Our discussion about art appreciation was fascinating. (I loved Lana's story about hanging her husbands Horizon painting verticle and upside down!)
What really peaked my interest was Lana's explanation of her Art class activity. She questioned whether she should have told her students what the paintings were about? I fully agree with the importance of letting children think, critique, and evaluate art work on their own. Teaching kids that their opinion matters is a valuable lesson in and of itself. However, I also believe that it is possible teach someone to appreciate something even if they don't necessarily like it. Often what starts as only an initial appreciation may later turn into a greater appreciation, like, or even a passion.
For example, my appreciation (and later love) of art was taught to me by my father. When i was 10 years old my family took the entire year of 1990 and travelled around the world. My parents applied for permission to home school my brother and I and the four of us spend 6 months in Europe, 1 week in Sinapore, 2 months in Australia, 1 month in New Zealand, and 2 weeks in Fiji. As a 10 year old I had the opportunity to wander the halls of the Louvre, Vatican Galleries, and stare at the Sistine Chapel. Pretty cool experience and i have some great memories....but in retrospect, i don't think i would have enjoyed those experiences at all unless my father (who was an art teacher) was there to explain WHY certain paintings were famous or regarding as genius.
He would point out that Da Vinci is know for aerial perspective and his ability to use color and fading to give the impression of depth, or how Rembrant was the master of light and got us to compare several different portraits to notice how well he used shading to create a life-like face, and explained the development of impressionism in the words of Monet.
I found it all extremely interesting. There were plenty of parents running all over the Louvre begging their kids to stop fighting, making noise, or whining....they always asked "how come your kids seem interested?" Initially i didn't find the paintings interesting....it was the stories behind all the paintings....who painted it? why? who commissioned it? how long did it take? what controversy took place surrounding the project? These are the stories are that make any content interesting. Is this is what teachers are supposed to do for all content....math, science, Shakespear, poetry, history.....
Nine years later when i spent 10 weeks in Europe backpacking with friends found myself planning my itinerary around which museums i wanted to see. I knew that i could see some El Greco's, Dahli's, and Picasso's if i made a stop in Museo del Prado in Madrid....i knew that Da Vinci's Last Supper has just finished being restored so i needed to make it to in Milan. I sure that i would not have done this, or enjoyed it as much as i did, if my parents had just let me wander the halls of the Louvre and make up my own mind about each paiting. It was because my father had taught me how to appreciate art at a young age....i'm sure of it!
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See, that's my problem. I am one of those people who can appreciate art because of the stories behind the pieces. I think I almost appreciate art more when there is an interesting story. Like in my house, the art gallery...there is a masive, wall sized mural, abstract of course, but beautiful (and hung the right way) and although I thought it was beautiful the first time, I had no connection to it. My husband told me that it was his parents' wedding gift from his uncle. His uncle's dog had just had puppies and the puppies got into the paint. The whole piece of art is based on the puppies. That's cool and I appreciate the painting so much more. However, interpretation goes a long way too. I like the horizon painting of my husband but personally think it looks better hanging vertically, but how do you tell the artist that?
ReplyDeleteRyan....my husband's family did exactly the same thing as yours. I'm trying to remember, but I even think it may have been the same year. They were both teachers. His mom a drama and art teacher. They went to south east asia, Australia and New Zealand as well. He was also taught the importance of appreciating art while being there...funny enough, also the appreciation for sunsets (hence the horizon picture).
After reading your comments I feel inspired to travel with my children once I have some.
ReplyDeleteBoth of your comments about art appreciation remind me of feelings I had while taking my English courses in university. When reading Romantic and Victorian literature one can make their best interpretation about the meaning, based on language use, allusions, literary techniques, etc., but hearing the professor's interpretation of the literature was always enlightening. As a student, I only had a limited schema from which to draw upon to interpret the literature. The professor had dedicated her life to reseraching literature from the Romantic and Victorian era. As a result of her sharing her interpretations with me, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the social and political commentary intended in the poetry.
When I was in my B.Ed. we had to write a paper about our teaching philosophy. At that point in my life, I felt like I had a Perenialist philosophy, meaning that I wanted to share the great works of our world with my students as they would help reveal the great truths of the world. As I got more involved in teaching, I felt like this concept of education was less acceptable than the more popular constructivist philosphies. Classics are replaced in some classrooms with pieces of literature that are supposed to make it easier for kids to connect with them. Rather than studying Shakespeare, students will analyze rap or some pop-culure television (The O.C./Dawson's Creek). I think these resources are great additions to the classics, but should not be used in place of them. Rather than changing the literature we put in front of the students, it would be more effective to change the teaching style and strategies we use to make the literature accessible.