A Let's Look at Art presentation is an exciting process of discovery for students in Santa Clara County. All art reproductions brought into the classroom are carefully researched and chosen by a select committee of docents with a specific set of curriculum objectives in mind. Each grade level presentation is age appropriate, with works that coincide with the Content Standards for California State Schools. For example, six grade students studying ancient civilizations see artworks from different ancient cultures. The artworks also culturally represent our diverse Bay Area population.
FREE! In your classroom
The docent presents to one class at a time. We bring an educational field trip into your classroom at no cost to you or your students.
PORTFOLIO PRESENTATIONS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS:
Grade K: Color Fun – Explore color, line, and shape.
Grades 1-3: The Basics of Art – These 30- to 50-minute presentations focus on two or three art elements.
Grade 4: How to “Read” a Painting - Introduces the elements of art and the principles of design: line, shape, form, value, color, space, texture, and composition. Two presentations are available. One examines masterworks from a variety of cultures and time periods. The other examines California art and artists.
Grade 5: America and American Artists - Concentrates on American artists from the past and present. Connects art to historical and current events.
Grade 6: Art of Ancient Civilizations – Explores the art of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, Greece, and the Roman Empire.
ART IN THE DARK! DIGITAL PRESENTATIONS FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS:
The Art in the Dark program introduces various historical and contemporary artists and themes while encouraging critical thinking skills and a deeper understanding of the curriculum being studied. Prior to each digital presentation, you will receive by email a Teacher’s Resource Guide that includes a summary of themes and objectives, California Social Science and Visual Arts Frameworks citations, a glossary of key terms to be introduced, suggested follow-up activities, and additional resources for further student exploration. Due to a high volume of requests, we recommend that you sign up early to assure your place.
American Art: 1600-1900 - presents art from the itinerant painting of the limners through the Colonial-Revolutionary period (Peale, Copley, Stuart), the Westward Movement and Civil War (Bierstadt, Catlin, Remington), to the expatriate artists of the late 1800s (Cassatt, Eakins, Homer).
SS - 8th, 8.1, 8.4, 8.6-8.8, 8.12
VA - 8th, 3.1
American Art: 1900-1940 - develops the art movements of the early 20th century in a historical context, from the Industrial Revolution (Henri, Bellows), through the shock of the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art (Duchamp, Matisse) and its effects on American artists (O’Keeffe, Demuth, Wood, Hopper, Benton, Lawrence), up through the Great Depression to World War II.
SS - 11th, 11.2, 11.4-11.6
VA - 11th, 3.3
American Art After 1940 - presents art and artists from World War II to the 21st century in historical context, showing the development of abstract expressionism, color field, pop art, minimalism, and recent trends of cultural diversity, technology, and globalism.
SS - 11th, 11.8
VA - 11th, 3.1
Ancient Civilizations - includes prehistoric art and art of Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, India, China, Greece, and the Roman Empire. Included are examples of art and architecture from each ancient culture.
SS - 6th, 6.1-6.2, 6.4-6.7
VA - 6th, 1.0, 3.0, 4.0
Alexander Calder - presents a short review of sculptural methods and focuses on Calder’s revolutionary development of the mobile and stabile. Examples of Calder’s early drawings and sculptures, as well as his later work provide understanding of the variety in his exciting creations.
VA - 6th-11th, 6th, 1.1, 1.4, 7th, 1.2, 4.4
S - Physics enrichment.
California: History and Landscapes - uses artworks of California to illuminate the state’s history, geography, and geology. With maps, early posters, and artists’ works, we circle the state to gain an understanding of California’s unique geology and history and learn how our state developed its “Golden” image.
SS - 6th, 6.1-6.7
S - 6th Earth Science, 6th 1 d-f, 2 a-d
VA - 6th-11th
East-West Connection: Hokusai, Hiroshige, and Van Gogh - traces the impact of Dutch art on Japanese block print artists Hokusai and Hiroshige and the Japanese artists’ influence on French impressionists and post-impressionists, especially Vincent van Gogh.
SS - 10th, 10.3-10.4
VA - 6th-11th
Jacob Lawrence and American Civil Rights - traces Lawrence’s art as it reflects African-American history from slavery through the Civil Rights struggles of the 20th century. It touches on African-American migration from the South, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, school desegregation, boycotts, and the civil rights marches of the 1950s and 1960s.
SS - 8th & 11th
VA - 7th-11th
Black History Month enrichment in February
Georgia O’Keeffe - presents the development of American abstraction and modernism through O’Keeffe’s work and the photography of Alfred Stieglitz. Discusses O’Keeffe’s challenges as a female artist in a male dominated art world.
SS - 9th, Women’s Studies
VA - 9th -11th
Women’s History Month in March
Pablo Picasso - explores Picasso’s artistic development and expounds on the themes of the Spanish Civil War, Adolph Hitler, Nazism, and the peace movement of the 1960s. Includes paintings, sculptures, multiple self-portraits, ceramics, and his iconic works Les Demoiselles d’Avignon and Guernica.
SS - 9th Humanities, 10th, 10.7.3, 10.8.1, 10.8.5
VA - 9th-11th
Renaissance and the Middle Ages- begins with an optional brief review of Western and Japanese medieval art and art of the Americas. Then it focuses on the evolution of Renaissance art in Italy and Northern Europe with examples from Giotto, Donatello, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dürer, and Brueghel the Elder.
SS - 7th, 10th
VA - 7th – 11th
Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo - shows the connections among modern Mexico, the United States, and Russia through the work of the two artists. Follows the thread of their intertwined lives to reveal Rivera’s murals and Kahlo’s many self-portraits.
SS - 9th Cultural Studies, 10th, 10.4
VA - 6th-11th grades
Spanish Language enrichment
Leo Villareal: Illuminating Currents - explores the computer-generated LED light installations of artist Leo Villareal and the artistic influences on his emergent art. Delves into the mathematical, physics-based, and philosophical aspects of this very contemporary art form to discover new inspirations.
S - 6th-12th Math/Computer Science enrichment
VA - 9th-11th
Women in Western Art & Joan Brown - illuminates the challenges and successes that face woman artists through the work of 13 artists from Gentileschi (1600s) to Claudel (1800s) to Brown (1960s to 1980s). This Kind of Bird Flies Backward: Paintings by Joan Brown is on view at the Museum from October 14, 2011, through March 11, 2012.
VA - 6th-11th
Women’s History Month in March
LET’S LOOK AT ART AND ART IN THE DARK FAQS
How much does it cost?
It’s FREE!
How many students per presentation?
Up to 36 students
How long are the presentations?
30 minutes to one hour depending on grade level and class time available. Teachers must remain in the classroom during the entire presentation.
How can I sign up?
To request a presentation for your class please use the online Let’s Look at Art Presentation Request Form. If you need assistance please e-mail LLAA@sjmusart.org or call 408.291.5393. Plan early for best availability as LLAA programs fill very quickly. We make every effort to accommodate your scheduling preference, but because we cannot guarantee availability, your presentation date is confirmed only after you receive a confirmation email from one of our Let’s Look at Art docents.
Generous support for the Let’s Look at Art program is provided by The Hans and Elizabeth Wolf Foundation.