During a visit to the National Museum of Women in the Arts, I found myself focusing on Sun Card XVII, a 1998 glitter collage by French painter Nikki de Saint Phalle. I was there for a required independent museum visit for my Contemporary Literature and Art in Conversation class. I found the piece’s vibrant colors to express joy, and the Sun God infused the piece with a sense of divinity. The childlike crayon texture in the background added to the unburdened innocence of the piece. These elements came together to express that divinity is found in innocence and joy.
I saw these elements of the piece representing feeling and meaning because I had been learning art literacy—the ability to understand and analyze visual art. As I learned more about analyzing art, I realized students often lack the necessary skills to analyze visual art because they do not practice them in school. Without art literacy, students are less equipped to understand politics, history and art itself.
You may have heard the phrase “All art is political.” Art, like writing, reflects how people respond to the political climate they are in. Without the proper tools to understand a work, viewers can be left in the dark about the piece’s deeper political, social or human message and miss out on a new perspective on the piece.
This fall, I took the Contemporary Literature and Art in Conversation, an English elective. In class, we analyzed art in group conversations, noting observable elements of the works before shaping them into analysis. These group conversations made interpreting art more manageable and exciting because we worked together to find meaning in the art.
By requiring independent museum visits, my teacher encouraged us to independently practice the skills we gained in class. During my visit to the National Museum of Women in the Arts, I found myself looking at more than just beautiful colors or interesting shapes. I was able to appreciate small details, like a texture in the background, and turn my interpretation of details into a greater understanding of the piece.
Unlike in past museum visits, I was inspired by the pieces and my brain was working to decipher the artists’ intended messaging. Most important, I was tired after my visit. Looking at art, like reading a text, should be an intense cognitive activity.
In school, English classes teach students how to analyze texts in a way that helps them better understand human behavior and interaction. The classroom environment helps students dig deep into texts and move beyond casual reading. I have often found my understanding of a text completely shifted after an English class.
Visual art can and should be valued for the same intellectual qualities as written texts in high school.
For example, Pablo Picasso’s Guernica—a critique of the Spanish Civil War—was shown internationally and became a powerful anti-war symbol. The piece evokes shock from viewers as they see disfigured people and animals who suffer from bombs dropped in Guernica. One depiction of a mom holding her injured child is especially painful and demonstrates how war affects real people and destroys families.
Political art also shows up in our times. In 2025, American artist Amy Sherald intended for her art exhibit American Sublime to be shown at the National Portrait Gallery, but the Smithsonian, under the Donald Trump administration, wanted to censor one of Sherald’s pieces, Trans Forming Liberty. Sherald decided to move the show to the Baltimore Museum of Art. Trans Forming Liberty prompts viewers to consider the Statue of Liberty next to transgender people.
Art has always borne the weight of resistance, history and political thought. The Contemporary Literature and Art in Conversation class helped me to recognize that. But we did not lean into the history textbook–style definition of the art; we tried to situate and understand the pieces ourselves. These analytical skills are necessary for students to have a well-rounded humanities education; however, students need more opportunities to develop analytical skills.
Unfortunately, the English department will not run the Contemporary Literature and Art in Conversation elective next year. While other humanities classes look at art, they need to equip students with the analytical skills to interpret art themselves.
At GDS, we have the resources and the intellectual environment to be literate in art. The school should continue to provide students with opportunities to develop art literacy and incorporate art into core classes. No education is complete without learning to value and interpret different forms of expression.