The times are a changing...My classes for lack of a better word were getting stale… They were starting to lose their spark and felt to cut and dry. I felt the pressure from the “general academics” to format my class to spew information into students and then have them use said information to manipulate materials. Maxine Greene hit the target in “The Dialectic of Freedom” when she wrote Americans postulate that they are born free. (1988, pg. 1) Are we not told from a young age that this is the land of the free? Yet, when are we teaching students the depth of what freedom really means? Through this course I can notice a slowly evolving change. Little blips of excitement that are enticing my students to learn in a different way, a more unimpeded way. Lately I have been facilitating lessons that incorporate more self built knowledge, proposing students to formulate a deeper reflection of their thoughts. Allowing more freedom, less structure, with less restrictions for creation. Examples of this include allowing students to decide what and how they want to create an architecture project. I had students using sculptural, two dimensional, and technological mediums to convey an altered replica or new structure of architecture. Alongside this project students had to complete a reflection that pushed each one differently because they were not formatted to be right or wrong questions. In Photography students explored the idea of taking a work of art the student felt interest in and recreating it for their photo adaption. They then had to reflect what about the original had intrigued them and how they then tried to honor that through their photo. Here are several examples. Original Artist Credit to Caspar David Friedrich, Andrew Atroshenko, Theodore Gericault, Hector Julio Paride Bernabo, and Vladimir Volegov Not only have I been pushing against constrictions I previously felt a notion to uphold at the high school but also have been exploring various ways to facilitate more well rounded curriculum at the Elementary level. I recently showed my 1st graders the artist Peter Anton. As a class we viewed his “Foodhist” video and I have been considering if they would be receptive to a conversation on our abundance of food here in America how we don’t eat to survive anymore but for indulgence, because we like to eat. How we worship certain kinds of foods that we feel are superior. Just some food for thought…
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Josh KeyesPost apocalyptic environmental surrealists graffiti paintings… COUNT ME IN!!! I felt like I dug through the trenches to find this wonderful stow away! Josh Keyes has exhibited his work internationally and of course nationally with work in private and public collections. He is currently residing in Portland Oregon with his wife and daughter. Mr. Keyes received his BFA in 1992 from the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA in 1998 from Yale University School of Art. I find his work wonderfully thought provoking with imagery that shows the world at the “brink of destruction”. I feel that this would be a wonderful addition to the fantastical surreal Artists that I already use in my High School curriculum, of course this has the added bonus of a "what could happen if we don't help out our environment" discussion opportunities. The following are a few of my personal favorites from exploring his work even though I find his scientific “sectional” paintings that are on his website under gallery II intriguing I am more drawing to the imagery that shows the full environment in the painting. The paintings below include questions I would want to ask my class about his work. “The Forest” (2014), acrylic on birch panel, 18”x14” Consider what natural environment is nearby, if humans were to be wiped out how realistic is this imagery for us? What would you change about this work? Is this an actual possibility? Should we be concerned? “A Whole New World” (2015), acrylic on birch panel, 26”x13” In this work their is an iconic statue of Walt Disney with Mickey Mouse, do you think that Rajah is missing Princess Jasmine? All jokes aside considering that most Disney parks do contain an assortment of animals what kind of issues would arise if something detrimental happened and those animals were not “kept”? “Turbulence” (2015), acrylic on birch panel, 11”x14” What is the value of engaging in the process of art criticism? How do you "read" this work of art, what’s the message, what story is it trying to convey? What is the relationship between the shark and the polar bear? “I’ll Melt With You” (2016), acrylic on panel, 12″x16″ Viewing this work what kind of people come to mind when reading the tags (graffiti)? What kind of lives did those people live if they thought spray painting icebergs was necessary? First impression vs. actually reading what the tags say, does it change how you feel about this work? “Tin Can” (2016), acrylic on panel, 24″x48″ Consider the color and space used in this work what initial “feelings” do you receive? I want you now to start back at the beginning image and scroll down to this one. Did the way I presented the works to you, the viewer, enhance your experience of this work? What overall progression can you take away from how the work was ordered? Additional information on Josh Keyes
