Exploring the Great Outdoors - Meridian International Center

“30 Second Look”
Classroom Use: Select an art reproduction of a detailed, realistic work of art with a
narrative content.
Objectives:
The student learns:
• that it takes time to notice details of a work of art. (Knowledge)
• how to practice visual recall and compare perceptions. (Skill)
• that looking carefully can be fun and rewarding. (Attitude)
Description: In this activity students are guided to think about the effects of time on
successful looking.
The Procedure:
1. Ask your students how long they think they might spend, on average, looking
at a work of art. Record their responses and discuss the factors they believe affect the
amount of time they spend looking. Ask students how long they think that adults spend,
on average, looking at a work of art. Record their responses and discuss why there may
be a difference between an adult’s and a child’s looking. After students have answered,
explain that research indicates that the average time that adults spend looking at one
object in the galleries is less than half a minute. Is thirty seconds ample time to spend
with a work of art Why, or why not Try the following experiment in small groups to
test their answers.
2. Direct students to sit silently in front of a work of art looking at it for thirty
seconds. At the thirty second mark ask everyone to turn around facing away from the
work of art (in the classroom a slide could be used).
Gallery Activities
3. Without looking back at the work of art, ask students to use their memories to
answer questions based on their observations. The following questions are the kinds of
questions the teacher might ask:
How many people are in the work of art
How would you describe them
How is each one dressed
What are they doing
What kind of setting is depicted
Is the scene tidy or chaotic
Are there any animals in the work of art
How would you describe them
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