Page 23 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: The Arts, 2010

Consideration of Cultural Context
As part of the critical analysis process, students develop an understanding of works in the arts in their cultural context. In addition to analysing and interpreting the art works themselves, students also need to understand how aspects of an artist’s life can have a bearing on his or her works and on the interpretation of those works.
Sample guiding questions might include:
• What social, political, and historical events may have influenced the artist in this work?
• What cultural movements, events, or traditions or other works in the arts may have influenced the artist?
• What events in the artist’s life may have affected the creation of the work?
In order to extend their understanding of works of art in their context, students may also conduct their own inquiry-based research, or teachers can support them in investigations into the following:
• the similarities and differences between specific works in the past and present
• the way in which a work in the arts represents the perspective of individuals within
a specific cultural group
• examples of other works created in the same period
• the expectations and artistic preferences of audiences at the time the work was created
• the initial reception of the work by critics
• the responsibility of an audience, including basic points of audience etiquette and the individual’s responsibility to acknowledge any personal biases that may influence his or her response to a work (e.g., cultural biases or past experiences with the arts)
Teachers could also suggest that a student – who is in role as a reporter – interview another student – who is in role as a visual artist, composer, playwright, or choreographer – about cultural, social, economic, and political conditions at the time the artist lived.
Expression of Aesthetic Judgement
Students compare their perception of the art work after reflection and analysis to their initial reaction and make connections to other works of art they have seen or heard. They consider the effectiveness of aspects of the work. They also reflect on whether they have learned anything that they can apply to their own work.
Sample guiding questions might include:
• How effectively does the artist select and combine elements to achieve an intended effect in this work? (i.e., What works?)
• What doesn’t work, and why?
• Has your point of view shifted from your initial reaction? If so, how has it
changed? Why?
• In what ways does the artist evoke joy, sadness, or other emotions in this work?
THE PROGRAM IN THE ARTS
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