Meaning Part 2

So Sheryl and I were talking about inter-connectedness from that discussion we arrived here: (She gets half the credit for this one Kathy!!) My words, our idea, her skill.

Meaning

     I love this idea that there is a transition from “material want to meaning want”  HOW did we get away form meaning in the first place?  Our body’s would have no meaning with out the animation of life with in.  How can life have no meaning? What animates meaning in humanity?

     Look at small children, everything in their path is an investigation into meaning.  All of life has a sense of awe to it, when we travel through our days with this intention, meaning is available to us in every moment.  And when there is meaning, there is potential of creativity, extension, alteration etc... With in this awe, this curiosity

     Pink talks at length about people in the US “believe a greater sense of spirituality would improve the work place” (pg.224)  What I want to know, is why do people put on different hats for different situation? This minimizes meaning. Is the business man one person at work, another with his male friends, another with his wife and family?  I actually notice this phenomenon and wonder if it lends itself to the discontent so many feel.  WHY do we do this?  Disconnect all the parts of ourselves?  It echoes education, all topics are disconnected from each other, rather than seeing the interconnected meaning in everything.  A disconnected person is not offering an authentic whole experience to anyone they're with, nor are they authentically engaged with themselves. How can anyone be happy in pieces?

     I am not sure I fully agree with Pink’s idea that people are born with a relatively fixed natural range of well being... I believe, and know from my own experience, that happiness is inherent, we are already happy and by living life making connections, paying attention, making conscious choices about attention,  and finding meaning in what we attend too.  Happiness is present in all things.  In that, we understand we are connected to something larger than ourselves.  A place where meaning is already inherent. When we all see that everything is interconnected, that L-directed thinkers need R-directed to make a whole, That even logic and analysis is not whole with out art and heart, education in the conceptual age (living in it too) will be a smoother journey.

8740 Empathy

"Empathy is a stunning act of imaginative derring-do, the ultimate virtual reality-climbing into another's mind to experience the world from that persons perspective" (pg 159)

An individual who  is empathic by nature, may or may not be aware of the symphony of awareness's they utilize in each moment.  Like story, one must listen with more than the ear, but embody a story to be able to share an empathic response.  If no story is being told with words, there is always a story being shared with body language, facial expressions, even the way a person is breathing.  Listen, FEEL what someone is saying.  But you must observe and respond.

I worry that "reality shows" like "Wife Swap" and such, "disable" our inclination AND ability to empathize because these shows which permeate our culture, make fun of the pain and struggles of others.  People find this entertaining.   I hope Doctors are not watching for entertainment... would be interesting to ask the ones who scored higher on the JSPE, if they watch these shows....

The more opportunity we give our students to move through a community which values empathy, the more well rounded human being they will be come.  They will understand how to read the people around them with heart, and respond with their humanity, rather than greed or some narcacisstic motivation.

8740 SyMpHonY

Symphony:

Unification is a variety of elements combined to create a more complex result.  Yet, each part is significant.  These parts are in relationship.  A true symphony is the relationship of many parts, which, in some ways are telling a story, and that story interweaves to create a larger set of information.  

In a way, the brain works like a complex symphony. On one level we have the left and the right side complimenting each other and working together but then there is a sub set and a sub set of the sub set until one can imagine this incredible web of complexity all firing off bursts of energy is a beautiful symphony of thought or movement or what have you. Is this a good example of metaphorical thinking/speaking? ;)

Seeing, as PINK references, is the key to drawing, but really, I think that seeing is the key to life.  The ability to see is the ability to take in what is really happening NOW, not a symbolic rolodex of ideas and symbols which represent what we think were seeing. If we truly “SEE” I think if we can do this, we can understand what Pink refers too as “relationships between relationships”  I think the word “systems thinkers”is still too small.... Life thinkers?  Who knows, what ever we call it, as soon as we do we limit it by its label.

A perfect creative symphony is the instantaneous response to life, its a soak into, a melding with and surrendering to a situation where in silent agreement with the experience we realize our ideas about what we thought things should be and embrace what it.

8740 STORY

Story:

Stories are how we remember. “Stories are for cover, facts are for real” (pg. 102)  I can not help but wonder how many facts are actually a result of a story...

“Story exists where high touch and high concept interact”” (pg.103)  In other words, story makes connections within itself AND reaches out to the reader ( listener, viewer etc) and involves them as well.  Story invites participation where facts are merely information which may or may not be personally connected to the person listening.  “The Hero’s” story is an interesting framework to consider story and its history.  As I read it, I actually did NOT recognize it... But of course, I was responding to content, not structure.  My limitation I suppose.  But as I sat an pondered this a little more, this structure echo’s all fine Literature indeed... With such massive variation, it was hard to pin that to the generic story of the hero.

I love the examples of the companies who are trading stories to train rather than instructing,  It feels very much like what is happening in Sharyn's class with the demonstrations.  As the artists demonstrate what it is they understand, they (we) imbue the sharing with the stories of our past experience and this keeps the attention of the people encountering the demo rather than them politely sitting through some monotone explanation of how to use materials.

Story illicit’s  LISTENING.   Not just hearing in one ear and out the other.  When we listen, we hear what is happening beneath the surface.  We connect.  We absorb. We relate. It supports healing, business, learning and the relationships that reside with in all of them.

