PG: Gallery Text

Hi! Sharing some guidelines about art label text. This document is available online. The examples listed in the guidelines are artworks from the V&A museum, to explain more about what it means. Of course, not all information are relevant to our teaching context. 

After a module of sharpening our sensibility in the art museum, I would like to think that I have learnt to look at things with a more critical eye, which also means I can spend many hours in the museum. One unusual aspect (for me) when browsing some museum sites online is the presence of a note under the display caption of the artwork image: Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? We would like to hear from you. It's unusual for me because I would like to think that before an establishment published any document, it should be error-free and I suppose research has to be done first. However, the sheer volume of artworks in the museum is beyond my imagination. I spend three hours walking to different galleries in the museum and in the midst of it, I did not even take a break. Imagine my surprise when I chanced upon a phrase (inspired by the death of...) on the museum webpage which made me felt uneasy and I thought maybe changes could be made. I wrote in to Tate and voila! it was changed within a week. The problematic phrase in the original description wasn't all incorrect because it was actually quoted in a journal article, but the audience wouldn't know because most visitors will not read every painting in-depth, unless for a purpose (Moore, 2008, p. 211). Hence, what is displayed online or even on-site, has to be as direct as possible and also taking into considerations how the visitors interpret the displayed information. 

After

Before

Moore, Jane. (March 2008) 'What Sir Luke Fildes' 1887 Painting The Doctor can teach us about the practice of medicine today', British Journal of General Practice, pp. 210-213.  

PG: Wings of Desire Film

Screenshot from Wings of Desire film

This week, we analysed a film, Wings of Desire and read a chapter from The Act of Seeing by Wim Wenders on Box of Broadcast. YouTube version is here. The film is a 1987 romantic fantasy about immortal angels who populate Berlin and hears the thoughts of humans but stays invisible to them. One of the angels, Damiel, falls in love with a trapeze artist, Marion, and he decides to become mortal in order to experience the human sensory pleasures/ pain such as taking a bath, enjoying foods, seeing in colours, rubbing hands together to generate heat, broken skin and getting black fingers from reading the newspapers. 

The cinematography of this film is shot in monochrome from the angel's point of view and colour from the people's point of view. A fun fact is: the name of the French circus in the film: Alekan Circus was named in Henri Alekan's honour – the film’s cinematographer. The German- and French-speaking film has English subtitles which does interferes with the enjoyment of the film. Filming technique such as panning the camera in shots to mimic the angels’ elevation might be overdone. Juxtaposition of real video documentation (e.g. dead children) in the film suggests the desire to evoke emotions from its viewers. Angels perched on places where one normally wouldn’t sit is suggestive of their immortality. I speculate that the amount of narration supersedes direct speech in the film is due to the practical reasons for sound technicality. This black and white footage evokes nostalgia by showing records of the past, making memories in the film and using film as memory. 

Referring to Wenders' chapter on The urban landscape from the point of view of images, the parallel he draws between the development of images and of cities (p. 96) is that they both grown out of proportion, become colder, more distanced/ alienated/ alienating, more commercially oriented. It's the saturation of images in cityscapes. He likens images to addiction to drugs and cautioned overdose of them. Berlin has a lot of empty spaces due to the aftermath of war and nothing much to see. Visitors can see through the space like how they see through time, just like in a movie. The eyes and the mind are allowed to wander. He is convinced that film should have gaps between imagery to allow us to see anything else other than what the film wants to show us. Thus, the storytelling exists and comes to life in the mind of the viewer or listener (p.99). 

It makes me think about how people described themselves as storytellers or sharing the origins of businesses' stories. It appears that these people do that to not let images or noise drown in the flood of the others and to not let them become victims of the ongoing competitiveness and the overwhelming spirit of commercialisation by telling a story. 

References

Attie, Shimon, ‘The Writing on the Wall, Berlin, 1992-93: projections in Berlin's Jewish quarter’. Art Journal (2003, Fall),  74-83.

Wenders, Wim, 'The urban landscape from the point of view of images'. In The act of seeing: essays and conversation (London: Faber and Faber, 1997), pp. 93-101.

 

Wim Wenders, Wings of Desire (1987), on Box of Broadcasts at: https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/000BEFF8?bcast=134925775

PG: What the Art Teacher Reads

Same chapter found in different books 

Last week, we discussed on the chapter on The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction which appears in both of these books. This chapter was first published in 1936 and we looked at the points Walter had made that are in fact still prevalent now. The main points that were made are (1) the masses/ proletariats gain access to images easily. (2) Reproducibility enhances the ease of distribution. (3) Technology enables these changes. That said, the ability to reproduce does not mean the value of the 'original' art has lessened. It plays a critical role in the dissemination of knowledge about an original work and the maintenance of its value. Thus, the 'original' value does not derive from its uniqueness but rather from its status as being the original form.

