Art

Background

Art classes are designed to develop and broaden critical and creative thinking skills, understanding of and appreciation for the arts and culture and increase students’ proficiency in art techniques and processes. Students who wish to plan a portfolio for entrance into art schools or college art programs should notify an art teacher and/or the art department chairperson.

Philosophy

All people have the potential to communicate in a visually creative way. A comprehensive visual arts education program provides the means, knowledge and direction to develop this potential for visual communication. Visual arts education promotes critical thinking abilities that enable children to understand a correlation between art and other disciplines, develop an understanding of past and present cultures, and evaluate their own work and the work of others. The art program builds a foundation that sequentially develops students’ (art) skills and knowledge. It further seeks to foster an awareness, appreciation and enjoyment of culture throughout lifelong learning.

ART LOVERS, CHECK OUT THESE AWESOME WEBSITES

The Wadsworth Atheneum—http://www.thewadsworth.org

Welcome to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art on the Web. Let us guide you through our renowned collections of American and European paintings, sculpture and decorative arts. The museum owns one of the finest collections of Hudson River School paintings in the world, one of the most important collections of baroque art an America, and the largest and finest public collection of 17th century American furniture. We'll also familiarize you with some of the many exhibitions, programs, and amenities that we offer.

The Yale Art Gallery—http://artgallery.yale.edu

Real Art Ways—http://www.realartways.org

Real Art Ways is one of the United States' leading innovative contemporary arts organizations, with programs in Visual Arts (commissioned public projects, exhibitions, education), Live Arts (innovative music of all kinds, performance, spoken word) and Film and Video (feature films and artists' videos).

Whitney Museum of American Art—http://whitney.org

The State Hermitage Museum—http://www.hermitagemuseum.org

Put together throughout two centuries and a half, the Hermitage collections of works of art (over 3,000,000 items) present the development of the world culture and art from the Stone Age to the 20th century. Today the Museum is creating its digital self-portrait to be displayed around the world. Computer technologies enable the State Hermitage Museum to provide people from all over the world with wider access to information about the Museum and its treasures.

The Museum of Modern Art—http://www.moma.org

The Louvre—http://www.louvre.fr

Divided into 7 departments, the Louvre collections incorporate works dating from the birth of the great antique civilizations right up to the first half of the 19th century, thereby confirming its encyclopedic vocation.

The Saint Louis Art Museum—http://www.slam.org