Week of 2/15 Assignment

Visual Thinking Strategies, in my opinion, seems to be the absolute best way for teachers to facilitate a conversation amongst students about a visual image.  It creates a comfortable and safe atmosphere that allows even the most timid of students to feel confident to voice their opinion about a piece.  This is so important because it removes fear from the classroom, which I believe is a chief preventer of creative thought and learning.  If done well, like in the video we watched, I believe that it can break down any barriers a student may put up toward the arts or school at large. 

It is so vital that students learn how to examine and discuss works of art because, quite simply, art is all around us.  This ability allows one to foster their imaginations, be creative, and experience the world through a more colorful and cultured lens.  And to be able to feel secure enough to talk about these personal findings is the icing on the cake!

I chose Van Gogh’s “Night Café” to use for my VTS discussion.  I talked with my roommate and my neighbor and the conversation was very colorful and much more exciting than I ever anticipated!  Both girls saw the piece as very colorful, lively, and recognized the Van Gogh style surrounding the lights in the café that is famously seen in his “Starry Night”.  I thought this was impressive and showed both their academic and cultural knowledge and awareness.  And what is more is that neither girl was afraid of being wrong when making this connection.  When I asked how they interpreted the piece their individual personalities and backgrounds came out.

When describing the picture, one girl described it has a hip club scene, posh, the bar and pool table suggest that this is a hang out for middle class, yet the people in the back corner are dressed well so maybe it is a more up-scale bar/restaurant.  The other girl felt similarly about all her observations, but noticed that the colors of the painting were primarily red, green, white, and yellow.  She speculated about Van Gogh’s country of origin and was interested if he was from Spain, because red and yellow are the colors of their flag.  I thought this was an excellent observation.  When researching afterwards I found that Van Gogh was actually born in Holland (the flag is red, white, and blue) so that was probably not the inspiration for the colors.  I also found that Van Gogh was chiefly concerned with colors in his paintings, which leads me to believe that the colors must have significance.  Had I not talked with these girls I probably never would have even pondered this idea.  This is just another prime example of how teachers learn just as much from their students as students do from their teachers.  What an incredible and rewarding process for everyone!!