Idea No. 7 Narrative & Idea No. 53 Authenticity

Idea No. 7 Narrative

Our book presents the idea of narrative as stories embedded in art that communicate and message or value. It shows examples of telling stories of roman battles and biblical painting. Bird explains that sometimes storytelling in art is sequential and sometimes artists choose to present events out of order, however the viewer is still able to understands the meaning of the story. 

I take storytelling in art to be a bit more general of an idea. In fact, I think that any art in which the viewer is interpreting a meaning is a form of narrative. After all, this art communicates a message and value just as Bird suggested. People are inundated with so much visual material through art, movies, commercials, etc. These images all become part of our collective visual understanding and can be used in art to make quick associations and almost instantly communicate a story to the viewer. Banksy's work is a great example of this. 

Banksy image on West Bank barrier wall, Israel-Palestine.

Even when messages or narratives are very quickly understood we can see a story in the many layers of meaning created in a piece of art. I have been thinking about using 1950's advertisements in my artwork. Even just a reproduction of the style, poses and colors of 1950's ads are recognized by viewers and can quickly communicate a message about family values and a shift in society. 

Idea No. 53 Authenticity

Bird's description of authenticity in art was not what I was expecting. He discusses authenticity in terms of monetary value based on the the artist's reputation. When Raphael's Modonna of the Pinks was determined to be the real thing rather than a copy it's value increased enormously. Once again, Banksy's work actually serves as another interesting inspection of this idea. I would argue that Banksy's work is considered to be more valuable because it can not be authenticated. The mystic that Banksy has created surrounding his work is part of the appeal and therefore increases the value. Like Piero Manzoni's Artist's Shit Banksy pokes fun at the marketing of art. 

Though I find the marketing of art and the circumstances surrounding art authenticity to be interesting, I am really not sure how authenticity will personally affect my artwork. I appreciate the tongue-in-cheek way that some artists address these issue. Maybe someday my art will be worth millions of dollars and it will become a theme in my artwork. ;)

Idea No.95 Globalization

Michael Bird expresses the idea of globalization very well when he says that globalization is a blurring of the boundaries of the nations of the world. Globalization is a process of intermixing and interchanging ideas from different cultures. Bird says that art is..."the tangible form of the globalization process."

Globalization is an interesting topic in that it involves the blurring of these socially and politically constructed boundaries and continually increases with the spread of technology. The world seems to be getting smaller and smaller yet this blending and blurring it is wonderfully asymptotic in that they will never completely blur. Cultures will always maintain their own distinct identities. 

In my own work I have explored Native American culture a little. I think it would be interesting to look at how Native American art has been affected by outside cultures. What are the similarities and differences between how Native American art has been affected and how other American art has been affected by globalization? When is globalization resisted and when is it embraced? Is it embraced more by a younger generation? I think so. 

Kamhi vs Sanity

 Kamhi’s article Rescuing Art from Visual Culture Studies is certainly a different take. Due to the extreme position of her writing part of me feels that Kamhi might be someone who just likes to make waves. After all, how could someone really believe all of the rather inflammatory opinions that she expresses in her article?

Kamhi says that the visual culture movement is motivated by social and political motivations and goes on to claim that VCS has a preoccupation with racism, gender and class. She also expresses a belief that the only art that is worthwhile for students to study is painting and sculpture. Photography, non-objective art, and commercial art have no place in the art education classroom and students should certainly not spend time decoding images or objects that are not intended to be art. Kamhi says that visual culture studies focuses too heavily on the subtext of an image, which causes the viewer to ignore the artist’s actual message.

One of the biggest questions and concerns that Kamhi’s article brings forth for me is whose voices are being silenced in this type of educational model. Though the author seems to feel that there is too much attention placed on race, gender and class issues if we chose to ignore these tensions in art and in the society in which the art was created, we can not fully appreciate and understand a piece of art. Furthermore, it causes the voices of minority groups to be choked out.

Kamhi’s opinion that large portions of art should be ignored could have terrible educational results for students. Young people should be able to view and interpret any piece of art, regardless of the media used. Furthermore, I think that students should absolutely be exposed to the idea of looking critically at how images are used by media sources. Students are absorbing a far greater quantity of images than previous generations through television, magazines, internet, and movies. If students are not asked to think constructively about these types of images then not only will they have weaker minds for it, they will be in danger of being passive information consumers.

I think that the danger of producing artists that are not critically thinking about the world around them, and silencing minority voices is certainly a strong possibility if Kamhi’s model were followed. Thankfully there are many other artist educators who see things differently. I read several articles that all refute Kamhi’s position, including New School Art Styles by Oliva Gude, Better Practices in Visual Arts Education by Carroll and Tucker, and Social Perspectives on Art Education in the U.S.: Teaching Visual Culture in a Democracy by Kerry Freedman.

In her article Gude says, “When students are not introduced to a wide range of meaning making strategies (and encouraged to analyze and re-purpose strategies they absorb from popular culture) they tend to fall back on hackneyed, kitschy, image-making techniques (6).” This is in direct opposition to Kamhi’s opinion that popular culture should basically be ignored, and students shouldn’t be encouraged to analyze these types of sources. In my own work I have found what Gude says to hold true. When I have not taken the time to really think through and analyze how and why I am choosing to construct my meaning I fall back into the type of old school art project style that Gude also references. Gude feels that it is well past time to move beyond the tried and true formulaic art projects and towards meaning making based in analyzation of meaning making strategies.  I agree with Gude in that this type of analyzation is what has helped my artwork to continue to grow and reflect me as a person, as well as the society I live in. The author Kerry Freedman provides another counter to Kamhi’s extreme viewpoint and some very insightful ideas about art education.

