Very few paintings by Norman Rockwell hang in the great muse

Very few paintings by Norman Rockwell hang in the great museums. Would you rate his art as highly as you do the art of Rembrandt, Valazquez, and other old masters? Why or why not?

Solution

WHAT IS IT?

Meet the Masters is a volunteer art history and art appreciation program intended to acquaint

children with the world of art. Meet the Masters seeks to cultivate a sustained awareness and

interest in art by exposing children to selected prints.

WHO ARE THE MEET THE MASTERS VOLUNTEERS?

Volunteers are members of the community, parents and grandparents, who have a genuine interest

and enthusiasm for bringing fine art to the young. No teaching or art experience is required.

WHAT DO VOLUNTEERS DO?

Trained volunteers make presentations on the lives and works of master artists in the classroom.

These presentations, using reproductions of the artists\' major works, last about 20-30 minutes.

Each classroom will have a Meet the Masters presentation about every six weeks.

HOW ARE VOLUNTEERS TRAINED?

Training workshops in the fall prepare volunteers for their school experiences. A prepared packet

of information on the artist and the print are provided, including sample questions for discussion

with the class.

WHY IS MEET THE MASTERS IMPORTANT?

Awareness of art is important for all children, not just a privileged few. For some children, this will

be their only exposure to fine art.

Children who are exposed to art appreciation will become the adults who support the arts and art

institutions in the future.

Meet the Masters promotes an awareness of the arts in our community. Through the increased

activity and interest of volunteers, parents, faculty members, and administrators, knowledge of the

arts will be expanded.Meet the Masters

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Meet the Masters Volunteer

Meet the Masters is an art history and appreciation

program for elementary students. Meet the Masters

volunteers are guides for students as they embark on

their adventure into the world of art. By presenting

prints of fine art to classes, Meet the Masters

volunteers help students understand and appreciate

works of art.

QUALIFICATIONS: Clear speaking voice, interest in art, ability to relate

to students, creative flair, punctuality and reliability.

NOTE:Pre-service training will be provided

for Meet the Masters volunteers.

DUTIES: The Meet the Masters volunteer works under the

direction of and in cooperation with the volunteer

coordinator, art, and classroom teachers.

Activities include some of the following:

Presenting pairs of art prints to classes of

students;

Pointing out the artists\' use of color, shapes,

texture and movement;

Highlighting significant aspects of artists\'

style and life;

Leading student discussions about the art

prints - their differences and similarities;

Helping students to look at the art prints with

understanding and sensitivity;

Encouraging students to examine their

opinions about art.Meet the Masters

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Framework for Meet the Masters

Meet the Masters has been organized for use in Kindergarten through Grade Five. Prints of major

artworks have been selected to complement the Social Studies curriculum at each grade level. The

subject matter of these prints fit into the following categories:

Kindergarten: Pictures are Fun

Pre-First: Self

Grade One: The Family

Grade Two: Adventure

Grade Three: City and Country

Grade Four: We All Lead Different Lives

Grade Five: American History: Living in America

The program has been designed to accommodate five or six classroom visits. During each visit the

volunteer will present two prints to the class. These \'pairs\' have been selected for interesting

discussion about the Social Studies\' topic and the artwork itself. Each print has an information

sheet to guide the volunteer in the presentation. Included is a short biography of the artist. This is

designed to inform the volunteer - not to be read to the children. Volunteers should choose the

information that they feel would catch the children\'s interest.

There is a description of the artwork provided for the volunteer. This summary points out the style

and details of the print. The information should be enough for the volunteer to lead the class

discussion comfortably.

Sample questions for discussion are provided for each pair of prints. They are designed to bring

out differences and similarities in the prints. The questions may be about style, subject matter,

feelings or may relate to the Social Studies\' curriculum. These questions are only suggestions.

Some volunteers may find that they may like to add questions of their own, or the class discussion

may lead to an entirely different point. This is acceptable. The idea is to look at and talk about

artwork. There are no right or wrong answers.

Related activities have been included with the information as a follow-up exercise for classroom

teachers to use as enrichment at their discretion.Meet the Masters

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Development of Meet the Masters

For several years, the community has worked with principals and teachers on plans and ideas to

bring additional art programs into Broward County Schools. These programs have had a common

goal - to enrich and add to the existing art programs. Many educators, interested community

leaders and parents believe that a strong need still exists for more art appreciation programs in our

schools, especially at the elementary level.

Students need many experiences interacting with works of art produced by masters from the past as

well as the present. Art appreciation is viewed as an important and integral part of the art program

in Florida and Broward County. At the high school level art appreciation is integrated into all art

courses. At the middle school level art appreciation is an integral part of the scope and sequence

and is reflected in the course title - Arts and Crafts/Art Appreciation, l, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. At the

elementary level, art appreciation has been addressed at the district level in the Meet the Masters

Program.. The elementary art teachers provide a two and three-dimensional program of study

which incorporates art appreciation weekly.

School districts nationally have found that an art appreciation program with volunteers presenting

the language and concepts of art in elementary classrooms to be a valuable adjunct to the art

curriculum offered.

The goal of the Meet the Masters program is to present an art appreciation program to elementary

school children by volunteers associated with participating schools. Art is an essential part of the

curriculum for all students. The Meet the Masters volunteers will introduce selected artists and

their paintings. These presentations also help children to develop an appreciation and

understanding of social and historical influences on art.

Specifically, Meet the Masters is designed:

To develop in children an appreciation of art by helping them learn to

look at various kinds of artwork.

To acquaint students with well-known artists and their works. Specific

periods or styles of art are featured so children may gain knowledge of man\'s

visual heritage.

To value art as an important real and human experience.

To develop personal creativity in the children.

To provide community-conscious volunteers with a means of improving the

quality of life for themselves, their families, and their community in general.

To help build art audiences and patrons of the future - as an integral part of

our culture.Meet the Masters

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II. Presentation of Prints

Presentation Techniques

1. The best presentation begins with genuine enthusiasm. When you are confident and

prepared you will feel relaxed.

2. Take time to prepare your talk. Do some pre-planning and purposefully look at the

picture. Be sure of what you want to lead the children into discovering in the picture.

This will make it possible for you to be flexible in changing the order of your talk.

If the children\'s participation and comments make it necessary, you will be prepared. Your

prepared presentation should be close to 15 minutes.

3. On your first visit, tell the children who you are, and your purpose for being there.

4. Emphasize that what you are showing is a reproduction, not the original. Mention that the

size of a reproduction is not the size of the original. Discuss the purpose and need for

reproductions. Mention that more people can enjoy it, the artist can speak to people all over

the world and that the cost is more reasonable etc. See Appendix.

5. Be sure to tell the students that one of the most important things about a painting is that no

one can tell us what we should think about it. Encourage them to express their honest

opinions. There are no wrong answers or feelings. Lead the class in describing the picture.

6. Be as creative and original in your approach as you can. Prepare your presentation with the

age of the children in mind. See the grade level characteristics in the appendix.

7. You might begin your talk with a question to show the class that this is a conversational

situation. Give a talk, not a lecture. Remember you are sharing art for enjoyment.

8. Use the Dialogue Technique, by asking questions such as:

What do you see in the picture?

How do you feel about the picture?

What colors do you see?

Why do you think the artist used that color to show this?

9. Lead children to discover the elements of art - line, form, color, and texture. (See Appen