NYS Standards for the Visual Arts
NYS Learning Standards for the Visual Arts (All Grade Levels)
Standard 1: Creating, Performing, and Participating in the Visual Arts
Students will actively engage in the processes that constitute creation and performance in the arts (dance, music, theatre and visual arts) and participate in various roles in the arts.
Students will make works of art that explore different kinds of subject matter, topics, themes and metaphors. Students will understand and use sensory elements, organizational principles and expressive images to communicate their own ideas in works of art. Students will use a variety of art materials, processes, media and techniques, and use appropriate technologies for creating and exhibiting visual art works.
Standard 2: Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources in the Visual Arts
Students will be knowledgeable about and make use of the materials and resources available for participation in the arts in various roles.
Students will know and use a variety of visual arts materials, techniques and processes. Students will know about resources and opportunities for participation in visual arts in the community (exhibitions, libraries, museums, galleries) and use appropriate materials (art reproductions, slides, print materials, electronic media). Students will be aware of vocational options available in the visual arts.
Standard 3: Responding to and Analyzing Works of Visual Art
Students will respond critically to a variety of works in the arts, connecting the individual work to other works and to other aspects of human endeavor and thought.
Students will reflect on, interpret and evaluate works of art using the language of art criticism. Students will analyze the visual characteristics of the natural and built environment and explain the social, cultural, psychological and environmental dimensions of the visual arts. Students will compare the ways in which a variety of ideas, themes and concepts are expressed through the visual arts with the ways they are expressed in other disciplines.
Standard 4: Understanding the Cultural Dimensions and Contributions of the Visual Arts
Students will develop an understanding of the personal and cultural forces that shape artistic communication and how the arts in turn shape the diverse cultures of past and present society.
Students will explore art and artifacts from various historical periods and world cultures to discover the roles that art plays in the lives of people of a given time and place, and to understand how the time and place influence the visual characteristics of an artwork. Students will explore art to understand the social, cultural and environmental dimensions of human society.
Links to Grade Level NYS Visual Arts Standards