Explorations in Arts: Expressionism/Painting

A High School Unit by Dr. Mary Stokrocki
Visit Dr. Stokrocki at her web site!

Welcome to the art world of expressionism. If I were to ask you the question, "What is Art?" You would probably begin by saying, "to express yourself." When you "express yourself," you're communicating your feelings, ideas, life history, and cultural values. We will learn more about Expressionism in four lessons with four major assignments. These lessons will help you learn about the three Arizona Visual Arts Standards: Art as Inquiry, Art in Context, and Creating Art. Each lesson will take about a week to complete.

There are several aids that will help you enjoy and learn as much as possible from the unit. Check out:

• The questions. Write out your answers; discuss them with your classmates and friends as a way to deepen your appreciation of what you are viewing.
• The assignments. Complete them; download what you have done online. Hand all of this material to your teacher for his or her response.
• The rubrics. These descriptions of what is advanced, competent, or a beginning fulfillment of the assignment can help you check your work before you complete the assignments.
• Student models. These examples of complete assignments can also give you an idea of how to do the assignments. We want you to do your very best!
• The links (underlined) to the definitions of vocabulary words at http://www.artlex.com. At the site, use the left hand index and then scroll down to the specific word.
• Pete and Poker's - the cartoon guys - suggestions. They've got some pretty neat ideas.