Inquiry-based Learning

In his publication Art Criticism and Education (1997), George Geahigan put forward a model of inquiry-based art criticism learning. In Geahigan’s model, art criticism is considered as a critical inquiry activity in the search for meaning and value of artworks.

Inquiry-based art criticism learning mainly consists of three kinds of instructional activities: (1) personal response activity, (2) aesthetic concept and perceptual skill acquisition activity, and (3) research activity. Personal response activity concerns students’ feelings and thoughts generated when encountering an artwork, encouraging students to reflect on their own views. Aesthetic concept and perceptual skill acquisition activity put emphasis on soliciting and refining students’ responses to an artwork, in order to develop a systematic approach to practising art criticism. Research activity aims at equipping students with a better understanding of biographical knowledge of artists and contextual infromation of artworks which can help viewers grasp the meaning of the works. Go to Resources

Personal Response Activity
Aesthetic Concept and Perceptual Skill Acquisition Activity
Research Activity

Personal Response Activity

Introduction

Personal response activity aims at (1) eliciting students’ inquires, curiosity, feelings and personal thoughts in encountering artworks, and hence (2) leading them to practise critical reflection.

Implementation

Lead students to realize the problems presented by artworks that make viewers puzzled, i.e. “the problematic situations” proposed by Geahigan. For example:
- Compare artworks in terms of subject, style, function, theme or artistic intent, in order to challenge the given perceptions of students towards the works.
- Try to select provocative works for discussion, in order to challenge the conventional beliefs, ideas and values of students.
Guide students in responding to and pursuing the puzzle and inquires:
- Encourage students to develop their own understanding of and feelings towards an artwork, instead of indoctrinating them with certain perceptions. Personal signification can only be acquired by students through exploring the artworks themselves; it cannot be taught.
- Respect students’ responses, opinions, interests and concerns. Avoid showing preferences for specific viewpoints, in order not to discourage students when talking about artworks or engaging them in art criticism.
- Create an inviting classroom atmosphere for students to freely express their opinions or comment on others’ viewpoints. Cooperation, instead of competition, should be encouraged among students.
Engage students in making responses and discussion:
- Encourage students to provide evidence to support their own conclusions.
- Ask students to provide more information about the artworks.
- Summarize students’ opinions from time to time.

Examples

Examples 1: Ask students to choose two artworks of different periods for comparison and identify the similarities between the works.

Venus de Milo, c. 100 B. C.

Alexandros of Antioch

Marble

H 2.02 m

Louvre Museum, Paris

David, 1501 - 1504

Michelangelo (1475 - 1564)

Marble

H 4.97 m

Gallery of the Academy of Florence, Florence

Pantheon

113–125 AD

Rome, Italy

Hong Kong Central Library, 2001

Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Example 2: Show students paintings about artists painting their models. Engage them in reflecting on the differences between Lucian Freud’s works and works showing typical painter-model relationships.

Painter and Model, 1986 - 1987

Lucian Freud (1922 - 2011)

Oil on canvas

159.6 x 120.7 cm

Private Collection

The Allegory of Painting, c. 1666 - 1668

Vermeer (1632 - 1675)

Oil on canvas

120 x 100 cm

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Painter and Model (Venus), 1923

Jenő Paizs Goebel (1896 - 1944)

Oil on canvas

94 x 145 cm

Private Collection

Artist and Model, 1959

Mati Klarwein (1932 - 2002)

Oil and tempera on canvas

81 x 100 cm

Private Collection

Example 3: Show students paintings with similar themes and compositions. Engage them in reflecting on why Robert Sherer’s works are considered as radical breaks with conventions.

Pietà, c. 1440

Konrad Witz (c. 1400 - 1447)

Tempera and oil on panel

33.3 x 44.5 cm

The Frick Collection, New York

Midtown Pieta

Robert Sherer (1957 - )

Oil on canvas

99.1 x 147.3 cm

Private Collection

Resting Girl, 1752

Francois Boucher (1703 - 1770)

Oil on canvas

59 x 73 cm

Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Vamose Ramos!

Robert Sherer (1957 - )

Oil on canvas

134.6 x 210.8 cm

Private Collection

Example 4: Encourage students to make a guess at the story behind Bahareh Bisheh’s works.

