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Philosopher’s Corner

Philosopher’s Corner. Teaching philosophy through visual art for Elementary, Middle and high school students Panel discussion Claire C lum , Debra McGann , Susannah Brown,. Philosophy lessons and examples. https://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org /

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Philosopher’s Corner

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  1. Philosopher’s Corner Teaching philosophy through visual art for Elementary, Middle and high school students Panel discussion Claire Clum, Debra McGann, Susannah Brown,

  2. Philosophy lessons and examples • https://www.teachingchildrenphilosophy.org/ • https://video.wgby.org/video/wgby-documentaries-big-ideas-little-kids/

  3. The Incredible painting of felixclouseauby John agee • The incredible painting of Felix Clouseau revolves around the story of an uncelebrated artist named Felix Clousseau who enters his paintings into a contest held by the Royal Palace in France. At first, Clousseau’s painting in dubbed ‘outrageous.' But then his painting comes alive! Clousseau wins the contest and acquires instant fame. However, when more of his paintings come to life and chaos ensues in Paris, Clousseau is sent to Prison until a painting of his helps to catch a notorious burglar and Clousseau is released once again. Clousseau goes back to his studio... and walks back into his painting.

  4. Philosophical questions • The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau raises philosophical questions about the role of realism in art. Throughout the book, we see judgments about Clousseau’s paintings change as they come to life. In some instances, his paintings are celebrated as they come to life; in others, they are scorned. This brings us to think about what the goal of artists should be. • Right at the outset of the story, we are introduced to the philosophical discussion of the influence of preconceived ideas and notions as we judge aesthetics. When Clousseau enters his painting into the contest and competes against celebrated artists, his paintings are dubbed ‘outrageous’ next to those paintings created by the famous artists. These comments raise questions concerning standards for judgment. The first question set focuses on why his paintings were laughed at, and if it was fair to assume that because Clousseau was not famous, his paintings were worse than the paintings of artists who were famous. Is it safe to assume that all paintings created by one good artist are good? For example, we often hear people say, “It is a Picasso." Therefore, we assume the painting is good. We need to question how true is it to claim that all paintings created by these artists were better than an artist who was not as celebrated as Picasso. • Finally, the book also draws our attention to the debates of the subjectivity of art. When the ‘Boa constructor’ comes to life and scares the French aristocrat, the painting is considered bad and Clousseau is sent to jail. This brings us to the debate on what influences our judgment about art and the debate on the subjectivity versus objectivity of art. Some people celebrated Clousseau’s ‘live’ paintings, while others, like the French aristocrat, did not. In the same manner, some may believe that art cannot and should not be limited to the narrowness of ‘reality’ or ‘the truth,' instead, art should be autonomous and should be free from ‘rules.' This highlights the difference of opinion when it comes to art. The children can be asked to compare their favorite paintings and asked if it is okay that different people like different paintings?.

  5. The Incredible painting of felixclouseauQuestions • When Clousseau entered his painting, the judges called it "outrageous" • Look at the painting. Do you agree with the judges that the painting was outrageous? Why? • Was it fair for the judge to assume his painting was bad because he wasn’t famous yet? Were the judges being fair to Clousseau? • Do all famous artists paint ‘good’ pictures? Are all of their pictures good? • Can an artist who is not famous paint better pictures than an artist who is famous?

  6. The Incredible painting of felixclouseauQuestions • All over the city, Clouseau's paintings come alive and he is celebrated for it. • Do you think his painting should have won when it came alive? Why or why not? • Did you like the painting before the painting came alive? After? Would you have liked all his paintings after they came alive? • Should every artist try to make their paintings look as ‘real’ as possible? • Are there some paintings that depict things that are not ‘real’ that you like?

  7. The Incredible painting of felixclouseauQuestions • The judge liked Clousseau’s paintings when it came alive but the French aristocrat didn't. • Is it okay for two different people to like different paintings? • Is it okay for different people to judge art differently? • If so, who is a good judge of art? ( who could really say if Clousseau’s paintings were good or not)

  8. Ish by peter Reynolds • Ramon takes complete delight in drawing “anytime, anything, anywhere”. But his pleasure suddenly turns into frustration and shame when his older brother Leon points and laughs at Ramon’s drawing of a vase of flowers. From this moment, Ramon attempts to make his drawings “look right” and loses all enjoyment in the process and eventually gives up in anger. However, Ramon’s attitude toward his art work changes again when he finds that his younger sister Marisol had been sneaking his crumpled drawings into her room and hanging them on her wall.

