Looking--Not just seeing

Teaching Pre K-8, Oct 1994 by Hudak, Jane Rhoades

Henry Moore was one of the greatest sculptors of the twentieth century. His productive career as an artist spanned 63 years. He's famous for his monumental bronze sculptures and his dedication to placing his work in harmony with the natural environment. Moore once said that sculpture was like a journey providing different views as you return. "Sculpture always looks good against the jumble of nature," he said, "but the really fool-proof background is the sky...out of doors the light is always changing, with the hour of the day and with the seasons, and at night moonlight magnifies."

Last month, I visited the York shire Sculpture Park, an outdoor museum in England. I spent an afternoon walking through an exhibition called (Henry Moore in Bretton Country Park." For me, this was a unique chance to see a significant group of sculptures placed among the beautiful Yorkshire hills.

It was magnificent. Walking up a hillside with some grazing sheep, the sculpture in front of me changed as I looked at it from different angles and levels. If the sun suddenly appeased from behind a cloud, the artwork looked dramatically different.

I stumbled upon a group of children seated around a sculpture sketching. I overheard the teacher (a regular classroom teacher) explain to the students, "Mr. Moore said, 'If at first you don't understand what you see, then look again or make a sketch.'"

A nice way to introduce the work of this artist to your students is to read Jane Mylum Gardner's book Henry Moore: From Bones and Stones to Sketches and Sculpture (Four Winds Press, 1993). This simple book is filled with terrific black and white photographs and sketches. Among other things, you'll see Moore riding to work at his studio on his bicycle. It will be fascinating for your children to see what inspired this artist to create.

One picture shows the artist in his studio surrounded by a bird's skeleton, shells, animal bones, pieces of wood, stones, flint and all sorts of unusual objects he found when walking in the fields near his house. Through this book, young readers can learn art vocabulary words, how sculpture is created and where artists get their ideas.

Be sure to tell your students that Henry Moore was very fond of children. Kids were allowed to visit his studio and he enjoyed answering their questions. Not surprisingly, a favorite theme of his was the family. Often, his work blended shapes and textures from nature with human figures.

Those children gathered around the sculpture in the park in England were learning to look, the first step in appreciating art. I challenge you to teach your kids how to look and appreciate art by introducing them to Henry Moore.