Chapter 4 Response

The main idea that I gleaned from Chapter 4 was the importance of unification in art curriculum--a unification, or at least an overlap, of disciplines within units and also creating main ideas that unify lessons throughout the year. These are principles that I plan on implementing in my classroom because they make the study of art meaningful and relevant, rather than scattered and shallow.

I appreciated the breakdown of art criticism, art history, art making, and aesthetics:

Art Criticism: interpretation and evaluation of art (describe, interpret, evaluate)

Art History: interpretation and evaluation of art through the lens of the past and how it influences art now. Deals more with time, chronology, classification.

Art-Making: a way of exploring the world, self, and others. Also furthers technical skill, design knowledge, and personal expression.

Aesthetics: addressing the philosophical questions of art involving purpose, value, meaning, and nature of art.

These disciplines are defined as separate spheres, but in reality, none would exist or have purpose without each other. It makes sense to me, then, that we introduce each of these disciplines into our classrooms not as isolated units or ideas, but as ways of thinking that overlap with and inform each other. The best way to do this, as the book describes, is to unify them through big ideas that provide a foundation for our curriculum. I loved that the book pointed out that big ideas shouldn't be isolated to art, but should involve other general studies, creating even more meaning and relevancy for the students.

I am one of those people who would opt for a major in everything. The fact my art class and I can study the life cycle of a star and the stained-glass work of Chartres cathedral in the same class, and then make art that finds meaning in those things and is still relevant to contemporary society excites me. That is the ideal class.

Teaching Metaphor

The art of teaching is comparable to perfecting a recipe of cooked lentils. I attempt this process every couple of weeks, after I have gotten around to buying another carton of chicken broth. Good lentils do not require a rigid recipe to turn out well every time, but they must follow a tried and true liquid-to-lentils ratio combined with careful attention and varied flavor. Without this, lentils can either become too soupy or burn, become too strong or bland. The smell of burnt lentils is something to be avoided at all costs.

After the proper ratio has been established, the cooking of the lentils becomes much more creative. The length of cooking time is based on the amount of liquid you include and the intended texture. The spices one might add are entirely subjective. Flavors such as garlic, salt, and pepper are typical. But past that, the possibilities are as diverse as the spice rack itself. My favorite spice to add is a curry that I purchased in Morocco, whose duplicate I cannot find on the shelves of a grocery store anywhere in America.

I approach teaching much like I approach cooking lentils. I build upon a set ratio, tested and experimented with by authorities with strong cooking—or in our case, artistic and educational—experience. This ratio can be adjusted to suit the result I wish to create. I then add unique flavors according to personal taste, experience, and the needs of the lentils. The lentils respond to the spices I add and the attention I give, and adjustments are made from there. In the end, the success of the lentils is based on the environment I create within my cooking pot and how well the lentils respond to those conditions. As teachers, we construct successful environments by taking suggestions from professionals in the field (i.e. standards, goals, DBAE content), and then adding our personal tastes and experiences in a way that best meets the needs of our students. The plans we make from there must have a degree of flexibility and improvisation as student needs change. In the end, based on the “flavors” we add, our classroom will be very different from the classroom next door, and even from our own classroom ten years down the road because of our changing students and our changing selves.

photo courtesy of simplyscratch.com

Week 2 - Framed Perspectives, Photography as Knowing

Unit theme: Knowing

Art can be a way of understanding and communicating with the world and our circumstances

Artists: Vary by lesson – Timothy O’Sullivan, Henry Daguerre, contemporary photographer, reference to “Naming the View” from Reading American Photographs.

Key Concepts

-        Our knowledge is continuously changing

-        Our perceptions and personal experiences influence what we feel to be true

-        Now knowing is uncomfortable, but can be essential to our growth

-        Art-making is just one way to come to know something

Essential Questions

1.      What does it mean to know?

2.      How do we come to know something? Methods? Senses?

3.      Once we know something, can that knowledge change? How?

4.      How might art become a way of knowing or understanding?

Lesson 1: Framed Perspectives, photography as knowing

Objectives

-        Learn about the history of photography as a medium of examining, surveying, and understanding through the work of Daguerre and O’Sullivan

-        Become aware of the conclusions we draw based on photographic evidences (a so-called “truth” medium)

-        Examine these ideas in relation to visual culture and social media as well as fine art imagery

Lesson/Discussion

-        Briefly discuss a few of the essential questions as foundation of unit and lesson (perhaps one full day of discussion?)

-        O’Sullivan and the survey of the West

o   Why did they choose these particular photos to include in their survey? Think of the purpose of a government survey group.

o   Do you think there is anything they are leaving out?

o   Why might these photographs have been powerful in their time?

o   How do you think they influenced people?

o   Are they telling the truth?

o   Is it ever possible for photos to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

-        Photographs help us gain knowledge and understanding as we draw conclusions based on their subject matter, for good or bad.

o   How do we use photos to influence perception in our own lives?

o   Why do we take photographs?

Activity (embedded in lesson)

               Examine 3 photographs (O’Sullivan, contemporary, tabloid?).

-        What might the photographer’s intention have been?

-        What methods did they use to portray their idea?

-        How does breaking photos down help us in our lives?

Project

Photographs teach us how to know. Can they teach us how to un-know? (cred to Jacob Haupt)

-        Photograph something you see every day 20 different times

-        Write a paragraph about how your perceptions of that thing did or did not change because of it.

Assessment

               Written portion of project, turn in 20 photographs, participation in ending class discussion

Week 1 - Power Portraits

Conceptual Framework - Four Verbs

Analyze
to discover or reveal something through detailed examination. 
In our class, we will be studying historical as well as contemporary works of art to seek to understand art, the artists, and how each applies to our own work.

Experiment
an act or operation for the purpose of discovering something unknown.
As we embark on projects, students will be prompted to challenge themselves by trying something new or pursuing an idea without a predetermined outcome.

Connect
to relate to or be in harmony with, to unite.
The content in our class will be selected to encourage personal application of learning to students' live and choices as well as provide opportunities to relate to each other.

Communicate
to express thoughts, feelings, or information easily or effectively.
As a class, we will discuss our own works of art and the art of others verbally and in writing to practice articulating ideas and responding to the comments of others respectfully.