The Art & Writing Tour
Wadsworth Atheneum, January & February, 2007
Students in New Images this year took the “Art and
Writing” tour at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford,
CT. The one hour guided tour gave students the opportunity
to see artwork from different periods, including a special
presentation called “From Picasso to Pop”
that included work from more contemporary artists like
Andy Warhol. They also had a chance to see an exhibit
of African American artists that included both paintings
and sculptures. The tour guides were able to give the
students the history of many of the paintings they stopped
to study and then gave them an opportunity to use the
art as starting points for creating pieces of poetry and
prose. The hour tour was followed by an hour of free time
when the students, in their mixed groups, could explore
and enjoy the art exhibited at the museum.
The objective of the visit was the allow students, in
mixed groups, to further explore the compositional elements
of art they could then use in their photography and to
practice their writing skills. They also had the opportunity
to see art in various forms from people of diverse backgrounds,
relate that artwork to their own experiences and gain
a more thorough understanding of themselves and others.
For a number of students, this was the first opportunity
they’d ever had to visit an art museum and to talk
about art with others.
State Capitol Visit
Prior to going to the Atheneum, Students visited the
State Capitol building for an opportunity to practice
their photography and writing skills. We visited the old
capitol building for a self-guided tour of the first floor.
The writing assignment focused them on the architecture
of the building and the various historic objects on display
within the halls. A number of the student photographs
from that day focus on those objects. (The writing exercise
used for this event can be found in “The Writer’s
Corner.”)
