October 15, 2013
Olivia Gude
“Principles of Possibility: Considerations
For A 21st Century Art & Culture Curriculum”
A Brief Overview
Gude addressed the issue about art curriculum being conventionally generated, modeling the national or state standards and principles and elements that are not necessary or even sufficient for quality art curriculum. She notes that this is not an ideal situation, but rather to “teach skills and concepts while creating opportunities to investigate and represent one’s own experiences—generating personal and shared meaning” (Gude 6). To accomplish this, Gude came up with various principles of possibilities, believed to be a useful structure or checklist that art educators may use to determine whether a curriculum provides a range of important art experiences.
Gude concluded by clarifying that the concepts she presented were not all that different from the concepts addressed in the twentieth century. Rather, her concepts are reflected in the terms of the twenty-first century theoretical perspectives. “It is indeed true that our notions of the real and the possible are shaped in cultural discourses, art teachers have the potential to change the world” (Gude 15).
Gude concluded by clarifying that the concepts she presented were not all that different from the concepts addressed in the twentieth century. Rather, her concepts are reflected in the terms of the twenty-first century theoretical perspectives. “It is indeed true that our notions of the real and the possible are shaped in cultural discourses, art teachers have the potential to change the world” (Gude 15).
Principles Of Possibilities
Playing
“Learning begins as deeply personal, primary process play… Students of all ages need opportunities to creatively ‘mess around’ with various media…[and] immerse themselves in a process of making and sensitively interact with images and ideas as they emerge” (Gude 7-8).
Forming Self
“Quality projects aid students in exploring how one’s sense of self is constructed within complex family, social, and media experiences… Asking students to reveal ‘the real you’ is essential—emphasizing a largely discredited notion of a unified, real self hidden beneath social constraints, in opposition to a more postmodern conception of self as performative, constructed, multiple, and shifting” (Gude 8).
Investigating Community Themes
"Great art often engages the most significant issues of the community, calling on each of us to bring our deepest understanding and empathy to our shared social experience… the obvious choice of action will often be art-based community-education…designed to involve others in reconsidering the inevitability of the status quo” (Gude 8-9).
Encountering Difference
“Good multi-cultural curriculum introduces us to the generative themes of others—helping us to see the world through the eyes of others—understanding the meaning of artworks in terms of the complex aesthetic, social, and historical contexts out of which they emerge. It is far better to introduce students to fewer artworks or cultures in depth, than to present many artworks with little or no context” (Gude 9).
Attentive Living
“Students will learn to notice and to shape the world around them. Through architecture and design curriculum, teachers and students examine the ways in which the person-made environment shapes the quality of life” (Gude 10).
Empowered Experiencing
“A quality art curriculum gives students the knowledge they need to notice and interpret a wide range of visual practices… Responsibly introducing students to today’s discursive practices in art history, aesthetics, and art criticism means introducing them to the analytical procedures of such fields as cultural studies, visual culture, contemporary theory, feminist theory, and postcolonial theory as well as various psychoanalytical perspectives. Such context-based methodologies have the advantage of building in an awareness of the environment within which the images or artifacts were made—an important aspect of introducing the art of other cultures in the curriculum” (Gude 11).
Empowered Making
“In this increasingly visual world, many people, including those not officially designated as artists, will make and distribute images as part of a wide range of work-related and personal practices. All students of the 21st century need to know how to construct, select, edit, and present visual images” (Gude 11).
Deconstructing Culture
“Knowledge of contemporary theory gives art teachers powerful tools to engage students in exploring how their thoughts and desires are shaped through immersion in local and global cultures of visuality… Visual culture concepts can also help teachers to structure contemporary aesthetic investigations of the stuff of our everyday lives” (Gude 13).
Reconstructing Social Spaces
“Young artists must also learn to construct new spaces in which caring, courageous communities can emerge… One can escape the society of the spectacle by stepping into worldviews generated outside dominant paradigms… Working collectively students and teachers can literally reshape their schools and communities through creating…art forms” (Gude 13-14).
Not Knowing
“Through a quality art curriculum, students will learn that they do not know many things that they once thought were certain. They will learn to see many things differently. They learn new strategies of making meaning through which they can interrogate received notions of ‘the real.’ They will learn how to play, not just with materials, but also with ideas. Understanding that our notion of reality is constructed through representations in language and images, these students will not mistake representations for reality as such” (Gude 14).
“Learning begins as deeply personal, primary process play… Students of all ages need opportunities to creatively ‘mess around’ with various media…[and] immerse themselves in a process of making and sensitively interact with images and ideas as they emerge” (Gude 7-8).
