Reading Reflection 2

Throughout the readings this week one common theme became very clear to me. That is, art has meaning. It has purpose. By it's very definition, it is always about something. It should be the goal of arts education to provide students with the kind of literacy and discretion necessary for interpretation and a more intelligent process of creation. As Eisner puts it, “Helping students understand that artists have something to say – and that they have as well – is a fundamental aspect of learning in the arts. A narrow focus on the technical mastery of the material or a preoccupation with the quality of the form leads to a neglect of matters of intention.”(p. 31).

The later part of his admonition echos Freedman's point of view on formalism and the limitations it places on arts curriculum.

“While [a formalist] model of aesthetics appears only to facilitate an analysis of what is contained within a work of art, it has actually conditioned students to approach visual culture as a series of objects isolated from larger social meanings....This model of aesthetics does not include an analysis of use, function, underlying assumptions, social impact, and so on, because its application does not tend to account sociocultural aspects of visual culture.”(p. 27)

According to Freedman, a purely formalist approach to interpretation is lacking because strict analysis of this kind can not always provide adequate understanding of a piece. For example, when formal qualities, such as color or line are altered for symbolic or subjective reasons, the formal paradigm cannot explain it. Often one must access cultural knowledge or articulate emotional responses in order to construct meaning.  It is important that students, both in the process of viewing and making art can engage in a truly aesthetic experience, meaning that their emotions are stirred and senses awakened. According to both Freedman and Eisner, exercises in formal qualities alone don't go far enough.

The articles by Terry Barrett really drive home the point that intrinsically art has meaning and context that begs to be understood. According to Barrett, art interpretation/criticism is persuasive and should be thought of as creating a convincing argument for the meaning of a particular work of art. Attention should be given to not only the formal qualities, but to the cultural context of the work, our emotional reaction to it, and what we know about the artist's other work and life. I appreciated the succinct, practical advise laid out in Barrett's principles for interpretation, most of which can be utilized for a range of age and experience levels and I am inclined to agree with the author about the importance of interpretation as an aspect of criticism, assessment, and enjoyment of art. I think Freedman makes an insightful point when she notes that “For most students not training to be arts professionals, it is probably less important to understand art facts than is is for them to understand why the arts exist, the contributions of art to individuals' lives, and its social significance.” (Freedman p. 32) Intelligent interpretation is not only informed by that understanding but can also help up to reach it.

Ping

I came across this article in last month's issue of American Craft.  Thought you all might find it encouraging.
http://americancraftmag.org/article.php?id=12748

Headline for week 1

For my brief summation of last week's readings, I take a quote from Eisner which I feel bridges his work with Freedman's rather seamlessly.

“Put simply, art education should help students learn how to create and experience the aesthetic features of images and understand their relationship to the culture of which they are a part.” (p. 43)

Also, I know this goes WAY beyond the 50 word framework of this assignment, but I really wanted to call attention to another paragraph that struck a BIG cord with me. (One of those multi-layer highlighting, underlining, and brackets sort of passages.)  Brevity is not one of my virtues and sometimes I just can't help myself.

To see the world as matter in motion, the way a physicist might, provides a unique and telling view. To see it as a historian might is to get another angle on the world. To see it from an aesthetic frame of reference is to secure still another view. Each of these views makes possible distinctive forms of meaning. Education as a process can be thought of as enabling individuals to learn how to secure wide varieties of meaning and to deepen them over time. The outcomes of education can thus be said to diversify and deepen the kinds of meaning people know how to construct and to provide them with the appetite and ability to shift frames. (p. 45)

Here, here!

Reading Reflection #1

Elliot W. Eisner begins The Arts and the Creation of the Mind by describing human experience, at it's most basic, as an interaction with the qualitative environment as explored through our various senses. Throughout development, “the actualization of capacity, that is, the transformation of capacity to ability, depends on both what the individual brings to the environment and what the environment brings to the individual.”(p. 20). As this exploration continues, the child's ability to differentiate based on qualitative subtleties, form concepts, and use and recognize symbolic representation become increasingly more sophisticated; a process which is largely shaped by the physical and cultural environment provided to the child.

The author goes on in Chapter 2, Visions and Versions of Arts Education, to describe various philosophies and active approaches guiding arts curriculum, including their merits, possibilities, and limitations. Having long been a proponent of the “integrated arts” model, I was also enthused by the notion of curriculum being guided by the arts' role in cognitive development. In my view, the two concepts are inextricably bound together, the latter forming the underpinning philosophy which supports and informs the actualization of a working integrated arts model.

[T]he tasks that the arts put forward – such as noticing subtleties among qualitative relationships, interpreting the metaphorical meanings the work displays, exploiting unanticipated opportunities, in the course of one's work – require complex modes of thought. Examined analytically, work in the arts provides an agenda rich in such opportunities.(Eisner p. 35)

 What this means to me is that education is about process, about shaping and working the child's capacities; it's about revealing truth and possibilities, not just imparting information. For me, the importance of endowing the student with an inter-relational understanding of the world and its many parts cannot be overstated, and I'm sure this will be a recurring theme which informs my point of view throughout our class discussion.

Both Eisner and Freedman (in Teaching Visual Culture) seem to be questioning the scope of art curriculum; it's role in our schools, and essentially it's role in our culture. The need for a curriculum in the arts which helps us decipher a visually complex, saturated, and stimulating landscape demands a redefinition of what the arts are and what they encompass. Furthermore, the modes of cognition, skills, and capacities which are nurtured by the arts and exercised by visual literacy are necessary for taking us forward in this dynamic age, defined by rapid change and innovation.

To harken back to Liz Coleman's passionate call to action for educators in liberal arts fields (Coleman 2009), the authors seem to understand the importance of visual literacy in the process of deconstructing political and economic power structures through increased understanding of the origins, meanings, and motives behind the images with which we are presented. Sufficient knowledge about who produces images and why is crucial to a discerning and thoughtful citizenry, necessary for a working, multicultural, postmodern democracy. Furthermore, said knowledge fosters the kind of progress and innovation that is cognizant of it's own visual implications.

Eisner, E. W. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. New Haven: Yale University Press. 

Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and the social life of art. New York: Teachers College Press.

Coleman, Liz (Feb 2009). Liz Coleman's call to reinvent liberal arts education

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/liz_coleman_s_call_to_reinvent_liberal_arts_education.html