I first heard of Ken Lansing in 2002 at the annual convention of the National Art Education Association. In the Q&A of a session entitled “Educating the Museum Educator,” I suggested that not everything displayed in art museums nowadays truly qualifies as art. Following the session, I was approached by a colleague who introduced himself […]
abstract art, anti-art, definition of art, Joseph Beuys, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Manuel Barkan Memorial Award, Mira Kallio-Tavin, Morris Weitz, National Art Education Association, Paul Duncum, posthumanism, relativismThough I’ve been silent on the topic of art education in these pages for nearly two years, I’ve frequently weighed in on it elsewhere. Since those articles would no doubt be of interest to my readers here, what follows is a brief summary of their genesis and content. Owing to space limitations, “Art History Gone […]
critical race theory, Kenneth M. Lansing, National Art Education Association, National Association of Scholars, Visual InquiryHaving just read an article bearing the above title—in the March issue of SchoolArts Magazine—I am reminded of the Seinfeld “show about nothing.” For New Media Art, it turns out, includes just about everything. Which means, in effect, that it is nothing in particular, certainly nothing teachable as a discrete discipline. That has not deterred […]
3D printing, Ai Weiwei, Anthea Hamilton, installation art, Marina Abramović, Nam June Paik, New Media, Northern Arizona University School of Art, Pam Stephens, performance art, SchoolArts Magazine, video art, Yayoi KusamaWhat does a book report on the life of a nineteenth-century Hungarian obstetrician named Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865) have to do with art and art education, the subjects I’m now immersed in? Quite a lot, as it happens. Never heard of Semmelweis? Neither had I until I read a historical fiction about him entitled The Cry […]
belief perseverance, Ignaz Semmelweis, institutional theory of art, Semmelweis Reflex, The Cry and the CovenantLeafing recently through a back issue of Arts & Activities (which bills itself as “the Nation’s Leading Art Education Magazine”), I was struck by yet another instance of the foolish injection of political issues into art education.1 An article entitled “Design Thinkers” featured the following photo: The project shown had been carried out in 2016. […]
2017 Design Thinkers Conference, Arts & Activities magazine, politicization of art education, Timothy GoodmanThe founding and activities of Saudi Arabia’s MiSK Art Institute ought to be good news for art lovers. As the first institute of its kind in the formerly arch-conservative Saudi kingdom, it aims to support emerging Saudi artists and increase their interaction and visibility both within and beyond the kingdom. Operating under the auspices of […]
Ahmad Angawi, Ahmed Mater, Al-Qatt, Amr Alngmah, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Dana Awartani, Edge of Arabia, Islamic art, Misk Art Institute, Rashed Al Shashei, Saudi art, Stephen StapletonHaving just received a promotional copy of Scholastic Art magazine’s December 2017 issue, entitled American Pop Art: Working with Ideas, I’m moved to comment. But there is so much wrong with it that I scarcely know where to begin. A logical starting point, I suppose, would be the cover, featuring an Andy Warhol Campbell’s [Tomato] […]
Andy Warhol, Dutch genre painting, Edward Ruscha, elevating the everyday, fine art, high art, Nicolaes Maes, portraits, Roy Lichtenstein, Scholastic Art, self-portraitsThis week, September 10–16, is National Arts in Education Week—an annual event established by Congress in 2010 to celebrate the value of the arts in education and gain broad support for it. On what grounds could any civilized member of society object? The answer is that the value of arts education largely depends on the […]
4'33", Jeff Koons, John Cage, National Art Education Association, National Arts in Education Week, Oliver Herring, Richard Kessler, STEM to STEAMJust in time for a new school year, the September 2017 issue of Scholastic Art magazine features ten paintings that students should know, because they form part of “our collective cultural history.” Surely a worthwhile undertaking for a publication aimed at middle school and high school visual art education programs—until one examines the works selected […]
10 Paintings to Know, Arnolfini Portrait, art education, avant-garde, Basquiat, cubism, Dora Maar in an Armchair, Grace Lin, Picasso, Scholastic ArtTwo exhibitions this spring have powerfully belied the artworld pretense that all contemporary art is in an anti-traditional “cutting-edge” vein. And unlike the contemporary work that fills today’s leading museums and galleries, they offer art lovers something to rejoice in. The smaller of the two shows is Self-Portrait (April 20 – June 20)—at the Eleventh Street […]
art education, Art Renewal Center, Classical Realism, contemporary art, self-portraits
