Stanley Fish wrote a column for the "New York Times" entitled "Will the Humanities Save US?" Here, Fish asserted that the humanities can't save humans, and in fact they don't really "do" anything, other than give pleasure to "those who enjoy them." This sustained shrug elicited a blast of energetic and…

In this article, the author analyzes Arthur Efland's "Art and Cognition," which advocates study of the visual arts for its cognitive benefits. The author argues that Efland's cognitive premises are largely sound but that his specific recommendations often belie the general principles he espouses. Efland focuses on the interpretation of baffling…

Numerous incidents have been reported in recent years wherein a work of art is mistaken as trash. The question is, how have people reached the point in the civilized world where a purported work of art cannot be distinguished from a pile of rubbish or a grid of condensation pipes? The answer to that question lies in the basic assumption of nearly…

In this paper, the author asserts that current efforts to transform art education into visual culture studies (VCS) constitute a deeply disturbing educational trend. She asserts that, much like the now largely discredited developments in literary studies of recent decades (whose bankruptcy it apparently ignores), this movement aims quite…

Discusses the concept of quality in art from the standpoint of the theory of mediation. Traces the idea of quality from Aristotelian criticism to Gagnepain's theory of mediation. Concludes that mediation aesthetics seek inspiration and quality only from the art work, not its contemporary meaning. (CFR)

Reviews some of the basic tenets of postmodernism's approach to art education and argues for a more tolerant and ubiquitous acceptance of these views. Postmodernists believe that art education should include cultural critique as well as aesthetic experience and that popular art measures culture in ways high art cannot. (MJP)

Discusses purposes of the arts in early childhood education. Examines some of the contemporary proposals for art in early childhood programs, including discipline-based art education. Suggests a framework for selecting art activities for early childhood programs and provides examples of appropriate activities for young children. (CFR)

Argues that, far from being a dangerous and destructive break with the past, various factions of postmodernism actually parallel modernist beliefs. Both movements share groups whose creative revisionists approach seeks a constructive accommodation. Similar parallel destructive approaches also exist. (MJP)

Presents a collection of cantankerous opinions criticizing political correctness, abstract art, sympathy for AIDS sufferers, and arts advocacy. Contains a briefly coherent passage advocating serious and rigorous formal study. The rest amounts to little more than a conceptual mapping of rancorous reactions to the current state of affairs. (MJP)