9: Contemporary Art as Public Pedagogy Curricula (Part 1)

Part 1: Unit Overview
Unit Title: Uniquely You (Middle School)
Enduring Idea: Each of us can find unique and special ways in which we interact with and experience the world. Even though some of us are underrepresented in art history or our current visual culture does not mean that we cannot all find unique and special ways in which we interact with and experience the world.

Key Concepts about the Enduring Idea: If we share our differences we can learn to respect ourselves, learn from each other, and experience a richer learning environment.

The images of people we see (and respect) in the media, fine arts, and other visual culture forms do not necessarily look like us--but that doesn’t mean that we are condemned to fulfill different  roles already established for us based on our personal attributes. (Interdisciplinary connections can be made between this lesson and art history, general history, and social science, which can aid in our understandings of the current visual environment.)

Key Concepts about Contemporary Art as Public Pedagogy:
From A Ed 813 Glossary: Culture, Intertextuality, Subjectivity, Autobiography, Contextual, Allegory, Forming Self
From Principles of Possibility, Gude: Encountering Differences, Empowered Experiencing/Making, Deconstructing Culture
From Postmodern Principles, Gude: Appropriation, Juxtaposition, Recontextualization, Layering, Representin’

Essential Questions: Is there something about yourself that you are particularly proud of?  How does your background influence the choices you make and the future you plan for yourself? Who are your role models? What makes them different from you? What will you have to do in your immediate- and far- future to achieve your goals? Are there images of people you wish to be?  Do they look different than you?

Rationale: The art classroom is one of the few spaces in public school where students are allowed (and even encouraged) to create unique and differentiated work. We should take advantage of this situation by guiding learners to find out what makes their creative voice different and worthy of respect.

Schools are now recognizing the harm inherent in bullying. Celebrating our differences and learning from each other will undoubtedly help relieve the tension of our current educational process and hopefully pave the way for future respect among adult members of our society.

Unit Objectives: I hope that students will understand that our current visual culture as well as the attitudes amongst their peers and wider community do not control their future. They can become agents of change.

Standards: Could anyone point me in the right direction to find standards? Google search brings up a 1994 NAEA document and PAEA documents, but I’m unsure as to how to proceed with creating a lesson plan that follows these standards. http://www.arteducators.org/store/NAEA_Natl_Visual_Standards1.pdf
http://www.paea.org/images/stories/resources/standards/pa_arts_standards.pdf

End of Unit Assessment:
A. Students will have at least 3 sketchbook drafts of each assignment which they will share with me before starting their final work
B. 3 final projects will be submitted by their due dates
C. Self-evaluation sheets will be filled out and provide more details on conceptual development

RUBRIC/LEVELS and CRITERIA: I like this rubric found online: http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/middle/rubric.htm. I’d love to get my classmate’s feedback on how to create rubrics--especially something that has student input in assessment.

Overview of Lessons (Part 2 Preview, will be more developed by next week's blog): 
Lesson 1: Silhouette collages
(Lesson plan adopted from http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/lessons/elem/selfport.htm#collage)
Inspiration: Alison Shriver, http://www.alisonshriver.com/
1. Create lists of your background and personal attributes (heritage, likes/dislikes, things you are proud of, Sketchbook assignment 1) and goals for the future (careers, family, living place, vacations, pets, kids, etc, Sketchbook assignment 2) in your sketchbook and write down types of imagery that could communicate these concepts.

2. Find imagery via magazines, newspapers, or computer printouts and collage onto paper, followed by pasting a coversheet on top to enhance the silhouette shape. *Please note that the original lesson plan class for visual imagery that describes the current thoughts of students, but I am looking to push students into finding images that represent their future goals as well as their background.

3. Write reflection on finding imagery that fit their desires in sketchbook. (Sketchbook assignment 3.)

Students will learn to consider how they incorporate images of the world into their own self-identity. They will also see how people with their future goals are portrayed and potentially find similarities and differences between themselves currently and those images. This art project facilitates this exploration though culture, forming self, juxtaposition, recontextualization, layering, representin’, deconstructing culture

Lesson 2: Me In A Masterpiece
Inspiration: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-532280/Hollywood-canvas-Worlds-famous-paintings-given-celebrity-faces.html
Regender Translator: http://regender.com/index.html
1. Research art historical pieces (portraits) and find digital images of people you respect and hope to be like in the future, create a list of at least 5 potential options that include all relevant art historical information (Artist, Title, Date, Media, Size, etc.). (Sketchbook assignment 1.)

2. After a quick discussion with me, do a rough sketch of yourself in the place of person illustrated. A short accompanying essay should be written about who this person is, why they were chosen, and what qualities/accomplishments they have that you would like to emulate, and what is similar/different between the person pictured and you. (Sketchbook assignment 2.)

3. Take your self-portrait in the position of the artwork previously discussed using computer camera (can use iSight on Macs)

4. Graft your face onto the digital image of the masterpiece using Photoshop techniques (copy/paste, masking, texturizing, opacity changes).

5. Make a 5” x 7” print of your hybrid digital image (to be used in Lesson 3).

6. Write a reflection on your work, making sure to include how your new image looks different than the original, your favorite part of this lesson, and what you would change if you could do the whole thing over again. (Sketchbook assignment 3.)

Students will learn historical research along with digital manipulation techniques through applying concepts of culture, subjectivity, context, allegory, forming self, appropriation, recontectualization and layering.

