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Art Ed 322: Visual Culture and Educational Technologies

 

 

Graffiti, Visual Maps, and my Explorations in the two

January 23, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Power and Influence of Concept

January 18, 2015

 

 

Pre-blog brainstorming of powerful influences in my life: religion, money, images seen through visual culture, social media, relationships/family, emotions, goals

 

Images are probably one of the most powerful forms in our daily lives. One image that I had seen a couple months ago was the image of the journalist who was captured by the Isis terrorist group. This photo flooded news/media stations and visual culture here in the United States. The image represents a form of power. It speaks a language that spreads a horrific message to the United States. The positions of the figures involved and even through the setting of the image, show that it is apparent that POWER is meant to be pinpointed and expressed. Not only did this terrorist group want to spread a powerful message, they also knew that the use of an image (may that be through photo or video) would get the message across in a stronger and more instant format. This image moves me emotionally, as I am sure it moves others as well. This type of image causes me to ask so many questions: who is this prisoner's family, what could this man be thinking at this particular point in time, and simply, why? For this particular image, I believe that it does hold power over me through the use of emotion (anger, fright, confusion, etc.). The reason this image holds power over me is because I find connections; I sympathize and find myself trying to relate to certain aspects of this image (i.e. emotional appeals). I believe that both the image itself and the context of the image reflects the feeling of power. The image itself is powerful because it simply looks powerful. We see a dark and covered figure standing dominantly over another man who is kneeling and dressed as a prisoner. The image, the way that it is staged and set up, emulate power. Also, the context of the image, the history of the groups involved and the media which has been covering the story, give some form of power as well. This image could represent dominant and/or transformative power. 

 

Currently in society, money is a power in itself. It is known as a domination power because it is a very commonly used form of power. As it says in chapter 6 of Engaging Visual Culture, domination power represents holding power over something else. Today, it is often expressed that the more money someone has, the more powerful and influential that person is in society. It is also thought that money can offer more opportunities in one's life, may that be through education, employment, social status, etc. Money can also be a transformative power. Transformative power is power which comes through a group which expresses equality, support, and team effort. The greater amount of effiency that the group experiences, the stronger and more powerful the group ultimately becomes. As with money, the more supported one feels in a group setting, the more likely one is to give money. An example I can think of is giving money to a church. A well supported group tied in with the feeling of equality and stewardship, leads to a stronger desire to give.  

 

 

Tackling Technology

January 15, 2015

 

 

Technology, a growing and extremely vital phenomenon, can be a fear to some people. When it comes to teaching, especially in art education, technology is a main component to learning and teaching.  In my opinion, technology has its pros and cons. Jumping into a college course totally immersed in technology was somewhat frightening to more than a few of us enrolled in the class. I have never experienced a class, high school or beyond, which focused primarily on technology- learning from it, teaching from it, collaborating with it, and even creating art with it. I have come to realize that the apprehension that ensued  was simply because of ignorance on my part. Our world revolves around technology in many ways. We learn from it, create with it, account for our daily activities with it, create visual culture with it. Technology is an inevitable part of life, as it grows

and intensifies with each day.

 

 

Speculative Fiction (E-MERGEnt > Self)

February 10, 2015

 

