Upper Level: Personal Art Criticism Worksheet

In my planning for next week, I had a moment of inspiration hit me.  As part of my 2-D media unit in Studio Art, one of the things I introduced students to were the art criticism steps.  We haven't really dived much into them as I plan diving into it more and more as the year progresses.  So far, we've taken the notes on it, done a full art criticism write-up together as a class about "Triple Self-Portrait" by Norman Rockwell, and we've done a bell ringer about it (they had to write a description about one of Monet's waterlily paintings) in their sketchbook.  Other than that, I have really kind of neglected the subject.  In lieu of that it came to me that maybe I should create an art criticism worksheet for them to fill out at the end of every project.  This will help reiterate the four art criticism steps AND they will be reflecting on their own artwork and how it fits the project objectives (hello Marzano!).  Oh yeah, and the writing aspect never hurts either (ahem, Common Core?).

So here is what this sheet is comprised of.  As usual, you can head over to the SmARTteacher website and download the file to use.

Art Criticism: Description

Write a credit line for your artwork:

Title: ___________________________________________________________________ (1 pt.)

Artist: __________________________________________________________________ (1 pt.)

Date: ___________________________________________________________________ (1 pt.)

Medium: ________________________________________________________________ (1 pt.)

Size: ____________________________________________________________________ (1 pt.)

What type of medium is your artwork (1 pt.)? (Circle the medium)

Drawing      Painting      Sculpture      Ceramics     Printmaking     Photography     Digital Media     Mixed Media

Art Criticism:  Analysis

Check the elements and principles you used in your artwork.  Describe where you used them. (10 pts.)

In this section, I have a checklist of the elements and principles for students to choose from.  They must check off which ones they used and explain how and where they used them.

Art Criticism: Interpretation

1.    What is the subject matter of your artwork? _____________________________________________ (1 pt.)

2.    What is the subject genre of your artwork (1 pt.)?  (Circle the genre)

Portrait       Landscape (Nature)      Still Life    History (Religious, cultural, etc.)     Genre (everyday life)

3.    Is your artwork based on the art of a famous artist?  ____________________________________ (1 pt.)

4.    What art style is your artwork created in? ______________________________________________ (1 pt.)

Is there any symbolism in your artwork?  (5 pts.) 

What is your artwork about? (5 pts.)

How does your artwork reflect the learning objectives given to you on the project rubric? (5 pts.)

Art Criticism: Reflection & Judgment

What are two (2) things you think you did really well on this project and why?  (5 pts.)

What is one (1) thing you’d like to improve/change about your artwork? How would you change it? (5 pts.)

Did you like this project assignment?  Why or why not?  (5 pts.) 

0…no experience  ~  3…somewhat confident  ~  5…could teach someone else

Experience level with this medium before project:                             0        1        2        3        4        5

Familiarity with subject/art style before project:                               0        1        2        3        4        5

How comfortable do you feel with this medium after the project?                 0        1        2        3        4          5

How familiar do you feel with the art subject/style after the project?    0        1        2        3        4        5

The last part where students need to rate themselves out of 5 is a really great way to incorporate that Marzano scale I use in the elementary.  Even in the high school end we are supposed to be asking students to show us daily how they feel they are doing on a project to check for understanding.  I have a really hard time with this because I know they wouldn't be serious about it if I asked them to "show me using your fingers" (or I'd get a bunch of obscene gestures!), so I think this will help them be a little more serious about reflecting on their projects.  

I plan to use this on Monday first thing.  Originally we were going to start the printmaking notes, but there are still handful of students who need to finish their superhero paintings, so this will be a good wrap-up for everyone as they finish their paintings.