8749 Design

Design:

   I'm going to "play" with this idea and take an alternative position (as speculation).  Design... is motivated by manipulation...(of course it is!!! but by corporations wanting our attention to get us to think in ways which make us want to give them our money) therefore, does that mean its about control?  (well, actually... yes) Are our perceptions at risk of being shaped by the ideas of designers? (well, actually, yes again, but I don't mean it to sound as evil as I might be implying)
   If we look at the example of the ballot issue in Florida, absolutely... BAD design. Bad on purpose?  (No, Im not a conspiracy theroist, but I do ask a lot of what ifs...) Who knows, but something to consider. Design determines all sorts of things.
   Environments for instance.  Pink makes references to  schools and low incoming housing.  Design affects how a person encounters an experience.  Go to school in a  building with no windows, and based on cultural (conscious or not) associations, students and teachers alike may feel imprisoned.  Is this a nurturing learning environment ? Design influences feeling, interaction and response. Designers influence our sense of wealth and social class, how we look, how we may think about ourselves....
   Other examples again come to the idea that design gives the market the competitive edge.  Money, greed, acquiring stuff... abundance.....Where is happiness really stressed?    Where is authentic living addressed.
   Now granted, I am addressing design from a more global, or at least national perspective , rather than the individual who is making aesthetic decisions for their home (although... yes, even that is likely influenced by larger design manipulations  considerations... ;)  There are natural elements of design which have evolved from cultural ideals and traditions.
    The point is, design permeates our world.  We need to be aware of it and take ownership for what we see and how we respond.  We need to appreciate well crafted design, design created to improve quality of life, enhancement and so on.  For as much visual manipulation that there is, there are the deeper designs which transform how we live for the better, (solar power and so forth).

8749 #5 (plus a little 4)

6/7

Pink:

First off, I love Pink’s writing style, his analogies and metaphors are easy to understand.

   I grew up with Betty Edwards “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” as my art bible.  It made sense to me.  It wasn’t about drawing, it was about seeing.  When I think back to the one thing that had the most impact on my life as an artist, it was realizing that idea.  Not just knowing it, but bodily realizing it.

   Seeing, living, everything, requires that BOTH hemispheres work together.  What if we created whole brain lessons that made sure to consciously address the modes of both hemispheres, I mean, I think you cant help it, but as artists we get so bent on the right/creative side we sometimes forget how enriching and supportive the whole-brain working together can be and is.  

Knowledge workers.... Whoa. This term is spot on and it stuns me how education (most of it) cranks out this sort of thinker on a daily basis.

Abundance.  This section sickened me.  I am not sure I like or even agree with Pinks rational that the L-Directed prosperity and abundance has provided an open door to R-directed thinkers to design more visually appealing type objects.  Feels like the L-directed  thinkers are pimping the R-directed thinkers for the sake of a product so people can buy it, amass more “stuff” (that wont make them happier)... None of this has anything to do with heart, or relationship, or real living, authentic living.  Really, This abundance is a distraction.  Yes, we have comforts and resources and things at our fingertips, but so much so, we don’t even have to imagine.

What I do agree with is that L-Directed outsourcing to Asia is a motivating factor in getting the USA off its ass and shifting the emphasis to a more whole thinking direction. One that is more holistic and address layers of needs and ideas rather that the satisfaction of “stuff”.

“If a picture is worth a thousand words than a metaphor is worth a thousand pictures” (Pink, pg.50) With out putting this in the context of the book this gives me a fun idea that maybe could relate to VTS (somehow... Have to ponder more).   What if we give students a metaphor and asked them to draw the meaning.  How interesting would it be to then group them and compare and contrast and further link those differences to experiences in our (their) lives which might account for the differences, to help explain WHY this happens, to deepen students awareness of each other and what influences perception..  Develop some empathy for difference.

So, the conceptual age, a whole new mind.....  Is it a new mind, or literally “THE WHOLE MIND”,,, better yet, WHOLE PERSON.  Are we finally at a place in human evolutionary cycle where we need to quit putting everything in a box for the sake of stability and (as I like to say with my kids) blow up the box and expand out into space in a massive spherical expansion?  That said, while global economy and production are expanding, I think we need to pull back in and look at what we have to offer on a community level.  Whole mind with in the intimacy of a community, make ties, create bonds, relationships there, THEN, like a stone tossed into a still pond, the ripple effect will expand into the larger global community one layer at a time, every thing interconnected, everything originating from a solid core. Imagine a thousand small stones tossed into a quiet lake, all the ripples that interconnect as they expand out in a circular rhythmic progression.   This idea of”high concept” and “high touch” is right there.

Education needs to address the whole person, to enable them with the skill’s and flexibility which allows students to respond to the unknown with curiosity and intelligent consideration.  It takes the whole mind, and further, others around to embrace, challenge, nudge, push and explore.  Educators need to step out of the white collar mentality as being the disseminator of knowledge. That mentality creates “knowledge workers”  Teacher have their own version.  The experts.  We are not.  We may have more experience, but it does not mean it is better experience.  

PLAY :

OK.. I wanna be a guru of giggles. (What a great assignment.. Design your own guru of giggles....  BHAA!!! Hahahahaaaa.  SO doin that)  OK.  Seriously.   Why do people willingly do things that are not fun?  Better yet, if they are stuck doing something not fun (flipping burgers, what ever, CREATE a way to make if fun, set up little internal challenges...mental games and so on. There are a million ways to make even the mundane an adventure.)  For instance... I often struggle with reading so I treat the blogging portion as a place to have a conversation with myself and unseen others, this makes it more fun interesting for me AND I retain more.  I give myself the freedom to playfully explore ideas rather that stick rigidly to some idea that because Im a grad student I have to write smart stuff.

Games. (again, can we go beyond just video please?)  Not devaluing here, but really, games are so much more than just that format. Hmmm.  “We believe games are the literature of the twenty-first century” (p. 195)  Will need to explore this idea though conversation please....

It seems that play and laughter and joy all go hand in hand (and really all the sense’s are interrelated. Google is a company that makes room for play, a happy employee will be more productive, a happy human will contribute positively to society, a  happy student will learn more and pursue ideas more deeply.

Freedman 5&6 Meaty chapters.... Ill spare everyone the long winded writing since Ive been on a roll.

1. A lot of the readings are running together for me at this point, in fact, I wonder to myself, if as I read, since certain things stood out for me in other books, my brain is looking for it in this... What stands out most for me in this chapter is the importance of arming students with the ability to read, interpret and respond to the barrage of images which assaults their senses in practically every moment. Information in going in, but I m fairly certain students are not aware of what happens with that information in regards to perceptions which form as  a result.  Students need to be able to read all media (text) and understand what the message is, who the audience is, what the creator values and so on.  AS educators, WE also need to be aware and take a look at this in ourselves.

