Isamu Noguchi's Rendering For A Playground. I Wrote About The Educational Philosophy Behind These Artful

Hamish Fulton, Seven Paces, 2003, cast iron installation. Photograph by Hans Weingartz, CC BY-SA 2.0 DE https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/de/deed.en, via Wikimedia Commons

I wrote about how we can walk with a purpose by expressing habits of mind that we learn through art. Read "How to walk like an Artist" on my blog, Artfully Learning: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2023/01/19/how-to-walk-like-an-artist/

Josef Albers examining a folded paper construction with his students at Black Mountain College, 1946. Photograph by Genevieve Naylor.

5 years and over 200 Artfully Learning blog posts later, I finally got around to writing about Black Mountain College. "Weaving Art with Life" describes the unique art-centered pedagogy of the school that shaped the course of modern art history. Read it now on Artfully Learning: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2022/11/15/weaving-art-with-life/

Set and props from Jayson Musson: His History of Art at the Fabric Museum and Workshop, Philadelphia, PA. Photograph by Esther Welsh

I went to Philly to see "His History of Art" by Jayson Musson at the Fabric Workshop and Museum and wrote about its pedagogical use of satire to challenge art educational conventions on my blog Artfully Learning. Read about it in the post "Whose History of Art?"

Vivien Collens, Froebel’s Gifts: Blue Circuit, 2018. Courtesy of the artist.

Vivien’s "broken cube" sculptural motif is an ode to Fröbel's Gifts. The cube is a module that enables Collens to explore her aesthetic ideas in an active, hands-on manner that combines guided and spontaneous artistic processes. "Broken cube" is a key component of Collens’ "Froebels Gifts" sculpture series (2017-ongoing). The title of the collective body of work references processes and products associated with Fröbel and his active learning methodologies.

On the Artfully Learning Audio Series, Vivien and I discuss her work within the context of education, specifically the influence of Friedrich Fröbel, a eighteenth century educational reformer who is notable for developing the first modern kindergartens. Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19-uDm961e8&t=1062s

I wrote about the empowering educational theories within Ej Hill's artwork on my blog, Artfully Learning. Read the post: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2021/06/09/artfully-assessing-an-american-education/

“#Lesson #3” by EJ Hill @iheartbeuys Photo by @juliafeatherphoto More info at: https://barbarapicci.com/2022/06/03/lesson-3-by-ej-hill/

#tenderness #artinstallation #installazione #installation #installationview #exhibitionview #cultureisfreedom #artisfreedom #curiositykilledtheblogger #artblogging #photooftheday #artaddict #artistsoninstagram #amazing #artwork #instacool #instaart #followart #artlover #contemporaryart #artecontemporanea #artmuseum #artcurator #artwatchers #artcollectors #artdealer #arthistory

https://www.instagram.com/p/CeYAooho2mO/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

As an artist, educator and art historian my concerns are about symbolically visualizing and accurately documenting experiences that prompt us to consider taking steps towards bettering ourselves and our surroundings. Although art is often symbolic and abstract in its function, it can certainly (and already has) led to transformative changes that benefit humanity and ecology alike. The laborious, creative process itself is an act of perpetuation, which is a main tenet of maintenance. Prior to a work of art entering society, the artist develops an idea behind their work and must nurture that concept by fashioning it into a tangible object or experience. Once the artwork leaves their studio it takes on a new purpose. Whether it is intended for public reflection or the white walls of a gallery, the artwork also requires significant care.

Inspired by renowned social reformer Jane Addams' 1907 essay, “Utilization of Women in City Government,” I wrote a piece about the role that art can have in societal and environmental upkeep. You can read it on Artfully Learning: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2022/11/06/utilization-of-artists-in-societal-and-environmental-maintenance/

Jiro Yoshihara, Please Draw Freely, 1956. Paint and marker on wood. Installation view during the Outdoor Gutai Art Exhibition in Ashiya Park, Ashiya, 27 July – 4 August, 1956. 

Yoshihara was a leading member of the Japanese avant-garde Gutai Group of visual artists, known for their physical and oft-confrontational artworks. A lesser discussed aspect of their legacy is their contributions to art education, which truly highlight the potency and potential of communal creativity. I wrote about the latter aspect on Artfully Learning in a post called "The Gutai Group: Play, Pedagogy and Possibility." Read it here: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2022/08/03/the-gutai-group-play-pedagogy-and-possibility/

Top: 2- Stage Transfer Drawing. ( Advancing to a Future State),  Boise, Idaho. Erik to Dennis Oppenheim, 1971. Bottom: 2- Stage Transfer Drawing. ( Returning to a Past State), Boise, Idaho Dennis to Erik Oppenheim, 1971. Source: The Estate of Dennis Oppenheim

How does drawing extend beyond actual marks made on a surface? Find out in my post "Lineage Drawing," where I describe the impact of a 1970s collaboration between conceptual artist Dennis Oppenheim and his children. Read it via the URL here: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2023/01/02/lineage-drawing/

One of Paul Klee’s teaching notes on pictorial creation, reproduced from ‘Paul Klee: Life and Work,’ the authoritative Klee overview, back in print from @hatjecantzverlag⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ The many books on Paul Klee (1879-1940) published over the years should not obscure the fact that there has been no new, comprehensive Klee overview since Will Grohmann’s oft-reprinted 1954 monograph. With 'Paul Klee: Life and Work,’ the @zentrumpaulklee has set out to fill this gap, drawing on a wealth of new resources including the Klee family’s archives, much of which is published here for the first time.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Life and work are truly integrated in this massive, 344-page volume: Klee’s vast body of work is surveyed chronologically, as the book narrates his life alongside the abundant reproductions of drawings, paintings, watercolors, sculptures, puppets and numerous archival documents and photographs (nearly 500 reproductions in total).⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ The book divides Klee’s career into eight periods: “Childhood and Youth”; “Munich and the Encounter with the Avant Garde”; “World War I and the Breakthrough to Success”; “At the Bauhaus in Weimar”; “Master of Modern Art”; “The Move to Dusseldorf and the Nazi Rise to Power”; “First Years of Emigration in Bern”; and “Final Years.”⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ The result of many years of research and labor, this magisterial publication demonstrates conclusively why Klee numbers among the most influential and best-loved artists of the past 100 years.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Read more via linkinbio.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ #paulklee #klee #bauhhaus #pictorialcreation #pedagogy #teachingnotes #abstraction https://www.instagram.com/p/CNVmXWQppb_/?igshid=1a3e8wtaf3oag

Ruth Asawa | Jillian Tamaki