• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About
    • About Art Class Curator
    • Contact
    • Speaking
    • Media & Press
    • Programs for Schools
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Shop
  • Join
  • Member Login

Art Class Curator

Hands-on and Minds-curious Art Learning

  • Art & Artists
  • Art Connection Activities
  • Art Teacher Tips
  • Elements & Principles
  • Downloads & Resources
Home
  • About
    • About Art Class Curator
    • Contact
    • Speaking
    • Media & Press
    • Programs for Schools
  • Blog
    • Art & Artists
    • Elements & Principles
    • Art Connection Activities
    • Art Teacher Tips
    • Downloads & Resources
  • Book
  • Podcast
  • Shop
  • Join
  • Member Login

shen zhou

September 12, 2017 1 Comment

Exploring Works of Art with the Five Senses

Exploring Art with the 5 Art Senses Pin

Inside: Hone your art senses! These multisensory artworks can be explored through the lens of the five senses. Use this free art worksheet to analyze these artworks with your students.

Have you ever completely lost yourself in a painting? Last year, I was at the Art Institute of Chicago when El Greco’s The Feast in the House of Simon engulfed me. It was one of those times where an artwork grabs me and doesn’t let me go.

Cindy at Museum - art senses

When an artwork captivates me, I like to reflect later on what it was that got me–the color, the emotion, the lines, and the scale. In addition to swimming in El Greco’s unmistakable style, I think it was the overall feeling of this place that drew me in–the sights, the sounds, and the atmosphere.

Art can take us away and help us experience new places. Students can experience this journey to new places and work on their descriptive language skills at the same time through close observation and exploration of a work of art.

I have chosen five artworks that you could use to help transport you and your students to a new place through your art senses–whether it is a landscape to experience or an artwork that uses a multisensory approach.

Exploring Art with the 5 Art Senses Pin

Develop your Art Senses

Take these artworks, and use the “Exploring Place: The 5 Senses” from my free printable art worksheet bundle. The worksheet has students imagine they have entered the artwork and describe what they might experience through the 5 senses plus a bonus question about how would it feel to be in this place.

Click here to get my free printable art worksheet bundle which includes the exploring art through the five senses worksheet!

Ann Hamilton’s The Event of a Thread

Exploring art through the five senses a natural fit for installation art. The artist’s goal is to create an experience for the “viewer,” and artists usually always address most of the five senses to do this.

In Ann Hamilton’s The Event of a Thread, large swings hang from the tall ceiling of Manhattan’s Park Avenue Armory. The swings are connected to the top of an enormous and billowing white fabric. As people swing, they directly impact the flow of the fabric.

Records play discordant singing and speaking, spotlights shine down on the swing, bells ring, and the voices of viewers echo in the large chamber.

Visit Ann Hamilton’s website for a longer video of the installation without the interviews.

In the middle under the cloth, I knew it would be a really wonderful place to stand–to have the kind of turbulence and the liquidity of the cloth fall around you. But I was totally unprepared for the fact that people would lay down on the floor and stay horizontal for a long, long time. — Ann Hamilton

Ann Hamilton says one family stayed in the space for three hours to experience it.

Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)

A huge pile of colorfully crinkled, wrapped candy sits in the corner of the museum floor. Visitors are invited to take and eat a piece of candy if they wish.

Exploring Art with the 5 Senses - Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) by Felix Gonzalez-Torres Photo Credit henskechristine.jpg
Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), 1991, Photo Credit: henskechristine.jpg

The candy equals the ideal weight of the artist’s partner, Ross, who died of an AIDS-related illness in 1991. As museum-goers take pieces of candy from the installation, it mimics the weight loss that Ross suffered because of his illness. The artist instructed the museum to resupply the candy regularly so that it continually gives life back to Ross.

The taste connection is obvious, but you can also think about the crinkly sound of the candy wrapper, the bright colors, the way it would feel if you were to stick your hand into the pile, and exploring the emotions that come from knowing you were eating away the weight of a sick person.

Extend your discussion further and look at these Instagram posts of the artwork. How does the goofiness of some of the photos fit in with the seriousness of the work?

J.M.W. Turner’s The Slave Ship

JMW Turner, The Slave Ship, 1840 - 5 senses art
J.M.W. Turner, The Slave Ship, 1840

This painting has all of the senses covered–the taste of the salty air and water, the smell of blood and fish, the sound of the roaring storm, the feel of the sharp waves, the sight of the beautiful sunset mirrored in the red blood in the water. It’s a total powerhouse of a painting.