  9. Ish Questions • "Ramon kept trying to make his drawings look right." • What was Ramon trying to do? What do you think “look right” means? • Are there some drawings or art that you like that don’t “look right”? • Does art have to “look right” (look exactly like the object the person is trying to draw, paint, sculpt) for it to be considered “good”? • Do you ever feel like you have to make or do things that are perfect? • Are you ever done improving something that you want to be better? Why or why not? • Can something that is considered perfect be improved? Why or why not? Give examples. • What impact did Ramon’s brother and sister have on his enjoyment of making his drawings? • Do you ever do things you do not enjoy? Give examples. • Is something worth doing if you don’t enjoy yourself? Why or why not? What are some other reasons you might do something, aside from the enjoyment it gives you?

  10. ish Questions • What feelings do you think Ramon had while he was trying to make his drawings “look right” after his brother laughed at him? • How would you feel and if someone made a negative comment about your art? A positive comment? How would this affect how you make your art? • Is making art when you are feeling angry or sad the same as making art when you are feeling silly or happy? Why or why not? • "Leon burst out laughing. ‘What is that?’ he asked" • Is there anything you enjoy doing that either you or other people don’t think you are very good at? • Is something worth doing if you cannot be perfect at it? • Is it a good goal for someone who loves to draw to try and make their drawings “look right” or perfect? Why or why not?

  11. The day the crayons quit by drew daywalt • “Yellow Crayon here. I need you to tell orange crayon that I am the color of the sun” • Which color do you think the sun should be? Why? • Would it be worse if we colored the sun blue? • Is there a reason behind coloring the grass green? • Do we need to color/draw/paint things the way they look in real life? • Why might you want to paint things in a way that doesn’t actually look the way they are? • Is there good or bad art? How do we decide which is good and which is bad?

  12. Who is the beast? By Keith baker • In the story each of the jungle animals are scared when they see the beast. • What do you think is scary? • How do you feel when you are scared? • Why do you get scared? • Each of the jungle animals sees a different piece of the Tiger that makes them think they have seen a beast. • Why do the jungle animals call the tiger a beast? • What is a beast? • Why do we think things that scare us are bad? • Why are we generally afraid of what we don't know?

  13. Who is the beast? • Tiger looks into the pond and begins to wonder if he is "the beast" all the jungle animals are afraid of. • Have you ever been surprised to find out what other people think about you? • How did other people's ideas about you make you feel? • Are other people's ideas about you right or wrong? • Do you have ideas about people different than you? • How do you think they feel about your ideas? • Have you ever thought you were really different from someone else and then found out that you aren't? When? • Have you ever felt left out and then made friends with someone else and stopped feeling like you were left out? When? • How did you feel after that happened? • How do you think the world would be different if people made friends with the people they thought were different from them?

  14. Who is the beast? • When the tiger goes back to the jungle animals to find out if he is the beast, he discovers that he shares some of the same characteristics with each of the other animals. • What are some of the things the jungle animals all share? • What is different about the animals? • What do you share in common with the other kids in the class? • What is different about you and the other kids in the class? • At the end of the story the tiger and the other jungle animals realize they are all beasts.

  15. Philosophy for middle and high school students • https://commons.mtholyoke.edu/philosophyatthemuseum/ • Willem de Kooning, Woman V (1952–53), National Gallery of Australia 1. What is the subject of this painting? 2. Why do you think it is painted in this odd way? 3. What about this painting makes it a work of abstract expressionism, in your opinion? 4. Does this painting convey an emotion? Which one(s) and how?

  16. Wassily Kandinsky, Circles in a Circle/ Piet Mondrian, Victory Boogie Woogie/ Mark Rothko, Four Darks in Red • Philosophy Questions: 1. Why are these paintings called abstract? Are there specific feature(s) of the works that the term refers to? Are there other ways of describing the works that you think are more appropriate? 2. Besides certain works of art, what sorts of things are called abstract? (Hint: Think about the different subjects you study in school. Are some of them more abstract than others? Which ones? What makes those subjects abstract?) 3. How does the term “abstract” describe those things? Does it evaluate them, say in a positive or negative way? Does it refer to certain properties of those things? 4. What makes something abstract? What is the opposite of abstract? Does the word “abstract” have a definite meaning? Can you define it? 5. Philosophy is sometimes termed abstract. Do these paintings and philosophy share something that makes them both abstract?

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