6. Lets consider this statement.

“Curriculum  shapes what students know and how they come to know” (pg. 122)  There is a lot of power in this idea.  I think we need to be very careful about the idea of curriculum though. It is not a script, or a recipe for an end result. Rather it should be based on “concepts”, the concepts and project are the results of big conceptual ideas which are investigative in nature and open ended. The scope and sequence on page 116-117 is a good example of this, although I often frown upon sequencing by “level”. If as educators, we are presenting problems to be solved that employ these skills first and fore most, making space for integration of other disciplines, and making relevant connections to real life real time student lives (which holds meaning), then we are onto something.  We start to achieve some of this whole mind education that Pink is taking about.

Eisner 5&6

(my roomies are reminding me these need to be about 500 words....  Opps... HOW can I synthesize stuff that makes me think in so many directions in 500 words?)

Situated Learning: Builds a community of learners, provides multi-sensory learning experiences,  students learn how to deal with multiple tasks at once, and really it models a more real life situation (unless you are a computer programers sitting in a cubical) Eisner argues that this sort of learning makes the likely hood of real life application (transfer) possible).  A strong situational learning environment then makes it possible for students to work through “problems” presented by the teacher. Purpose must be present in the problem. The problem must  push them, but not exceed their abilities. “the good teacher knows when to intervene, how much guidance to provide and when to back off.” (pg. 96)

Kids need time to work through problems.  Inherent in this is process.  In fact, the real project is not the  result but the path getting there, The awareness of that path, the knowledge discovered, and the meaning it has for the student. The ability to reflect. With in the process is a conversation, between the material, the idea and the student.

    Eisner suggests that sensibility is the mother of consciousness. Not entirely sure I agree, however, his assertion that art education can hone the senses I do agree with. It would follow then, that someone with broader and refined senses is more conscience.  Certainly more aware, and perhaps even less ego centric which would facilitate greater empathy (Pink)

Eisner points out that Middle schoolers preoccupation with narrative and realism thwarts the prior spontaneity present in preschool and younger children's art.  I can not help but wonder if that is a result of the educational system and ridged curriculums.....RATHER than a development issue.  It is not an issue with my students.

1. Eisner begins this chapter suggesting that teachers, being the closest to their students, are best suited to making curricular choices in their own classrooms.  Rocket science right? DUH.  When will we empower teachers to make up their own curriculums based on the needs of the particular group they are working with, further, do most teacher feel equipped to do so?  After all, it is a huge undertaking and tremendous undertaking.  Using a pre existing curriculum does indeed provide the frame work and then choices a teacher makes (like the compare and contrast vs. Describe) only impact the students thought process’s.  I love what Eisner says on page 150 “The core phenomena in curriculum are the curriculum activities that teachers AND students design.”

Teaching is truly like conducting a symphony on an esoteric level. We are watching exchanges, listening for conversations where deeper meaning is explored, linking, connecting, participating, guiding where necessary and pushing when needed. Nothing happens in a vacuum, and again, everything is connected.  Like the stones tossed in the lake, what we decide to teach also has a ripple effect.  We cant design a curriculum (even when responding to a group in the moment) and fully know what the outcome will be... It ripples at different paces for each student.

Standards/benchmarks... To keep it PC, are at best a minimal guideline, but often far under estimate potential. Eisner’s thoughts behind them are good, but most standards are indeed rigid. Will get too long if I continue here... Will discuss.

8749/ Some.....One

LTC 8749 #4

June 6, 2013
Class: The Social Life of Art
10:00am - 12:45pm · Lecture

read Chapter 5 Freedman
Chapter 5 Eisner
A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change:

A summary with mind farts. (AKA... Thoughts, wonderings and such)

I am being deliberate in the lack of emphasis on digital, and really looking at the underlying principles, which can and should be considered whether a school/educational system values the digital world or not.

Brown and Thomas open their book immediately  hitting this idea: Cultivating citizenship.  With in the world (and the world of art) appropriation and remixing idea, imagery and sound are more or less a constant.  It is a reflection of the constant change, (which is already ever present and has been for all of time... But now at an extraordinary pace.)  As an educator (not isolated to art) we need to help students understand the differences between “copying” or as Sam talks about, remixing.   Isn't remixing really a concentrated version of evolution?  Haven not humans and mother nature been remixing for billions of years?

    Although I am not a big fan of gaming (in education for a litany of other reasons  I will not address right now), the examples about learning here are great. The example of the professor teaching a”in a virtual world, Star Wars Galaxies” class is wonderful.  Students have as much or more to teach each other (talk about ping!).  As educators, again, we need to step back and OUT OF OUR SAFE BOXES.  Allow room for the class dictate the pace and the place.  When students are afforded the room to explore an idea with out judgement,... They will.  As teachers we need to reframe what is failure, and look at it through the lens of curiosity.  EVERYTHING is a learning opportunity.  This new technology and interconnected resources makes a space for all idea.  As Brown and Thomas put it “ The new culture of learning gives us the freedom to make the general personal and then share our personal experience in a way that, in turn, adds to the general.” (pg. 31)  

   In chapter two, Brown and Thomas begin by comparing A mechanistic view to that of learning environments.  I would agree with their views that the environment sets the stage. “the context in which learning happens, the boundaries that define it, and the students, teachers, and information within it all coexist and shape each other in a mutually reinforcing way.,  Now, these fellows seem to stress continually that the digital world will be one of the major keys which transform learning environments into this magic new age.  While I agree that the digital age has its strengths, I will continue to say unless the environment is ALREADY a place which echoes the quote above, technology will NOT fix it.  

   The culture of course defines the environment.  The authors create an analogy between a culture which is established and slowly evolves over time to that of a “culture” in a petri dish.  This culture is allowed to organically emerge with out interference because it is interesting.  This I feel is a good analogy.  If schools could pair this idea with the quote above, schools might just have a chance.  This. However, requires the “adults” who oversee the said culture, to adapt to a totally new way of operating within that culture.  It requires them to give up control.  To surrender to the idea they just might not know, and maybe the students do.... Students and teachers need to work together to functionally create. Everyone and everything grows together. Everyone learning in real time, about real things, that have direct impact on the individuals involved.

