Teacher's Guide

Welcome to the educational website artsites.dk. A site for everyone interested in art as a starting point for wider discussions. The site focuses on selected works of art and their relation to place. Not just a physical place, but also in the sense of context. Within contemporary art theory the meaning of a work of art is discussed as happening in an interaction between art, context and viewer; a development resisting the idea that the meaning of an artwork is fixed and embedded in the work itself.

The main art historical fields that have formed the basis for artsites.dk is site specificity, museology, sculpture in an expanded field, art in public spaces and contemporary art using new media. In addition, other themes are the significance of place, national identity, how we relate to the community, and how as humans we create coherence in the world based on the knowledge we have.

Structure

The site has a simple structure. All pages are easily accessed from the front page and any other page through the menu bar at the top. In total, the site contains 6 pages with cases. Each case is based on an example giving opportunity to discuss a specific angle of art in relation to context. The starting point is art from Louisiana's collection, but all cases also discuss works from other museums or public spaces.
Cases contain a brief introduction of works and points, a film about the work, facts about work and artist, links and tasks.

In addition to the cases, there are 3 themes. Theme pages contain a longer text, links and tasks (and in one case, an interview film). Theme pages provide an overview and information giving further perspective to the cases. The texts discuss general issues that are relevant to all or several of the works on the site. The text discusses the museum's role in history until now, Louisiana as a historical phenomenon and modern art museum, respectively. Furthermore, there is an article that discusses public space as a concept and art in public spaces.

Use of the site

It is possible to use the site on several levels. Case pages and films introduce works and angles. Fact Boxes and links give further information if and when the teacher or student needs more inspiration or information.

Theme pages are a great inspiration and preparation for the teacher, but can of course also be read by students.

The assignments are aimed at students directly, but can also be a source of inspiration for teachers who want to work on a specific theme.
The assignments are divided into four categories:
A: A short preliminary exercise
B: An exercise that can be solved in the context of a museum visit
C: An assignment that can be solved by students themselves between two classes
D: A proposal for a major  practical assignment. The task sets the stage for interdisciplinary collaboration with subjects such as Danish(/other languages), media studies, drama, language subjects and social studies.

Use the texts and tasks directly in teaching or as presenters, inspiration or background. The intention is that the material should not only be relevant to use in art classes but also in other subjects, eg Danish(/other languages), interdisciplinary courses and in the students’ independent projects.