We linked 'aura' to the reading as the definition of aura defined by the author is the artwork's 'presence in time and space', its unique existence at the place where where it happens to be. Aura also refers to enduring, timeless quality or authenticity. However, 'aura' is subjective. The GIF image below shows University Castle, one of Durham's student accommodations. For the record, most people would feel delighted to actually live in a castle. But, the sense of novelty and romanticism may wear off because you live and experience it every day. So, the aura of that awesomeness differs according to individuals in this case. 

University College

Same chapter, different writing styles

Even if you don't know much about art or never step in an art gallery or museum, chances are you've seen well-known art reproductions in books, postcards, calendars, magnets and other trinkets. Artist Marchel Duchamp responded to the mass production by presenting Readymades, such as the famous inverted urinal titled Fountain. This act paves the way for conceptual art as it disrupted traditional knowledge of artist's role as skilled creator of something original. 

In Shenzhen's Dafen Village, a Chinese art copying market, challenges the codes of valuing original art in the same way conceptual art does (Sturken and Cartwright, 2018). The replicas paintings in the original medium (oil) are sold at affordable prices. In Winnie Wong Won Yin's book Van Gogh on Demand, she states that there are very strong discourse of originality, authorship, craft and artisan skills at work in the copying market. 

References

Benjamin, W., Zohn, H. and Arendt, H., 1955. Illuminations. 1st ed. New York: Schocken books. 

Benjamin, W., Zohn, H. and Arendt, H., 1955. Illuminations. 1st ed. New York: Schocken books.

Sturken, M. and Cartwright, L., 2018. Practices of looking: : an introduction to visual culture. 3rd ed. USA: Oxford University Press, pp.191 - 198. 

Reads: What the Art Teacher Reads

In the early weeks of our seminars (a.k.a tutorials), my class pondered on readings about visual essentialism (by Mike Bal), the early modern periods and art nouveau in fin-de-siecle period etc. Visual Culture is multimodal and multisensorial, not just by using our visions. The study of visual culture is to grasp their place in broader contexts of meaning and experience. It may be the core in which we can examine the geopolitics and aesthetics of a national culture as displayed in a museum, gallery or an artefact.

Dr Zoe Roth questioned our definition of 'aesthetics', 'the aesthetic' and 'common sense'. After digesting our readings, we defined them in our own words. There's a great sense of satisfaction to having my old thoughts disrupted. Art teachers are usually in the 'aesthetic department' in the school context and by that I mean art and music teachers are in the same department. How often do we deconstruct the meaning of words to think and discuss the basic and fundamentals?

These are samples of weekly questions to guide our readings:

• Bring two questions about the reading to class. These could be concepts you need help defining, ideas that are unclear, something that relates to your own research interests, etc.
• How are aesthetics and the aesthetic relevant to the study of visual culture? How can you think of visual culture through the lens of sense perception, common sense, the distribution of the sensible? 
• What are the similarities between Arendt and Ranciere’s concepts of “common sense” and the “distribution of the sensible” respectively?  
• How can forms of aesthetic production help reorder the distribution of the sensible?
• What happens if "common sense" breaks down? 
• What are some ways aesthetic and politics are linked? Give examples.

I've enjoyed listening to my classmates' thoughts and comparing their responses to mine. Very often, the questions might look seemingly straightforward but it isn't so. For example, the question about 'common sense' is not what the general public's understanding of it. Our responses are based on the context of our readings and also to produce a few real-life examples.

The readings on Hannah Arendt's The Life of Mind, first chapter on Thinking is essentially a philosophical view on thoughts. She asks the overarching question if thoughtlessness is connected to evil. Admittedly, we only need to read the first few pages of her book for class but it took me long enough to read reviews about her book from various sources and then draw my own conclusions. Arendt wondered if the absence of thinking lead people to wrongdoings? 

 

That said, perhaps it is not that people refuse to do thinking but it's the lack of choice. In Jacques Ranciere's The Distribution of the Sensible: Politics and Aesthetics, he argued that people do not have time to devote themselves to anything beside their work. Thus, it can be through artistic practices that 'ways of doing and making' that intervene in the community that things get maintain to 'modes of being and forms of visibility'. For example, homelessness on the street can be a common sight in some big cities. Due to the prevalence and the lack of urgency, most people are desensitise to the state of the homeless they see on the street. Thus, what "distribution of the sensible" inscribes to is the suggestions of the community actvities such as participatory art/ relational art or community art practices which we commonly see to create a sense of community. 

