Occupy Art Education
What is going on in the art class at school?
The article The School Art Style: A Functional Analysis, written by Arthur Efland in 1976, defines the term school art as artwork created within the classroom. Efland continues by describing this art as free of cognitive strain and easy to complete in a short amount of time. It is created from resilient, easily manipulated and controlled, non-toxic, and easily cleaned up art supplies. Preparation is simple and places few demands on the teacher. The completed products have a range of identifiable differences that can be detected but stylistic influences and art styles are kept to a minimum. Art is supposed to be easy and fun. Students are expected to enjoy the lessons and receive a good grade with a minimum amount of work. In many of our schools today, thirty-seven years later, school art can be described in much the same way.
The most important issue for me as an art educator is, “Am I providing my students with an example to follow or am I satisfied teaching school art?” As I read through Efland’s article I could not help but ask myself questions. Am I challenging my students? Am I stretching them, pushing them to do the best they can do? Or have I fallen into the school art style? Am I encouraging my students to use art to impact their community? Am I teaching them how to use art to make a difference in the world we live in?
How can we make a difference with art?
According to Kerry Freedman (2011), one of the first things the art educator can do is recognize that we can make a difference. Freedman believes this can be done by becoming leaders willing to take action against policies and managerial decisions that diminish students’ opportunities for learning through art (n.d.). It does not stop within the walls of our schools. It goes much further. Art educators must grasp hold of the fact that we can make a cultural and personal impact with our art. A look at just a few examples illustrates the influences and effects that art can make.
JR is a semi-anonymous French street artist. He uses his camera to show the world its true face, by pasting photos of the human face across massive canvases (JR, 2011). In his acceptance speech for the TED Prize 2011 JR shared, “Art is not supposed to change the world, to change practical things, but to change perceptions. Art can change the way we see the world. Art can create an analogy. Actually the fact that art cannot change things makes it a neutral place for exchanges and discussions, and then enables you to change the world.”
In 2008, JR traveled to Kibera, Kenya, one of the largest slums of Africa. Along with a team to help, JR created artwork by pasting photos onto vinyl. The vinyl was then used to cover the broken down, leaking roofs of the people’s homes. It can be described as art with a purpose. And at the same time it is art making a statement about what JR cares about.
Another example occurred in 2005 when Rebar Group, Inc “transformed a single metered parking space into a temporary public park in an area of San Francisco that the city had designated as lacking public open space” (About Park(ING) Day, 2012). The project became known as Park(ING) spot and has become an annual open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public places (About Park(ING) Day, 2012).
At the Passion Conference 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia a one hundred foot high hand reaching toward the sky was created and assembled. The artwork was a freedom statement representing a stand to end modern-day slavery. The statue covered in items made by slaves symbolized a hand of justice, a helping hand, a proclamation of “Do Something Now”. Forty-five thousand college students from all over the world attended the event and participated in the unveiling of the statue. It was broadcasted throughout the world over CNN and more than $3 million was raised to support the cause.
How can I make a difference?
To be the example I want to be for my students, I cannot be comfortable with teaching school art. Art education must take on a new look and I must think differently. To start, I can apply the four things listed by Elizabeth Delacruz in The Teacher as Public Enemy #1, a Response: asserting how I envision myself as a teacher; adopting entrepreneurial strategies to strengthen both my aims and work; networking through new digital social media; and establishing specific areas where I can serve within my community (p. 7-8).
Freedman (2011) suggests my vision must be not only as an art educator but also as a leader, enabling change, improvement, and the cultivation of new ideas (n.d.). I must take steps to protect my school’s art program, striving to keep it up-to-date. According to Freedman I need to stay in touch with my field, investigating recent curriculum theory and practice, attending professional conferences, and staying in contact with other leaders (n.d.). Continuing my education will keep me connected with new ideas and creative thinking. By joining forces with other art educators within my community and being more involved in the local art association, I can stay informed with what is going on within my community. In addition, I can help develop standards and clear guidelines, curricular materials, and professional development programs (Darts, 2008, n.d.). As Elizabeth Delacruz states, “We are a multifaceted, many-layered, amply talented community of practice dedicated to common aims and engaged in learning from one another in furtherance of these common aims…We have our vote, our voice, our intellectual skills, our compassion, and each other in our collective endeavors to inform and shape the public debate over education” (p. 7). Together we can make a difference but we must start with ourself.
References
Almasy, S. (2012, January 5). The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern-Day Slavery. In CNN.com Blogs. Retrieved February 19, 2013, from http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/05/collge-kids-vow-to-end-slavery/
Campana, A. (2011). Agents of possibility: Examining the intersections of art, education, and activism in communities. Studies in Art
Education, 52(4), 278-291.
Darts, D. (2008). The Art of Culture War: (Un)Popular Culture, Freedom of Expression, and Art Education. Studies In Art
Education, 49(2), 103-121.
Delacruz, E. M. (2011). The teacher as public enemy # 1: A response in these most uncivil times. Art Education, 64(6), 5-10.
Efland, A. (1976). The School Art Style: A Functional Analysis. Studies in Art Education, 17(2), 37-44.
Freedman, K. (2011). Leadership in Art Education: Taking Action in Schools and communities. Art Education, 64(2), 40-45.
JR. (2011, March). JR’s TED Prize wish: Use art to turn the world inside out. [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/talks/jr_s_ted_prize_wish_use_art_to_turn_the_world_inside_out.html.
About Park(ING) Day (2012). In Park(ING) Day. Retrieved February 19, 2013, from http://parkingday.org/about-parking-day/
What is going on in the art class at school?
