Art + Education = Life

Art education is therefore generated, to a greater or lesser extent, in all Western educational institutions, from playgroups through school and youth clubs to art schools and universities. And in the name of reform or punishment, it is withheld or instrumentalized, most overtly in prisons. It is keenly identified, therefore, with developing an individual’s sense of personal and social identity; it is cultural. So it is taught and learned not just in institutions but in the home, out on the street and online.                          

-Felicity Allen: EDUCATION

WAYS OF KNOWING. WAYS OF BEING. KEEPING TRADITION ALIVE. THE JOURNEY OF TRADITION. I AWOKE TO FIND MY SPIRIT RETURNED. LONGING NOT BELONGING. WISDOM, RESILIENCE, RELATION. HONOURING KINSHIP.

Welcome to this moment.

This space- a moment to pause. A space in which we will create together to invite reflection, patience, compassion, and grace. We will remember what once was in order to create what now is.

We are coming together at a time of uncertainty, not necessarily knowing what will be expected of us and not knowing our own expectations.

We are on the cusp of a transitionary time-one that is calling each of us to use our ingenuity and innovative selves in order to find the most creative ways to engage and partake with others while completely self-isolating.

We come to this shared space filled with the hope that we will gain a further understanding of our communities, all the while, being asked to socially distance ourselves as a way of extending care to those we love around us.

We create this space as a way of honouring tradition, uncovering our past and exploring what brought us to this moment.

This contemporary moment.

Filled with practical applications of how we are supposed to be and yet surrounded by the canons reinforcing the status quo.

Every action, response and reaction changes so quickly before our very eyes…

Are we being called to action or is the call becoming clearer and louder? Is the clarity- a reminder for each of us to turn our gaze outward, to discover and share our rich diverse history of tradition while turning inwards to situate ourselves in the present and reflect what can be?

How does Art Education fit into this moment’s way of being in the world?

What is being taught and how does it reflect the needs of the students?

Are we as Arts Educators being called to stick to the traditions of the past teaching skill competency and standardization or is our call coming to us in ways we need to listen to with different ears?

Have we inherited the ways of the past, is knowledge innately part of our being and can we learn our traditional techniques, motifs and visual language as a means to carry this knowledge forward encouraging its growth and expansion? Innately we carry our cultures deep within our being, how then do we bring this spirit out in such a way that will maintain our tradition yet evolve using the language of the present day? What does our innate knowledge look like and how can we call on its power to speak to our student’s present needs?

Contemporary-Traditional Art refers to art produced in the present period of time that reflects the current culture by utilizing classical techniques used in the past.  What does Contemporary-traditional art education look like to you?

I came across an article (you can find the full text here) written a few years ago where the author states :

“With tradition, you have the entire history and development of art at your fingertips. Why reinvent the wheel? If something worked in the past, why not use it and develop it to create something which you know will work, rather than do something seemingly random which doesn’t work and call it ‘experimental art’?

Without tradition, you are isolated in your own little world. The only input you have is from the people surrounding you, current events and personal feelings. An artist without some understanding of tradition is essentially stumbling in the dark and may or may not occasionally find a rose petal lying around.

It is a common misconception nowadays that art was developed through a series of revolutionary breakthroughs. In reality, many revolutionary movements in Art can be considered as developments of what came before – responses, rejections, and extensions.

It’s just a grave error to do away with everything and to assume that self-expression is all you need. Art may stem from individual sensibility, but not using craft and knowledge to improve it in a way so that it works as art (will mean that it is and will remain a piece of juvenile art, and not an accomplished work.

It’s about using tradition to further one’s own art, not about creating art in the style of another artist. This involves studying many artists, rather than one – otherwise one runs the risk of just becoming a carbon copy.”

So….where does this leave us?

Traditional Arts Education is based on past ways of knowing.

Contemporary Arts Education is right here and now…..

 

ART + ED  CURRICULUM

Postmodern Principles: In Search of 21st Century Arts Education

When Curriculum Becomes Art Practice: Art Education as Engagement with the World

 

GOING THROUGH THE VIDEO

This video is packed with a lot of information that blends and sways between cultural and pedagogical concepts. It’s important to take in this video what it says, then also to consider what you observe. The below questions are here to work through this video and help provide an introduction to the ways of thinking throughout this course.

NOTE: while watching this video, also observe the room, observe students and observe the instructor as he teaches. There will be questions to think about after the video.

Pre-video:

WHAT IS POST-MODERNISM? (make a quick note in your sketchbook- doesn’t have to be formal, but what is it?)

During:

(6min)  How might the curriculum allow for multiple swimmers

(7:45min)  Is teaching elements/principles of design the end or the beginning? How were you taught?

(STOP the video at 10 min) List 10 important human creations in the history of the world. (Once you’ve done this, continue the video)

“What is in is only there because it wasn’t left out” – What is in the Saskatchewan Art Curriculum?

(23:20min) How might google maps play into teaching? OR how does visual-based data technology play into teaching?

(26:09min) What does ” interpretation as intentionally disruptive” mean?

(30:41min) What did you pick out of the School House Rock video, and brief discussion between Carpenter and the audience? What is the Canadian equivalence? (think about how it is tied back to the concept earlier in the video about the textbooks- what is IN THERE, and why? What is NOT THERE and why?)

Post Video: 

What is the difference between teaching to the learner and not to the camera?

Look at the layout of the classroom, and the students- what do you notice about the room?

What was Carpenter’s body language? When did his expressions change and why?

 

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