Animation II: The Brothers
Dimensions: 7 x 5 inches
Animation II: The BrothersDimensions: 7 x 5 inches |
Creating the Urban Village: Teaching Pre-Service Teachers about Sustainable Design in Architecture and Community Planning10/01/2010Sustainable design is a philosophy adopted by people concerned with the health of society and the natural environment. The practice of sustainable design works toward the improvement of the quality of the built environment, while reducing or eradicating the negative impact on the natural environment (McLennan 2004). It is a philosophical approach that may be used in designing any type of built structure, to include architecture, public art, products and community planning. This article will describe concepts that may be addressed in art education about sustainable design to develop an environmental awareness through artistic activities. An approach to teaching sustainable design is explained with an example of a multi-faceted project taught in a pre-service secondary methods course of prospective art teachers. |
Design Education Supports Social Responsibility and the Economy11/20/2010Although goals change and reflect the issues of the time, two primary goals of education in a democracy have remained constant over time. The first goal is to educate for vocational competence and the second is to produce caring, intelligent, and wise citizens. Articulating the connection of design education concepts to the economy and social responsibility is beneficial in educating K–12 students. This article illustrates the ways in which design education fosters the skills needed in the global twenty-first century to help students make a better life for themselves and their community and improve the world. I articulate ways to incorporate design as an essential component into a comprehensive visual arts program. |
Design, Form, and Function in Art Education07/01/2007The article discusses the significance of functional design as a component of a contemporary art education. A study identified functional design as a benefit through the impact of design on all the things used in daily life. Functional design is also important as visual culture becomes more important in the art education curriculum, pedagogy and theory. Design education is defined as the study of functional objects that fall into the categories of environment, objects, communication and interactive design. |
Diluting the spirit of avant-garde art in Singapore secondary school2007Juxtaposing visuals and stories to represent and interpret data, this visual narrative inquiry uncovers the complicated sociopolitical ramifications conditioning a pedagogy and approach of issues-based avant-garde art in Singapore secondary schools. A brief historical outline of Western avant-garde art connects this genre to the Singapore local art scene and its school art. Stylistic analysis of exemplary artworks from one student art competition illustrates recent trends in students’ artistic interests. An in-situ examination of art curriculum and practice in one secondary school showcases how diluted avant-garde art practice manifested itself in this school. Discussion focuses on (a) the mismatch between avant-garde art and school art practice, (b) neglect of deeper layers of meaning in students’ artistic learning and emphasis on meeting preset exam criteria and standards, and (c) lack of support for experimental teaching methods other than demanding effective teaching results measured by students’ exam performance. |
Homage to the Living YearsDimensions: 10 x 8 inches |
How Singapore adolescent students cruise the expanding school art milieu2008Stories and visuals of Singapore secondary students reflect the ways they negotiate multiple layers of meanings as they experience artistic learning inside and outside the school setting. The photocollage-cum-photoessay representation of one miniportrait features the unique voice of an adolescent wrestling with learning conventional art skills and his schooling in advanced technology. His voice resonates with others regarding balancing personal aspirations with institutional demands and illustrates the failure of prescribed national art curricular objectives to encompass all aspects of adolescents’ artistic learning. A key finding reveals students integrating popular art outside school with their artistic creation, understanding, and appreciation of fine artworks inside the school curriculum. Their experience demonstrates a blend of reality and hyperreality in the contemporary image-saturated world. |
How Singapore adolescent students transform their secondary school art experience12/2009Singapore teenagers draw on improvised humor, erudite playfulness, and enculturated mindfulness to transform school art into a potential dialogic space to construct meanings, develop autonomy, and enhance learning. Digital animations created in school become a way to integrate private concerns and personal interests, translate public and social agendas, resolve complex technical and formal problems, and discharge transgressive fantasy as age-appropriate curiosity. Based on the juxtaposition of students’ stories and visuals, research findings also illustrate hidden aspects of adolescents’ artistic schooling and demonstrate how advanced technology art offers them opportunity to negotiate existential angst and lived experiences. |