Learning With the Art Docents of Los Gatos

It has always fascinated me how two people can look at the same thing and interpret it differently and experience completely different emotions. So, I was looking forward to joining the Art Docents of Los Gatos in the classroom as they explored art history. I was not disappointed. The students were actively engaged and visibly excited to learn.

The first class I observed was a third-grade class on cubism, taught by art docent Karen Harlan.

Harlan started her lesson with a print of Paul Cezanne’s View of Monte Sainte-Victoire. She explained that each cube had a different color to give the painting texture, and that the artist used flat brush strokes to give the impression of cubes.

The second print was Picasso’s The Aficionado. Harlan asked the students what they could see in the picture. Responses included: “lots of cubes,” “newspaper bits,” “a pitchfork” …. Harlan explained that Picasso took everything he thought about a subject (in this case bullfighting) and used it to create a painting.

Harlan then asked the class what they thought about the color of Picasso’s painting. Reponses were: “kind of green,” “neutral” and “dull.” She then introduced and defined the terms “monochromatic,” “tinting” and “shading.”

The next print was the Marble Table by George Braque. Harlan commented that this painting “looks like a collage, but is actually all paint.” She mentioned that Braque’s and Picasso’s paintings were both cubism, but very different: Braque’s painting had much richer colors and was a still life, whereas Picasso’s painting had more neutral colors and movement. When asked which of the paintings the students liked best, the class was split. Which, as Harlan commented “is the nice thing about art—there is something for everybody.”

Harlan then showed a print of the Red Eiffel Tower by Delaunay. She then spoke about the organic lines in the clouds in the background, and commented that there was “lots of smoke and pollution in Paris at time – the clouds representing smog and smoke.”

The last print was Woman with Blue Hat by Picasso. “This one is pretty crazy,” said Karen, “it shows different sides of a face.” One of the students responded that it “looks like a man and a lady.” Only two of the students liked it.

At the end of the lesson the students were offered a choice of Picasso’s Two Figures, or Paul Klee’s Senecio to display in the classroom. The class voted for the Picasso.

Art docent Nancy DeFever taught the first-grade lesson on landscapes and seascapes. DeFever's lesson focused on lines (vertical “up and down,” horizontal “in a sleeping position,” diagonal “tipping over” and circular “dizzy”), shapes, and patterns in the paintings.

The first print DeFever showed the students was Gray and Gold by John Rogers Cox. She mentioned that the clouds had an organic shape, and were not made of straight lines, but the road had definite vertical and horizontal lines. Nancy asked the students how the picture made them feel. The overwhelming response was “scared because the clouds were dark and stormy.”

The next print was one of Van Gogh’s Cypress and Wheatfield landscapes. The students were asked to describe the lines in the painting. Responses included: “crazy,” “wiggly,” “squirrely” and “squiggly.”

When DeFever asked the class which landscape they would rather be in, students favored Van Gogh’s painting: because “it’s crazy,” or “there’s no scary things.”

The next image was of a Japanese woodblock print, Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai. DeFever and the students discussed the different lines, colors and patterns that could be seen in the print. DeFever then asked the class if they normally saw these waves in the ocean, to which the students responded that the waves were “much bigger” and had “crazy shapes.”

The final print was a cityscape, Radiator Building in New York City by George O’Keefe. DeFever asked the class what shapes they could see in the painting. The students found squares, rectangles and circles. She then asked if there were any organic shapes. The class found one organic shape: the smoke billowing out of the building on the right hand side of the painting. DeFever then drew the students’ attention to the pattern made by the windows on the building. She asked the students if it reminded them of a music pattern, and asked them to clap one of the patterns with her: “clap, clap, clap, rest, rest, clap.”

Before leaving DeFever asked the class which print they would like to keep until next time. The class voted overwhelmingly to keep the George O’Keefe.

Art docents are parent volunteers. Each must undergo a 10-week training program that includes art history, how to engage students in a discussion, and practice presentations. Currently there are more than 100 art docents, of which about 50 percent are active.

Art docents predominantly provide art classes and art projects for K-5 classes, but also provide art assistance at Fisher Middle School. For example, French students are exposed to paintings from the time of Louis XIVth, the revolution, impressionism and cubism. Spanish students are shown slides of artwork by El Greco, Villasquez, Goya, Picasso and Salvador Dali, as part of a Spanish culture class.

Without the Art Docent program, Los Gatos Union School District students would have limited exposure to the visual arts. Thank you to all the art docents who volunteer their time to enhance the education of our children!

Thank you to program coordinator Frances Barnes for providing an overview of art classes and art projects offered by the Art Docents. Thank you to art docents Karen Harlan and Nancy DeFever and teachers Ms. Adams, Ms. Young and Ms. Shumm for allowing me to observe their first-grade and third-grade art lessons. 

The Los Gatos Education Foundation provides a grant to fund Artist in the Classroom projects and Art Docent lessons for all K-5 classes. Fisher students receive Art Docent lessons upon teacher request.