Katie Flowers

Professor Amber Ward

Art 133 AM
24 September 2015

People interpret art in many different ways that will not always be

similar to another. Through connotations and denotations, art can be

interpreted many ways. As explained by Barrett on page 291 of Children and

Their Art by Hurwitz, Denotations are what you literally see in a picture;

connotations are what the things and words imply or suggest by what they

show and how they show it. Ecology is the study of organisms to their

surroundings. Conservation is protecting the environment and its natural

resources. Ecology and conservation go hand in hand. One person may see

life differently because of the ecology that surrounds them, giving people a

different perspective. Through connotations and denotations, conservation

and ecology can have different meanings through art works of students

because every person sees reality differently.

When performing the studio investigation: Exploring Earth, the class

was told to pick an aerial image of land that interested them. There were

many choices of land from peoples hometowns, to across the world, to even

Disneyland. These lands that students chose were all different ecologies

around the world. This gave students a bigger picture of how land looks

different in different places. From there, the students were given the

opportunity to paint what they decided over the land. The students were able

to decide if they wanted their art to be representational or abstract. Many

colors, patterns, and art classifications were up for interpretation. It is

important that art classes provide students with opportunity for meaningful
self-expression in which they become representin, self-creating beings.

(Gude, 2004, 12)

References
Gude,O.(n.d.).PostmodernPrinciples:InSearchofa21stCenturyArtEducation(1sted.,Vol.
57,p.12).NationalArtEducationAssociation.
Hurwitz,A.,&Day,M.(2007).VisualCultureinArtEducation.InChildrenandTheirArt
MathodsforElementarySchool(8thed.,p.291).Belmont,CA:ClarkBaxter.