Chapter 3:

“ The belief that most of what we know will remain relatively unchanged for a long enough period of time to be worth the effort of transferring it.” (pg.40)  Seriously....  How many if us remain unchanged?  How many of us value the toy we had in second grade compared to what ever it is that has out attention right now? (That toy probably isn't even made anymore if you're my age) NOTHING remains relatively unchanged other than perhaps basic skills like changing a tire or how to put carpet in... (Im sure there are others but you get my point)  A good deal of current education is an antiquated system.  We used to work on a 32 rpm record player (and that worked then)and now its GB to the max... It went from slow to VERY FAST ... Well, VERY FAST.  Its a challenge to keep up and adapt.  But is it?  Think about how quickly the growing human changes and adapts from birth to 18.  How the heck do they go through such profound fundamental change with out going insane?  Play, imagination, flexibility,  curiosity.  These qualities are key to making sense of the experiences they encounter.  If educators make room for play in there own teaching, it sets the grounds for the same response from students....

Chapter 4: Collective learning.  Yes, the internet is a fantastic example of this, but I will say again, unless there is a strong pre-existing community of real people in real time who actually functionally relate on a day to day basis, then the virtual collective will only draw out of an individual what that individual encounters.

Chapter 5: Begins by addressing really, the ideas and concerns around social media.  The authors point out the concerns about lives (and Id add relationships) becoming too transparent.  While I do agree and see this, what concerns me more is the inability to relate and communicate on a deeper level.  In my opinion, social media is suffocating our ability to empathize. When we loose that, narcissism rears its ugly ego domineering head.  

     The authors do point out the advantages of “educational sites” or places where people can explore interests.   Meshing with the collective.  “meshing, when it occurs, is likely to transform both the individual and the collective he or she is interacting with” (pg. 58)... Hmmmm not sure I agree.  I agree IF the people the person is interacting with is a REAL person.  That they bring back the information from their investigations and integrate it into the real time community.  There are of course variations in both directions, this is not meant to bask the internet and the learning opportunities there.  I am not sure how the authors are connecting this to play and admit I will have to step out my box and consider this further. Follow your passion and interest .

The thoughts of collective vs. Personal will take me ten pages to elaborate on..

Chapter 6

Explicit knowledge... An (assumed) correct answer to a question... Facts. Our educational system seems to be heavily rooted in explicit knowledge. “The twenty-first century, however belongs to the tacit.  In the digital world, we learn by doing, watching and experiencing” (pg.76).  OK.  While that is true of the digital world, is also true of every child from the beginning of time.  The digital world does not have property rights to this idea.  The issue is that the digital world is forcing the structure of acquired knowledge to shift in the methods of gathering. Dewey understood a long time ago that learning through doing was rooted in experience.  The problem is, adults have forgotten how to play.  “The problem is that almost every technique and practice we have for understanding how we learn has been about the explicit-in a stable world” True enough, but is it not THRILLING to be able to let that go and create in the moment? Utilize ALL the senses?  Relate, exchange,  share, combine ... Soak it in.  Are we willing to let go of all the thoughts we’ve inherited to live and create within the learning environment (which is loosely defined as LIFE)?  I love the statement “Different people, when presented with exactly the same information in exactly the same way, will learn different things.” (pg. 79) yes. Again.... A mirror to life.  Three children in one family presented with the same lesson, expectation etc.... ALL THREE will make it their own and translate it in a way that makes sense to them in that moment. What if all education happened that way?  (This freaks out people who love assessment). What if the question mattered more than the answer? What if discovery was more values that mastery, what if kids could connect lessons to their lives and what matters to them?

Chapter 7

Knowing:  Fact, provable (although I might argue that a little since what we have decided is a fact was at one point based in a belief...which we then worked through based on some curiosity or wonder... We probably had to make some stuff to prove our idea so it could become something we KNOW) Therefore we need to be careful about all that belief vs. Knowing stuff... What came first, the chicken or the egg.  Still, yea, I know, we’ve all acceptable this knowing to be true.  It defines things for us and provides a sense of stability.

Making: Implies a certain degree of linking ideas together to create something.Introduces concrete context. Context in past education was a source of stability.  Something fixed in time.  However, if we jump to real time now, we go back the chapter ones issues around remixing, it takes what was stable and static in terms of context and destabilizes it, thought the “collective” process. We alter meaning and context.

Playing.  “Play creates culture” (pg.97)  First off, I think we need to step out of the box in regards to our ideas about “play”  The idea that it is not serious, that it is frivolous, is absurd. Play is one of the only serious worthwhile  learning endeavors. When we play, challenge is embraced, mysteries are devoured, fear is released, we become explorer’s, turning corners where we saw none,.  We color outside the lines, heck, we get rid of them!  I love the the way the authors state “in play we may best express the sense of becoming.” (pg.99)

Chapter 8:

Hanging Out:  Although hanging out does indeed acquaint  kids with digital tools, I disagree that it  provides “meaningful social interaction” (pg.101) The extensions alluded too, become obsessions, with no thought to time or situation.  Texts beeping at all hours of the night because the need to know NOW is so intense, that anxiety results if the text is not sent or responded too. Sorry, not seeing this as a healthy relationship wit digital media, not this part of it anyway. The social experience really could use some guidance from the adult world (pre-digital OR healthy digital adults)  

Messing around: In understanding their definition, it seems to be that moment when a person goes beyond the egocentric social aspect of connecting in the virtual world to putting their two in the water (or foot or leg) to see just what all this stuff can really do. This connects to play in that it they must venture out, take a risk, charter new territory.

