Jim Dine vs. Peter Max Comparisons

Art Critique Station

As we study different artists, students have been taught to give verbal and written art critiques using appropriate vocabulary. In one of the stations, students use postcard size copies of various artworks to write art critiques. As a part of their art critiques, the students are required to include the Elements of Art and Principles of Design.

Piet Mondrian Art Critiques

All grades have been learning about the famous artist Piet Mondrian to reinforce the concepts of lines, geometric shapes, primary colors, and to incorporate art history. As a part of their study, all students had to choose which of his works, out a limited set of three, they preferred the most. They chose from Composition London, Broadway Boogie-Woogie, and Windmill in Sunlight. Kinder through Third Grade verbally chose and shared with a partner which they preferred and why. Fourth and Fifth Grade wrote their preferences down in the form of a written art critique. The students had to use the elements of art previously learned to explain their choice. The written art critiques were added next to the artworks' poster on our Visual Arts bulletin board. (There are no close-ups of the art critiques because they indicate the student's names and grade levels.)

Beauty Is In The Eye of the Beholder: Fifth Grade

In Fifth Grade we talked about the importance of art critiques but that ultimately, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We discussed what this saying meant. The students then drew the outline of an eye and then traced bowls to create pupils. They then divided the pupil into six parts. They traced all of their drawing with a black Cray-pas. They then colored in the pupil to look like a basic color wheel with the Cray-pas. They then drew details like eye lashes and eyebrows.