Teaching Visual Culture: Curriculum, Aesthetics and the Social Life of Art

207 Pages·2003·0.92 MB·English

by  Kerry Freedman

TEACHING
VISUAL CULTURE

TEACHING
VISUAL CULTURE
Curriculum, Aesthetics
and the Social Life of Art
K F
ERRY REEDMAN
Teachers College, Columbia University National Art Education
New York and London Association
Published simultaneously by Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Avenue,
New York, NY 10027, and the National Art Education Association, 1916
Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191-1590
Copyright © 2003 by Teachers College, Columbia University
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Freedman, Kerry.
Teaching visual culture : curriculum, aesthetics, and the social life of art / Kerry
Freedman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8077-4372-0 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-8077-4371-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Art—Study and teaching. 2. Art—Philosophy. I. Title.
N84.F74 2003
707'.1—dc21 2003050406
ISBN 0-8077-4371-2 (paper)
ISBN 0-8077-4372-0 (cloth)
Printed on acid-free paper
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is dedicated to the next generation of my family:
Chris, Kara, and Jay
Caitlin, Liz, Gandy, Maggie, Rob, Kati, Anthony, and Devin

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
1. The Professional Field:
Theorizing Visual Culture in Education 1
Visual Culture, Education, and Identity 2
Theorizing the Professional Field 5
Remnants of Social Theory that Shape Social Practice:
Lessons from the History of Art Education 9
Breaking Boundaries and Teaching Concepts 13
Conclusion 19
2. Finding Meaning in Aesthetics:
The Interdependence of Form, Feeling, and Knowing 23
The Multiple Levels of Aesthetic Experience 24
Foundations of Modern Aesthetics 25
Modernist Aesthetics in Curriculum 27
Meaning and Visual Culture: Making Connections
Through Associated Knowledge 31
Aesthetics and the Construction of Meaning:
Pragmatist and Neopragmatist Views 38
Conclusion 41
3. The Social Life of Art: The Importance of
Connecting the Past with the Present 43
The Old and the New Art Histories 43
Contexts and Quality 49
Back and Forth: Juxtapositions of Time/Space 55
Conclusion 62
4. Art and Cognition: Knowing Visual Culture 63
Approaching Visual Culture: The Relationship of Form,
Feeling, and Knowing to Learning 64
vii
viii CONTENTS
Psychobiological Conceptions of Artistic Development 70
Sociological Perspectives of Artistic Development 74
Social Ways of Knowing Art: Constructivism, Socially
Shared Cognition, and Distributed Cognition 79
Situated Knowledge: Developing Conceptions and
Misconceptions about Art 83
Conclusion 85
5. lnterpreting Visual Culture:
Constructing Concepts for Curriculum 86
Interpretation, Contexts, and Extending Meanings 87
Postmodern Concepts and Visual Culture 94
Cultural and Personal Interpretations 99
Conclusion 104
6. Curriculum as Process:
Visual Culture and Democratic Education 106
Postmodern Curriculum 108
Representing Visual Culture in Curriculum Structures 111
Curriculum Connections, Cognitive Connections 118
Conclusion 127
7. Art.edu: Technological Images, Artifacts,
and Communities 128
Technology as a Part of Visual Culture 128
Student Uses of Art and Technology 134
Producing on Screen 138
Watching Art: Students as Audience 139
Television: The National Curriculum 142
Conclusion 146
8. Contributing to Visual Culture:
Student Artistic Production and Assessment 147
Assessment: From Liking to Understanding 148
Critique and Community 153
Group Cognition and Assessment in the Arts 158
Student Group Assessment 164
Conclusion 167
References 169
Index 181
About the Author 189
Acknowledgments
I WISH TO THANK THE MANY PEOPLE who have supported me in
this project. Special thanks go to Brian Ellerbeck and the other folks at
Teachers College Press who have provided guidance in the completion
of the book. My work on this project was done while on the faculty at
University of Minnesota and Northern Illinois University and I thank
both institutions for their support.
Several colleagues who have read all or parts of the manuscript have
given me helpful advice and deserve special mention: Paul Duncum,
Arthur Efland, Patricia Stuhr, Deborah Smith-Shank, and Kevin Tavin.
Thanks to Karen Schuler and Mei-Ioc Chan who helped with referenc-
ing, editing, and indexing and to the students who have enabled the idea
of this book to be realized in practice. Finally, I am most grateful to my
husband and colleague, Doug Boughton, whose inspiration and under-
standing helps to keep me aloft.
ix