Latest Posts by artfullearner - Page 2

Hennessy Youngman's "Art Thoughtz episode on institutional critique.

Left: Jayson Musson as “Jay” with “Ollie.” Jayson Musson, in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, His History of Art, 2022. Photo credit: Carlos Avendaño. Right: Joseph Beuys during his performance of How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare, Schelma Gallery, Dusseldorf, 26 November 1965. Photo credit: Walter Vogel.

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?"

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?"

Susan Leopold, Classroom, 2022, mixed media construction, digital print mounted on Plexiglas, electrical lighting, LED light bulb and wood, 18 x 12 x 10 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Elizabeth Harris Gallery.

Susan Leopold's series "School(s)" expresses the cultural and pedagogical zeitgeist of the past several years. You can read about her intimate sculptures of school interiors and their connection to the many facets of the educational environment in the Artfully Learning post "School(s)" ; and also listen to a conversation between Susan and I on the Artfully Learning Audio Series Episode 1: School(s).

Detail of Mike Kelley’s Educational Complex, 1995, acrylic, latex, foam core, fiberglass, wood. Source: https://mikekelleyfoundation.org/artwork/educational-complex

This might sound shocking coming from an education blogger, but I have been wondering whether compulsory education and traditional schools are leading us astray and even worse, harming our students’ well-being. My post, "Educational Complex" explores topics of unschooling and Youth Rights and uses artist Mike Kelley's Educational Complex as an example of some problems within compulsory education. Read it on Artfully Learning: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2022/08/01/educational-complex/

Hugh Hayden, Brier Patch, 2022. Installed at Madison Square Park in New York City. Photograph by Yasunori Matsui, courtesy of Madison Square Park Conservancy.

Read about Hugh Hayden's thorny and artful critique of inequity within the public education system in NYC (and by extension, the U.S.A at large) in the post "Into the weeds of public education" on Artfully Learning: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2022/05/07/into-the-weeds-of-public-education/

Ant Farm, DOLON EMB 2 (drawing by Curtis Schreier), 1975. Hand colored brownline, 18 x 22 in. Courtesy of University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.  Alt text: A colorful architectural rendering of an imaginary floating vessel.

"Although Dolphin Embassy was never realized beyond a blueprint, the enduring understandings are fascinating and serve as an educational model for future sustainable and relational architecture. With growing concerns regarding climate change and sea levels rising, there is a very real threat and high probability we will need to focus our efforts on building new habitats to address the displacement of both human and other animal species." Read more about the inter-species design of Dolphin Embassy in my latest Artfully Learning blog post "Architecture for All".

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/

Joseph Beuys - Untitled (2)

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=

Alisha B. Wormsley, There Are Black People in the Future, 2017.

Pittsburgh, Alisha B. Wormsley

Art + Math

Sol Lewitt, Geometric Shapes Within Geometric Shapes 1979 

Art + Math

Geometry of the body by Lin Yung Cheng

The lineage of many popular educational materials used in schools today can be traced through art history. In a post called "The Art of Child's Play," I wrote about several examples of modern and contemporary artists creating educational toys and learning materials. Read it on Artfully Learning: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2022/03/24/the-art-of-childs-play/

Puppets by Paul Klee named the Philistine, Matchbox Spirit, and the Crowned Poet — Source: Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern (CC BY-SA 4.0).Puppets by Paul Klee named the Old Man, the Devil with Ringed Glove, and the Monk — Source: Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern (CC BY-SA 4.0).1) 

2) Puppets by Paul Klee named the Ghost of a Scarecrow, Electrical Spook, and Mr Death — Source: Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern (CC BY-SA 4.0).

3) Puppets by Paul Klee named the Philistine, Matchbox Spirit, and the Crowned Poet — Source: Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern (CC BY-SA 4.0).

“And yet for all their fixedness, the figures’ power lies in their yet being infinitely accessible, innocent, and welcoming things; they are children who have survived their childhood, grown old, but retained something of that early state. They are representatives of some world that belongs at once to children and adults, and to some more mysterious world they share within creation. Klee wrote in his diary of 1901: “The future slumbers in human beings and needs only to be awakened. It cannot be created. That is why even a child knows about the erotic.”2″

Puppets by Paul Klee named the Big-Eared Clown, Self-Portrait (of Klee), and the White-Haired Eskimo — Source: Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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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

“Art is literacy of the heart.” -Elliot Eisner

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/

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/

Ruth Asawa | Jillian Tamaki

Making art history relevant to all generations is always a challenge, but this does the job!

Teaching Art History with an AI

Teaching Art History with an AI

And other unorthodox uses of MidJourney. /imagine: Monster Under the Bed, Maxfield Parrish This started because my son, who is 17 now, and in his senior year of highschool (hybrid homeschooled and community college courses) was very interested in the MidJourney images I was generating. I’ve said from the beginning that this felt as much like a game, as it did making art. Which appealed to him,…

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Hans Kappler. Gift 13: Paper Cutting (Kindergarten material based on the educational theories of Friedrich Froebel). c.1920 | MoMA

Winold Reiss, Elise J. McDougald, 1925. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

German painter Winold Reiss' paintings and drawings of Harlem residents included both renowned civil rights leaders and unsung social reformers like local teachers. Instead of rendering them from the lens of an outsider, he was committed to portraying and advocating their achievements and cultural prowess. One example is the portrait he made of Harlem educational reformer, Elise J. McDougald who became the first African-American woman principal in New York City public schools during the late nineteenth century.

Read more about Reiss' multicultural portraits and his unique approach to teaching art in my blog post "Winold Reiss’ Intersectional Art Education" https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2022/08/26/winold-reiss-intersectional-art-education/

Ruth Asawa teaching paper folding, ca. 1980s [© Estate of Ruth Asawa]

My latest blog post "The Beuys and the Bees," is about Joseph Beuys' socially engaged impact on art and education. Read it on Artfully Learning: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2022/11/13/the-beuys-and-the-bees/