DESCRIPTION: Using bodily movements, students determine the path that their eyes travel as they look at a work of art.

OBJECTIVES: Students demonstrate an understanding of line, analyze its role in the meaning of a work of art, learn how lines convey a mood, and use their imagination to discover meaning in artworks.

PROCEDURE: Lines help to direct us in the world. Think of lines you see every day that tell you which way to go-like the lines down the middle of streets or signs with arrows, or arms that point.

Let's use our fingers to indicate a direction. Now let's use our arms (legs, a nod of the head, etc.). Let's look at a work of art to see how the lines direct our eyes. Pay attention to the first three things that you see. What was the first thing that you noticed? The second? The third? Remember the path that your eyes take as they move from the first, to the second, and to the third place. Did your eyes use lines to travel from place to place? What other elements gave you direction? (color, shape, etc.) Why would an artist want to control the direction that your eye travels?

MINNESOTA GRADUATION STANDARDS:
(1) Read, View, Listen
(2) Write and Speak
(3) Literature and the Arts

Age level: Appropriate for grades 2-5. Discussion for all ages.
Artworks used: Go to works that contain dominant lines.
Props needed: No props needed.
Related to Minneapolis Sculpture Garden: No


© 1998 WALKER ART CENTER