LTC 8730 Day 2: Read & React

6/4/14

Assignment:

Read:
           “Art Education Aims in the Age of New Media: Moving toward global civil society” by Elizabeth Delacruz

            Read assigned chapter in Matter Matters text - Chapter 11: Moving from Mimetic Studio Art Practices to Student Critical Study of Material Culture

             *Choose a material object and bring 2 images of the object to class: one image of the object and another that utilizes the object in an art form.

Read & ReAct:

Delacruz outlines in her article the changing use of technology and its place in our expanding global society. She promotes technology use not as a substitute for current practices, but as a way to transform teaching. Delacruz outlines teachers' frequent complaints and obstacles to tech integration such as obsolete equipment, lack of access, and incompatible devices. She also cites teachers' complaints of not enough time and compensation as well as a lack of proper training. Delacruz also goes on to say that technological pedagogy should not be about teaching the technology, per se, but rather about teaching cultural caring and preparing global citizens. She states "pursuing civic and egalitarian aims of art education in the 21st century includes a) understanding new media and capitalizing on the networking and creative capabilities of the Internet; b) educating learners as global citizens; c) increased attention to the importance of compassionate teachers; and d) conceptualizing this work as eclectic and incomplete." (Delacruz, 15) Students of the 21st century are increasingly  knowledgeable about how to use technology and therefore allows art teachers to focus on media literacy and its integration into new media. Art education can focus on the creative aspects of cultural production and cultural participation. Delacruz posits that technology will aid in the transformation from "individualized, student-centered instructional approaches" to embrace "personally meaningful socially relevant learning experiences in the art room." (16) 

Chapter 11 of Matter Matters discusses a teacher's attempt to transform a cultural lesson on Mimbres pottery from one of mimicry (or a copy) to a critical dialogue about the work.  It is written from an observer's point of view as the teacher attempts to transform her teaching. It describes the teacher's attempt to engage students with interactions with the artifact in a museum setting as well as a special session where the pottery is brought out from the case to be more closely inspected. Students were allowed to touch and handle the works carefully as well as examine replicas. Although not entirely satisfied with the transformation, the teacher was portrayed as determined to make it better in the future. The author seems displeased with the lack of investigation into authentic cultural sources, while also recognizing there is little record of this now extinct culture. The trust given over to museum sources is disregarded as poor practice.

Material Object:

I was truly fascinated with the question of what defines our material culture after our conversation about art today.  Is it just a matter of selecting an object and then looking for someone that has done something creative with it? Or is it something that has a certain je ne said quoi that elevates it to art? So I was thinking of the quote by the Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart in regards not to the subject on trial, but rather in regards to art. "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it..."

I became obsessed with this idea of material culture in light of our conversation about what defines art. I was looking at art for hours, pinning as I went after starting a Material Culture board on Pinterest. I had to define more so what exactly Material Culture is and found a great resource on PBS. Not where you might expect, but on Antiques Roadshow! It has a great section for educators on material culture. After my above readings and exploring sources for material culture, I debated endlessly about what I wanted my object to be. After many pins and many internal debates, I finally landed on CANDY.

My art piece is by the artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres. "Untitled" (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), 1991. Candies individually wrapped in multicolored cellophane, endless supply. Overall dimensions vary with installation, ideal weight: 175 lb. The Art Institute of Chicago. I love this piece because it is interactive. You are allowed to take a piece of candy from the sculpture.  As the sculpture is depleted, it is to be replenished. Although at first a fun, almost whimsical sculpture, the meaning is more metaphorical, meaningful... and dark.

I've included a description of the piece as written by the Brooklyn Museum of Art:
 "In this “portrait” of his deceased partner, Ross Laycock, González-Torres created a spill of candies that approximated Ross’s weight (175 lbs.) when he was healthy. Viewers are invited to take away a candy until the mound gradually disappears; it is then replenished, and the cycle of life and death continues. While González-Torres wanted the viewer/participant to partake of the sweetness of his own relationship with Ross, the candy spill also works as an act of communion. More darkly, the steadily diminishing pile of cheerfully wrapped candies shows the dissolution of the gay community, as society ignored the AIDS epidemic. In the moment that the candy dissolves in the viewer’s mouth, the participant also receives a shock of recognition at his or her complicity in Ross’s demise."