Evaluation

• Art
• Middelbare school
• vmbo t
• Leerjaar 2

Van Gogh Museum

Introduction: welcome. Very nice to meet you again after finishing the lesson series that we kicked off together at the end of April.

Program objectives

• Empower childrens self confidence and creativity.
• Pupils get to know the work and live of Vincent van Gogh.
• 21st century skills.

Evaluation objectives

• Sharing experience and knowledge of the lessons
• Improve the program
  

Schedule

• Lesson 1 (This is Vincent)
• Lesson 2 (Drawing depth)
• Lesson 3 (Painting chairs)
• Lesson 4 (Photos)
• Lesson 5 (The exhibition)
• General questions

- We discuss all classes per lesson and per part
- After that, I would also like to collect 'overall' feedback.

We will process the feedback of your students and your feedback in the coming weeks to further improve the program.

(Can we record the evaluation? So the feedback can be easily processed?)

Say in three words what you thought of the lessons:

Lesson 1: This is Vincent 

Lesson 1: This is Vincent (writing a story)
-    Quiz
-    VTR (color, shape, line)
-    Writing a story (begin/middle/end)

Quiz: True of false?

8 statements to check what the students already know about Vincent van Gogh.

Visible thinking routine: Colour, Shape, line 

Assignment: Write a story to go with The Bedroom

Get your worksheet.

Tell the kids that they are going to write a story to go with Van Gogh’s painting The Bedroom. It doesn’t have to be true, they can make everything up if they want.


First make a mind map, with all your ideas for the story. Write down individual words. Then think of the story.

The kids should write a short story with a clear beginning, middle and end. They can choose from three options:
- What you see in the painting is the beginning of the story
- What you see in the painting is the middle of the story
- What you see in the painting is the end of the story

Lesson 2: Drawing depth

Lesson 2: Drawing depth
-    Spot the Difference
-    Drawing depth
-    Rearrange furniture

-    Spot the Difference

Answer: The mirror to the left of the window has been switched with the painting to the right of the window.

How did Vincent paint depth? 

-    Drawing depth

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Assignment: furnish the bedroom 

- 2 chairs

- 1 bed + nightstand

- A few paintings/posters

- 1 window and 1 door

- (optional: something that isn’t in Vincent’s The Bedroom)

-    Rearrange furniture

Lesson 3: Painting chairs

Lesson 3: Painting chairs
-    Shape, material and colour + colour wheel
-    Draw a chair
-    Paint your chair
-    Reflection on the paintings

shape, material and colour

-    Shape, material and colour + colour wheel

Explain: To design a chair that suits you, think about three things:

1. Shape (straight or curved lines, closed or open, four legs or another design, armrests or not, backrest high/low, decoration, etc.)

2. Material (hard/soft, patterned/plain, old/new, etc.)

3. Colour (bright colours, contrasts, colours that are close together, pastel shades, black-and-white)

Ask if the kids know the colour wheel. Point out how you can mix colours and that some colours are close together and some are far apart. 

Draw a chair

Now, step by step, draw a chair in perspective with the kids.

First (1, 2 and 3), draw a cube with charcoal using very thin lines. The children should use charcoal.

Then (4, 5 and 6) use a thick line to draw over the lines of the cube that make a chair.  

And rub out the other lines as much as possible.

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If you think drawing a cube is too complicated for these kids, there is another way. It doesn’t give them as much insight, but it can save time (and frustration).

Start by drawing a diamond shape (the seat of the chair) in the middle of the sheet (1).

Then draw two vertical lines of equal length pointing upwards ... (2)

And three vertical lines of equal length pointing downwards (3) + a line connecting the two lines pointing upwards (4). Show how you can make the seat and a chair leg thicker, as an example (5 and 6).

Paint the chair

Reflections:

Place or hang the paintings next to each other and talk about them together. You might like to use the following questions. NB: there are no right or wrong answers here.

• Are there any chairs where you can easily tell who painted it?
• Which chairs have interesting shapes or materials?
• Who used unusual colours?
• Did you enjoy making the paintings?

