1. The MUSE Game
From The Muse Book, written by Jessica Davis and designed by Denise Donahue,
published by Harvard Project Zero

2. Learning to Focus
In an era when children are continually bombarded by electronic and sensory stimuli, learning to look deeply and insightfully at a work of visual art takes effort and coaching.

3. The MUSE Game Teaches observational skills;
Demonstrates that the more you look, the more you see;
Shows that different people pick up on varied aspects of a work of art;
Uses group discussion to expand understanding.

4. Let’s try an experiment
The next slide will be a picture
Jot down in your journal what you notice about the picture
Do you like the picture?
Then we’ll play the game and see if you notice anything beyond what you saw the first time you looked

6. Here is question #1 Look closely at the work of art
What colors do you see in it?
Take turns listing the specific colors that you see….

8. Question #2 What objects do you see in the work of art?
Take turns listing the objects that you see (For example: “I see an apple.” “I see a triangle.”)

10. Question #3 What is going on in this work of art?
What actions or events do you see?
Take turns mentioning what you see happening, no matter how small…

12. Question #4
Does anything you have noticed in this work of art so far (for example: colors, objects, or events) remind you of something in your own life?
Take turns answering

14. Question #5 Is this work of art true to life?
How real has the artist made things look?
Please remember that there are no right or wrong answers in this game….

16. Question #6
What ideas and/or emotions do you think this work of art expresses?

18. Question #7
Do you have a sense of how the artist might have felt when he or she made this work of art?
Does it make you feel one way or another?

20. Question #8
What would you have called this work of art if you had made it yourself?
Does the title of the work, if there is one, make sense to you?

22. Question #9 Think back on your previous observations…
What have you discovered from looking at this work of art?
Have you learned anything about yourself or others?

24. Question #10 Do you like this work of art? Why or why not?
Has your reaction to the work changed?
Do you like it more or less than you did at the beginning?
Why?