Topic: Aesthetics

Water Walk by John Cage

Water Walk by John Cage Whole Sequence Breakdown: Welcome and warm-up (c. 5-10 minutes) Brief introduction to John cage and Water Walk  (5 minutes) Viewing to Water Walk (without giving away the “secret”) (5 minutes) Small group discussions (c. 10-15 minutes) Whole-group share and discussion (20 minutes) Possible extensions (for extra time, or additional lessons) Water Walk by John Cage

Baboon on the Moon

Baboon and the Moon still

This lesson plan can be used either in a classroom or online. Plot Summary: This six-minute film is about a baboon who lives alone on the Moon. Wordless and moving, the video portrays the baboon as full of longing for the Earth, struggling with feelings of sadness and loneliness. Looking wistfully out at Earth, he Baboon on the Moon

On the Beautiful and the Sublime

On the Beautiful and the Sublime…Aesthetics as Subjective Experience One of the longstanding questions that’s been debated in the field of aesthetics involves the nature of Beauty; one question in this area asks us where Beauty lies, in the object or in our eyes.  Taking this further, if Beauty is in us rather than in On the Beautiful and the Sublime

Exploring Existential Angst and The Self in Social Media

Existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre in Nausea Students will be introduced to Existentialism through discussion and excerpts from Jean-Paul Sartre’s novel, Nausea, which describes a certain vague feeling that the main character, Roquentin, calls “nausea”. This feeling is basically a result of suspecting that there is a reality behind what we perceive as reality, an objective Exploring Existential Angst and The Self in Social Media

What is Art?

Have each student draw two pictures. One drawing must be a drawing they would call art, and the other one they would not call art. Ask the students who want to do so to share their drawings. Some questions you can consider include: What makes one art and the other not? Does the intention of What is Art?

Can anyone make art?

Girl painting

In 2007 an independent film came out entitled “My Kid could paint that.”  It followed the art career of a four year old, Marla Olmstead,  living in Binghamton, NY who took the art world by storm.  Many of her canvases sold for 5 figures and presented beautiful and engaging abstract images. The film began as Can anyone make art?