Ping Pong Post #1

“Work in the arts is not only a way of creating performances and products; it is a way of creating our lives by expanding our consciousness, shaping our dispositions, satisfying our quest for meaning, establishing contact with others, and sharing a culture.”

(Eisner)

This makes me think of  “the art of fine living” These are the principals of how to live an artful life. Ping over to Freedman, and it refers to her opening quote about, “When students develop a deeper understanding of their visual experiences, they can look critically at surface appearances and begin to reflect on the importance of the visual arts in shaping culture, society, and even individual identity.”

Ping back to Eisner, and his Principle Four, under guiding practice, is art education should help students become aware of their own individuality.
So true so true, after all, artists are individuals not conveyer belts. This is important and I am seeing first hand how art lessons with prescribed outcomes are mechanical, leave no room for expression and teach nothing but how to follow directions and mimic the same basic form. This turns into a monological type of communication which is one sided and as Freeman states, “does not demand a reflective response.”

I like the way Eisner distilled down the process of how we recognize, make note of, filter and finally share those fleeting ideas we grab, nurture and allow to grow into a separate entity. Through what Eisner says is, “the role of the arts in refining the senses and enlarging the imagination”, he gives us terms to use for the process of realizing, harvesting and then manifesting that which we call art. Through inscribing, editing and communicating, representation takes place. I find it interesting since I have always thought of the creative act as being a spiritual act, one in which the artist is in communion with the collective unconscious. If open to receive the gift of an elusive, or as Eisner says, “evanescent” idea an artist can give birth to art which then becomes a conduit for new interactions and communication. And this reminds me of a wonderful TED TV talk by Elisabeth Gilbert when she speaks of nurturing creativity and the origin of the word Genius. (MUST WATCH link below)

http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

Both Eisner and Freeman speak of visual signs and visual culture. They both mention how important it is for our art curriculums to teach our students artistic intelligence. This will empower them to construct their own visual culture and enter into a multicultural dialogue. And all of this goes hand in hand with Creating Multicultural Learning Communities by Sonia Nieto.

Just as art education is becoming part of the interwoven fabric of a well rounded curriculum so is the realization that all of our curriculums need to be interrelated and in a democratic relationship to help foster the types of inspired imagination that it takes for a culture to progress and evolve. In Nieto’s book, she states that we should, “build on what your students know”. Build on their strengths. “Acknowledging that students have significant experiences, insights and talents to bring to their learning and finding ways to use them in the classroom.”