Arts Madness 2025
Arts Madness 2025
I am once again posting daily mini-episodes ahead of my annual Arts Madness Tournament. Last year's tournament was focused around the AP Art History curriculum. This year I decided to put 32 works from from that list up against 32 artists/artworks that were not selected. I like to think of it as the establishment picks in one bracket and the salon des refusés in the other bracket.
Beginning the week of February 24, listeners will be able to vote for their favorite artists in a series of head-to-head matchups. Every week half the artists will be eliminated and over 6 weeks, we will narrow the field from 64 down to just 1 ultimate artist/artwork. To make it a little more fun, I will be giving away some Amazon gift cards throughout the tournament.
Resources for Art Teachers:
Check out my Google folder with images of all 64 artworks and QR codes you can print to display in your school.
Make a copy of my Round 1 Voting Form and Prediction Form to run your own version of the tournament.
About our Tournament
The idea behind the Arts Madness tournament, much like the idea behind the podcast, is to create a fun way of learning about some familiar artists and discovering new ones. Each week, I will post the matchups and a form for participants to vote for their favorites. The voting form will simply ask, "Which is better?" Each voter must decide his or her own criteria for what makes one work of art better than another. Is it about the craftsmanship, the creativity, the expressive qualities? Part of the hope is that this tournament can spark some thoughtful discussions about what we appreciate in a work of art. I hope you enjoy it, maybe discover some new artists you like or would like to learn more about, and of course please tell your friends.
Connect socially from a safe distance...
