ART JOURNAL 7
03/09/2020
How can art be good for/contribute to our society?
What events/moments/experiences change or refine my past perspective to look at things
Do I make a connection between my personal historical events or experiences with the story I want to tell?
How can I utilize art to represent my change or revision?
How does the metaphor represent my change or revision from that past perspective?
How does this experience may influence my path of be/coming an artist and educator?
I’m a white male…
As I’ve grown older, I have developed a sense of time, perspective, and how the events of the past have shaped the current landscape we live within. Culturally, economically, and socially. In class we have discussed social justice issues, and how to address them in the classroom. We have also discussed how to make the classroom more inclusive to students of mixed cultural backgrounds, social status, and learning types.
From my personal background as a child and young art student, I had a good amount of diversity, in my classrooms, as well as in my friend circle and family. However, although the general ethnicities and races of people in my life were well mixed, we all shared a similar socio-economic background. By this I mean, that during this time in my youth, our families all shared similar lifestyles. However as I got older, we all began to experience the effects of the conventions that influence the adult world.
Judgment, fear, self-preservation… The way that these components of life have played out in the past, often leave scars on society that are difficult to navigate in the present.
Fortunately I grew up playing sports, as well as making art, in which many of my heroes and role models were of other races, ethnicities, and socio-economic backgrounds. Ken Griffey Jr. Alex Rodriguez, Andrew McCutchen, and Carlos Gonzalez were my heroes, and I looked at them as people I wanted to emulate, and hoped they would like me if we ever met. Growing up like this, race relations was something that did not cross my mind often.
However, as I entered High School I truly saw a difference between students that were involved in sports/groups and how they interacted with each other, compared to students that were not involved in group activities (like sports) or clubs. Where all of us athletes, felt a strong bond with each other (despite race/background) I often overheard isolated students of different races express their discontent with other people and society often.
To me this reflection highlighted the importance of collaboration, not only in the education system, but across professions and in life in general. People need to feel a part of a group, with a shared goal that they can work towards. This fosters respect, friendship, and admiration across all peoples and backgrounds. Lindsey England, strongly expressed the importance of connecting our art lessons to the standards, and shared that collaboration is a standard that comes up often.
Lindsey also stated that, “The art room is a community of makers.” I strongly echo this sentiment, and feel art can contribute immensely to society. Having students contribute to community art projects not only empowers them through contributing to a group effort, but gives them a platform and the means for their voice to be heard. Art is visual communication, and like our readings addressed, visual communication is universally understood. It is un-inhibited by linguistic barriers and is very good at conveying emotions and personal narratives/experiences.
For this Journal entry I went to the African Sculpture Garden at Centerra, to complete my art activity component. I used this as an opportunity to experience community artworks in my area, and to learn more about the African Artist’s and the cultures they represented through their sculptures. The visual art medium I utilized was photography, and practiced manipulating the lighting and contrast of the photos I took in GIMP to better prepare for our upcoming lesson.
In class, Lindsey addressed how she targets an underrepresented culture at the beginning of each semester, and makes them the focus of her multi-faceted art lessons. She specifically addressed African and African-American artists in her lecture, and I felt this would be a great tie in, to what I learned at the African Art Exhibit at the Gregory Allicar Museum and through Lindsey’s classroom activities.
What I learned from the Chapungu Sculpture Garden at Centerra, was just how incredibly vast the world community of art is, and that we live in a time where these wonderful works from across the globe can be found in our close proximity. There was a great quote carved in stone at one of the entry points to the Garden, it stated, “For this is sculpture of world quality and interest – deeply human, spirited in every sense, and superbly skilled.” – Michael Shepherd, Sunday Telegraph, London 1981
The Chapungu Sculpture Garden spans 26 acres and features over 80 stone sculptures. The section from which I took my photos, was “The Family” exhibit, and its goal was to highlight the traditional African perspective of family. There were 8 universal themes including nature and the environment, village life, the role of women, the elders, the spirit world, customs and legend, the family and the children.
The sculptures are handmade of stone from Zimbabwe and are direct, powerful, and deeply expressive. “It is hoped that this exhibition will remind viewers of the depth and wisdom of many traditional African cultures and emphasize the validity and expressive power of these great African stone sculptors.”
Emphasizing the importance of giving voice to marginalized groups in our society is a change and revelation I have had since becoming an Art Education student at CSU. Taking in the beauty of the artworks at the sculpture garden, and how this beautiful nature reserve was created to house these artworks is a tremendous leap for our community; environmentally, socially, culturally, and artistically. It made me proud of how harmoniously art can interact with our infrastructure and improve it aesthetically and recreationally. I plan to incorporate more lessons into my practice moving forward that not only provide a means for my student’s unique stories to be told, but give them a shared common goal of creating a public artwork. This could be a sculpture or mural, and emphasis will be placed on collaboration and the art standards to improve the personal relevance, and validity of their projects. My ultimate hope is that all students in my class experience how much of a positive impact they can have in their local community through interaction with the art.
