AAA 3rd grade classes visited Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art this week for the Me and My Museum Program. Students were introduced to the elements of art (line, shape, color, texture, form and space) and learned how artists use the elements to communicate meaning to the audience. Four works of art were selected for the students to identify the elements used and determine what the artists wanted to reveal to the viewer.
Looking closely at each work students instantly identified the elements of art and began to connect how elements help communicate the story. “Color” is more than the hue of an object, it can convey mood (happy, sad, mad) or temperature (hot, warm, cold). “Lines” are not always straight nor always seen, lines can be implied; lines can direct your eyes where to go in the painting to help tell a story.
The common themes collectively shared between the works of art were “community” and “equality”; some represented straightforward others more abstractly. By the end of the experience our students were able to approach new works of art and decode imagery through the elements and translate meaning successfully.