I use this painting in my color lesson to discuss how artists use color to create mood.

Terese Agnew’s Portrait of a Textile Worker

Terese Agnew, Portrait of a Textile Worker, 2005 - five senses paintings
Terese Agnew, Portrait of a Textile Worker, 2005

This 8’x9’ artwork is a construction of 30,000 clothing labels stitched together to make a portrait of a textile worker in Bangladesh (original photo taken undercover by Charles Kernaghan, the Director of the National Labor Committee).

The artist created the artwork in response to an interview she heard about “the appalling treatment of these garment at a plant in Nicaragua where the women were forced to work 14 to 16 hours a day 6 and 7 days a week.”

Students can consider the conditions in these factories by looking closely at this artwork and imagining what it must be like to be in that environment. In addition to analyzing the setting of the artwork, students can also connect with the character and her emotions as well. What can they tell about how they would feel in this space based on the emotions of the woman depicted?

This artwork can also be explored through the sense of touch. If we were allowed to touch this artwork, it would connect us with the 30,000 people across the world who had a hand in making these labels and the clothing they were attached to as well as the thousands of women who hand-cut these labels from their clothing.

Rirkrit Tiravanija’s Untitled (Free)

In 1992, Rirkrit Tiravanija created an art experience in the 303 Gallery in New York City. In the exhibit space, he set up a kitchen, cooked rice and Thai curry, and offered it for free for exhibition visitors. 20 years later, the MOMA recreated the exhibit to scale in its own galleries.

Invite students to explore the taste and smell of the food and the sound of the kitchen alongside the sound of the people talking.

You aren’t looking at the art, but are part of it—and are, in fact, making the art as you eat curry and talk with friends or new acquaintances. — Rebecca Stokes

As an extension, use this artwork in a discussion about aesthetics. Is this art? Why or why not?

Shen Zhou’s Poet on a Mountaintop

Shen Zhou, Poet on a Mountain Top, 1496 - art and the senses
Shen Zhou, Poet on a Mountain Top, c. 1496

Of course, I have to include one of my favorite paintings of all time, Shen Zhou’s Poet on a Mountaintop. As a staunch introvert, this is my dream painting. It is perfect for imagining setting–the quiet nature sounds, the vastness of the landscape, and the smell of morning dew, maybe the faint tinkle of the temple sounds in the background.

As you can see, you can use the five sense worksheet with a variety of types of artworks–from installation art to exploring landscapes to connecting with real people.

Get the Full Lesson!

This Lesson is in The Curated Connections Library!

Find the full lesson from this post along with hundreds of other art teaching resources and trainings in the Curated Connections Library. Click here for more information about how to join or enter your email below for a free SPARKworks lesson from the membership!

Join the List

Get the Full Lesson!

This Lesson is in The Curated Connections Library!

Find the full lesson from this post along with hundreds of other art teaching resources and trainings in the Curated Connections Library. Click here for more information about how to join or enter your email below for a free SPARKworks lesson from the membership!

Continue Exploring Art with the Five Senses

Intrigued by the idea of connecting the senses with art? Check out this exhibit from the Tate Gallery that helps visitors explore art through the five senses.

Filed Under: Art Connection Activities
Tagged With: ann hamilton, best of art class curator, felix gonzalez-torres, rirkrit tiravanija, shen zhou, terese agnew, william turner

 

October 13, 2015 6 Comments

5 Artworks to Promote Introspection

The Art Curator for Kids - 5 Artworks to Promote Introspection - Journal Art.2
The Art Curator for Kids - 5 Artworks to Promote Introspection - Journal Art

Welcome back to my Art Round-Up series where I curate groups of paintings around themes for use in your home or classroom. Each post, I will pick 5 artworks that you could start discussing today with your kids. Today’s topic is artwork to promote introspection. These are great artworks to sit down with and use as inspiration to write in your journal.

Also, check out this post on how to look at art with kids for tips on discussion artworks.

Note about the images in this series: Because of copyright law, I cannot include pictures of all the works discussed. Instead, I have included low-quality thumbnails for reference and commentary. For full versions of those works protected under the law, please click the link or picture to find the image.

Recommended Age: All ages can do this in some form.