In the year 2025, I will be a 30 year old art education teacher. Such a weird notion- imaginging myself as a 30 year old individual, who is in the "real" world most likely with a career, a family, a home, etc. I am sure that things in the education world will have changed in ten years, but I also do believe that things in the art education world are going to be in a different path as well. Five things that I forsee as being vital to teach in the art education world are as follows. I believe in the power of instilling confidenceand teaching students to embrace this trait. It is important to see the uniqueness in someone's identity. Teaching confidence will never change or end in the classroom. Confidence can cover a wide range of areas, including confidence in knowledge, independent research, one's unique interests, identity, etc. Confidence is key in the art education world. I believe that art education is truly the only authentic place to teach confidence to students. I believe that confidence can be taught through technology in challenging the role of teacher and student. In many aspects, anyone is a teacher when it comes to technology. Students and teachers alike can instruct and education with new advancements in technology. It is always a confidence boost to teach something new to your peers or teachers, and seeing the results of finally understanding something. Teaching and advocating for confidence is something I hope to include in my future teaching phihlosophy. Feeding off of the importance of confidence, I plan to challenge my students to innovate in all aspects of lifeA creative student is what leads us into the future of innovation. In five years, I have no doubt that creativity will blossom and the term will be even further extended for the world of art. In my future classroom, striving for a creative mindset will be one of my core values. In further investigation of my future in art education, I cannot necessarily "see" what the next five years will hold for the world of technology, but technology will be a core theme in my classroom as well. I am still trying to wrap my brain around the idea of holograms, but in five years, the innovations in that aspect will be even further advanced and fabricated. Including technology in the classroom will honestly speak for itself as the time progresses. Students enjoy the notion of exploring technology and seeing what technology means for their own lives. In five years, there will most likely be a new connection to discovering and learning through art. Student research through art can lead to new learning, adventure, and problem-solving methods. I believe that art is becoming more and more of an application based principle, as we see current trends in this type of inquiry through art. Another (somewhat obvious) core of my teaching philosophy will be technology. Technology is such a broad and enormous range, which will change and evolve in a little as one year. In my future classroom, I hope to tailor technology to each individual student's interests and choices, as I can see technology growing to accomodate a person's needs, lifestyles, and interests. My last core teaching value is the importance of social advocacy in the classroom. No matter the year, I believe that art will stand for social issues in our current society. I believe that it is truly important for students to see the importance of advocacy in social issues. It is important to recognize that art, no matter the medium, is able to advocate awareness or action surrounding a social issue that is meaningful to students. By looking at social advocacy, my students will learn the importance of community, being an advocate, and to never stop questioning/researching through art. 

 

What will my ideal future art classroom LOOK like? Let me paint a picture for you...

large windows; tall ceilings; circular formation of desks; corner of the room devoted to discussions (including comfy couches in an somewhat intimate manner to promote discussion); assembling of Mac computers (one per student), iPads (one per student), and hologram glasses (as described in the Microsoft YouTube video); a television in the classroom (able to show videos, watch various media); a back door, leading out to a park or nature walk of some form; materials for various mediums: kilns, throwing wheels, adequate drying space for various wet media projects, paints, brushes, pencils, adequate dry media available, printmaking materials (presses, water tables, light tables, dark room), and at least 3 sinks; one desk per person (arranged in a circle of the room); classes lasting at least 50 minutes each; a dry erase board the size of the wall (may be a bit adventurous, but who knows!), a critique corner of the room; wall-sized windows leading the the hallway- I would love for passing students/teachers/administration to be able to see into the art room, look at what the students are working on, and be interested in what we are learning about and creating...

 

 

 

 

Locating Self As Teacher (E-MERGEnt > Self)

February 17, 2015

 

In this Flash animation, I attempted to create a scene where my five concepts emerged and then resulted in a culminating visualization of my teaching philosophy and teaching beliefs, The rain drops, caught in your hand, respresent those five main areas of my teaching belief, including: confidence, advocacy, researching, technological developments, and creativity/innovation. I truly believe that these five concepts are very important to address in the art classroom because the application of each term is useful both in AND out of the classroom. These five concepts will never age (even in ten years). I also wanted to signify the importance of students actively "catching" the droplets of art education in the palm of their hand, with easy accessibility for their reference and understanding. In our natural enviornment, rain is a good thing, and brings about new life or growth. The growing flowers represent the growth of my future students, fertilized by these concepts of success. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Idea Generation for WebQuests

February 24, 2015

 