Lesson 4: Photos

Lesson 4: Photo’s
-    Did the kids brought something from home for there portrait?
-    Which feelings goes best with this painting and why?
-    Choose characteristics, material, make a sketch, take a photo, write a label

Lonely

Happy

Sorrowful

Frightened

Excited

Jealous

Calm

Gloomy

Vulnerable

Artist Vincent van Gogh
Title Wheatfield under Thunderclouds
Date July 1890
Location Auvers-sur-Oise, France
Collection Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Explore with the kids which feeling goes best with this painting and why.

'They’re immense stretches of wheatfields under turbulent skies, and I made a point of trying to express sadness, extreme loneliness.'

In the final weeks of his life, Vincent made a number of impressive paintings of the wheatfields around Auvers, near Paris. This is one of them.

Then explain: Vincent wrote to Theo telling him that he was trying to express sadness and extreme loneliness in this empty landscape (see hotspot). 

Let’s get to work

1. Choose characteristics

2. Choose your material

4/5 take the photo

4/5 write a label 

3. Make a quick sketch

Get your worksheet.

Explain: These are the steps to make your portrait. Mention them briefly. First choose three characteristics that suit you. In step two we’re going to use the things you brought. In step three we’ll make a quick sketch of our ideas. And in step four we’ll take the photo and write a label for it. 

Lesson 5: The exhibition

Lesson 5: The exhibition
-    Looking at the Van Gogh Museum
-    Working in groups (stories, drawings, paintings, photo’s) Who did arrange a 5th group?
-    Reflection

slaapkamer in het museum

Label

Vincent van Gogh 1853 - 1890 

The Bedroom, 1888

oil on canvas

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)

 Van Gogh became increasingly skilled in using colour and style to express emotions. For instance, the bright tones of his bedroom had to convey ’utter repose’ in a period during which he felt anything but calm due to all of his hard work. He hoped that his paintings would afford comfort not only to himself, but others as well. Van Gogh was convinced that this now famous painting had that: ‘When I saw my canvases again after my illness, what seemed to me the best was the bedroom.’

-    Looking at the Van Gogh Museum

Let’s get to work! 

1. Stories from lesson 1
2. Drawings from lesson 2
3. Paintings from lesson 3
4. Photos from lesson 4

-    Working in groups (stories, drawings, paintings, photo’s) Who did arrange a 5th group?

Divide the class into four groups.

1. Stories from lesson 1

2. Drawings from lesson 2

3. Paintings from lesson 3

4. Photos from lesson 4

(Optional: A fifth group can arrange an opening ceremony, with a speech and a ribbon to cut, for example, and a press release to announce it to the public)

Each group should ensure that the collection of artworks that they are responsible for is shown as well and as attractively as possible. Give each group a place where they can show their artworks. Show them the materials they can use, as discussed in lesson 4.

Reflection

Reflect on the entire series

Round off the series of lessons with two general questions:

- What have you learned about Vincent van Gogh in these lessons?

- What have you learned about yourself in these lessons?

NB The second question is intended to start a conversation about how the kids relate to making art. Do they enjoy it, or is it a struggle? It was both for Vincent van Gogh. But he kept on practising, no matter what happened. 

Try to draw more information out of the kids in this last discussion. What did you enjoy, what was easy, and what problems did you have? Is there a particular piece, or a part of something you made, that you’re really proud of? Were you secretly jealous of something that someone else made? When you were making your artworks, were you worried the whole time about what it would look like, or were you able to let that go? Etc. Where possible, make links to Vincent, how he went about making art.

How many students participated?

• FDA VIII 452: 23 students
• Castle Hill MS 127: 18 students
• 663K-15 students
• Bushwick Ascend Middle School: 15 students
• 375X: 23 students

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Last questions

How did you find the length of the lessons?

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Do you think we have achieved the program objectives?

• Empower childrens self confidence and creativity.
• Pupils get to know the work and live of Vincent van Gogh.
• 21st century skills.

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What did you get out of it for yourself?

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Thank you!

Thank you very much for your time and valuable feedback.