Geeking Out: There were two aspects which were poignant to this but “Geeking out involves learning to navigate esoteric domains of knowledge and practice and participating in communities  that traffic in these forms of expertise”  (pg. 104) This speaks to the power of collaboration, but I cant help but wonder if the “geeker” has an awareness of this as a collaboration.  DO the students who “geek out”  have the tools to check their information?  DO they know what is valid information and what is not, does the internet world render the difference irrelevant if we are indeed redefining what is known and what is tacit?  Who gets to say what information is worth while and isn't.  Are we reinvention reality?

Chapter 9:

Maybe we also need to redefine the ideas behind digital learning, interface, collective etc.  DO these concepts require technology to manifest in a group of learners?  The world of digital games may be one possible venue for this BUT it can and should be created FIRST in real time in relationship in school communities. Re-define the environment like this book states but do not make it dependent on technology, make it student centered,m relationship centered, collectively centered, and use technology as one of MANY tools to engage the learning process.

LTC 8749 #3

Man of Steel:

First of all, I found myself a little irritated there were not any pictures... but then, I thought to myself, ok, as I read, I shall do my best to imagine these forms.  Of course, what I imagine is sprinkled with the perceptions of the author, but that idea intrigued me.  If I were not sitting in the back of my car at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park, Id probably try and draw what the author conveys and then later look up the actual pieces and compare and contrast.  Just a fun experiment.

Reading through this article though, several poignant statements stood out for me.  The idea that Serra's work is described as having "complexity, requiring constant attention" is a pretty big statement. As a teacher, I want my own students to be able to achieve some of this.  But how?  Is it about the problems we present to them? The Opportunities to ponder a concept from a different point of view? Materials? Freedom vs step by step constraints?  As a teacher, if the project my students are working though is complex, requiring layers of thought, then the attention that goes into the process, will likely be present in the product.  I think Serra's work is a good example to use because his work is not about making something pretty or visually appealing. It goes beyond that to something else.  Having that option for a student frees them from the pressure of creating "something they think the teacher wants" or "something its supposed to be". 

I also am intrigued with his list of simple tasks, to fold, to twist, to fold and so on. This echoes for me a little bit what I do with some of my students.  To take a fundamental idea or principle and interpret it based on your experiences and perception.  Serra's work seems more purist than what I do with kids as Serra's does not seem imbued with his own story other than the subtle layer of the choice he made in performing the task, but still, an interesting task.

"Rough simplicity is its genius"  The steel behemoth, the idea that something so simple could illicit so much curious reaction, force movement (be it one of engagement or one of retreat) is powerful in a quiet and subtle way. What a different perspective to process with kids when considering art.  It certainly emphasizes the relationship first between the artist and the process of the piece, which then takes on a new relationship when the viewer enters the field and has her own encounter.  Art is not static.  It is a continuous exchange.

Freedman: So, how do we as teachers know what meaning our students are making and or understanding from art (or all texts if we examine this from the semiotics perspective).  I like the idea of transmediation, "taking understandings from one system and moving them into another sign system.  

In my opinion, it is critical we raise the awareness of what screams for our students attention and arm them with techniques for processing this bombardment and also communicating effectively with it.  To "use multiple literacies to compose videos, graphs, collages, role-play scenarios, interactive games, music and the like". In our classrooms this means we have to expand our own understandings.  We need to "undefine" our ideas of what story telling is, what representation is, what teaching is, what matters. We need to be fearless (and even more so ... vulnerable) and set the example if we want our students to follow, or better yet, join. We need to look at what we teach and ask ourselves does this serve the kids we teach with what is happening right now for them.

"An emphasis on these multiple forms of representation continues to be seen as innovation"  Why? Seriously?  If we look at life there is not a separation between multi-modal events, all of life is a multimodal event.  Shouldn't education echo real life and visa-versa? 

.

LTC 8740 #2

Assignment: read Chapters 3-4 Eisner
Chapter 2 Freedman
Terry Barrett:
1. Principles for Interpreting Art www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/3193496?origin=api
2. About Art Interpretation for Art Education www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/1320749?origin=api3.Images, Power, and Politics
If you haven’t read it: Barrett’s Interpreting Visual Culture www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/3194015?origin=api

*Tomorrow :Bring in 2 objects, one that you consider art and one that you believe is not art!

Art. What is art.  As a society do we have an agreed upon parameter that defines (and there within limits) what art is?  All things are created, whether by molecular arrangement by some random or non random event, or by specific arrangement done with what we call consciousness (although ego is more true).  But does specific trump random?  And then, doesn't perception have something to do with this?  After all, we are the ones deciding,  add ego to perception and you have a recipe for complete subjectivity.  SO what is Art then?

A word.  A word interpreted a million different ways with many of those ways intersecting but not a single one the same.  Is it the word “art” what were talking about?, not the object which represents the word. 

art 1 |ärt|

noun

1. the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power: the art of the Renaissance | great art is concerned with moral imperfections | she studied art in Paris.

• works produced by such skill and imagination: his collection of modern art | an exhibition of Mexican art | [ as modifier ] : an art critic.

• creative activity resulting in the production of paintings, drawings, or sculpture: she's good at art.

If we go by Webster's definition, then the involvement of human intention seems to be the principle defining difference.  BUT, isn’t perception an expression?  Therefore, the perception that a pattern in a rock  is natures art, can that be art?  Does the intention behind the aesthetic, change the value of the art?  For instance, the images produced as a part of visual culture compared to Museum pieces?  Where is the line? (and is the line art?)

I could not find an object in my house that after a moment of contemplation, did not meet some criteria of art (for me personally) because my personal definition is probably too broad. It goes back to relationship as well.  My relationship with everything is about creativity... Art, even as defined above, falls under that umbrella.  Therefore, for me, all objects qualify as art.  That said, if I were to apply the Webster’s definition more rigidly, then the line would likely be different with in the context of human interaction and what each individual who is responding to the object, imagines whats behind it.  A common TEXT book, for most would not be considered art, although created by humans.  If we look at it purely from the intention for its creation, MOST publishers are not about creating a heart felt beautiful or emotional connecting experience... But that is only one level... Perhaps some love the feel of the paper, of the sound the pages make when flipped through... So does the EXPERIENCE of the object redefine it as art, because a relationship forms between object and person...

