Art & Ideas: Teaching with Themes
The Museum of Modern Art
About this Course
This course is designed to help build critical skills that support theme-based teaching practices and build confidence in incorporating modern and contemporary art into interdisciplinary lesson plans. By addressing themes and questions that arise in relation to modern and contemporary art, the course will help you to think creatively about links to your curriculum and the ways that you can tap into students’ knowledge and life experience.
In this course, you will explore four themes that educators at The Museum of Modern Art use frequently in their teaching: Places & Spaces, Art & Identity, Transforming Everyday Objects, and Art & Society. Through videos, slideshows, and a variety of resources, readings, and activities, you will explore the content and context of works of art in MoMA’s collection.
Learners will…
- Explore works of modern and contemporary art through a variety of themes that relate to classroom content and student experience.
- Hear directly from artists about their ideas and processes.
- Learn about the ways that a thematic approach supports interdisciplinary teaching and learning.
- Gain exposure to a range of digital resources available for teaching with themes and incorporating content around works of art into your classroom.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
1
Section
Module 1: Introduction to Art & Ideas: Teaching with Themes
Be introduced to some of the overall benefits of studying modern and contemporary art through accessible and relevant themes. Understand that themes allow us to make connections with artworks, classroom content, and students’ lives. Become acquainted with the ways that a thematic approach supports student-centered, interdisciplinary teaching.
2 videos (Total 4 min), 2 readings
2 readings
1.1 Introduction to Art & Ideas: Teaching With Themes10m
1.4 Required Readings & Additional Resources10m
2
Section
Module 2: Places & Spaces
Discover some of the many ways that artists represent place and take inspiration from their environment. Learn how to engage students with sights and structures that will be familiar to many of them.
11 videos (Total 24 min), 3 readings, 1 quiz
11 videos
2.3 Teaching with Themes: Places & Spaces2m
2.5 Vincent van Gogh. The Starry Night. 18892m
2.6 Piet Mondrian. Broadway Boogie Woogie. 1942–431m
2.7 Gordon Matta-Clark. Bingo. 19741m
2.8 Andrew Wyeth. Christina's World. 19481m
2.9 Salvador Dalí. The Persistence of Memory. 19311m
2.10 Claude Monet. Water Lilies. 1914–261m
2.11 Rachel Whiteread. Water Tower. 19982m
2.12 Edward Hopper. House By the Railroad. 19251m
2.13 Louis I. Kahn. Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh (Study for National Assembly Building). 1962–832m
3 readings
2.1 Introduction to Places & Spaces10m
2.4 Slideshow [Mobile-Friendly Version]10m
2.14 Required Readings & Additional Resources10m
1 practice exercises
Quiz20m
3
Section
Module 3: Art & Identity
Discover some of the ways artists create works of art to express, explore, and question identity. Gain strategies for using works of art to approach the topic of identity with students.
8 videos (Total 20 min), 3 readings, 1 quiz
8 videos
3.3 Teaching with Themes: Art & Identity3m
3.5 Frida Kahlo. Self-Portait with Cropped Hair. 19402m
3.6 Andy Warhol. Gold Marilyn Monroe. 19621m
3.7 Pablo Picasso. Girl Before a Mirror. 19322m
3.8 Marc Chagall. I and the Village. 19112m
3.9 Henri Matisse. The Red Studio. 19112m
3.10 Rineke Dijkstra. Almerisa series. 1994–20081m
3 readings
3.1 Introduction to Art & Identity10m
3.4 Slideshow [Mobile-Friendly Version]10m
3.11 Required Readings & Additional Resources10m
1 practice exercises
Quiz20m
4
Section
Module 4: Transforming Everyday Objects
Discover how artists use everyday objects to challenge assumptions about what constitutes art and how it should be made. Explore a variety of artistic and design choices, and the creative acts of inventing and transforming everyday objects. Gain skills for making interdisciplinary connections and fostering students’ critical thinking abilities.
10 videos (Total 22 min), 3 readings, 1 quiz
10 videos
4.3 Teaching With Themes: Transforming Everyday Objects2m
4.5 Marcel Duchamp. Bicycle Wheel. 19132m
4.5 Robert Rauschenberg. Bed. 19551m
4.6 Meret Oppenheim. Object. 19362m
4.7 Décolletage Plastique Design Team. Bic Cristal® Ballpoint pen. 19502m
4.8 Louise Nevelson. Sky Cathedral. 19581m
4.9 Mike Kelley. Untitled. 19902m
4.10 Jessica Rosenkrantz, Jesse Louis-Rosenberg. Kinematics Dress. 20131m
4.11 Doris Salcedo. Atrabilious. 1992–931m
3 readings
4.1 Introduction to Transforming Everyday Objects10m
4.4 Slideshow [Mobile-Friendly Version]10m
4.12 Required Readings & Additional Resources10m
1 practice exercises
Quiz20m
5
Section
Module 5: Art & Society
Explore works of art created in response to the social, cultural, and political issues of their time. Gain a deeper understanding of history and contemporary society. Be encouraged to think critically about world events and how they are depicted.
10 videos (Total 28 min), 4 readings, 2 quizzes
10 videos
5.3 Teaching with Themes: Art & Society1m
5.5 Dorothea Lange. Migrant Mother. 19362m
5.6 Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Untitled (Perfect Lovers). 19911m
5.7 Jacob Lawrence. Migration Series. 1940–412m
5.8 Martha Rosler. House Beautiful (Bringing the War Home). 1967-727m
5.9 Jasper Johns. Flag. 1954-551m
5.10 Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Street Dresden. 19081m
5.11 Shahzia Sikander. Candied. 20031m
5.12 Faith Ringgold. American People Series #20: Die. 19673m
4 readings
5.1 Introduction to Art & Society10m
5.4 Slideshow [Mobile-Friendly Version]10m
5.13 Required Reading & Additional Resources10m
Funding & Credits10m
1 practice exercises
Quiz20m
4.7
Top Reviews
By CA•Feb 14th 2017
This course was a wonderful and thorough introduction to Modern Art. So insightful and informative! I'd recommend it to anyone! It has definitely enhanced my lesson planning and teaching style.
By AN•Apr 10th 2018
With no background in Art, I found this course extremely useful. The course is well designed and rigorous. Very good reading material and good ideas to take to a classroom.
Instructor
Lisa Mazzola
Assistant Director, School and Teacher ProgramsAbout The Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is a place that fuels creativity, ignites minds, and provides inspiration. With extraordinary exhibitions and the world's finest collection of modern and contemporary art, MoMA is dedicated to the conversation between the past and the present, the established and the experimental. Our mission is helping you understand, enjoy, and use the art of our time.
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