“That’s how Art and Literary History gets made: By living Artists connecting with the Past.” - Jeet Heer
As Art Educators we are the Architects who implement the creation of bridges between our students and Art History. Connecting our, “living artists”, our students with Art History events we deem important. We create a plan, a blueprint, to assist students building blocks that they then use to construct their bridges to the past, to the history of Art. I currently use Art History in my Elementary classroom sporadically and not as in depth as I now would like. Before starting the Master's Program I was happy with what I had, now, I am observing my current curriculum with fresh eyes and wish to make changes, lots of changes! My lesson format consists of a start day with introducing an Artist and their work. Giving students “fun facts” about that artist and their work and then explaining how the work relates to the project students will be starting. I wonder is this format really what's best for my students? I hardly do any reflection with students at the end of the project on the Artist and their work. Mostly we are able to have discussions in the beginning but I worry that this is to shallow in knowledge formation. I feel better about the construction of knowledge I am creating at the high school through Art History. I use more methods for construction than I do at the elementary such as… having students read Art History articles, allowing them to research and investigate an Artist of their choice for Art History papers, Artwork comparisons, google classroom assignments involving questions about Artist and their work, and examining the processes artists use to create work. Even with these various methods I believe I could facilitate the lessons better. I would love my classroom to have the awe factor of a museum gallery! I really want my High School Art Club kids to create an amazing Mural in my Elementary Art room. I also wish to just overall have more work up on the walls, to have my room burst with inspiration! In this week's readings, Carolyn Butler-Palmer’s Big Art History: Art History as Social Knowledge (2013), I found comfort in her writings that it takes time to create a unique inspirational space that I might not get it quite right the first time and that even with the difficulties to not give up! Such as on page 156, she writes that the Access Art Project spanned a three year process beginning with a request for Art to help “brighten up” the clinic area in their newly renovated space. They then reviewed and considered the space and what Artwork would influence the audience the best. I would like to begin my journey of “brightening up” my rooms, I will just need to remind myself to get one part done at a time and not to rush! Canva Creation!Well that was an exhilarating rush! I do not remember the last time I tried out so many different online generators. I originally was considering a zine of some sort but finalized on trying out more of a storyboard process. I spent a whole day investigating storyboard generators including: http://www.storyboardthat.com/, http://generator.acmi.net.au/storyboard, and https://www.pixton.com/. It did not take me long to decide that they were not the type of formatting or character imagery that I wanted. These though are just the tip of the iceberg, it is extremely overwhelming at how many generators there are for storyboards! Luckily I had been brainstorming of what kind of simplistic imagery I would want to symbolize for this weeks readings and during any spare moment I had at school I would worked on sketching out a few. By the end of Friday though I decided that I needed to unify my character look. I choose to emulate Chibi Manga/Anime Style because as an Elementary Teacher as well as a High School teacher this is an Anime Style that both age groups seem to gravitate towards and enjoy when I show them my tiny character creations. I also enjoy the similarities between Chibi and the POP figurines that are fun to collect! I failed BIG time at time management though and didn’t calculate that each sketch would take between 10-20 minutes plus photographing, emailing, uploading, and then cropping it into place. Thankfully my storyboard investigation finally paid off with the site https://www.canva.com/. I will definitely be showing this site to my students and it was relatively easy to learn to use the tools and navigate the site. Sadly midnight came too soon and I was unable to finish my final two sketches to add to Canva. I am depressed to say that this writing will not be turned in on time either but felt my Storyboard was incomplete with out my writing explanation of my journey.
What does “Culture as Commons” mean to me? That culture is accessible to every individual no matter gender, race, or socioeconomic standing. As a teacher it is my responsibility to our society to nurture my students cultural understandings. It is also something I am becoming more knowledgeable of as I continuing these graduate classes. That my view on how to facilitate that nurturing is becoming broadened.
