How Artists See America: East West South Midwest (How Artist See, 11) - Hardcover

Carroll, Colleen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0789207729 ISBN 13: 9780789207722

Publisher: Abbeville Kids, 2002

Synopsis

Abbeville Kids expands its award-winning series of interactive, inquiry-based books designed to teach children about the world by looking at art, and about art by looking at the world.

In How Artists See America, sixteen works of art show the many different ways a selection of great artists—from Winslow Homer and Childe Hassam to Georgia O'Keeffe and Romare Bearden—have perceived the breathtaking variety of landscapes and the diversity of people living in four major regions of the United States.

Each volume in the How Artists See series presents sixteen diverse works of art, all devoted to a subject that every child already knows from personal experience. Author Colleen Carroll's engaging, conversational text is filled with thought-provoking questions and imaginative activities that spark children's natural curiosity both about the subject of the artwork they are looking at and about the way it was created.

This direct, interactive approach to art—and to the world—promotes self-exploration, self-discovery, and self-expression. As it introduces basic artistic concepts, styles, and techniques, it also provides loads of fun. For children who want to know more about the artists whose works appear in the book, biographies are provided at the end, along with suggestions for further reading and an international list of museums where each artists works can be seen. As they begin to understand the multitude of ways that artists see, children will deepen their appreciation of art, the world around them, and, most importantly, their own unique visions.

About this title

About the Author:

Colleen Carroll is an educational consultant for MTV, USA Today, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, Black Entertainment Television, CNBC, Channel One, and The Edison Project. She previously taught sixth grade in California and now lives in New York.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Excerpt from How Artists See America:

EAST

Brooklyn Bridge: Variation On An Old Theme - Joseph Stella

The eastern United States is home to some of the country's most beloved and recognizable landmarks. In this picture the artist gives you a rare view of a famous New York City landmark—the Brooklyn Bridge. From which part of the bridge are you looking? Like two giant, wide-open eyes, the bridge’s pointed arches gaze at the cityscape in the distance. What do see through them? The artist painted another view of the bridge at the bottom of the picture. Why do you think he chose to show it from close up and from far away?

The artist especially loved how the bridge’s graceful lines and massive shapes work together to create a structure that is both strong and elegant. At first glance all these lines and shapes make the picture look busy, but it's actually very organized. Trace your finger along one of the silvery suspension cables on one side of the picture. Now trace a cable on the other side. By making the lines mirror each other, the artist balanced the two sides of the picture. What other parts of the picture are balanced in this way?

About this edition

• Publisher: Abbeville Kids
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0789207729
• ISBN 13: 9780789207722
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48