The purpose of a visit to the Phillips Collection is to introduce the students to an alternative viewing experience. These students are emotionally and learning disabled. They are able to handle small group situations. A trip to a "non-traditional" art museum that is actually a home, makes the experience more meaningful.
Curriculum Unit:
Grade 5, 6
Art
Objectives:
The students will learn how Duncan Phillips amassed his collection of modern paintings. They will experience, through the use of postcards and reproductions, the task of creating their own collection to be named after themselves. Additionally, the students will connect at least three painters to their works by following a "scavenger hunt" worksheet during the tour. They will then be able to connect feelings and emotions toward the paintings observed by the use of flash card labeling and discussion with the docent. Guided by this non-objective and non-threatening exercise, they will attach their own personal feelings to the paintings by placing cards with the "feeling words" under a painting of their choice.
Pre-Visit Activities:
After a teacher visit a few months prior to the trip, a packet containing slides, reproductions, and photographs will be brought for the students. The Head Docent will visit with the students and discuss Duncan Phillips, his life and collection. The docent will provide each student with a postcard of a painting and invite them to find it when they come. Tow days prior to the trip, the teacher shows the packet to the students in order to familiarize them with the works. During the slide show, students will create their own titles and compose them later with the real titles. This is to see whether they can match, if not in content then in feeling.
On-Site Activities:
The students will be introduced to the home of Duncan Phillips. They will see that some of the viewing rooms are bedrooms,a living room, a music room, and a modern museum building recently added to the original house. Each student will then have a turn with using an emotion to describe a painting. They will pick a card with a feeling word, provided by the docent, and place it on the floor beneath the work. They will explain their choice and render if the artist had felt the same feeling. Toward the end, the students will complete the worksheet as best as possible. Finally, the students will pick out some postcards for their own personal collection, which will be later used for the follow-up activity.
Follow-Up Activities:
The students will compare their worksheets with the others to see if answers coincided. They will compare those different answers to how an artist sees with his or her own personal vision. Two or three students will pool their postcards to display on a mat board. They will then name their "museum". The student will use their favorite painting to try a pastel, chalk, or tempera painting for display. Each student will research their favorite artist and write a brief paragraph about them. Finally, the students will sign a card of their own design thanking the Phillips Collection.
Appendices:
Phillips Collection Worksheet (Find Me)
Bibliography:
None
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