Love this, Jamie!
I went to college to be a painter and an art educator. It was such a strange experience to want to instill good values, hope, careful attention to detail, and craftmanship in the hearts of my young students while studying the work of artists who, quite frankly, didn't always exhibit these traits. I constantly found myself at odds with my training...for example, how do I teach 3rd graders about Dadaism?? Should I even be teaching this to them? How can a 9 year old possibly understand the motivations of the "lost generation?"
Especially now that I am a mother, homesteader (how life changes!!) and homeschooler-to-be (the boy is small, still), I am curious how I can meaningfully share art with my kids while still teaching the moral, spiritual, and cultural values that I think are important (by the end of college, after more art exhibits than I can count, I was a little jaded by the "ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING IS ART" mentality).
I love that you're opening up the world of art to your boys with Audubon and Remington. They're a fun bunch to work with, I imagine! A modern artist that I also really enjoy is John Muir Laws--he does a lot of work with field sketching and nature observation, and has some awesome books on the topic. I also loved sharing N.C. Wyeth with my young students--very evocative pieces.
GUYahh, you must have hit a nerve, because I didn't mean to write you a novel! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. Looking forward to oneday teaching my own. :)
I love this! Thank you!! I'm excited to get started with art appreciation. I wish I had begun sooner. N.C. Wyeth is on the list for the following year already. :) As is J.M.W. Turner and Pieter Bruegel. I can't imagine looking at Bruegel's work and not being impressed that THIS is fine art. I'm not worried about the kids learning specifics at this age. I just want them to learn to enjoy the art and maybe broaden their worldview a little in the process.
I think that's a nicely-balanced approach to art with kids. So many of the curricula and guides that I used/perused through as a teacher emphasized time periods, art styles, and other -isms. While I think these can be fascinating, I don't think any kid is really going to latch on to that stuff...it's just not as interesting as getting to see another cool painting! Like you said, get them exposed to some (discerning) material, see what whets their creative appetites, and work from there.