For this Instructional Resource, the author interviewed contemporary sculptor Michael Beitz, who uses art to explore the role of designed objects in human communication and emotional experience. This column was written in response to calls for using Enduring Understandings/Big Ideas (National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, 2013; Stewart &…

In this interview Gulnara Kasmalieva and Muratbek Djumaliev discuss how the ArtEast school provides a non-traditional and non-commercial forum for contemporary art that had not previously existed in their home country. Despite its financial and material constraints, the ArtEast School fosters a space of dynamic social engagement and its…

In this review, the author focuses on the pragmatic consideration: How do artists do artistic research? Artistic research in the context of this review is about the connections and relationships among three primary domains: (1) the arts; (2) higher education; and (3) arts education. Broadly stated, all artists do research when they do art--whether…

Art educators and administrators allowed a project to evolve based on the "street life" experiences of ordinarily invisible people. The goal was to create a space or number of spaces for celebrating the human spirit through art, music, dance, poetry, theater, and story while also providing a forum for exploring some of the social issues affecting…

Since the '60s New York style graffiti has gradually become an integral part of the urban visual landscape all over the world. The -so called- graffiti scene evolved into an alternative space where writers educate one another. Through their association with other writers, especially through their membership in informal organized groups known as…

Room M219 of Tucson's Catalina High School feels more like a hip design shop or bustling photography studio than an advanced English as a Second Language (ESL) class. Printouts of photographs lie scattered amidst rows of computers. Fingers dash across keyboards and images flash onto monitors as students review their own work. One would never guess…

The medium of artist Fred Wilson is the museum. He delves deep into museum collections to expose unexamined assumptions about power, place, privilege, and history. His installations include wall labels, educational materials, lighting, and non-traditional pairings of objects. His work is not only about the objects on display, but about how the…

Although bookmaking activities continue to multiply in all educational contexts, ways that many artists have worked with the form and concept of the book have received scant attention. An art form developed, matured, and recognized beginning in the 20th century, artists' books occupy a particular niche among bookmaking practices. In this article I…

This article argues that it is possible to look at children's texts in relation to the lens of literacy events and practices from the New Literacy Studies, and apply this perspective to an understanding of creativity. Teachers can then use the possibilities within a text to ask children different kinds of questions. Drawing on a 2-year…

This article offers an introductory framework for public art that supports an inquiry approach to instruction. "Public art," or for the purposes of this article, "artworks outside museum and gallery walls," is a large and complex subject that lends itself to a variety of categorical divisions. A basic category, for example, includes the various…

Asserts that the copying of artworks does not stunt a child's creative development; rather it can serve children, as it did many great artists, as a useful tool for the development of the technical and aesthetic skills necessary for creative expression. (SJL)

Examines the similarities and differences between the artistry of children and adult masters. Suggests that while artists have more highly developed skills, far more control of their gifts, and superior ability to experiment systematically and to choose among alternatives, much in their processes of creation is reminiscent of children. (JMF)

Claims that contemporary artists in Western society are obsessed with their careers and fail to approach art as total human beings. Cites three instances in which the latter has happened. Recognizes the experiential nature of learning in studio art and argues that artists/teachers are obligated to ground students' art experiences in praxis. (KM)

Artists can offer a great deal to schools. They can have a very positive effect on the educational climate, as long as their main strengths are called upon and their functions understood, and they do not have to live up to false promises made in their name. (Author)

Argues for the necessity of identifying and recruiting art education teachers who will empower their students. Stresses that persons of this sort will be teachers who know art not just artists who teach. Identifies systemic and personnel changes which are necessary for increased assimilation of the arts into schools. (KO)