Look Closer
Developing a deeper connection with art
Look Closer is John Curtin Gallery’s approach to engaging with art through close looking, curiosity, conversation and reflection.
Look Closer invites participants to slow down and build meaningful connections with artworks through observation, curiosity, personal experience, artist voice, cultural context and reflection. Rather than looking for a single right interpretation, participants are encouraged to explore, question and make meaning through different perspectives and ways of responding.
Notice. What do I see?
Slow down and pay attention to what is present. Notice colour, line, shape, texture, materials, scale, sound, movement and detail. What catches your attention? What do you notice when you look for longer?
Connect. What does this bring to mind?
Make connections between the artwork, your own experiences, ideas, people, places and the world around you. Consider the artist’s voice, story, culture, Country and context. Listen to different perspectives and recognise that artworks can hold knowledge and meaning beyond what we see.
Respond. How can I explore this idea?
Respond through making, drawing, writing, movement, sound, discussion, performance or other creative forms. The purpose is to explore an idea, question or connection, not to reproduce or imitate the artwork or cultural forms.
Reflect. What has changed?
Return to the artwork and reconsider your thinking. What do I notice now? What have I learned about the artwork, the artist, myself or another perspective?
A Noongar context
When engaging with Noongar artists and artworks on Noongar Boodja, Look Closer foregrounds Country, place, story, relationship, artist voice and living culture.
Students are encouraged to learn with and from Noongar perspectives, recognising that cultural knowledge is connected to specific people, places and communities.
Where possible, learning is informed by artists, Noongar cultural knowledge holders and appropriate local resources.
