School Tours: Exploring Modern Art: Materials and Techniques
Grades 9–12
Please note: The Gallery is no longer taking School Tour requests for fall 2009. Please check back on December 1 to begin requesting School Tours for winter and spring 2010. You can still review information about tours and planning self-guided visits by clicking on the links below.
Logistical Information | Additional Gallery Resources
From latex and lead to burning and dripping, this tour examines how modern artists and sculptors have responded to a variety of influences through their innovative use of materials and techniques. Students are encouraged to develop their own interpretations and ideas.
Looking and Learning Skills
During four to six tour stops, students engage in activities—such as looking exercises and working in small groups—that foster conversations about works of art. The following skills are promoted:
- Making and articulating careful observations
- Formulating questions that demonstrate curiosity and engagement
- Exploring multiple viewpoints within the group
- Comparing different works of art and articulating connections between them
- Reasoning with evidence from the artworks themselves
- Developing new ideas about how modern artists use materials
Group Size: Up to 60 students
Length: 75 minutes
Meeting Location: East Building, Entrance (inside)
Pre-Visit Materials
Museum policies
Student lunches
General information
What is object-based teaching and learning?
How can I prepare my students for this tour?
What Gallery resources are available on this theme?
- NGAClassroom: Art since 1950
- NGALoanfinder: Inquiring Eye: Early Modernism
What is object-based teaching and learning?