Art is at the Core: Barrington Washington

Barrington Watson (1931–2016) was a Jamaican artist who first came into the spotlight as a football [soccer] player at Kingston College. After traveling extensively, he returned to Jamaica to become the Director of Studies at the Jamaica School of Art.

He also cofounded the Contemporary Jamaican Artists’ Association. Below are ideas for integrating Barrington Watson’s 1981 painting, Conversation, with other subjects.

Ideas for integrating Barrington Watson’s 1981 painting, Conversation, with other subjects (from Art is at the Core).

Ideas for Integration Barrington Washington Into Other Subjects

Headlines

Have students view the artwork for one minute without talking. Then, provide minimal background knowledge. Essentially, you should only share the name of the work and the brief bio of the artist.

Allow them to continue to view the work while they complete this activity. Have them work with a group of no more than three to create a headline to accompany the

image. This requires creative thinking! For example, the women could be having a conversation about local news. Perhaps the headline could read, “Restaurant Owner Offends Local Patrons.”

The headlines, which do not have to be completely accurate since you are not providing much background, will activate thinking that both provokes questions and forces students to use visual information to make decisions.

Writing About Art

Have the students use their headlines to write a fictional blog post about the event. The students can continue to work with their partners to develop the content, or they can work independently. Use your discretion and teaching context to determine what best suits the needs of your students.

Have them go through the entire writing process. They can use a graphic organizer to develop the main idea and details. Tell them to be sure to include quotations from the people who are involved in their work of fiction. They can even give names to the women in the artwork. Allow them time to write a rough draft, solicit peer feedback, edit and revise.

Art-Making

Students will be eager to create their own work once they have written their pieces about the image. Have students use the elements of drama/theatre to work as a team to create a tableau that tells a story. You can select stories for the students or have them recreate one they are familiar with.

For example, you might give one group a sheet of paper with the following story written on it: Two men are walking a dog when they notice it is about to rain. The students could

create a tableau of one student on hands and knees as a dog, another standing on tiptoes with arms in the air showing an excitable expression about the weather, and another student squatting just a bit with one hand over their head to protect from the impending rain. Allow the students to photograph each other’s tableau.

Have the groups share with the whole class as their classmates try to guess their story. Once the students have completed this activity, they can use their photographs to draw their own images. They should focus on proportion with the figures. Tell them to think about height and how each section of each figure relates to the rest according to size. They can use any medium to add color.

Writing Again

This entire lesson sequence is great for getting students engaged in the writing process. It also allows multiple opportunities for them to write routinely over extended time frames.

Students have already created a blog post with a headline as a writing exercise. For the next step, have them extend the story they started with for their tableau. If they wrote about a familiar story, have them change key plot points to create an entirely different story.

For instance, if the students chose a fairytale-like Little Red Riding Hood as their familiar story, have them change the main character and the destination. Have them think about how those changes would impact the overall plot and use that to develop their own work.

Final Thoughts

Using a resource like Barrington Washington’s painting is just one example of how the arts can be integrated with other subjects. Following this template, you can plug in other artists and their work as well. The possibilities of this style of learning are endless!

I’m Amanda, and I align standards and integrate content to help teachers meet the needs of the Whole Child in art class! I have yet to find a standard that I couldn’t teach through art, and I want to share it all with you.

Not sure where to start with bringing art and content together? This freebie guide is packed with 25 ideas to align your art lessons with math and ELA standards. Your students will be crafting art and practicing algebraic thinking. Win-win!

I want all students to feel successful in the art room, so I created a standards-based Daffodil Collage lesson to do just that! The lesson includes an artist study, student reflection, and more, so push your artists to their full potential.

Follow along on my Instagram page for more tips on teaching the Whole Child in the art room!