Readings, ponderings (which are also connected to the above but hence separated for some attempt at clarity):

    Eisner in Chapter 3 examines all the various ingredients (obvious and less obvious) which make teaching strong. Curriculum, the space, timing, organization, all of that.  What I find to be the most significant though is the ideas the teacher also teachers herself.  This is a powerful concept to consider and all educators should spend a fair amount of time reflecting on what this means for them. 

   This goes hand in hand with the idea of secondary ignorance.  (I love this idea) Not knowing what we  know. ... When we acknowledge that first, there is lots we don't know, and second, there is even more we don't know, it CAN completely open the door to curiosity.  I believe having that awareness, that there are infinite mysteries about EVERYTHING, makes life a constant treasure box.

   So, when we are aware that there is lots we are unaware of, it may change our attention.  As teachers, if we are actively attending to the unknown, then we model for our students that this is of  value.  Eisner mentions that “Attention to the particular qualities of, say, a rock is not a customary mode of perception, yet there is more beauty in a rock than any of us is likely to discover in a life time” (pg. 85)... Hence, my point above about what is art.... Are humans the only beings allowed to “create something beautiful’? Whose to say the earth is not conscious...

     Now, historical roots.  Freedman speaks to history as being told from a particular point of view.  There are of course variations and progressions, but each of us came through the educational gauntlet rooted in some historical perspective recorded and defined by various competent scholars and so forth.  We inherited these beliefs as they created the roots of our EXPERIENCE ( going back to Eisner’s references earlier) which in turn shape our perceptions.  

Our perceptions (known or not) shape our teaching, our relationships with our students and our beliefs about art.

Fortunately (depending on your perspective) art history and and curricular history is now expanding to include a greater context.  “ Contexts of production and viewing play a large part in determinations of whether particular forms, images, and objects of visual culture are considered worthy academic subject material. “ (page 49, Freedman) By expanding even a little bit, perception and experience can be radically altered. Our ideas about art, communication, relationship and so on.

          I truly believe contemporary perceptions and ideas about “art” need to be challenged.  Our world is evolving and progressing at an exponential rate difficult to keep up with, if our perceptions and and willingness to consider art and creation do not expand, we will be left behind. Teaching is in the same boat.

The only constant in this world is change.  

LTC 8740 Curriculum in Art Blog #1

6/3

Assignment: read Chapters. 1&2 Eisner
Chapter 1 Freedman
Imagination First
Choose one of the 21 Imagination sparks and demonstrate/describe how you would use it in an art class to promote imaginative thinking that leads to creative production, responding or presenting artwork.

A narrative distillation of Eisner and Freedman with a whole lot of pondering:

Eisner, asserts ours senses and presence with in a given culture define who we are and how we move through our reality. One experience directly shapes another.  Eisner compares humans and our ability to grow within a culture with that of chimps, their apparent static existence with that of ours progressing.  But this makes me wonder.  Chimps live in unison with their environment, taking what they need, surviving or not, living and dyeing in response to the natural world, doing no deliberate harm to it.  We on the other hand are indeed leaving a legacy.  One of pillage and exploitation of the natural world while simultaneously evolving technologically at mind numbing speeds.  I wonder IF the native cultures, Native Americans, Aborigines, etc had been left alone  IF they would have grown as rapidly as the we have. These humans who lived more in sync with nature.... I wonder.  On the other hand, it is Chalmers view that art (which I associate directly with imagination and possibility) is defined by social context. Were Native cultural norms so set and strong that it did not allow for deviation, did these cultures limit imagination? On the other hand, was art segmented and something separated from the culture or completely integrated..... 

Imagine possibility and creation. It is realized of course (culturally, outwardly) as Eisner's states, though Arts and Sciences, but if we ponder this a moment, isn't that what happens with each breath, each step?  Every single activity can be traced to this, we must imagine it for it to happen, right?  When we first start walking, our brain must imagine this to be inspired to take that risk, and then go for it. As children we do that relatively fearlessly.  So in that process, we realize bodily what we imagined and so on and so forth and then some of this becomes habit so we don't have to imagine it anymore and we imagine yet another thing and work to bring that into reality, a manifestation of sorts of what we thought.  So is ALL of what we do a manifestation of thought and if thats true, are ALL things possible? Are we aware of what we are manifesting or do we take it for granted. Does society thus impose limits on our imagination to keep chaos from erupting?  As a result of this, does art get put in a box? Art is a safe place for the imagination because society has also imposed norms and expectations there.

“representation stabilizes the idea or image in a material and makes possible a dialog with it”( pg 6 Eisner)  Hmmm.  Does an object imply static meaning?  Is something "what" it is, prior to dialog, and then doesn't that something change when a dialog ensues because the dialoguer imposes a meaning or interpretation, thus removing the stability of the objects definition?  Editing erupts from perception shaped from our imaginations, whether we realize it or not. Further, like it or not, we are bombarded with visual stimuli. From objects to signs to film. This is particularly true in society where every manipulated, humanly created image has intention behind it to shape our perception, the aesthetics have different intentions.

“People tend to seek, what they are able to represent.”  Boom. The analogy of using black and white film so we seek shadows etc is a great metaphor.  BUT tools (what we see) are defined by culture. (And culture is defined by the people who create the texts which shape our perceptions and beliefs about who we are and what were supposed to value, it all gets very sticky!) Fundamentally, an object does not need a definition to exist as an object. It is. All things are defined through our experience which circles around to the idea of visual culture which provides the experience which will shape us. 

So why do we need permission through ART to experience imagination?  How did things get defined this way, should imagination not permeate every cell, every breath of every moment? On the other hand, thank heavens culture has made room for imagination someplace.... Although to survive without becoming completely overwhelmed, Eisner speaks to distillation, seeing differences for the sake of classifying etc... All important as long as that process does not lock out that initial space for possibility beyond the definition.