What events/moments/experiences change or refine my past perspective to look at things
Do I make a connection between my personal historical events or experiences with the story I want to tell?
How can I utilize art to represent my change or revision?
How does the metaphor represent my change or revision from that past perspective?
How does this experience may influence my path of be/coming an artist and educator?
I’m a white male…
As I’ve grown older, I have developed a sense of time, perspective, and how the events of the past have shaped the current landscape we live within. Culturally, economically, and socially. In class we have discussed social justice issues, and how to address them in the classroom. We have also discussed how to make the classroom more inclusive to students of mixed cultural backgrounds, social status, and learning types.
From my personal background as a child and young art student, I had a good amount of diversity, in my classrooms, as well as in my friend circle and family. However, although the general ethnicities and races of people in my life were well mixed, we all shared a similar socio-economic background. By this I mean, that during this time in my youth, our families all shared similar lifestyles. However as I got older, we all began to experience the effects of the conventions that influence the adult world.
Judgment, fear, self-preservation… The way that these components of life have played out in the past, often leave scars on society that are difficult to navigate in the present.
Fortunately I grew up playing sports, as well as making art, in which many of my heroes and role models were of other races, ethnicities, and socio-economic backgrounds. Ken Griffey Jr. Alex Rodriguez, Andrew McCutchen, and Carlos Gonzalez were my heroes, and I looked at them as people I wanted to emulate, and hoped they would like me if we ever met. Growing up like this, race relations was something that did not cross my mind often.
However, as I entered High School I truly saw a difference between students that were involved in sports/groups and how they interacted with each other, compared to students that were not involved in group activities (like sports) or clubs. Where all of us athletes, felt a strong bond with each other (despite race/background) I often overheard isolated students of different races express their discontent with other people and society often.
To me this reflection highlighted the importance of collaboration, not only in the education system, but across professions and in life in general. People need to feel a part of a group, with a shared goal that they can work towards. This fosters respect, friendship, and admiration across all peoples and backgrounds. Lindsey England, strongly expressed the importance of connecting our art lessons to the standards, and shared that collaboration is a standard that comes up often.
Lindsey also stated that, “The art room is a community of makers.” I strongly echo this sentiment, and feel art can contribute immensely to society. Having students contribute to community art projects not only empowers them through contributing to a group effort, but gives them a platform and the means for their voice to be heard. Art is visual communication, and like our readings addressed, visual communication is universally understood. It is un-inhibited by linguistic barriers and is very good at conveying emotions and personal narratives/experiences.
For this Journal entry I went to the African Sculpture Garden at Centerra, to complete my art activity component. I used this as an opportunity to experience community artworks in my area, and to learn more about the African Artist’s and the cultures they represented through their sculptures. The visual art medium I utilized was photography, and practiced manipulating the lighting and contrast of the photos I took in GIMP to better prepare for our upcoming lesson.
In class, Lindsey addressed how she targets an underrepresented culture at the beginning of each semester, and makes them the focus of her multi-faceted art lessons. She specifically addressed African and African-American artists in her lecture, and I felt this would be a great tie in, to what I learned at the African Art Exhibit at the Gregory Allicar Museum and through Lindsey’s classroom activities.
What I learned from the Chapungu Sculpture Garden at Centerra, was just how incredibly vast the world community of art is, and that we live in a time where these wonderful works from across the globe can be found in our close proximity. There was a great quote carved in stone at one of the entry points to the Garden, it stated, “For this is sculpture of world quality and interest – deeply human, spirited in every sense, and superbly skilled.” – Michael Shepherd, Sunday Telegraph, London 1981
The Chapungu Sculpture Garden spans 26 acres and features over 80 stone sculptures. The section from which I took my photos, was “The Family” exhibit, and its goal was to highlight the traditional African perspective of family. There were 8 universal themes including nature and the environment, village life, the role of women, the elders, the spirit world, customs and legend, the family and the children.
The sculptures are handmade of stone from Zimbabwe and are direct, powerful, and deeply expressive. “It is hoped that this exhibition will remind viewers of the depth and wisdom of many traditional African cultures and emphasize the validity and expressive power of these great African stone sculptors.”
Emphasizing the importance of giving voice to marginalized groups in our society is a change and revelation I have had since becoming an Art Education student at CSU. Taking in the beauty of the artworks at the sculpture garden, and how this beautiful nature reserve was created to house these artworks is a tremendous leap for our community; environmentally, socially, culturally, and artistically. It made me proud of how harmoniously art can interact with our infrastructure and improve it aesthetically and recreationally. I plan to incorporate more lessons into my practice moving forward that not only provide a means for my student’s unique stories to be told, but give them a shared common goal of creating a public artwork. This could be a sculpture or mural, and emphasis will be placed on collaboration and the art standards to improve the personal relevance, and validity of their projects. My ultimate hope is that all students in my class experience how much of a positive impact they can have in their local community through interaction with the art.