Reads: What the Art Teacher Reads

Hi! I've pored over a few books this school holiday. The NLB OverDrive app is so convenient to borrow ebooks and read on the go. My first choice will still be a hardcopy but if I can't borrow it in time then I will go digital.

My favourite read has to be Made in China. It's especially telling especially when our goods are mostly imported. The mere thought of walking down the aisles of Daiso, Target or Hundred Yen shops excite me. Since we stay mostly indoors now and virtual shops are accessible in a click, who wouldn't like a good bargain? We have no lack of e-commerce platforms in Singapore. With the pandemic, even physical retail stores have online presence or making the shift towards it. There is everything we want but very little we need. This book helps me to think more critically about owning cheap commodities.

Reads: What the Art Teacher Reads

 

Hi! I've contributed to a biannual e-magazine for teachers. Sometimes, I adapted teaching ideas from the issues that were published. It goes way back to 2012 and it's nice to see how the content has developed over the years.

Reads: The Allegory of the Cave

Happy 2021! 

When I first heard of Plato's Cave, I thought it was a memorable story relating to life. If you do some research, there are some slight variations of the story online. But here's my understanding:

Plato the Greek Philosopher wanted Socrates to compare the effects of education and the lack of it. So, he told him to imagine some people imprisoned in a cave. Without natural lighting in it, the interior was damp and dark. They have always live there, oblivious to the outside world. 

All the people could see were the shadows cast by a fire behind them. The shadows were things that belonged to the people. The inhabitants were fascinated by the reflections of the objects (animals, plants, people). They assumed that the shadows were real and that if they pay attention to them, they would be successful in life. For the cave dwellers, the shadows were their reality. The people discussed about the shadows and had taken pride in their sophistication and wisdom. 

One day, someone managed to leave the cave, into the open space. The natural light would first be overwhelming. Everything would be overly illuminated and gradually his eyes adjusted and he encountered the real forms of all objects which he had formally falsely known of as shadows. He saw actual flora and fauna, colours of the sky, texture of the tree bark. He observed the stars and took in the vastness of the universe. 

With his new discovery, the man returned to the cave to attempt to share his new knowledge with his companions. Along the way, he needed to once again navigate the darkness while his eyes adjust. The man would try to convince the rest that what he had experienced was better than life in the cave. Instead, his intention was not taken well.

The symbolism in the allegory alerts us to the nature of perception. What we see or think we know might not always be the truth. 

That said, if we behave like the man who went out of the cave and bluntly tell our students or even parents that they are wrong, we get nowhere, cause offense and may put people in difficult situation. 

The solution is education according to Plato using the inquiry method pioneered by Socrates known as Socratic Method. Because it's a gentle process, often investigating the answers together by thinking and interacting. The students may be oozing with confidence saying that they had already know the answer to which you have to remain patiently kind. Bring them back on track if they go off topic. It takes time to chat about the same topic drawing out students' thoughts. 

This method is built on the confidence that with nurturing, students can develop critical thinking and detect flaws in their reasonings. As a teacher, we can gently draw their attention to tricky issues because nobody can learn if we make them feel bad about themselves. 

Reads: What the Art Teacher Reads

 

Hi Teachers! I managed to finish this new book during the term break. It was given to all participants as the workshop which we had signed up for was cancelled. So, I guess their budget was used to purchase the books instead😁

Dale Dougherty was thought to be the founder of Maker Faire in 2006. It is an event where people could make things using digital and analog tools. It then became a worldwide movement. Singapore has her first Maker Faire in 2012 while hackerspaces and other interest groups were operating in silos. 

Two years ago, the Art Club students participated in the Maker Faire. The participants were students from different schools and age groups. It was great exposure for the children to see different ideas and what the older students came up with. 

I had to re-read a chapter in the book as it touches on Heutagogy. I don't remember ever coming across this term or is it I wasn't paying attention in school?? The book grouped Heutagogy principles as Education 3.0. In other words, it seems to imply gearing towards self-directed learning. In this case, it ties in well with Maker Education which can be structured open inquiry. Information acquired is definitely multiple ways because it sees learners as connectors, creators and constructivists. Anyway, if you are new to this term, it doesn't mean we, teachers are, not practising it in class. 

Inquiry-based learning in the art classroom has been on-going for some years. It's the discipline most closely related to Maker Education. Students would strongly object if we didn't make something during art class. I remember vivdly once I spent the whole lesson doing Art appreciation and at the end of the class, a girl asked me why didn't we do any artwork! That said, it speaks volume about the importance of the foundation years on building learning experiences. 

