Discover Collections
Learn about different types of art through close looking and studying special parts of Mia’s collection.
The Half-Minute Look
This activity demonstrates what kind of information you can (and cannot) obtain by spending only a half-minute looking at an artwork. Pick an artwork that contains a lot of activity, look at it for a half minute and see how many details you can recall. Then go back and look some more!
How to Read a Museum Wall Label
This worksheet helps you figure out what you can learn from a wall label at the museum, or the text about an artwork on the museum website.
Portraits
A portrait is a picture or sculpture of a person or group of people. Search for portraits that intrigue you and unravel the life and times of the people by observing and analyzing details of clothing, poses, setting and expressions. What else, if anything, does the museum label or website text tell you?
Creating Illusions in Landscape Paintings
Look closely at landscapes in Mia’s collection to find examples of five different “space tricks” artists use to create depth. Look for techniques like a winding path to lead the eye back, changes in size or clarity, and the use of overlapping forms.
Depth in Still Life Paintings
A still life is a work of art depicting inanimate objects. These are often commonplace items such as food, flowers, books, and vases. Search Mia’s collection for still lifes that create a sense of depth.
Academy Awards at Mia
Have some fun on your own or in a group. Select one artwork that wins each category: Best Lighting, Best Costume, Best Design, Best Acting, Best Overall Picture, and Special effects.
What Does a Photograph Say to You?
Photographs are made to convey a certain vision or idea. Pick a photograph and explore it in multiple ways ranging from your first impressions to the artist’s choices to see what it says to you!
Seeing Photography through Questions
Select a photograph. Look at it closely, think about what you see, and read the museum label or website copy if available. Then respond to a series of who, what, when, where, why and how questions to see what you discover!
Discover the Period Rooms: Using Your Senses
Period rooms are interior spaces—either removed from their original locations or built specifically for the museum—that can teach us a lot about various places and time periods.
Exploring Japanese Tea Ceremony Utensils
The great Japanese tea masters of the 1500s wanted the tea ceremony to express the idea of wabi. Wabi is all about “simplicity,” “rusticity,” and “imperfection.” Look carefully at Japanese tea utensils in Mia’s collection to think about how each expresses wabi.
Identifying Mudras
Every culture has a specific “vocabulary” of gestures that enables people to communicate without words. Learn about hand gestures called mudras that convey meaning in artworks throughout much of Asia and find artworks in Mia’s collection that show these.
Exploring the Art of the Americas
Search the Arts of the Americas galleries for artworks that feature specific materials and symbols and describe how the Native American artists used these in the artworks you select.
Explore the Art of the Pacific Islands
Look closely at diverse artworks of the Pacific Islands to figure out how they were used, what they are made of, and what symbols they show. Find as many artworks for each category as possible!