Thirty Days to Unlock FCAT Writing Success - Polk County School ...

The Four Step Critical Method of Observing Art
Objective: Students will use the "Four-Step Critical Method of Observing Art” to ramp up their
observation and description of detail in artwork.
Time: One class period
Also known as “The Feldman Model”: how to talk about art using the four step critical method.
Step One: Describe exactly what you are looking at.
Step Two: Analyze the artists’ use of the art elements/principles (i.e. colors, shapes, textures, balance,
value, contrast…..)
Step Three: Interpret….what do you think the artist was trying to “say” to you through this art, what
story does it tell, how does it make you feel(there is no right or wrong).
Step Four: Evaluate/Judge…what makes this a successful/unsuccessful art work?
Use one of the three theories for judging art, choose one….Imitationalism, Formalism, or Emotionalism
• Imitationalism – artist did a great job making it look like what it is
• Formalism – artist really was successful with the way he used colors, lines, shapes,
forms, textures
• Emotionalism- artist was able to get a strong sense of feeling/emotion from the viewer
Remember that each one of you may decide to judge/evaluate the artwork using a different
theory….and that is fine….it is just a great way to get people to really think about the artwork they are
viewing (or the music they hear, the play they see, the ballet or opera they view, a story they read, a
movie they saw…… you can use this process in many different ways in your classrooms.
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