I Have a Mother..., 2012

Bahareh Bisheh (1989 - )

Digital image

I Have a Mother..., 2012

Bahareh Bisheh (1989 - )

Digital image

I Have a Mother..., 2012

Bahareh Bisheh (1989 - )

Digital image

I Have a Mother..., 2012

Bahareh Bisheh (1989 - )

Digital image

Example 5: Show students the following works with cat as the subject matter. Encourage them to discuss their feelings of the works.

Portrait of Louise Vernet as a Child, c. 1818 - 1819

Theodore Gericault (1791 - 1824)

Oil on canvas

60.5 x 50.5 cm

Louvre Museum, Paris

Cat Devouring a Bird, 1939

Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)

Oil on canvas

91.4 x 127.0 cm

Private Collection

Tabby Cat, 1924

Takeuchi Seihō (1864 - 1942)

Ink and colors on silk

81.9 x 101.6 cm

Yamatane Museum of Art, Tokyo

The Association of Manekineko Japan, Cat in Japan, 1996

Yokoo Tadanori (1936-)

Screen print on paper

103 × 72.7 cm

M+ Sigg Collection, Hong Kong

Aesthetic Concept and Perceptual Skill Acquisition Activity

Introduction

Aesthetic concept and perceptual skill acquisition activity aims to equip students with (1) aesthetic concepts and (2) perceptual skills required in art criticism so that they can acquire a solid understanding of artworks.

Implementation

Teach aesthetic concepts through examples and demonstrations:
- Concept and interpretation: Draw a comparison or an analogy between different artworks
- Form: Explain artworks using diagrams or modifying the works
Teach perceptual skills through demonstrations and practice:
- Engage students in art making to acquire practical experience in order to learn about specific artistic medium.
- Guide students to observe artworks with the use of diagrams or through modifying the works.
- Ask students to categorize artworks based on given styles, media, techniques, organization, functions or other elements, in order to demonstrate their understanding of the works.

Examples

Example 1: Teachers show various artworks to explain how art is employed in social movements (concepts and interpretation).

Lennon Wall，2014

Installation

Hong Kong

A Dung Gu kiosk formed by numerous little yellow umbrellas, 2014

Installation

Hong Kong

Lennon Wall, 2014

Urban Sketchers Hong Kong

Watercolor on paper

Hong Kong

Umbrella Revolution: Symbols of Hong Kong Protest, 2014

Digital image

Hong Kong

Example 2: Teachers show various artworks to explain how art is employed in political propaganda (concepts and interpretation).

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, 1927 - 1941

Gutzon Borglum (1867 - 1941) & Lincoln Batholith (1912 - 1986)

Granite

H 18m

Keystone, South Dakota

Agriculture, 1952

Bernardas Bučas (1903 - 1979) and Petras Vaivada (1906 - 1989)

H 3.2 m(including the pedestal)

Green Bridge, Vilnius, Lithuania

Five Rams Statue, 1959

Granite

H 11 m

Yuexiu Park, Guangzhou, China

Statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il of Mansu Hill Grand Monument, 1972 & 2012

Bronze

H 22 m

Mansu Hill, Pyongyang, North Korea

Example 3: Teachers show various artworks to explain how art is employed to expose social problems (concepts and interpretation).

Unity, 2016

Guido van Helten (1986 - )

Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Unexpected Festival by JustKids, 2016

Guido van Helten (1986 - )

Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA

The 30th Anniversary of the Disaster of Chernobyl, 2016

Guido van Helten (1986 - )

Chernobyl

Mexicable Project, Part I, 2016

Guido van Helten (1986 - )

Ecatepec de Morelos, Mexico

Example 4: Teachers show the following artworks in which the painter employs a realistic approach to imitate the abstract image created with paint on an acrylic pane. Ask students to judge and justify if it is an abstract or a realistic work.

Untitled-1, 2015

Lu Zheng-yuan (1982 - )

Oil on canvas and Acrylic

180 x 300 cm

Detail

Paint on plastic borad

The painting and the paint on the plastic board

Example 5: Provide indications or marks to help students gain a better understanding of the composition of the artwork or encourage students to talk about their understanding of the composition with diagrams (form).

