This article explores two teaching approaches available to art education teachers: arranging curricula based on big ideas found in postmodern artists' work and practice, and/or adopting a choice-based studio model. The author considers the role that offering students choice (and fundamentally, shared power) plays in each of these approaches. As a…

A primary goal of substantive art education is to communicate visually--to decipher art for meaning and to construct meaning through images and objects. Strategies available to engage students are the interdisciplinary activities found in performance, visual and written forms of creative expression, and related disciplines such as ethnography,…

The elements and principles of art are enshrined in most art education textbooks today (Crystal Productions, 2000; Hobbs & Salome, 1995; Ragans, 2000; Wachowiak and Clements, 2000). They are presented as the essence of artmaking. If not literally engraved in stone, the big seven (elements) + seven (principles) are reified in print, achieving…

A new movement has appeared recommending, in part, that the field of art education should lessen its traditional ties to drawing, painting, and the study of masterpieces to become the study of visual culture. Visual cultural study refers to an all-encompassing category of cultural practice that includes the fine arts but also deals with the study…

Issues of critical inquiry and social and environmental change have entered art education theory and are making their way into art classrooms. Unfortunately, rather than embracing how these ideas are carried out in the community of practicing artists and how they could be made relevant to students, many art teachers artificially force these ideas…

Relationships between major art movements and art education in the schools are examined. The so-called discipline-based art education movement brings with it ideas similar to those found in the new art world. (Author/RM)

Examines how criticism of Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE) compares with the larger critique in the visual arts of high-modernism by post-modern critics. Examines DBAE's philosophical position on Classical Idealism and its back-to-basics approach. Suggests that the diversity in today's world should be represented in the classroom. (KM)

Discusses the history of modern art and the emergence of post-modernism, assessing the implications for art education. Stating that viewers must be culturally literate to comprehend post-modern art, Parks argues that discipline-based art education will better prepare students to deal with the images, issues, and ambiguity they will be confronted…

In the current post-modern period, art is considered a cultural expression of the whole mind, and its best works set standards of achievement for the whole culture. How art educators must rethink and redesign art education curricula and learning experiences to reflect this post-modern period is discussed. (RM)

Traces the history of the concern with self-taught artists and discusses various reasons for the growing interest in self-taught artists and their work. Focuses on the relationship between art education and the work of self-taught artists. Highlights concepts that students can learn by studying self-taught artists. (CMK)

In this article, the authors describe an exemplary model of postmodern art education--the collaboration of young people and elders in the creation of monumental works of public art. Through aesthetic dialogue, young people and elders from the Hispanic, African-American, and Jewish communities of Miami transformed valued traditions into artistic…

During a visit to Williamsburg Elementary School (Williamsburg, Iowa), this author was introduced to J. C. Holz, a 10-year-old boy who had already exhibited the characteristics of a prolific artist. During one of the interviews with J. C., the author encouraged him to have a solo exhibition of his work at the University of Iowa. The exhibition was…

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)

Focuses on the organization Young Aspirations/Young Artists, or YA/YA, that was founded by New Orleans (Louisiana) artist Jana Napoli after inviting high school students to her studio. Provides background information on YA/YA. States that the organization works within the framework of capitalism and gives a voice to adolescents. (CMK)

Examines postmodernist art and its impact on architecture and visual art in the United States. States that this genre of art has affected dramatically object art, such as furniture design. Contends that postmodernism can be traced through societal and personal histories. (CFR)