Eisner states it beautifully at the end of chapter one when he says “education is a process of learning how to become the architect of your own experience, and therefore learning how to create yourself.” (pg 24)

When examining the Versions of arts education, to me it is an odd event that we would define ONE WAY to engage in creative endeavors. I suppose the need to define helps explain and its a bit like the map reference in chapter one, it represents something greater than it actually is for the sake of illustrating something.  Still, it seems to me the strongest experiences are grounded not in defining a specific path but exploring many paths and through that experience selecting the one (or combination of one) which is truest to the heart of the walker, so approaching a classroom with the knowledge and openness to apply all six versions as a response to the needs of the group is the way to go. 

Ultimately, the goal from where Im standing is I want to provide experiences for my students which enable open minded, open hearted thinking feeling expressing of life experience.  Develop relationships  (realtime)where thoughts are seeds and with in each seed is infinite potential which through sharing, integration and visioning can grow. 

Imagination First:

Spotlight Off, Lantern On:  

As an introduction to the idea of “seeing” and “perception”  It might be fun to do a simple drawing experiment.  The first phase would be to do a drawing from memory (a common place in the school)  They could draw it anyway they wanted, but I would ask them to draw it with as much detail as possible.  Upon completion, we would then go to this space (be it another classroom, or the library or the playground...what ever.) and have them spend some time looking/investigating.  As they are looking, I would ask them to make a note of what they missed in their drawing.   List everything they now see that they didn’t draw.  Then discuss... Possibly go investigate one more time...(Probably...yea, for sure)  

Similarly, Go outside and do a color observation drawing of the woods.  Bring back in and discuss colors selected. (do a compare and contrast of what people saw color wise)  Then pull out color aid paper (or in my case, paint samples from Lowe's)  Select some random colors, from ones obviously there to less obvious (neon orange, etc)  Give each student 20-30 paint samples (all different from each others) and have them go explore the site they drew, investigating for the full range of color. Take along a journal or paper or what have you to document what was found, draw it and tape the color swatch next to it. They will find them. 

These may seem simple but can have profound effects on how they participate in “seeing” the world they encounter each day.  Subtle shifts in attention over time broaden the awareness.

Concentration 4, nearly done.

Concentration #4

It is breathing..... new marks... wildness...

For those following the creative Wall... Almost done!

Concentration #3 "Dreaming Veyda"

Below Ive included photos showing the process and a few of the phases this drawing went through.  For all intensive purposes it is complete.  That said I may return to smaller concentrated areas if they call to me for refinement.

Detail of industrial steam punk

Gives a perspective on how large
this drawing is.

Art Capacities: Strengths

Well again, depending on the inspiration motivating the imagery, different strengths are called upon.  So allow me to use Concentration #2 for this response (because again, it is somewhat contextual, the capacities are like tools in a tool box and I pull out the ones I need as I work)

Concentration #2 "Transcendence" was particularly personal and dealt with some situations in my life that have left deep scars and pain.  To work through this piece required various strengths more like at a 10 level.   Developing a "Deep Sense of Purpose" was certainly at the heart of this piece.  Every mark mattered, every image has meaning.  Working on this piece often left me breathless as I surrendered myself to the process and allowed the buried content to find its way through my fingers.

To do this, "Embracing Stillness" was also a strength I called upon for this piece.  It is in stillness that otherwise quiet and buried content might peek out and show itself.  Show itself it did. It takes courage to rest in stillness because the things we hide from (or conversely should celebrate) often reside there.  It the strength I depend upon most of the time.
 

Capacities... better late than never.

   Well. This is an interesting sheet to reflect upon because for me the capacities are contextual.  Although as a general response, I would give myself 2's all the way down (I've been doing this a long time)  there are always exceptions.  I feel its important to never rest in a place which exempts me from struggles.  To do that would likely lock me into one way of doing/experiencing and perceiving  things.  What kind of artist and further teacher, would that make me?
    So, because this is a contextual statement, I shall relate it to my concentration #3.  Over all, if I were to apply the capacities to this drawing, most would be 2's.  However, that said, this drawing is about my younger daughter.  Its is titled "Dreaming Veyda" it is a part of my series of manifestation drawings and it is a vision of her possible futures.  My second daughter is VERY different that the first. (That one the imagery flowed and was graceful in its appearance)  Veyda is so full of varying potentials I have had many an hour of pacing and talking (to myself)and sitting in front of this piece.  ITS BEEN DIFFICULT.  What I like though, is in this difficulty I KNOW there are seeds of potential.  But..... I'm having trouble tolerating the ambiguity of this piece.  That does not happen often, but because this piece is so close to my heart, it really forces me to turn inside and simultaneously step outside myself to allow the image to transform and emerge.
   I find when I struggle, it challenges me to grow.  1's are actually medicine and a growth stimulant....
   Searching for compelling images for this piece has also been a challenge.  I have found talking with Veyda, following her around, RELATING to her, (yet standing back)  it is in these moments, Ive had many "AH HA!" moments.
   SO it is with each process.

Concentration #2 Transcendence

5 ft x 7 ft  Charcoal

Teaching for Studio Thinking: Artist's Statement

       My reality is a tapestry of light and energy woven by ideas, visions and projections embedded in what I believe.  My work is an evolution of internal vision.  That vision anchors my life in the manifestation of events and circumstances.
       I interact with the world as if it were a canvas. Every moment is ripe with choice and possibility.  Present in each moment are threads which when consciously woven together create an intention. When intention is realized as an image its as if I’m composing reality. Weave the experience you wish to live through vision and creation. 

    My work is a series of “manifestation images” which are designed to place attention and focus on creating events in the lives of people around me.  As I work, visionary moments occur in flashes. A mark will guide me to the next mark in an intuitive dance as the composition emerges.

I work primarily with materials which have transformative qualities, fluid and changing.  This is important because the nature of the imagery is never static and often becomes something I had not initially imagined.  My creative process is a dialogue between spirit, emotion and image. .  A synthesis of what is, and what might be is realized as each image is born.