At this point in my WebQuest research, I do not have a large portion of information or ideas. I do that Nicole and I have similar topics and will probably be collaborating for this assignment. Nicole thought of the topic of "What is considered art?" and I had been steadily interested and focused on the idea of incorporating graffiti into the classroom. I could see our WebQuest looking at various different modes of art commonly not associated with the traditional methods taught in classrooms in the past and even today. These modes could include: graffiti, tattooing/body modification, etc. Nicole and I would still need to collaborate and come up with a larger list of art-forms to discuss, which will most likely happen during class time February 24th. In terms of an introduction, process, and task...I would love to see the students doing certain things which correlate to my teaching philosophy- researching, advocating, growing confident through their discussions and presentations. I could see the students picking a certain art form that they are excited about (but may not necessariliy be seen as art) and teaching the class on why they see this as an art form. After the skype session with Jennifer last class, we learned that the students are interested in hunting...what if a student saw methods of taxidermy as art? You never know! I think it would be pretty interesting to let the WebQuest open enough for the students to really take this theme where they wanted- what was most meaningful for them. I am still trying to discover what a WebQuest means for me and my topic. More ideas to come in the near future! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Draft of WebQuest (url)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WebQuest SORTING Activity Discussion Questions

 

 

-What is your reasoning behind your sort? Any initial thoughts or comments?

-Did each object have to have certain characteristics to be considered art? If so, what were those characteristics?

-Do you think the process of making an object can determine if it is art or not? Why?

-Did any of your opinions about art change while sorting the objects?

-Were there certain objects that were difficult to sort? Which objects were more difficult?

-Thinking about this sort, and the objects that were provided, could you see any potential artwork being created as a response to this discussion and activity?

 

 

 

 

ReMIX Exquisite Engendering Project (#4)

April 9, 2015

 

 

Below is my ReMIX Exquisite Engendering project for a fourth grade critique. This stop motion short film addresses the carefree nature, beauty, and happiness in interracial marriage in today's society (through the eyes of different varieties of apple types). To some people, the idea of interracial marriages and families tends to looked down upon and simply not understood. This short film addresses this stigma of society and questions why these types of relationships cause surprise. As noted in the first scene, conflict arises with acceptance, but as time goes on, acceptance and support becomes natural. The video may appear to be simple and cute, however the message is quite profound. 

 

Graffiti artist and educator, Golan Levin, created an adjustable pie chart stencil. With a printable template online, this style of mixing charting and data to graffiti embodies my concept of including graffiti in the classroom.  

Going into this lecture, I found it difficult to relate graffiti to mapping/data art. I saw graffiti as such a freeing and expressive art, that it seemed difficult to link this medium to a rigid and factual form. However, as you can see in the images surrounding, graffiti does in fact apply itself to data. In fact, every concept can find some benefit from numbers, data, charting, organization. Students benefit from this type of art because it literally highlights the facts. Students will find the benefit and relevance of their learning. In the Voyant piece (to the right), we can pick out main words that are very evident and recognizable in graffiti: society, property, outlet, artists. These single words influence how we think about graffiti, and in some way can give us new ways of looking at the art form. 

 

taboo art

 

 

 

CONCEPTS in art education 

Third Presentation Blog Entry

April 21, 2015

 

App Presentation, "Meetup"

 

 

1. Overview of application/software:

 

Meetup is world's largest network of local groups, making it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one that already exists. It helps people find others who share their interest or cause and form lasting, influential, local community groups that regularly meet face-to-face. Each group is run by an organizer who pays organizer membership dues. Members of groups do not have to pay dues through Meetup directly, however the organizer is able to require fees/dues in their discression. 

 

Meetup's Mission: "To revitalzie local community and help people around the world self-organize. Meetup believes that people can change their personal world, or the whole world, by organizing themselves into groups that are powerful enough to make a difference."

 

Numbers to date: 

- over 21 million members

- 196,623 meeting groups

- 181 countries

 

2. Visual culture/art education use of app: 

I think that it is important to be constantly networking and learning from others in the art education setting. Organizing groups and talking about common interests and ideas would only help to strengthen a personal stance in various issues or topics. In an organized group, such as through Meetup, groups could have thorough and thoughtful conversations that facilitate and guide learning.

