Ekphrasis as a tool for connecting with artworks in secondary school visual arts course

This research was carried out considering that "ekphrasis", which is accepted as a type of artistic criticism, can function as a tool for students to connect with works of art within the scope of secondary school visual arts class. The study is also designed as a suggestion for the secondary school visual arts class outcomes of ekphrasis type. The final findings of the research is thought to contribute to art education activities. The research was carried out as an experimental study with grade 7 students of a secondary school (Pozanti Atatürk Secondary School) in the Pozanti county of Adana province in the 2020-2021 academic year. A total of 20 students from two branches participated in the study 10 of which were determined as the experimental group and 10 as the control group. The data were obtained through the pre-test and post-test form created with expert opinions. Pre-test and post-test forms contain a total of 13 open-ended questions about the processes of description, analysis, interpretation, and judgment. Two groups were selected for the experimental study in accordance with the planned process for the implementation phase; one of these groups was determined as the experimental group and the other as the control group. Criticism activities were carried out with the control group by using the criticism method included in the visual arts curriculum (Feldman Criticism Model, which consists of description, analysis, interpretation and judgment stages), and the current acquisition directive was not stepped out throughout the process. In the study, the group in which the main procedure was applied, and the effect was tried to be measured was the experimental group has been the experimental group. In this context, works were reviewed within the scope of "ekphrasis" criticism type with the experimental group and this process was completed in 6 weeks in total. Content analysis was carried out in the texts written by the control and experimental group students. Meanwhile, the findings were quantified and described. A remarkable difference was observed between the analysis of the post-tests, in which the experimental group made approaches such as adding a self-story to the work of art, integrating details with fiction, as a requirement of the ekphrasis type, and the control group's criticism texts based on the criticism model developed by Feldman. The work of the experimental group to derive a story, poem or story from the works of art enabled them to look at the work more deeply. It has been established that the tendency to empathize with the artist and the subject in the work is stronger along with the act of looking deeper into the work. At the end of the study, the experimental group stated that they enjoyed trying the ekphrasis type they had not encountered before, and they volunteered for new work reviews. The ekphrastic texts obtained in the process were above what was expected from the age group in question, and this situation increased the courage of the participants in the analysis of the work. Thanks to Ekphrasis, the students' warm attitude towards new work reviews, their curiosity about the details of the work and their willingness to research were accepted as an indication that the experimental group established a connection with the works of art through this genre. In line with the results, suggestions have been made for research that can be handled from new and different perspectives. Keywords: Ekphrasis, visual arts class, art education.