2014 - Volume 33 Number 2
The Reconciliation of Art and Psychology
FREEMAN, TYLER E.
Vol 33.2
The disciplines of art and experimental psychology share a number of interesting areas of overlap which are unknown and/or unconsidered by many. This purpose of this article is to elucidate topics that are of interest to both artists and psychologists in an attempt to encourage interdisciplinary collaborations. It is only on rare occasions that artists and psychologists engage in collaborative research efforts, however; here I discuss a number of topics in psychology (e.g. attention, expertise, object perception and mental representations) that would be of interest to both disciplines. The concepts that are often taught in the art studio can provide unique insight into perceptual processes that play a role in the creation and evaluation of art. However, collaborative research efforts are necessary better to understand these perceptual processes. Thus, the product of collaborative research in such areas can inform art education and psychology to mutual benefit. This article discusses topics of interest for art and psychology and poses possible research questions that can be investigated via artist–psychologist collaborations
DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-8070.2014.01714.x
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An Exploration of Children's Experiences of Art in the Classroom
HALLAM, JENNY LOUISE; HEWITT, DES and BUXTON, SARAH
Vol 33.2
Despite the numerous benefits art has for children, research suggests that there is a lull in the development of expression in children's drawings during the primary school years and that many children give up on art between the ages of 10 and 12. Research investigating this phenomenon has taken an educational focus and aimed to identify potential shortcomings in the primary education system which could impact negatively on children's artistic development and interest in art. This article builds on previous educational research by exploring children's perceptions of the art education they receive. In this small exploratory study semi-structured interviews were conducted with six children in each of the Key Stages of English compulsory education: Key Stage 1 (5–6 year olds); Key Stage 2 (7–8 year olds); Key Stage 3 (11–12 year olds) and Key Stage 4 (14–15 year olds). A qualitative thematic analysis is used to explore children's experiences of art in the classroom, the kinds of support they receive in art lessons and how art lessons can be improved. It is hoped that the exploration of children's experiences of art in the classroom will enable movement towards an engaging and relevant approach to art education.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-8070.2014.12022.x
Development of Art Appreciation in 11–14 year-old Students (pages 208–222)
DUH, MATJAZ; ZUPANCIC,TOMAZ and ČAGRAN,BRANKA
Vol 33.2
Despite the numerous benefits art has for children, research suggests that there is a lull in the development of expression in children's drawings during the primary school years and that many children give up on art between the ages of 10 and 12. Research investigating this phenomenon has taken an educational focus and aimed to identify potential shortcomings in the primary education system which could impact negatively on children's artistic development and interest in art. This article builds on previous educational research by exploring children's perceptions of the art education they receive. In this small exploratory study semi-structured interviews were conducted with six children in each of the Key Stages of English compulsory education: Key Stage 1 (5–6 year olds); Key Stage 2 (7–8 year olds); Key Stage 3 (11–12 year olds) and Key Stage 4 (14–15 year olds). A qualitative thematic analysis is used to explore children's experiences of art in the classroom, the kinds of support they receive in art lessons and how art lessons can be improved. It is hoped that the exploration of children's experiences of art in the classroom will enable movement towards an engaging and relevant approach to art education.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-8070.2014.01768.x
Korean Artists in Transcultural Spaces: Constructing New National Identities(pages 223–234)
PARK, JEONG-AE
Vol 33.2
This article reports research on New York-based Korean artists' dynamic processes of identity-shaping and the implications that these processes have for art education. The study uses postcolonial theories that illuminate the dialectical process of hybrid cultural production in the global dimension. The artists' identities narrated elucidate the recognition of difference with others; this identification emerges as the artists simultaneously escape from and discover their Korean identities. The artists' childhood experiences and memories work as reflective thinking in their different context, and because of their search for an individual identity, Korean culture is an important factor in their art making. When their identity formation and practice are in constant negotiation with difference, this results in learning and translating from others. They assume an ‘open universalism’ necessary to communicate at an international level, and as a consequence these artists' identity formation always involves the process of a doubling and dividing of reflections of existing Korean identities as well as the building of new ones. In this dualistic state, the artists' multiple identities remain heterogeneous, composed of contradictory factors that are revealed in the artists' hybrid artworks.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-8070.2014.01775.x