Forming Self
“Quality projects aid students in exploring how one’s sense of self is constructed within complex family, social, and media experiences… Asking students to reveal ‘the real you’ is essential—emphasizing a largely discredited notion of a unified, real self hidden beneath social constraints, in opposition to a more postmodern conception of self as performative, constructed, multiple, and shifting” (Gude 8).
Investigating Community Themes
"Great art often engages the most significant issues of the community, calling on each of us to bring our deepest understanding and empathy to our shared social experience… the obvious choice of action will often be art-based community-education…designed to involve others in reconsidering the inevitability of the status quo” (Gude 8-9).
Encountering Difference
“Good multi-cultural curriculum introduces us to the generative themes of others—helping us to see the world through the eyes of others—understanding the meaning of artworks in terms of the complex aesthetic, social, and historical contexts out of which they emerge. It is far better to introduce students to fewer artworks or cultures in depth, than to present many artworks with little or no context” (Gude 9).
Attentive Living
“Students will learn to notice and to shape the world around them. Through architecture and design curriculum, teachers and students examine the ways in which the person-made environment shapes the quality of life” (Gude 10).
Empowered Experiencing
“A quality art curriculum gives students the knowledge they need to notice and interpret a wide range of visual practices… Responsibly introducing students to today’s discursive practices in art history, aesthetics, and art criticism means introducing them to the analytical procedures of such fields as cultural studies, visual culture, contemporary theory, feminist theory, and postcolonial theory as well as various psychoanalytical perspectives. Such context-based methodologies have the advantage of building in an awareness of the environment within which the images or artifacts were made—an important aspect of introducing the art of other cultures in the curriculum” (Gude 11).
Empowered Making
“In this increasingly visual world, many people, including those not officially designated as artists, will make and distribute images as part of a wide range of work-related and personal practices. All students of the 21st century need to know how to construct, select, edit, and present visual images” (Gude 11).
Deconstructing Culture
“Knowledge of contemporary theory gives art teachers powerful tools to engage students in exploring how their thoughts and desires are shaped through immersion in local and global cultures of visuality… Visual culture concepts can also help teachers to structure contemporary aesthetic investigations of the stuff of our everyday lives” (Gude 13).
Reconstructing Social Spaces
“Young artists must also learn to construct new spaces in which caring, courageous communities can emerge… One can escape the society of the spectacle by stepping into worldviews generated outside dominant paradigms… Working collectively students and teachers can literally reshape their schools and communities through creating…art forms” (Gude 13-14).
Not Knowing
“Through a quality art curriculum, students will learn that they do not know many things that they once thought were certain. They will learn to see many things differently. They learn new strategies of making meaning through which they can interrogate received notions of ‘the real.’ They will learn how to play, not just with materials, but also with ideas. Understanding that our notion of reality is constructed through representations in language and images, these students will not mistake representations for reality as such” (Gude 14).
Reflections
Gude built off of Wison’s concept of the three pedagogical sites. She took her postmodern principles and from those she proposed the possibilities that art education could offer if art educators were to structure lesson around the idea that the students teach themselves and their peers. Like Wilson, Gude believes that with educators merely as an aid, students can and will explore concepts when they are presented correctly, and they will explore these concepts more deeply. Her list of possibilities covers almost every aspect of learning. Gude took into account the needs of students as an individual and did not generalize like some curriculum does.
I also appreciate the way she sets the curriculum up to engage students from every type of background, which allows other students to become aware these other backgrounds. By taking elements of visual culture, curriculum becomes relatable and engages students. For example, if a lesson deals with cubism, a fantastic way to incorporate visual culture would be to talk about Minecraft and build a lesson around that. Talk about the elements that were incorporated into that video game and have them create something out of blocks that deals with an issue in their community. Then perhaps they can make a painting or poster that addresses that issue. There are many ways to go about planning curriculum, however Gude created a list that you can go through and strengthen a lesson, which is a great tool in lesson planning.
I also appreciate the way she sets the curriculum up to engage students from every type of background, which allows other students to become aware these other backgrounds. By taking elements of visual culture, curriculum becomes relatable and engages students. For example, if a lesson deals with cubism, a fantastic way to incorporate visual culture would be to talk about Minecraft and build a lesson around that. Talk about the elements that were incorporated into that video game and have them create something out of blocks that deals with an issue in their community. Then perhaps they can make a painting or poster that addresses that issue. There are many ways to go about planning curriculum, however Gude created a list that you can go through and strengthen a lesson, which is a great tool in lesson planning.
