVE.

DON'T TRY TO ASK ALL THE ABOVE QUESTIONS. CHOOSE 2 OR 3 THAT BEST APPLY TO YOUR ART OBJECT.

SUGGESTIONS TO BRING IN AS "PROPS:"

Look around your home: Toy model boats, trucks, dolls, doll furniture, fruit, vegetables, candle sticks, objects of various metals like copper, pewter, brass, various fabrics- ask students to notice shadows, shapes related to paintings.

DOCENT DO'S AND DON'TS

• Do be prompt- if teacher is to have class ready, we must be on time.
• Do stimulate interest in picture.
• Be objective and enthusiastic.
• Be prepared but be flexible to the response of the group.
• Do question child so he/she will tell feelings and use imagination.
• Do accept child's right to like or dislike the picture.
• Do place the picture in historical era.
• Do attempt to introduce a new word if possible, write it on the blackboard, help them pronounce it.
• Do get the children to see and feel things in the picture.
• Do suggest the children try painting with artist's same techniques.
• Never be afraid to say, "I don't know, what do you think" "Let's find out if we can."
• Talk on children's own age level.
• Add new facts, ideas, comments to folders- be responsible for the picture you are handling.
• Don't stay too long- leave when the interest is high.
• Do not dwell on the artist or become too literal.
• Do not lecture or expound with a "fixed" presentation.
• Don't tell child what you think picture is all about.
• Don't express personal feelings or prejudices about the picture.
• Don't dwell on historical era.
• Do not attempt to teach a complete "art vocabulary."
• Do not force the aesthetic vision of an adult onto children.
• Do not suggest that the children copy the painting as is.
• A Docent is not a teacher.
• A 6th grade presentation will not go over in the 2nd grade. Do not just follow everyone else's presentation and concepts- add your own (they'll be great!)

Ideas for the Classroom

Every Art Docent brings fresh ideas to the job. To get you thinking, here are some ideas that have been successful in the past.

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For Rousseau, in the lower grades, have the kids make origami cats (the heads can be done in advance) and decorate them with colored pencils and crayons.

(from the Glen Rock Cultural Enrichment Committee book of research)

CLASSIC ART — art which has those qualities of Greek or Roman style such as reason, discipline, restraint, order.  It is sometimes explained as a mixture of simplicity, harmony and proportion. 

RENAISSANCE - a period in the history of art, mainly the 14th and 15th centuries.  At first a revival (literally "rebirth") of Greek and Roman models in literatyre, architecture and sculpture. It became an intense desire for knowledge and an awareness of the dignity and humanity of the individual.  It began in Italy and reached its height in the visual arts with Michalangelo, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci.

IMPRESSIONISM - a movement or style of painting which began in the 1860's and is generally considered to mark the beginning of the modern art movement. The Impressionist tried to capture a fleeting "impression" of nature as if seen for the first time.  They showed that color changes with the light that is cast on it, and that changing light also changes the form of objects.  This was a break with the painting of the past which had regarded natural colors and forms as unchanging. Manet, Renoir, Monet and Degas were important Impressionists.  

POST-IMPRESSIONISM - a period in modern painting that started in the middle 1880's coming between Impressionism and the beginnings of Fauvism, Cubism and Expressionism in the early 20th century.  Post-Impressionism was a reaction against Impressionism, which emphasized the purely visual, external affect of light or movement.  Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh and Matisse are called Post-Impressionists.  

FAUVES - a French word meaning "wild beasts", used to describe a group of French artists, led by Matisse, who used violent, uncontrolled, brilliant color.                                                   

CUBISM — a movement led by Picasso and Georges Braqua which tried to liberate form.  Influenced by Cezanne, the Cubists saw the basic structure behind reality as made up of basic geometric shapes such as the cube,  the cylinder and the cone.  By arranging these geometric elements, the Cubists created new combinations of basic forms.  

EXPRESSIONISM — art in which the personal emotions of the artist are of major importance, as in the painting of Van Gogh.  The modern Expressionist movement began with Edvard Munch, whose work had great influence in Germany where different Expressionist groups mere founded.  Other painters associated with these groups were Soutine, Kirchner and Klee.

SURREALISM — from the French word meaning "super-reality'' — the reality of the drama, fantasies and imaginings that make up the major part of the subconscious mind.  The movement was officially begun in 1924 when the first Surrealist Manifesto declared that it was the artist's duty to free man’s unconscious  personality  from  reason  and  inhibition. The movement was deeply influenced by the theories of Sigmund Freud.  Important artists are Chagall, Dali, Klee and Magritte.

ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM - A broad range of painting styles that appeared around 1945 in New York City.  The Abstract Expressionists used a spontaneous,  emotional (expressionistic) approach in creating a picture.  The paintings usually do not represent figures, forms or objects as they appear in nature.  Important artists are Pollock, deKooning and Hofmann.   

POP ART – starting in England in the 1950's, Pop Art emerged in the United States during the 1960's as a reaction against Abstract Expressionism. Influenced by Marcel Duchamp,  pop artists were concerned with their everyday environment and took their images -  Coke bottles, movie stars, soup cans, comic strips—from popular culture.  Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jasper Johns are major pop artists.

OP ART — a term that came into use in the I960's to describe the work of such painters as Victor Vaserely and Bridgit Riley.  Op(tical) Art relied on purely visual reactions, especially optical Illusions.  Op Art paintings are generally a mass of spheres, lines or vivid colors that seem to shift constantly under the eye.

A.   ATTEND MONTHLY TIC TOC BOARD MEETINGS  - FIRST THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH BETWEEN OCTOBER AND JUNE

·         To keep informed of current TIC TOC activities

·         To report any schedule changes to the docents

B.   MANAGE MONTHLY ROTATION OF ART COLLECTIONS AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

·         Hang or display the items after delivery to school

·         Bag the pictures before the driver arrives (if not ready on time, you must move the contents to the next school

·         Coordinate delivery of Special Collections with receiving representative

·         Advise curators of any missing or damaged items

·         Report any problems with the rotation to the curators

C.   RECRUIT ART DOCENTS

·         Distribute rotation schedules to docents, art teachers, and school offices

·         Recruit docents for each class

·         Keep docents informed of opportunities such as workshops, museum trips and coffees at the Stable

D.   PROMOTE THE SUNDAY THEATRE SERIES

·         Have theatre fliers printed in the school newspaper

·         Post publicity materials at school

·         Sell additional tickets when necessary

E.   ASSIST THE MAINTENANCE OF THE ART COLLECTION

·      Clean the items when necessary

·      Clean items (with Glass Plus not Windex) before returning to storage

·      Report any damaged or missing items to the curators

F.    REPORT TO YOUR HOME AND SCHOOL BOARD EACH MONTH

·         Request the annual donation from the H.S.A.

There are other ways to get involved:

·         Go on museum trips 

·         Chaperone at the theatre

·         Help the Hospitality Committee

·         Make bags for the Art Collection

·         Attend Showcase to evaluate prospective shows