Many Ways of Seeing Many Ways of Seeing is a unit written for middle school or junior high school students. It investigates themes and issues in art such as the concept of originality, interpretation of visual language, symbolism, and examination of the categories of fine art and folk art. Through this unit students will learn to substantiate with good reason their personal judgments about art of the past and present, including their own art. The theme of originality in art is studied in some depth in this unit as students learn in sequence about fakes and forgeries, artistic influences, and the concept of homage, or reference by an artist to other artists' works. Students will study symbols from nature in African masks, narrative use of symbols in a Laotian story cloth, and the use of symbols in paintings by artists such as Jan van Eyck and Edward Hicks.
Students use contemporary and personal symbols in their own artwork.