Attend a display of artwork. Discuss the display and the role of a gallery curator. Students pretend to be the curator for the exhibit and think of a different way to make a more effective display, given the nature of the work. Through their talk and presentations, students demonstrate their understanding of how images and objects are influenced by the times, places, and cultures of the people who created them. As students discuss their ideas, look for evidence that they are developing an awareness of the different purposes for which people from various cultures have created images and objects, as well as the effect culture has on the students' own artistic choices.
Students develop a questionnaire or inventory of art preferences.
Have them survey three or four people outside the classroom, completing the inventories themselves. Ask respondents to identify which of three or four images they prefer. Each student selects three other student's pieces in a class display, and records a personal interpretation of the works, then discusses the interpretation with the artist. Artists record the discussions in their journals. When students talk about consumer packaging, note how individual students identify the intentions of the Designers or marketers.