Art Standard 6: Connections

Students will make connections between the visual arts, other disciplines and daily life.

K-12 Performance Standards

• identify connections between characteristics of the visual arts and other arts disciplines;
• identify connections between the visual arts and other disciplines in the curriculum;
• describe how the visual arts are combined with other arts in multimedia work;
• demonstrate understanding of how the visual arts are used in the world around us; and
• recognize that works of visual art are produced by artisans and artists working in different cultures, times and places.

• compare the characteristics of works in the visual arts and other art forms tht share similar subject matter, themes, purposes, historical period or cultural context;
• describe ways in which the principles and subject matter of the visual arts and other disciplines taught in school are inter-related;
• combine the visual arts with another art form to create coherent multimedia work;
• apply visual arts knowledge and skills to solve problems common in daily life; and
• identify various careers that are available to artists.

• analyze and compare characteristics of the visual arts within a particular historical period or style with ideas, issues or themes of that period;
• compare the creative processes used in the visual arts with the creative processes used in the other arts and non-arts disciplines;
• create and solve interdisciplinary problems using multimedia; and
• apply visual arts skills and understandings to solve problems relevant to a variety of careers.

Using the On-Line Learning Sites to Teach About Connections

Between the Visual Arts, Other Disciplines and Daily Life:

The Museum’s on-line learning sites can be used to expose your students to the connections between the visual arts, other disciplines, and daily life through the general history and the specific life stories of the artists and non-artists who stayed at the Griswold boardinghouse. The art colony experience blends the creative world of the artist with the everyday needs of regular people (food, shelter, companionship, laughter, entertainment, etc.).  A study of the Lyme Art Colony demystifies the life of an artists, revealing them to be more often ordinary people who make paintings rather than reclusive eccentric geniuses.

The term “colony” refers to a community of people of the same nationality or pursuits concentrated in a particular district or place – not unlike a classroom.  A study of the Lyme Art Colony resonates with issues connected to group dynamics – from the family unit to a wide range of communities – and the elements that make them successful. The key requirements for an art colony such as available transportation (a way to get there), affordable accommodations (a place to stay), desirable subject matter (something people want), a charismatic leader (someone in charge), a body of like-minded individuals (a group eager for change) can be conceptually linked to the motivations of other groups of people in history fostering cross-curricular connections (e.g. the Pilgrims, Westward Expansion, Immigration).

Learning About Connections Between the Visual Arts, Other  Disciplines and Daily Life

There are several sections of The Fox Chase site where students can specifically investigate Connections Between the Visual Arts, Other Disciplines and Daily Life:

• Go to Imagine Yourself as an Artist for information regarding the typical way an artist would arrive in Old Lyme.

• Go to Who’s Who in the Boardinghouse for information regarding the different roles played by the people who were part of the boardinghouse.

• Go to School of Lyme for information regarding the daily life of the artists in Old Lyme including both their work and their play.

• Go to Cluster of Artists for information regarding the communal living of the artist at Old Lyme.

There are several sections of the In Situ: The Painted Panel site where students can specifically investigate the Connections Between the Visual Arts, Other Disciplines and Daily Life:

• Go to Landscape with Cow by Walter Griffin, Childe Hassam, and Henry Rankin Poore for information regarding a panel that was a collaboration between three artists.

• Go to Shooting the Rapids by Arthur Heming for information about an artist who was also an author.

There are several selections from the menu of Scholar Essays that address the Connections Between the Visual Arts, Other Disciplines and Daily Life:

• Go to Lyme Art Colony for information regarding the development of the art colony and the artists who joined.

• Go to New England Identity for information regarding the development of the Colonial Revival movement and its connection to paintings, architecture, and the decorative arts.

There are several selections from the menu of Educators’ Toolbox that address the Connections Between the Visual Arts, Other Disciplines and Daily Life:

• Go to Timeline for information regarding the development of the Lyme Art Colony along with other major historical moments.

Activities that make Connections Between the Visual Arts, Other  Disciplines and Daily Life:

• Have students write a letter to Miss Florence using the voice of one of the artists.  Ask them to imagine what they experienced during their stay at her boardinghouse. Encourage them to use The Fox Chase website to get specific ideas and information about their artist.

• Have the students write a diary entry using the voice of one of the artists.  Ask them to describe a whole day from waking up to

• Going to bed as part of the Lyme Art Colony.

• Divide the students into small groups and have them design their own colony.  Let them decide what kind of creative people will gather there – painters, poets, writers, dancers, etc. Encourage them to give it a name and imagine where it would be, where the artists would stay, what kind of things they would do. Have the various art colonies create examples of their paintings, poems, dances, etc. and report out to the class about their choices.