Fishing in Puddles: Place and Space in Performance Research (pages 235–241)
PIASECKA, SHELLEY
Vol 33.2
This article examines the significance of place and space from a Performance Studies and Social Studies perspective. In terms of the social sciences, I draw upon the formal, symbolic and marginal articulation of place. Hetherington suggests that certain places act as focal point for the establishment of social identities, citing city-centre landmarks and shopping malls. Similarly, children attach all kinds of values to the formal spaces they occupy. As one example of this point, I examine the child's relationship to the school hall. From the perspective of performance, I examine a project under taken at a junior school in Stoke-on-Trent, inspired by the site work of Wrights & Sites. As a critical lens, I adopt Boal's understanding of the oneiric dimension. The oneiric dimension is particularly relevant in performance work as these are the moments when we (as performers and spectators) are pulled into the action. In these instances, the physical space simply disappears, imagination replaces actuality and the desire to believe outweighs the reality of the present.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-8070.2014.01771.x
A New Vision for Public Art and Functional Landscape Design (pages 242–257)
SONG,YOUNG IMM KANG
Vol 33.2
This article explores how Johanson's ecological public art and landscape design addresses current social issues and community necessities. It also examines how her designs may serve as a communication tool for the surrounding society, and how her public art may provide new perspectives for community members, scientists, artists, engineers, architects and government officials in shaping the future of their communities. The purpose of this study was to inspire art and design students in thinking about their future projects. This phenomenological case study highlights Johanson's works as a model for these students. Furthermore, it discusses some educational implications as seen among university students who first studied Johanson's works and then designed their own public art projects.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-8070.2014.12003.x
Art School Building: the Old/New Chelsea (pages 258–271)
HOWARTH, LUCY
Vol 33.2
In the wake of the recent demolition of the 1965 Chelsea School of Art building on Manresa Road in London, this article seeks to explore the relationship between art school architecture and art school pedagogy. Research on art school buildings, both national and international, and British art school education of the 1960s, is brought to bear, on the former ‘New School of Art in Chelsea’ building. In addition to an account of how this building came about, drawn from archival records and interviews with architects and former Chelsea students and staff, the correlation of utopianist values in post-war British society, modernist architecture and higher education in art is examined. The reports of the National Advisory Council on Art Education (NACAE), which, in the 1960s, ushered in fundamental changes to British art education, are touched upon, and an account of the building design developed between art educationalists (including Chelsea Principal Lawrence Gowing and Chairman of the NACAE William Coldstream) and architects of the London County Council, is given. Photographs of the building, in the 1960s and during its demolition in 2010, are included. In addition to a historical account and case-study, and despite the difficulties inherent, art school building is approached as an imaginative and socio-political gesture, as a utopian act; ‘art school building’ in both senses (‘building’ as a verb and as a noun).
DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-8070.2014.01767.x
Perceptual Literacy and the Construction of Significant Meanings within Art Education (pages 272–285)
CERKEZ,BEATRIZ TOMSIC
Vol 33.2
In order to verify how important the ability to process visual images and sounds in a holistic way can be, we developed an experiment based on the production and reception of an art work that was conceived as a multi-sensorial experience and implied a complex understanding of visual and auditory information. We departed from the idea that to foster processes that encourage constructions of significant meanings it is necessary to abandon vision/audio-centric notions of objecthood and offer a general definition of the perceptual object.
The test was realised between the participants after modifying the performance conditions: some could not see the visuals, some could not hear the sound and others could appreciate the performance as a whole. Considering the results, we could infer that only the possibility to ‘read’ the performance as a whole encouraged construction of significant meanings. It would be possible to upgrade the approach, turning visual literacy into perceptual literacy, to contextualise artistic production that stimulates hybrid sensitive experiences. The education of critical perceivers should also enable transformations in responses to different stimuli. This is important if we consider the individuality of each student, his or her needs, affinities, cultural background, gender and so on.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1476-8070.2014.01770.x
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