 

The app may be a more useful tool for the art education TEACHER rather than the students. I would never encourage my students to go and meet up with a complete group of strangers because that could be slightly dangerous, however, I would encourage an art teacher to join an organized Meetup group that maybe supports education and the arts, or community involvement. For a brand new art teacher, who may be unfamiliar with the area that they are teaching in or the type of community in which the school thrives, Meetup could be a useful tool. Through Meetup, a teacher could organize class skype sessions with a community member from a community organization. 

 

I think the most useful characteristic of this software is about the collaborative aspect. Meetup makes it easy to find people who are interested in the same things as you (facilitated at the discression of the art teacher). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Supporting interests-driven art learning:

 

I think this app is very supportive of the interests-driven art initiative. Meetup is totally customizable, in that it allows you to use the website how you need to use it. If you are a person interested in hiking or the outdoors and you would like to join a group that shares that same interest, this software works greatly for these accomodations. In the case of the teacher's role- if you have students who are interested in photography or recycling, it would be very easy to join a group on Meetup that shares these same interests. It is very important for the art teacher to have connections, and this application supports these connections throughout the community. It is so important for the art teacher to reach the interests of his/her students and the biggest way to support this is through creating experiences for your students. These experiences could consist of guest speakers, skype sessions, or just simply finding safe places that allow for the collaboration of ideas. 

 

4. Blog entry of technologies used: 

 

TECHNOLOGIES:

1. Lino

2. VoiceThread

3. Sound Cloud

4. Tumblr

5. Wordle

6. Flash

7. Photoshop

8. Pinterest

9. 3D Printing Workshop with Tom Lauerman

10. Google Cultural Institute

 

*those I were unfamiliar with (5+) 

 

I decided to include these technologies because these were the technologies that I can remember being the most significant to this class. In particular, the green and bolded technologies are the programs/websites that I were the most unfamiliar with. In general, I think that these technologies have a huge potential for development and growth. I think that, in art education especially, we can utilize these resources with our students in developing art and knowledge about our growing world in technology. In a world that is constantly growing and expanding, our students need to have this exposure to different technologies. I am thankful that I did have this exposure through this class because I would have never truly grasped these programs' potentials on my own. As I mentioned in my very first blog entry for this class, I thought that technology can be scary in certain lights, simply because it can sometimes be unfamiliar and new. I do like change, however, I am the kind of person that needs guidance along this change. Through this class, I received this guidance and for that I am thankful. Throughout the course, I found several things slightly challenging. In the program Flash, for example, I knew NOTHING about this animation program beforehand. I was challenged by my frustrations and discouragement in the beginning stages of this technology. For the 3D printing workshop with Tom Lauerman, I found it challenging to grasp the innovative attributes of this form of art. I kept thinking, "This is so cool, but how can I feasibly form an art project around this if I am so unknowledgable about the art form?" 

 

 

 

ReMIX Exhibition Artist Statement

April 16, 2015

 

This exhibition was created for visitors to question preconceived notions about race, particularly on the topic of love, through the medium of remixed stop motion animation short films. In today’s society, interracial marriage is common yet sometimes not supported or understood. This exhibition was created to address this stigma and to question why these types of relationships still cause controversy even today in an advancing society.  Oftentimes, race is a topic that is not discussed. It is time to take a stand and to question these preconceived notions. Love is love, and love does not and should not discriminate.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibition Find Cards (2)

April 23, 2015

 

1. Find a time when people do not agree with one another. Why might they disagree? What are they disagreeing about?

 

2. Find a work of art in the videos that tells a story. What is this story, and how did you come up with this story?

 

 

 

 

My E-Portfolio pdf

http://sites.psu.edu/abbieleanneenders/wp-content/uploads/sites/27164/2015/05/Abbie-Enders-e-portfolio.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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