Look! : Zoom in on Art - Hardcover

Gillian Wolfe

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0711219052 ISBN 13: 9780711219052

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Ltd, 2002

Synopsis

In this fun and accessible book, children are encouraged to use their eyes to see paintings in a whole variety of ways. Each spread focuses on a different perspective with 14 perspectives in all. A simple text describes each painting. Children are encouraged to answer questions about the images, then to try an art activity of their own. Look up, and we see a painting of a trapeze artist at the top of a circus tent ("The Flying Cordonos" by John Stewart Curry), and we gaze up at the vertical sides of jostling skyscrapers ("Windows" by Charles Sheeler). Look again at the paintings of the vegetables. Things aren't quite what they seem. When you turn it upside down, there is the face of a gardener with a grinning mushroom mouth ("The Vegetable Gardener" by Guiseppe Arcimboldo).

About this title

About the Author

GILLIAN WOLFE has been the Head of Education at Dulwich Picture Gallery (one of the most renowned private collections in the UK) since 1984. She also works as a freelance consultant, and has lectured all over the world. Her previous art books for children include My First Art Book (OUP), winner of the Parent Choice Silver Honour Award, USA; and Art Activity Book and Children's Art Book (Bellow Publishing), both winners of the Gulbenkian Prize for Best Museum Publications of the Year. In 1995 she was awarded the MBE for Services to Education.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-5. Wolfe invites readers to examine works of art and interpret the body language of the figures they see. Each double-page spread features a painting or print beautifully reproduced in color on fine, glossy paper, accompanied by remarks on the picture, suggestions for activities, and leading questions for readers to ponder. Most of the 17 artists represented are European, though several Americans and one Japanese artist are included. All are men. Although Wolfe's comments will lead children to explore the paintings and come to a fuller understanding, some readers may disagree with her opinions and wonder about her conclusions; e.g., her interpretation of John Steuart Curry's John Brown ignores the painting's historical context and implies that the central figure is simply a Kansas settler "ready to cope with the worst that nature can bring." Small reproductions of each picture, along with a little more information about the artist and his work, are appended. First published in Great Britain, the book offers a fresh approach for discussing art with children. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Frances Lincoln Ltd
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0711219052
• ISBN 13: 9780711219052
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 40