In Freedman’s article she states that art is expanding to include film, T.V., video, computer technology, fashion, photography and advertising. Furthermore art reflects what we see in the media as well as our views and criticisms of society. Freedman’s views are all clearly oppositional to Kamhi’s view that art should more or less be studied and created in a vacuum. Freedman says that art is more than an aesthetic experience. “It is a meaningful, interpretive (cognitive) experience that makes art fundamental to human existence.” Freedman goes on to say that there is currently a shift towards addressing social issues in art and art education should mirror this shift.  I agree that as communication and technology continues to shrink our world and increase globalization, more people will be aware of social struggles faced by others and people will be brought together in common social concerns. This will be reflected in art and should, in my opinion, be reflected in art education. Though Kamhi’s article borders on ridiculous (it’s probably more accurate to say that it is well with in the boundaries of ridiculous) it is good to have someone against which to react very strongly. 

Idea No. 91 Conceptual Art & Idea List

Idea No. 91 Conceptual Art

In his discussion of conceptual art Bird begins by quoting Michelangelo saying "A man paints with his brain, not with his hands." I think that this is such a consciences and appropriate way to describe the idea of conceptual art as well as our goal in this course. Bird goes on to explain that conceptual art is art that begins with an idea. The physical qualities of an object are used to communicate a unifying concept. The focus is on making the viewer think about what they are seeing. 

Coming from an advertising background I have a lot of experience focusing on concept. Though sometimes graphic design educations put attention on computer work and the more technical aspects, my studies were focused on art direction and placed importance on concept development. Though it has been a while since I really spent time practicing it, I feel very comfortable and enjoy brainstorming concepts. It is nice for the emphasis to now be on concepts that I care about rather than concepts for something I am trying to sell. I am excited to spend more time in conceptual thinking, as I really enjoy working my mind in that way. 

Ideas List:

1.     Architecture- character of buildings, places that feel grand

2.     Nature- animals-universal connect particularly with dogs-disconnects because of life/technology

3.     Color-mood relationships-bright colors in unexpected ways

4.     Family Cycles-generations-passing down traditions

5.     Pressures on women in society- pulled in multiple directions- need to fill many roles

6.     Science- what science looks like, cells, organs – magnification- book that Kathy showed us about illustrations of scientific phenomenon

7.     Repetitive job tasks- work, satisfaction with work

8.     Medical equipment- syringes, draw in and out- Has negative associations for many, feels sterile

9.     People who are ostracized and outcast and why

10. Political issues- guns in schools, gay marriage

11. 365 days documentation of one thing over time, cycles, seasons (I had a one time planned to take a picture of Lake Michigan every morning. Didn’t work out.)

12. Waste/Trash – show excessiveness of our throw away society, litter art

13. Patterns – as relaxation

14. Juxtaposition – stained glass depicting everyday life, low brow vs high art

15. Community – shared experiences and private lives –how community is constructed

16. Simple pleasures – tiny things that we wouldn’t expect to bring happiness- sand in the pockets of my jacket (reminds me of trip to beach)

17. Nurturing- How we care for children, plants, animals

18. Family Pasts- ancestry- Where we come from, jobs, social status

19. Changes in family structures- “new norm”, Maybe place new family into 1950’s images and ad – how media has/does affect our ideas of “the norm”

20. Maps – not sure why I love maps, lure of travel, colors and lines, representation of the world where everything looks similar

21. Native American Art- history, how it’s changed, how it’s depicted by outside society, spiritual influence

22. Drawing with chalk outside – Children’s art – freeing, less intimidating

23. Where one “grows up” – on the neighborhood level, connections, influences

24. Body Image through media – pictures of people w/ mark ups of how to make them look better/perfect

25. Serendipity/Fate – seeing it in hindsight, trusting it

26. Community Art Project – Who is an icon or a hero to you? Why? Is it someone that society/media depicts as a hero, or someone less well known, or someone you know personally? Michael Jordan,  Taylor Swift, Jane Goodall, your grandma? If that person could be a color what color would they be? What pattern?  (this could be a base for a good lesson plan?)

27. Nudity, swearing- social awkwardness and taboos, differences between cultures, change over time

Idea No. 47: Series

Works in a series are individual pieces of artwork united by a common concept or "narrative" that runs throughout to bind them together as a whole. Often time the whole becomes greater than the sum of it's parts. As a whole, or series, we can more deeply explore the artist's intentions with in their work and uncover additional layers to their intended meaning.

As I read about the idea of a series I thought about when I have done work in a series. Initially my thought was, only once, last semester when we made "big idea" books in Kathy's class. However, then I thought about how I used to draw when I was a child. I would often return to common topics. I loved drawing houses, flowers and textural patterns. As I thought about this I realized that these are still things that I have an artistic interest in, though in a more sophisticated way. Maybe this semester I would like to explore some of the themes and concepts that I have always been drawn to. Furthermore, in a way, this would be a nod to my big idea of history from last semester. 

Teaching Portfolio

Hi Guys,

Here is a link to my teaching portfolio. I had some issues with getting it published correctly, but I think it all works OK now. Let me know if any of you experience problems. My summative reflection is also on this website.

http://web.missouri.edu/~rmm21b/Teaching_Portfolio/Welcome_&_Refelction.html

Unit Plan Presentation

A selection of my slides from my powerpoint presentation for my unit plan...