A 5-year-old could have done that!, or discussing modern art in modern classroom

How many times have you heard the comment ‘My five year old could have done!’ when people are confronted with a piece of modern art?

I have experienced it many times, what’s more, I thought so myself, seeing such works of modern art as Duchamp’s Fountain or trying to see beyond Matisse’s The Snail for that matter…

What is art? How to define it? What is it for? - these are the questions we attempt to address in many EFL courses, and modern art is the most challenging bit in such discussions, as it seems to be there to shock, provoke, escape pidgeonholing and defy beauty and artistic skill standards.

I am a curious mind and wanted to face the ‘let’s talk about (modern) art’ challenge prepared, so I decided to buy Susie Hodge’s book Why your five year old could not have done that. This book is a well structured overview of most recognisable and controversial works of modern art, accompanied with insights into the trend/school they represent, a note on the author and the most precious bit- a short paragraph or two explaining why a 5-year-old would not be able to do it.

Obviously I prepared a lesson based on the contents of the books, namely:

1. I prepared bits of paper with just the name of the piece (from Hodge’s book), as well as the author’s name, and a QR code that leads to work of art as could be seen eg. in Google graphics or a gallery/museum website.

My advice is to prepare several more than the number of students, and pick the ones that you think your students will find appealing and/or relatable.

2 samples:

2. I put them round the classroom for students to walk by and decide which of them resonates with them the most, and stand by it. (first come-first served)

3. I told them to think and imagine what this particular piece could look like and share their idea with a partner.

4. Next, both students check their qr codes to see what the piece actually looks like and exchange their observations on how the real bit differs or fits the image their created in their head.

5. The students then discuss the question- could a 5-year-old have done it?

6. Finally, they are given copies of Susie Hodge’s answer to the same question in relation to ‘their’ piece of art to read and report back to the class how they feel about the piece and its professional interpretation.(a sample on the Fountain here (see the fourth picture)

A nice wrap up to this class could be a discussion or an essay on the statement ‘Everything can be art’.

Hope you find it helpful!

Comments

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