Lesson 3: Nicho/Shadowbox Shrine
Inspiration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrine
http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/etext/llilas/outreach/fulbright06/williams.pdf
Discuss shrines, their purposes in different cultures, ask what people in students’ families do to remember important people and events (monuments, certain festivals, imagery that goes with it).


1. Consider what will have to happen in your life to reach the goals discussed in Lessons 1 and 2. Write out steps in sketchbook. Think of a form that best represents the goals you are trying to reach or, alternatively, a form that best compliments your image from Lesson 2. Sketch out ideas on how to create this 3D form and create small models using newsprint. (Sketchbook assignment 1.)

2. Create basic shrine/nicho shape using thick cardstock or other sturdy materials.

3. Sketch out an environment for your Lesson 2 image to live in that is represented within the shrine. One idea (using symbolism) is to make the front frame represent where you are now, and the sides/back represent your background and heritage. The inside could also represent what needs to happen for you to reach your goals (i.e. graduation, finding a job, living in a particular city, etc.) (Sketchbook assignment 2.)

4. Using paints, drawing materials, paper tiles, baubles, etc., create your nicho, and place your image from Lesson 2 in the place of honor--an homage to your future self!

5. Write a reflection on your final piece including remarks on the choices you made (why and where you created specific things), your favorite parts of your work, and what you would do differently if you could start again. (Sketchbook assignment 3.)

Students will learn about how cultures (including their own) memorialize significant achievements and use this imagery to convey their own significant goals. This project is the culmination of the entire unit and utilizes concepts developed in previous lessons: culture, intertextuality, subjectivity, autobiography, context, allegory, forming self, encountering differences, empowered experiencing/making, deconstructing culture, appropriation, juxtaposition, recontextualization, layering, and representin’.

More details will come with the rest of Part II but I wanted to show what I was thinking of creating as lessons in this first post.

Blog 4: Contemporary Art Concepts

Meshes of the Afternoon

The following are a few concepts I saw in Maya Deren's experimental film, Meshes of the Afternoon. Keep in mind that these are my connections, and they might not represent the artist's original intent.

Code-switching from body to object (0:39) The fragility of the flower, shaken and roughly carried, is similar to our main character. She is beautiful, but her life seems to be ruled by abusive powers out of her control. 

Double-coding such as the key/knife (10:00) Destruction (as signified by a knife) can potentially offer the same outcome (freedom) as a key. *This can also be seen as a juxtaposition, a Postmodern Principle recognized by Gude.*

Reversals in the relation of subject to object (6:29) Deren's character watches herself try, and fail, to catch a cloaked figure with a mirrored face multiple times. She becomes an object in her own narrative. This repetition of Deren's character watching herself perfect representation of a visual palimpsest. *The Postmodern Principle of "Gazing" can be applied here.*

Subversion of normalcy (9:06) Three physical  manifestations of the same character are not as surprising as the reappearance of a key. 

Hypersignification of domestic objects, e.g., with extreme close-ups, slow zooms, camera angles, & space constriction (2:00) A purposeful pause before the protagonist ascends the stairs acts as an acknowledgement of a nearby unhooked telephone. The telephone reappears many times throughout the piece, culminating in the male figure's replacement of the handset back on the receiver. 

Harlem Rose

Willie Cole, Harlem Rose, 2005

This piece (now on display at the Palmer Museum) was created by Willie Cole, a contemporary artist currently working out of Newark, NJ. I'd like to discuss its relationship with many of the issues stated in our readings. 

In Museum Culture and the Inequities of Display and Representation (2007), author Alice Wexler provides a damning description of museums and their exhibition selections. After working as a graduate assistant at the Palmer for 6 months, I must say that some of these claims are not universal truisms. In fact, I was disappointed to see that the role of museum educators (and their work) was not discussed. Museum education seems to be the perfect place to start changing the attitudes Wexler describes. 

For example, many docents have told me that Harlem Rose is a favorite of children visitors,  a prominently placed sculpture by a black artist. Dana, the Curator of Education at the Palmer, uses it to bring up many contemporary concepts. In one tour, she described titular "Rose" as referring to both the shape of the piece (a flower) and the verb "to rise." This takes on many different meanings when juxtaposed against the female working-class shoes that make up the sculpture. Could the artist be honoring the females in his community that worked to raise their families? What implications does this have for the type of beauty "grown" in Harlem? 

Attentive Learning (a Principle of Possibility) can be achieved through questions that museum educators (or other art educators facilitating a museum trip) ask in order to foster connections between visitors and contemporary themes. Here are a few prompts that I would ask in response to viewing Harlem Rose. 

Detail: Willie Cole, Harlem Rose, 2005

Investigating Community Themes (Principles of Possibility): Why do you think the artist mentions Harlem in the title? What type of community values are being portrayed through the use of female shoes?

Appropriation (Postmodern Principles): Why do you think shoes were chosen to create this piece? What do shoes symbolize?

Representin' (Postmodern Principles): What connections can you make between the artist's background (growing up in New York City) and the themes discussed?

I hope that by respecting each museum visitor's agency and abilities to make connections, museum educators can help right some of the historical wrongs mentioned by Wexler. To my classmates: what experiences have you had in museums? Where there any times you felt particularly welcome (or unwelcome) and do you have any suggestions for inclusive future tour planning?