This book is for artists, teachers, and those who prepare teachers. In the field of art and design education there are many theoretical strands that contribute to the practices of teaching and learning in the visual arts. The problem for artist teachers and those who prepare teaching artists is how to frame the diverse methodologies of art and art education in a way that affords divergent practices as well as deep understanding of issues and trends in the field. Teachers need a field guide that provides a contextual background of theory in order to make their own teaching practice relevant to contemporary art practices and important ideas within the field of education. The book, in its content and presentation of content is pedagogical; it provides a catalyst and prompt for meaningful and personal artistic inquiry and exploration.

The book describes connections between teaching and artistic practices including the pedagogical turn in contemporary art. As a book for artists and designers, it is graphically compelling and visually inspiring. It is designed to be engaging for the practitioner and theoretically robust. A problem with many current texts is that they are written by academics who are often a step removed from the issues of classroom instruction and tend use the language of the scholar, which is appropriate for a scholarly journal, but can be difficult for other audiences. This book will bridge this divide through its use of design, narrative, and descriptions of innovative artistic practices. Rather than being a book about “best practice” it is a book about “diverse practices” within art making and teaching.

This field guide to artistic approaches, including methods for teaching art, frames its arguments around critical questions that artists and art teachers must address such as: What is the role of art and design in secondary education? What will I teach? How do we go about teaching art? How do I know if my teaching is working? What is the role of traditional mediums and methods within contemporary art practices? How can art teachers contribute to the reinvention of schools? How might fluency within a medium be connected to important issues within culture, including the culture of adolescents? This book includes examples of approaches that might provoke or inspire artist and pedagogical inquiry. These are approaches that actively engage students in work that disrupts taken for granted conventions about schooling and its purposes. It considers how art and design might transform the school experience for adolescents.

PUBLISHER WEBSITE:
​https://www.intellectbooks.com/reimagining-the-art-classroom

"The basic question stimulating these works was if terms like ridiculousness and awkwardness could become part of sculpture. Could they possibly gain sculptural character or sculptural qualities? [These are] aspects that we normally shut out of our existence. We are all ridiculous and awkward, but we do not want to admit it." 
- E.W. 


My students and I studied Wurm's work—and the ways he treats awkwardness as a sculptural material. 

​I invited my students to create their own one-minute sculptures. 

These students were featured in the book "Wicked Arts Assignments: Practising Creativity in Contemporary Arts Education" published by Valiz (Amsterdam, NL).  


>> Create your own submission and upload it here!

>> Venice Bienalle - Austrian Pavilion 2017

>> New York Times magazine, Erwin Wurm

>> TATE summary of "One Minute Sculptures"

>> Artsy coverage of the 2017 Biennalle

STUDENT WORK

LEWIS BLALOCK

Watch this video of Robert Adams talking about his work >> Art21, Robert Adams in "Ecology"

KENYATTA A. C. HINKLE

DAWOUD BEY

>> More about "CNN Concatenated" on Art21

The "Creation Museum" has positioned itself as a natural history museum, but it presents a history that is rooted in a literal translation of the Biblical creation story. The exhibits claim the Earth was formed in six 24-hour periods, that the Earth is only 6,000 years old, and that Dinosaurs and mankind once co-existed, among many other anti-scientific and unsubstantiated claims. When confronted with scientific evidences that discredit the exhibitions, a common rebuttal in the museum is to pose the question, "Were you there?"

The Creation Museum website
Bill Nye vs. Ken Ham Evolution Debate at the Creation Museum - NPR
"We Don't Have to Be Afraid Of The Real Evidence" - The Guardian
Creation Museum Photo Essay - Topic

No cameras are allowed in the Museum of Jurassic Technology. 

Further reading:
​"Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology" by Lawrence Weschler
​"... a true hodgepodge of natural history artifacts..."   Smithsonian Magazine
​David Wilson, creator of the Museum of Jurassic Technology (via Hammer)

<<  For a massive list of texts + resources compiled by my Art Ed 339 students and I, click "Read More"  >>

Mark Bradford, On Paper (Art21)
(Paradox — Art21)

>> Click here to read more about the project on the official Dear Data website.

W.E.B. DuBois was a sociologist, researcher, and co-founder of the NAACP. He was also an artist and designer. He collected data from Black communities in the United States around the Turn of the Century. The data visualizations he created helped to illustrate the gaping racial wounds in our country in the wake of slavery (wounds that still haven't healed, over a hundred years later). He used data to hold society accountable, and he used data as a form of protest. He believed accurate data could lead us toward a more just, inclusive world. His work is incredibly important, on a variety of levels. 

>> Here is an excellent mini biography about his life.

>> Here is a great lecture from designer and scholar Silas Munro. I highly recommend this*

Florence Nightingale was a nurse, but she was also a mathematician, researcher, and infographic artist.

>> This article has some more information about her.

>> This key should help decode the graphs below.

• Red – deaths caused by wounds,
• Black – deaths from other causes, and
• Blue – deaths caused by diseases.

Felton makes elaborate annual reports about his personal life at the end of each year. They are meticulous and beautiful. Check them out on his website, here. This webpage has some information as well.

N A T H A L I E   M I E B A CH

The Nerdy Charm of Artisanal, Hand-Drawn Infographics, via Wired magazine.

​Emma Kunz was a Swiss healer and artist. She published three books and produced many drawings. Kunz was born to a family of weavers in 1892 in Switzerland. She was not a trained artist; she is characterized as an outsider artist.

>> This article is great. "Why everyone is rediscovering the Spiritual Illustrations of Emma Kunz."