Their was one particular reading that really got me in the “feels” this week, even though I found that the readings interconnected wonderfully. It actually was my first reading of week 2 that I did because of something Dr. Sutton said in her “Week 2 Democracy and Collaboration Video”. It was something that prompted me to start with the Articles and by bullet point default it was “Dismantling a Master Narrative” by Joni Boyd Acuff, 2012, Using Culturally responsive Pedagogy to Teach the History of Art Education. This article was wonderfully written and I found myself branching off with so many reflective questions to my own teaching practices. To start, her article had me thinking back to my own history education experience and to say the least it was extremely underwhelming in High School... What stands out the most was being lectured at in my high school history classes and maybe an Artist example shown here and there in art class. I really do think that I did not understand the historic timeline properly until I was placed in my first Art History class. There was something about seeing the images of what cultures were creating that then helped my understanding of our world's history. I still flip back to sections in my “Gardner's Art through the Ages” from time to time. What started spinning in my head next though is the thought, I am NOT providing enough diverse cultures in my classroom! Acuff (2012) writes “As a student, learning about the History of Art Education was always uncomfortable. It wasn't that I believed the information was invaluable or irrelevant, but as a Black woman, I simply felt alone, isolated, and outside of the conversation.“ (pp 7) I do not want any of my students feeling this way… I need to update some of my lessons immediately! This thought has been following me all week and I had a fantastic surprise this morning when I walked into my Elementary School Library today and right on the end of the book shelf was the book “Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave”. Now I need to investigate the best way to incorporate that story to my teaching. I also would like to say that I want to incorporate artist from all cultures but I feel that I need to first focus on providing examples of cultures of my schools demographics. I highly recommend Acuff's article to anyone who reads this blog and that wants to facilitate in dismantling the "Master Narrative". Currently what stresses and anxieties am I facing in my life? Well it is Harvest season here in Iowa land and my wonderful other half works for my father, who is a farmer. I worry that I am not getting enough time with my family, that I am going to look into my daughter's faces and notice a huge change because I haven't spent enough time with them. Here is a illustration I worked on (while sitting next to my oldest) to show my worries.
Critical pedagogy… what does it mean? To me, as a teacher, it means facilitating lessons and units that incorporate big ideas and worldly views. To prompt my students to think in various ways and not take things at face value. As a mother it means talking to my daughters about accepting others differences and sharing my love of various cultures.
The assigned readings embellished on critical pedagogy wonderfully. Olivia Gude (2009) states in “Art Education for Democratic Life” that if our schools are restrictive and don't allow for opportunities in creative expression that our individuals will be susceptible to totalitarian control! (pp. 7) I cringe at the thought of sheeple. Gude also states how democracy needs individuals to be open minded, individuals that can walk in others shoes. That way they can contribute to collective decision making. (pp. 10) With all that has been happening politically this is becoming more important than ever in my curriculum. I want to work at nurturing students to become active citizens who will do deeds for the greater good, not just things that line their bill fold. Just the other day I had my photography students watch the TED TALK, JR My wish: Use art to turn the world inside out. They loved how relevant it is to our society and how the media doesn't always have the full story. Next we are considering if we can develop the main idea of standing up for what we believe in to create our own project. A personal goal I have for my teaching is to expand the radius of my students learning influence. I am working at slowly increasing the boundaries of what our students are learning in the art classroom to share with the school, families, and community. Nagda (2003) exclaims in “Transformative Pedagogy for Democracy and Social Justice” that through their research of active forms of learning that students who can actually practice what they are learning can be extremely influential in developing their understanding of action in resolving intergroup conflicts. (pp. 187) I now want to incorporate more multicultural educational content into my lessons so that students can then bring a broader range of knowledge home to share and hopefully and gradually change our community for the better. |
Ms. BroerWhat uncontrolled thoughts are running rampant in my brain? Archives
December 2017
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