1. Shen Zhou, Poet on a Mountaintop, c. 1500

curated homeschool art Poet on a Mountaintop by Shen Zhou. c. 1500
Shen Zhou, Poet on a Mountaintop, c. 1500

This is a Chinese brush painting from the Ming dynasty. Artists in this style used only black ink and water as a way to focus on artistic expression in other ways. They used a variety of different types of expressive brushstrokes in a range of values (lights and darks) from white to black. You’ll notice the people are very small in comparison with the surroundings which connects with their Buddhist beliefs that humans are a small part of nature. They created exaggerated landscapes to reinforce this idea.

Get the Full Lesson!

This Lesson is in The Curated Connections Library!

Find the full lesson from this post along with hundreds of other art teaching resources and trainings in the Curated Connections Library. Click here for more information about how to join or enter your email below for a free SPARKworks lesson from the membership!

Join the List

Get the Full Lesson!

This Lesson is in The Curated Connections Library!

Find the full lesson from this post along with hundreds of other art teaching resources and trainings in the Curated Connections Library. Click here for more information about how to join or enter your email below for a free SPARKworks lesson from the membership!

Journal Prompts: Imagine you are in this place. What do you see, smell, and hear? What would it feel like to be in this place? How would it feel to step out of your day-to-day life and away from the conveniences and technology you use? How might you feel differently about the world after experiencing this place?

2. Pablo Picasso, Girl Before a Mirror, 1932

Pablo Picasso, Girl Before a Mirror, 1932 (click to see image larger)
Pablo Picasso, Girl Before a Mirror, 1932 (click to see image larger)

This is my probably favorite painting, although that is a hard choice (I love all my babies the same). This certainly is the artwork that has had the biggest impact on me. It made me weep for some reason and change the whole course of my life at that moment in time. Picasso believed his paintings should speak for themselves. I will tell you my own personal interpretation of this painting, but you are free to make your own. To me, this is a regular girl on the outside, nondescript.  She looks into the mirror and sees her inner self reflected in turmoil and pain.  It’s twisted and dark with hot orange tears.  The girl in the mirror is shy, but she has a story to tell.  She wants out, but is feeling pulled into herself.  The girl before the mirror is reaching towards the mirror to connect with and soothe the girl on the inside.  She wants to free the girl in the mirror and make her heard.

Journal Prompts: What does this girl see when she looks in the mirror? Is she hiding something from the outside world? If so, what is she hiding? What emotions do you experience in this artwork (either by you or the girl in the painting)? How do you personally relate to/connect with this picture? What do you see when you look in the mirror? How are you different when alone than when you are with others? What does this painting say about the world in which we live?


Check out these Girl Before a Mirror products. Please note, this post includes Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Pablo Picasso: Girl before a Mirror (One on One) – A book just about this painting alone
  • 16×20 Poster Print or 11×14 Framed Poster Print

3. Nude Woman (Venus of Willendorf), c. 28,000 B.C.E – 25,000 B.C.E.

curated homeschool art Willendorf-Venus-1468 photo credit don hitchcock
Nude Woman (Venus of Willendorf), c. 28,000 B.C.E – 25,000 B.C.E., Photo Credit: Don Hitchcock

Meet “Venus of Willendorf.” I’m sure you have seen her before. She was made by paleolithic people about 26,000 to 30,000 years ago. Stop a minute and think about how long ago that was. Yeah. Wow. We know very little about her because she was made before writing and before formal history. Her name was given to her much later; we have no reason to believe she is an actual goddess. We can make guesses though. We guess that she is in some way connected to fertility. Why do you reckon we think that? All of the parts of her that are related to childbirth are exaggerated while all of the other parts like feet, hands, and face are small and non-functional. She is only about 4.25 inches tall and is one of many of these types of sculptures found from this time period.

I think she is a good starting point for journaling to put your life and where you are in this moment in perspective. Thinking about the span of your life in the scale 30,000 years makes you more connected with all the people who have lived before you. You can also look at this and think about how drastically different our lives are today and imagine what it would be like to live in another time. Also, what will be left of your life when archaeologists look back on it in thousands of year?

Journal Prompts: What was your first reaction to this sculpture? Why do you think you had the reaction? This was created about 27,000 years ago. How does that make you feel? What does that call to mind? What will be left of your life when archaeologists look back on it in thousands of year? What will they know about you from what you leave behind?


Click here for a great YouTube video from the Khan Academy’s “Smarthistory” series about this sculpture.

