art education research

"You have to know the rules in order to break them."

"I give them the tools for their toolbox."

"Art is based on observational and traditional skill sets."

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I used to ground my art teaching philosophy with these three quotations and was fairly confident that while I would be better informed or trends would shift throughout my career, these philosophies would stay consistent... And with the current traditions, guidelines, curricula, and climate of art schools in America, most artists and art teachers would agree with these statements. However, a huge disconnect has existed for decades between School Art Art Education and how it is scaffolded to expose students to the authentic studio practices of Contemporary Artists - giving the illusion that the education of art rules, technical skills, work ethic, and observational realism/representation should be at the forefront [vs. process and making not knowing], as well as valuing "sophistication" or "maturity" of a product-based work over cultivating artistic behaviors.

 

In addition, the lack of time to dedicate to an active studio practice as well as educators being disconnected to looking at work in the Contemporary Art world unintentionally makes us rely on techniques and skills established by our past art instructors - causing us to operate in a vacuum of our own understanding of art/making vs. a more worldly, holistic understanding of art/making - even if we think of ourselves as extremely open-minded and evolving. Thus, my past art philosophy above, and in turn, my past art assignments/curricula were limiting and a reflection of making from a certain time and not the current time.

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We live in a time where it is more important than ever to be observant and aware of anti-racist, inclusive, and equitable practices. If we, as a society, can predominantly and confidently judge if a Contemporary work is "not" art while also admitting that we know nothing about art, we have to realize how much messaging is loaded into our curriculum. If we, as a culture, have reduced our value system in making based on if something looks "real" or not, we have to wonder where that "rite of passage" came from. If students cannot take upper level art classes because they have "bad craftsmanship", we need to question how we interpret/value "self expression" and "creativity". When the purposes and functionality of artmaking as seen from the history of American School Art Art Education are deconstructed, we soon realize that these common, Euro-centric teaching/art philosophy "norms" are not as entirely anti-racist, inclusive, or equitable as they seem. Who defined these rules, these tools, and what really is the [scaffolded] relationship between traditional and Contemporary making?

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It is difficult for anybody, not just art teachers, to recognize, accept, and own these truths because it makes us feel vulnerable. Do I really have a safe and encouraging approach of making for all of my students and does it support their interests or just my familiarities with artmaking? How much education/training of Contemporary Art, Contemporary making, and Contemporary pedagogies have I invested in? Why do I base every art assignment for a full school year on the elements & principles? Why do I believe that students need to draw realistically before they create conceptually or non-objectively?

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Regardless of time or experience - as artists, educators, and researchers - we have to remind ourselves that there will always be dissonance in philosophical currency because of how social/cultural institutions are established and how they evolve over time no matter how confident or informed we feel that our educated opinions are... Evolving as an artist, teacher, or researcher does not happen through small adjustments and gestures - that is merely an enhancement of what we already have. Evolving as an artist, teacher, or researcher is not a comfortable or polite experience - it demands time and respect, but has great benefits as to what we can then contribute to our students and our field.