Illustration with Purpose Creativity with Power
Reflections on selected VTS Lessons
Ancient of Days
A student noted “straight, yellow lines connected to his fingers.” I summarized this as “yellow coming out of his fingers.” The student corrected me.
He had said connected and he meant it. I had let my own interpretation obscure his idea. This was a good lesson to learn and something to be aware of going forth.
The Torment of St. Anthony
Our first example of a collaborative narrative constructed from details in the painting:
This Saint has a bag of crackers so sea-demons, hoping to steal them, have kidnapped him from his little boat (he is not amused).
Moreover, the distracting detail of a “butthole mouth” led to closer attention to detail than they had shown so far.
Starting with a Joke
I was surprised by how often the students rely on humor in their answers. I suspect that it acts as a layer of protection to keep them from being “wrong.” Jokes can convey serious information and beliefs in a non-committal way (I do this all the time at school).
These jokes are most frequently used at the very start of the discussions or in lulls in the discussion.
“The lady is going ‘boy oh boy’”
“They aren’t giving him nostrils.”
“The bread looks drunk.”
“That guy is Jesús” (pronounced Hay-soos)
“Velociraptors!”
“It’s a tigger!”
Dissonance
A baby demon is tormenting a satyr with his really bad music.
How do we discuss the idea that the artist (may have) viewed redheads as demonic without speaking in a hurtful way about a group of people?
Early Sunday Morning
A student connecting this piece to the Covid Shutdowns was one of our first instances of relating art to personal experience and not just the literal content of the image.
Identifying the Story as the “Right Answer”
Once the students figure what a painting is “supposed to be” they stop their deep dive. It seems they naturally assume that once they know what the painting is about they have figured it out. I am yet to see them uncover a story and then examine how the choices of the artist inform the meaning of it.
Yes it’s Noah’s ark, but why is it so dark and enclosed? It’s Jesus in the boat, what is the artist telling us about him here? None that so far.
Noah’s Ark
A surprising level of analysis here. There is clearly light shining into the room from the right; in the back, however, is a dark window. Is it day or night in this scene? Where is the light coming from? Several students gave well articulated explanations of their opinions with no agreed upon answer.
A Martyr on a Circus Ring
Students addressed the medium and the artist directly for the first time, noting the visible sketch lines on the back gate. “He painted the wall first and then painted the gate over it.”
We also had an interesting discussion about the figure’s gender (something that hadn’t yet come up in any of our discussions), and what attributes seemed more male or more female.