4. Candy Chang, Before I Die, 2011+

Candy Chang, Before I Die, 2011
Candy Chang, Before I Die, 2011, (click to see larger)

In 2009, the Candy Chang lost someone very close to her suddenly, and it inspired her to think about life and what is most important to her. In response, she converted an old building in New Orleans to an interactive public art piece by making a big wall into a chalkboard with the phrase “Before I die…” written on it many times with blank lines following. Within days, the wall was filled with inspirational goals and aspirations by the people walking by. It became a place to reflect on goals and connect people together. Now, there are walls all over the world with the same message and a book about the experience.

It's about making space for reflection and contemplation and remembering what really matters most to us as we grow and change. -- Candy Chang, Artist
Journal Prompts: Before I die…


Click here for the artist’s incredibly moving TED Talk about this piece.

Buy the book (Before I Die *Amazon Affiliate link)!

5. Do-Ho Suh, Floor, 1997-2000

Do-Ho Suh, Floor
Do-Ho Suh, Floor, 1997-2000, (click to see larger)

If you were to happen upon this artwork at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, or at the 2001 Venice Biennale where I has the great pleasure of visiting,  you would see a glass floor with many colored dots underneath. As you get closer you notice that hundreds or little plastic action figures of everyday people hold up the weight of you and the glass floor. Walking on top of these people you might think about the power of community–how the individual is small but the collective is powerful. You might think about all the people who support you in your day to day life who go unseen–from the people across the world who make your clothes or the men and women who pick up your weekly trash.

Journal Prompts: How do you rely on other people in your life? What can you accomplish as a group than you couldn’t alone? How important is community in your life?

Here’s a video discussing this artwork. (Side note: Nerdfighters may recognize the person in this video!)

Also, Season 2, episode 1 of art:21 discusses the work of Do-Ho Suh (Here is a link to this episode).

Thanks for reading! Think about one of these artworks in relationship to your life. Please share a personal connection you had with the art in the comments!

This post was originally published on May 28, 2014.

Filed Under: Art and Artists, Downloads and Resources
Tagged With: candy chang, do-ho suh, pablo picasso, shen zhou

 

November 8, 2014 1 Comment

Shen Zhou’s Poet on a Mountaintop

Let’s head to 15th-century China and learn about art from the master painter, Shen Zhou (pronounced Shun Jo), from the Ming Dynasty!

the Art Curator for Kids - Art Around the World - China - Shen Zhou Poet on a Mountaintop and Autumn Colors among Streams and Mountains

So beautiful! Poet on the Mountaintop is one of my favorite artworks. I like to imagine myself in this place.

Chinese brush paintings from the Ming Dynasty have several key conventions (characteristics) in common. Compare this list with the artwork to better understand these artworks.

  1. Artists usually used only black ink. To make lighter areas, they would add water. When you do an artwork in black and white, you have to focus more on composition without relying on color. In this case, removing the color helps us focus on the brushstrokes and composition.
  2. They used a variety of different types of brushstrokes. Look through the artwork and make a list of the brushstrokes you see. Or, better yet, see if you can reproduce them with watercolor and a paintbrush!
  3. People are shown very small in comparison with nature. This connects to the Buddhist belief of living in harmony with nature.
  4. Artists did not paint the landscapes as they looked. They used their own self-expression and creativity to make their picture.

Does Poet on a Mountaintop look familiar? I also featured it in a post in the Spring (5 Artworks to Promote Introspection). I even created a printable worksheet for this artwork for that post.

Shen Zhou, Poet on a Mountain Top, 1496 - art and the senses

Free Worksheet!

Shen Zhou’s Poet On A Mountaintop

Head to 15th-century China and learn about art from the master painter, Shen Zhou (pronounced Shun Jo), from the Ming Dynasty using this art worksheet.

Download

Free Worksheet!

Shen Zhou’s Poet On A Mountaintop

Head to 15th-century China and learn about art from the master painter, Shen Zhou (pronounced Shun Jo), from the Ming Dynasty using this art worksheet.

