Children - Lesson 5: You, the Art critic
Child
Hi. If somebody showed you a painting that you’d never seen before, how would you start to talk about it? In this lesson, an artist made a short video just for you and asked a few questions about his painting, Secrets of the Great Salt Lake. Watch the video, learn a little about the artist, and then write a brief report to share with us. Would you like to write to the artist? He’d love to hear from you.
Adult/Teacher
Hello. Children have all the tools they need to interpret art. They simply need some prompting and encouragement. In this lesson, help them interpret the painting below. It has a little something for everyone. Guide them to gather enough information to write a brief response to the painting, and we’ll post their work of art criticism at the bottom of this lesson for others to read.
You, the Art Critic
Are you ready to put what you’ve learned about Art Criticism into practice? Can you think like an art critic and interpret a work of art? Yes, you can do it, and it will be fun!
We will look at a painting, speak to the artist, look at clues together, learn why/when/how it was made, and then we’ll invite you to explain your own interpretation of the work. Finally, you can share your interpretation with us, and we’ll post it on the website, below. Here we go.
Kent Christensen (American, born 1957)
Secrets of the Great Salt Lake (2019)
oil on linen, triptych (three panels) 40 x 64 inches
Private collection
Used with permission
The painting is titled Secrets of the Great Salt Lake. It is by the artist Kent Christensen. We have several resources that can help you discover more about it:
The artist created a short video just for you, asking five questions that he thinks you can answer about the painting. (Watch the video, below.)
The artist’s website will show you this and other art works by Kent Christensen.
A video interview on PBS talks with the artist about the making of the painting.
Kent Christensen sat down for a one-hour podcast interview with us, exclusively about Secrets of the Great Salt Lake.
Ok, get going with your research using the above sources, and when you’re done—especially looking as closely as you can to the painting itself—answer some questions.
Kent asked you five easy questions in his video. Here they are:
How many spirals can you find?
Why is Brigham Young riding a dinosaur?
How many animals are there?
What is on the trains?
What is happening in the right panel?
The artist has said that the things in the painting are based on history: the meetings of the trains at Promontory Point, the animals and plants, even the flamingo and whale in the Great Salt Lake. (Well, Brigham Young never rode a dinosaur, but that’s sort of funny, anyway.) What do you make of all these things? How do you interpret them?
Kent based this painting on a masterpiece by Hieronymus Bosch (Dutch, c. 1450-1516) titled The Garden of Earthly Delights. Look at the painting and read about it, and then talk about how the two paintings are alike and different. [Note: Some of the figures in the Bosch painting are nude.]
Secrets of the Great Salt Lake is funny, but it also has some lessons and warnings. What do you think those might be?
Would you like to ask the artist a question? Here is his email.
Share with Us
Now, write a short summary (less than 50 words) to answer this question, “How do you interpret Secrets of the Great Salt Lake?” Send it to us (include your first name and the city where you live), and we’ll post it, below.