Blogs for week 3/1

3/1

This weeks are short but to the point.  Forgive me, off to NAEA and such. 

Icon

I found it interesting that Bird used 90% of this commentary to associate “icon” with religion.  While I realize this is often the case, to me this is pigeon holing the concept of “icon” and iconography. Really, it is soooo much more than that! For me, it is really about meaning.  Icon is not limited to religious imagery (even if its roots are there).  It is about the meaning one places on an image... (the whole idol thing comes into play here)

Ive gotten into the habit of finding that one sentence in the reading that intrigues or inspires me .  For this chapter it is “icons provided a movable cast of holy presences”.  OMG  the potential of that sentence for  me is huge! In my own work I can imagine a series of images which represent a big idea, developed into a series of icons... And I can see this theme extending into the classroom, in projects with my kids. In fact, it has given me some ideas for assignments around the concept of icon....!!!

Protest:

“in 2003 the tapestry version of Guernica at the United Nations was covered over during a press conference presenting the Bush administration’s case for bombing Iraq.” 

 W    O     W       

  Protest should be followed by censorship. If that action does not speak to the potency of visual art I do not know what is.  Could that have altered the way things went down, if those images had been a back drop for Bush’s plans? (Imagine if an animation artist got a hold of that footage, photo shopped the images back in and then animated them to life as Bush spoke....  Hows that for a revived protest?  )

    Some how, knowing this fact infuriates me.  Be an interesting project to do just that.  Show the speech as was... Then get the tapestry back in there and show it again and have kids (high school) comment of how imagery might change their response to the message,,,,, Or some version of this.... Share Picasso's Guernica, then listen to the speech, THEN tell them this was covered....

Ps. The Guerrilla Girls are cool... Love their motivation and hoe they powerfully confront the male dominated art world....

Personal as Political

“Good bye to the great white Male”  what? Aweiwei would not agree...(even if he isn't technically white)

SO personal as political and protest really go hand in hand (back to the Guerrilla Girls)

      I find interesting that this entry focused mainly on women.  I also find it interesting that there is no reference to other historical events which may have coincided with the issues he is speaking of (like he did with protest).  Commentary remains focused on the art itself, with out larger societal commentary (other than political, which is really the domination of the art world by men in this case)

    I wonder if this is because of projections the author may be making about the role of women in general...

    I am just curious why women were the focus of this topic (sometimes blended with other minority issues, Id love to see the Renee Cox piece)

   AS a younger artist I did identify with issues such as these. While they are valid, I don't often see my own work this way.  That said, I love artists like  Naomi Natale.  If you haven't seen her TED talk (Kathy posted this on her blog)  you should watch!

http://blog.ted.com/2010/03/17/ted_fellow_naom/

HA! Body As Surface #2

See what I mean?

TST Concentration #2 Stages/progress

Since Im far away from everyone, here is a peak at Concentration #2.  It is roughly 5 feet wide by 7 feet tall.  Not done obviously.

Mim,,,,  she sits with me while I draw.  :)

TST 2/22-3/1 Bird entries

BODY AS SURFACE

Ok...  Ive always wanted a tattoo..... A Redwood Tree which spans the length of my spine, the green extending into the shoulder blades, the roots sprouting from the small of my back growing around my rear end (this was when I was younger... Now, that would not be a pretty sight...)

Social status, group affiliation, ritual, what could be more powerful for art?  That said, I found it a little disturbing that and artist would physically alter herself to “reshape her features to resemble those in celebrated works of art, such as the forehead of the Mona Lisa.”  WHAT???? Good grief.... 

Seems to me that when someone is thinking about the body as a surface, intention is critical.  Motivation.  Some of this is permanent after all. This is not a medium to take lightly when it is permanence that is part of the equation.

         I have sometimes played with this idea (not permanence) but henna tattoos, painting tiny scenes on finger nails, etc.  None of this held significant meaning for me...  I grew up with the thought of tattoos being taboo so I didn't stray to far from it as a youth.

   Now, when I am drawing, although it is not really part of the finished product, part of the process for me is actually getting covered in charcoal dust.  After each drawing session, there are marks on my face, lines where I wiped away a hair or had an itch.  My arms, legs (clothes) are covered.  Its almost as if I am ritually coating myself as I draw... HA!  I sorta love that thought.

    Be fun to simultaneously develop a series of photographic portraits which document my face after each session... LOL

ANATOMY

“Getting under the skin”  hmmmmm

I remember vividly, reading with equal horror and fascination, the passages from “The Agony and the Ecstasy” Where Michaelagelo snuck out at night to dissect a human body (if I recall it was a homeless person who died??? Maybe Im making that up.)  I sat there inspired, wanting to know the human form that intimately, yet knowing I would NEVER survive an encounter such as that.  (I cant even have blood drawn with out passing out). Frankly, if I sit and stare too long at the Rembrandt painting I feel a little woozy.

I later solved my need to know by taking an anatomy and physiology course in undergrad, at lease going into depth in pictures was manageable, and I do believe was beneficial to my drawing of the human form.

      An interesting assignment along these lines to do with kids might be to show a contraption of some sort and have them draw how they think it works, draw the insides in action, then if possible, let them take it a part and see the real inner workings.... That would be an interesting lead in to figure work...

BODY AS MEDIUM

Not sure how I feel about this chapter.  I do wish at times Bird went more in depth to help readers appreciate the intentions behind certain things, such as the artist Marc Quinn. (which I may google later) .  I am intrigued yet disturbed by the macabre description of his work and do not understand his intention or thoughts behind it. It leaves me feeling disturbed and concerned for people who may be in his company....  (too many horror movies I guess, which, if I were to broaden my ideas about art, then maybe ICOULD appreciate this more... Hmmm))

    That said, I am familiar with some of the other artists work where the body became more of a tool, such as Richard Longs line, of course, its about far more than that, ritual, space, impact all sorts of larger themes are at work here.

    My own work... I suppose the finger prints left behind might fit here, but it is not choice. I honestly have to sit with this one longer.