Here’s another:

Shen Zhou, Return from a Thousand Li, ca. 1480, ink on paper
Shen Zhou, Return from a Thousand Li, ca. 1480, ink on paper

Art Discussion Questions

  1. The artwork was done in black only. What impact does that give? How would this artwork be different if it were in color? Why do you think the artist chose to paint in black only?
  2. How many different brushstrokes can you find?
  3. Why did the artist chose to paint the people and man-made structures so small? What message do you think he was trying to convey by doing this?
  4. Imagine you are in this place. What do you see, smell, and hear? What would it feel like to be in this place? How would it feel to step out of your day-to-day life and away from the conveniences and technology you use? How might you feel differently about the world after experiencing this place? Use the exploring art with the 5 senses worksheet.

Chinese Art Project

Make your own Chinese Brush Painting! Use acrylic paint watered down, ink with a paintbrush, or black watercolor to make an artwork similar in style to the work of Shen Zhou. Practice different brushstrokes and try to make light areas and dark areas. Look at the above list of conventions and see if you can include them all in your painting.

Supplies for Chinese Brush Painting Project

If you want to make your own Chinese Ming painting, check out these supplies. Please note, this post includes Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

51vFZTuuilL._SL250_51w7Lmtow4L._SL160_
  • The Chinese Brush Painting Bible: Over 200 Motifs with Step by Step Illustrated Instructions
  • 100 sheets Japanese Chinese Calligraphy Rice Paper
  • Yasutomo Authentic Chinese Watercolors 12 Set
  • Chinese Calligraphy Black Ink
  • Chinese Calligraphy / Kanji / Sumi Drawing Brush for Beginners

That’s it! Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear your thoughts about the artwork in the comments. Click here to find more art from around the world, and come back tomorrow for a trip to Korea!

Filed Under: Art and Artists, Downloads and Resources
Tagged With: shen zhou

 

Primary Sidebar

Hi! I’m Cindy Ingram, the creator of Art Class Curator and The Curated Connections Library

I’m on a mission to revolutionize education with the power of life-changing art connections. Art is not “extra”. Art is essential. We are empowering teachers to bridge the gap between art making and art connection, kindling a passion for art that will transform generations.

More About Me

Free Resource!

82 Questions About Art

82 questions you can use to start and extend conversations about works of art with your classroom. Free download includes a list plus individual question cards perfect for laminating!

Download

Free Resource!

82 Questions About Art

82 questions you can use to start and extend conversations about works of art with your classroom. Free download includes a list plus individual question cards perfect for laminating!

Enrollment in Curated Connections Library is currently open. Click here to join. Join our list to get more information and to get a free lesson from the vault! If you are purchasing for a school or school district, head over here for more information.

Check Out What’s New In The Shop

Experience Art: Engaging Art Criticism Discussions and Activities for Teachers and Students of All Ages
Call to Art: An Un-Conference for Art Educators
Curated Connections Library Membership
Perspectives High School Curriculum

More Products

Have You Listened to the Latest Podcast Episode?

Falling for Naudline Pierre’s Evocative Art: A Conversation with Madalyn (Part 2)

More Episodes

Testimonials

I like how this program, unlike other art class resource membership programs, feels authentic. It's like art matters more here, and not fancy flash-in-the-pan trendiness. The goal of Art Class Curator seemed to be helping kids develop a lifelong love and art appreciation versus "Hey, look. I painted this fish."
Erin A.
Your questions are helping me to delve into much deeper learning, and my students are getting better at discussion-and then, making connections in their own work. Art Class Curator is awesome!
Denise W.
Interestingly, my lower performing classes really get engaged in these [lessons] and come away with some profound thoughts!
Melissa G.
I had the most amazing 6th grade class today. They were jumping out of their seats with hands raised just to respond and give input. It was as if I was waving candy in front of them! They saw more and more and the ideas and interpretations unfolded. So cool!!! This is what makes teaching art so wonderful – thank you!!
Caroline G.
I just wanted to thank you for the invaluable resource you have through Art Class Curator. Not only do you have thought provoking activities and discussion prompts, but it saves me so much time in preparing things for myself! I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface with your site.
Maryjane F.

Get Art Inspiration To Your Inbox!

Enter your email address to get regular art inspiration to your inbox
plus a BUNDLE OF 6 FREE WORKSHEETS!
We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe.
Download

Free Worksheets!

*Free Bundle of Art Appreciation Worksheets*

In this free bundle of art worksheets, you receive six ready-to-use art worksheets with looking activities designed to work with almost any work of art.

Copyright © 2025 Ignite Art, LLC DBA Art Class Curator •  All rights reserved  •  Privacy Policy  •  Terms of Service  •  Site Design by Emily White Designs