“Post Modern Principles: In Search Of A 21st Century Art Education”
A Brief Overview
Gude found that although the NAEA considered understanding the elements and principles of design a major curriculum goal, meaningful connections were not being made between formal descriptors and understanding works of art or analyzing the quality of everyday design. “I wonder why what is still considered by many to be the appropriate organizing content for the foundations of 21st century art curriculum is but a shadow of what was modem, fresh, and inspirational 100 years ago” (Gude 6). Gude mentioned that unlike most areas of study, there is no agreed-upon, fundamental structure or curriculum in art education. Rather, there are propositions of numerous structures comprised of various emphases, principles, and suggested areas for investigation. Gude identified fifteen principles that could be used to describe more modern works of art to which she had edited down to eight important postmodern art making practices.
Gude concluded by stating that the list presented in this article was not complete; it was created by teachers and artists from Chicago and response to issue specific to Chicago. She explained that curriculum should vary depending on the history and current issues that a linked to a specific area. For this reason, she does not want people to simply adopt her principles to justify their curriculum, rather educators should assess their surroundings and construct curriculum unique and suitable for that situation. “By structuring art projects to introduce students to relevant contemporary art and thus to postmodern principles--strategies for understanding and making art today--students will gain the skills to participate in and shape contemporary cultural conversations” (Gude 13).
Gude concluded by stating that the list presented in this article was not complete; it was created by teachers and artists from Chicago and response to issue specific to Chicago. She explained that curriculum should vary depending on the history and current issues that a linked to a specific area. For this reason, she does not want people to simply adopt her principles to justify their curriculum, rather educators should assess their surroundings and construct curriculum unique and suitable for that situation. “By structuring art projects to introduce students to relevant contemporary art and thus to postmodern principles--strategies for understanding and making art today--students will gain the skills to participate in and shape contemporary cultural conversations” (Gude 13).
The Eight Postmodern Principles
Appropriation
The practice of creating a new work by taking a preexisting image or idea from another source and transforming or combining it with new ones.
Juxtaposition
The placement of two objects next to one another, especially for comparison and contrast.
Recontextualization
A process that extracts text, signs, or meaning from its original context (decontextualisation) in order to introduce it into another context.
Layering
The action of arrangement of media in layers.
Interaction Of Text & Image
The interaction between the two elements that generates rich and ironic associations about a given concept; the text does not describe the work, nor does the image illustrate the text.
Hybridity
The combination of multiple media or technique and blending of various cultures in ways that create hybrid art forms.
Gazing
The creation and control of how imagery is presented that affects one’s understanding of reality; “Gazing, associated with issues of knowledge and pleasure, is also a form of power and of controlling perceptions of what is ‘real’ and ‘natural’” (Gude 11).
Representin’
The process of integrating one’s culture into a work of art, using artmaking to explore the potentials and problems inherent in their own cultural and political settings.
The practice of creating a new work by taking a preexisting image or idea from another source and transforming or combining it with new ones.
Juxtaposition
The placement of two objects next to one another, especially for comparison and contrast.
Recontextualization
A process that extracts text, signs, or meaning from its original context (decontextualisation) in order to introduce it into another context.
Layering
The action of arrangement of media in layers.
Interaction Of Text & Image
The interaction between the two elements that generates rich and ironic associations about a given concept; the text does not describe the work, nor does the image illustrate the text.
Hybridity
The combination of multiple media or technique and blending of various cultures in ways that create hybrid art forms.
Gazing
The creation and control of how imagery is presented that affects one’s understanding of reality; “Gazing, associated with issues of knowledge and pleasure, is also a form of power and of controlling perceptions of what is ‘real’ and ‘natural’” (Gude 11).
Representin’
The process of integrating one’s culture into a work of art, using artmaking to explore the potentials and problems inherent in their own cultural and political settings.
Reflections
Gude pointed out that most artworks we see being made today do not necessarily follow the classic principles, or if they do, they also incorporate modern concepts that do not apply to works in the past. This is something that needs to be considered when planning lessons. It is important to incorporate modern works of art that students can relate to, yet we must incorporate concepts that fully evaluate these works of art, and Gude came up with several fitting principles that apply to many modern works of art.
I believe Gude’s best point was when stressed that every school is different and each curriculum should reflect the issues that apply that community. It really puts things into perspective when planning a lesson. Educators must be aware what is going on within a community, and respond to events that take place. Many artists create works of art that create protests and speak to certain issues. If we can take these ideas and techniques and apply them to our students work, they will have a better understanding of the possibilities of art.
I believe Gude’s best point was when stressed that every school is different and each curriculum should reflect the issues that apply that community. It really puts things into perspective when planning a lesson. Educators must be aware what is going on within a community, and respond to events that take place. Many artists create works of art that create protests and speak to certain issues. If we can take these ideas and techniques and apply them to our students work, they will have a better understanding of the possibilities of art.