The article The School Art Style: A Functional Analysis, written by Arthur Efland in 1976, defines the term school art as artwork created within the classroom. Efland continues by describing this art as free of cognitive strain and easy to complete in a short amount of time. It is created from resilient, easily manipulated and controlled, non-toxic, and easily cleaned up art supplies. Preparation is simple and places few demands on the teacher. The completed products have a range of identifiable differences that can be detected but stylistic influences and art styles are kept to a minimum. Art is supposed to be easy and fun. Students are expected to enjoy the lessons and receive a good grade with a minimum amount of work. In many of our schools today, thirty-seven years later, school art can be described in much the same way.
The most important issue for me as an art educator is, “Am I providing my students with an example to follow or am I satisfied teaching school art?” As I read through Efland’s article I could not help but ask myself questions. Am I challenging my students? Am I stretching them, pushing them to do the best they can do? Or have I fallen into the school art style? Am I encouraging my students to use art to impact their community? Am I teaching them how to use art to make a difference in the world we live in?
How can we make a difference with art?
According to Kerry Freedman (2011), one of the first things the art educator can do is recognize that we can make a difference. Freedman believes this can be done by becoming leaders willing to take action against policies and managerial decisions that diminish students’ opportunities for learning through art (n.d.). It does not stop within the walls of our schools. It goes much further. Art educators must grasp hold of the fact that we can make a cultural and personal impact with our art. A look at just a few examples illustrates the influences and effects that art can make.
JR is a semi-anonymous French street artist. He uses his camera to show the world its true face, by pasting photos of the human face across massive canvases (JR, 2011). In his acceptance speech for the TED Prize 2011 JR shared, “Art is not supposed to change the world, to change practical things, but to change perceptions. Art can change the way we see the world. Art can create an analogy. Actually the fact that art cannot change things makes it a neutral place for exchanges and discussions, and then enables you to change the world.”
In 2008, JR traveled to Kibera, Kenya, one of the largest slums of Africa. Along with a team to help, JR created artwork by pasting photos onto vinyl. The vinyl was then used to cover the broken down, leaking roofs of the people’s homes. It can be described as art with a purpose. And at the same time it is art making a statement about what JR cares about.
Another example occurred in 2005 when Rebar Group, Inc “transformed a single metered parking space into a temporary public park in an area of San Francisco that the city had designated as lacking public open space” (About Park(ING) Day, 2012). The project became known as Park(ING) spot and has become an annual open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public places (About Park(ING) Day, 2012).
At the Passion Conference 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia a one hundred foot high hand reaching toward the sky was created and assembled. The artwork was a freedom statement representing a stand to end modern-day slavery. The statue covered in items made by slaves symbolized a hand of justice, a helping hand, a proclamation of “Do Something Now”. Forty-five thousand college students from all over the world attended the event and participated in the unveiling of the statue. It was broadcasted throughout the world over CNN and more than $3 million was raised to support the cause.
How can I make a difference?
To be the example I want to be for my students, I cannot be comfortable with teaching school art. Art education must take on a new look and I must think differently. To start, I can apply the four things listed by Elizabeth Delacruz in The Teacher as Public Enemy #1, a Response: asserting how I envision myself as a teacher; adopting entrepreneurial strategies to strengthen both my aims and work; networking through new digital social media; and establishing specific areas where I can serve within my community (p. 7-8).
Freedman (2011) suggests my vision must be not only as an art educator but also as a leader, enabling change, improvement, and the cultivation of new ideas (n.d.). I must take steps to protect my school’s art program, striving to keep it up-to-date. According to Freedman I need to stay in touch with my field, investigating recent curriculum theory and practice, attending professional conferences, and staying in contact with other leaders (n.d.). Continuing my education will keep me connected with new ideas and creative thinking. By joining forces with other art educators within my community and being more involved in the local art association, I can stay informed with what is going on within my community. In addition, I can help develop standards and clear guidelines, curricular materials, and professional development programs (Darts, 2008, n.d.). As Elizabeth Delacruz states, “We are a multifaceted, many-layered, amply talented community of practice dedicated to common aims and engaged in learning from one another in furtherance of these common aims…We have our vote, our voice, our intellectual skills, our compassion, and each other in our collective endeavors to inform and shape the public debate over education” (p. 7). Together we can make a difference but we must start with ourself.
References
Almasy, S. (2012, January 5). The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern-Day Slavery. In CNN.com Blogs. Retrieved February 19, 2013, from http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/05/collge-kids-vow-to-end-slavery/
Campana, A. (2011). Agents of possibility: Examining the intersections of art, education, and activism in communities. Studies in Art
Education, 52(4), 278-291.
Darts, D. (2008). The Art of Culture War: (Un)Popular Culture, Freedom of Expression, and Art Education. Studies In Art
Education, 49(2), 103-121.
Delacruz, E. M. (2011). The teacher as public enemy # 1: A response in these most uncivil times. Art Education, 64(6), 5-10.
Efland, A. (1976). The School Art Style: A Functional Analysis. Studies in Art Education, 17(2), 37-44.
Freedman, K. (2011). Leadership in Art Education: Taking Action in Schools and communities. Art Education, 64(2), 40-45.
JR. (2011, March). JR’s TED Prize wish: Use art to turn the world inside out. [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/talks/jr_s_ted_prize_wish_use_art_to_turn_the_world_inside_out.html.
About Park(ING) Day (2012). In Park(ING) Day. Retrieved February 19, 2013, from http://parkingday.org/about-parking-day/