Last Supper, c. 1494 - 1498

Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519)

Fresco-secco

460 × 880 cm

Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan

Madonna del Prato, c. 1505 - 1506

Raphael (1483 - 1520)

Oil on board

113 x 88.5 cm

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

The School of Athens, c. 1509 - 1511

Raphael (1483 - 1520)

Fresco

500 x 770 cm

Apostolic Palace, Vatican City

The Inspiration of Saint Matthew, 1602

Caravaggio (1571 - 1610)

Oil on canvas

292 x 186 cm

Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi del Francesi, Rome

The Lamentation Over the Dead Christ, c.1635

Anthony van Dyck (1599 - 1641)

Oil on canvas

115 x 208 cm

Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

The Milkmaid, c. 1660

Johannes Vermeer (1632 - 1675)

Oil on canvas

45.5 x 41 cm

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The Raft of the Medusa, c. 1818 -1819

Théodore Géricault (1791 - 1824)

Oil on canvas

491 x 716 cm

Louvre Museum, Paris

On the lake (Tver region), 1893

Isaac Levitan (1860 - 1900)

Oil on canvas

109 x 163 cm

Example 6: Ask students to identify the common feature (i.e. fly) of the following artworks. Guide them in discerning the meanings of the fly in the artworks.

Portrait of a Carthusian, 1446

Petrus Christus (c. 1410/1420 – 1475/1476)

Oil on wood

29.2 cm × 21.6 cm

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Detail

Madonna and Child, c. 1480

Carlo Crivelli (1430 - 1495)

Oil on canvas

37.8 x 25.4 cm

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Detail

Christ Supported by Two Angels, c. 1490

Giovanni Santi (c. 1435 - 1494)

Oil on canvas

66.5 x 54.5 cm

Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

Detail

Portrait of the Artist and his Wife, c. 1496

Master of Flemish (1460 - c. 1533)

Oil on panel

38 x 26 cm

Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

Detail

In a Roman Osteria, 1866

Carl Heinrich Bloch (1834 - 1890)

Oil on canvas

148.5 × 177.5 cm

National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen

Detail

Epic Poem of Malaya, 1955

Chua Mia Tee (1931 - )

Oil on canvas

107 x 125.5 cm

National Gallery Singapore, Singapore

Detail

Example 7: Teachers show various sculpture and explain the concepts of body and beauty (concept and interpretation).

Venus of Willendorf, c. 28,000-25,000 B.C.

Oolitic limestone

H 11.1 cm

Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna

Prince Rahotep and his Wife Nofret, c. 2580 B.C.

Painted stone

H 121 cm

Egyptian Museum, Cairo

Riace Warrior, c. 460 - 450 B.C.

Bronze

H 203 cm

National Museum of Magna Grecia, Reggio Calabria, Italy

Pieta from the Rhineland, c. 1300

Painted limewood

H 89 cm

Rheinisches Landes Museum, Bonn

The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, 1647 - 1652

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598 - 1680)

Marble

H 350 cm

Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome

Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, 1913

Umberto Boccioni (1882 - 1916)

Bronze

H 121.3 cm

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Male Torso, 1917

Constantin Brancusi (1876 - 1957)

Brass

H 63.8 cm (without base)

Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio

Supermarket Lady, 1969

Duane Hanson (1925 - 1996)

Fiberglass, polyester and mixed media

Life size

Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Germany

Example 8: Ask students to search for artworks using red hues. Then, guide them in analysing the functions of red in those works (concept and interpretation / form)

Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow, 1930

Piet Mondrian (1872 - 1944)

Oil on canvas

46 x 46 cm

Kunsthaus Zurich, Zurich

Stay Strong Japan, 2013

Everlong Design

Digital image

The Red Room (Harmony in Red), 1908

Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954)

Oil on canvas

180.5 x 221 cm

State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

Zhao Kuang Yin

Peking Opera Acting Mark

Snow on Tianshan Mountain, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)

Hua Yan (1682-1756)

Ink and color on paper

159.1 x 52.8 cm

Palace Museum, Beijing, China

In Front of the Party's Flag No.1, 2007

Liu Bolin (1973-)

Chromogenic colour print

159.5 × 100 cm

M+ Sigg Collection, Hong Kong

Stop traffic sign

Chinese wedding invitation

Example 9: Ask students to search for artworks employing blue hues. Then, guide them in analysing the functions of blue in those works (concept and interpretation / form)

The Old Guitarist, 1903 - 1904

Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)

Oil on panel

122.9 x 82.6 cm

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago

Blue Sponge Relief, Little Night Music, 1960

Yves Klein (1928 - 1962)

Sponge, stone and pigments on wood and canvas

145 × 116 cm

Städel Museum, Frankfurt

Madonna del Granduca, c. 1506 - 1507

Raphael (1483 - 1520)

Oil on wood

84.4 x 55.9 cm

Pitti Palace, Florence

Vase with Lotus and Dragon Decoration in Underglaze Blue, Ming dynasty, Yongle reign (1403-1424)

Porcelain

H 42.9cm, Diam. of mouth 9.7cm, Diam. of base 15.8cm

National Palace Museum, Taipei

Navy Costume

Three Colours: Blue, 1993

Kellerman Design

Movie Poster

Janssen Cosmetics

Energizing Hydro-gel

Face and Eye Vitalizer

How to Relax on the Plateau—Complicated Graphic Change No. 3, 2008

Duan Jianyu (1970-)

Oil on canvas

167.5 × 159.6 × 3.5 cm

M+ Sigg Collection, Hong Kong

Research Activity

Introduction

Research activity aims to help students acquire (1) biographical knowledge of artists and (2) contextual information of artworks, so that they can better understand the intentions of the artist.

Implementation

Project-based learning:
- Divide students into groups and have them work as a team to study a common theme or a chosen artwork in different aspects, e.g. life history of the artist, background of creation, what kinds of art styles had influenced the artist, etc
Class presentation:
- Invite students to briefly present their project outcomes, especially on how they reinterpret the artwork based on their research findings.
Classroom teaching and learning:
- Enrich, organise and summarize students’ research outcomes. Guide students in interpreting the artwork with biographical knowledge of the artist and contextual information of the work.
- If students are not familiar with the basic knowledge of the artwork, or the artwork involves a wide range of historical, religious or mythical elements, teachers can equip students with relevant knowledge through lectures before having students undertake their research.

Examples

Example 1: Practise art criticism on Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers . Ask students to gather information about the artist’s background and artworks, so that they can better understand the themes and characteristics of the artist’s creation.

Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers, Tang dynasty (618-907)

Zhou Fang (c. 730 - c. 800)

Ink and colors on silk

46 x 180 cm

Liaoning Provincial Museum, Shenyang

Court Lady With Servants, Tang dynasty (618-907)

Zhou Fang (c. 730 - c. 800)

Ink and colors on silk

33.7 x 204.8 cm

Palace Museum, Beijing, China

Court Ladies Playing Double Sixes, Tang dynasty (618-907)

Zhou Fang (c. 730 - c. 800)

Ink and colors on silk

30.7 x 64.4 cm

Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Example 2: Practice art criticism on Court Ladies Adorning Their Hair with Flowers. Ask students to collect Tang poems with flowers or women as the theme.

Example 3: Practice art criticism on Hong Kong After 1997. Ask students to collect information about the artist’s background and artworks, so that they can acquire a better understanding of the themes and characteristics of the artist’s creation and hence the artwork.

Hong Kong after 1997, 2016

Shieh Ka-ho (1970 - )

Chinese ink and gouache on silk

44 x 60 cm

Chow Yun Fat’s Fitting Room, 2009

Shieh Ka-ho (1970 - )

Collage on cardboard

60 x 60 cm

Four Seasons, 2010

Shieh Ka-ho (1970 - )

Chinese ink and gouache on silk

90 x 74 cm

Go! Save the Queen, 2015

Shieh Ka-ho (1970 - )

Chinese ink and gouache on silk

43 x 43 cm

Example 4: Practice art criticism on Hong Kong After 1997. Ask students to collect images about architecture in different countries, so that they can learn about various styles and cultures of architectural designs around the world, and hence the relationship between the artwork and architecture.

Palace Museum, 1406 – 1420

72 million m²

Beijing

Taj Mahal, 1632 - 1653

H 73 m

Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

Palais Garnier, 1861 - 1875

H73.6 x L172 x W125 m

Paris

Schröder House, 1924

Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964) Utrecht, The Netherlands

Example 5: Ask students to research on the historical background of the artwork, in order to understand and analyse the relationship between Nighthawks and the social and political context at the time.

Nighthawks, 1942

Edward Hopper (1882 - 1967)

Oil on canvas

84.1 x 152.4 cm

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago

Example 6: Ask students to search for more artworks by the artist Edward Hopper. Encourage students to explore Hopper’s artistic styles and themes of his works, and to analyse how the artist represents loneliness of city dwellers in Nighthawks.