Reads: What the Art Teacher Reads

A few years ago, my friend, R, and I formed a collective to participate in an art project where we encouraged people who insisted they couldn't draw. Based on our teaching experiences, we encountered children who had reservations about their drawing abilities. Perhaps without positive drawing experience, they would turn into the adults who grew up thinking that they could get by without art.

While this book does a good job in covering the breath of art programmes in schools, it would capture more attention from new teachers.   

Reads: What the Art Teacher Reads

This book was one of our readings back in NIE. It's useful to early career art teachers as it covers a broad spectrum of information relating to art education. The twenty chapters cover topics from children's artistic development to the technicality of school art programmes and organisation. Pages are adorned with beautiful images of children's artworks from various cultural context. Occasionally, I would still browse through the content to check certain facts. 

A wonderful thing about a teachers' communal library is that teachers in Singapore can borrow this book from READ@academy. We can put up our request online and the books would be delivered to our school at a designated day. Even though there are books available in the public library but most of the textbooks are under the reference section so reading is limited in the library. 

Reads: What the Art Teacher Reads

Teachers in my school were given this wonderful book. Looking through its content, I find parallels between quality questioning and inquiry-based art classroom. In the inquiry-based approach, there is a range of structured inquiry and guided inquiry (teacher directed) to open inquiry (student directed). In art lessons, teachers used the thinking routines adapted from the Harvard Project. 

In the Singapore Teaching Practice (STP), we see that 'using questions to deepen learning' is a subset of lesson enactment. The desired outcomes of education also value 'critical and inventive thinking' and thus enables students' capacity to 'critically discern'. Even Fox news had the slogan 'We report, You decide' in 2008 to counter 'fake news' and referencing the 2008 US presidential election.

With various initiatives in the education realm focussing on critical thinking, perhaps, the urgency of teaching it is to teach children how to think rather than what to think. 

In this post, I attempt to unpack the purpose of promoting critical thinking. 

Brain hacking. Persuasive technology. According to Anderson Cooper, our phones, apps and social media are engineered to hook us, using a hormonal carrot-and-stick approach. Read it here. If it's true, then children who have minimal supervision would be the most vulnerable. The issues as defined by the Center for Humane Technology are pervasive in education/ society.

I marvel at the engineering feat to combine psychology and persuasive concepts to target users' weaknesses. Formulas and behavourial prediction engines could anticipate people's thoughts and emotions based on the patterns found in the data that users volunteered on social media. The accumulated data offers advertisers customised targeting to potential consumers. 

Tristan Harris, an ex-Google Design Ethicist attempts to reverse self-destructive ways humanity is moving towards. It is said that there are design choices in any given product that can be made humane or not. For example, monochrome smartphone displays are more humane than brightly-coloured ones because they trigger less dopamine.

Hence, if the tech giants are not advocating human-centered design, teachers would need to play a much more crucial role and becoming aware.


Reference

McNamee Roger, Zucked: Waking up to the Facebook Catastrophe. USA: Penguin Press. 2019.

Reads: What the Art Teacher Reads

  

Sir Ken Robinson is one of my favourite authors when it comes to educational reads. Try watching his TED talks if you are short of time. Although the author comments about the educational system which may be beyond the control of most teachers, to our students, the system is us. There are some changes which teachers could do to make students feel that attending school is worthwhile. For some, being physically present pose no problem but engaging mind, body and heart is something to consider. Rather than think about IF ONLY I HAVE...THEN I WILL...Why not make do with what you have, wherever you are.

Reads: What the art teacher reads

Welcome to a new tab of 'Reads'! This column will serve to record at least a learning point from the books that I've read. These books could be related to the arts or education or anything in between.

Taken from: Winning With Honour by Lim Siong Guan & Joanne Lim, pg. 358

My friend, T, recommended this book. The father and daughter team co-wrote a book that's really easy on the eyes. The layout of the book is such that the left side of a spread is always a summary of the content on its right. The summary consists of mainly bullet points, graphics and bolder fonts. 

The above image of a cycle caught my eyes because my school is big on growth mindset and this graphic is like an extension of the growth mindset for adults. Young children are naturally curious and learning is innate. I think a teacher's role is to channel these curiosities into meaningful ventures. Sometimes, I observed a curious child staring intently at something that caught her/ his interest and the reactions from the accompanied adults. The desire of knowing is so intense that I wonder if adults can sustain that comparable amount of that curiosity. 

That said, learning for adults usually comes with knowing the purpose. I think it's either a push or pull factor. Since people have learnt to be pragmatic, most people have learnt to weigh inputs and outputs. What good would it do to do something that only a few see the benefit in? A transactional mindset. You do something, you expect results. If the results exceed the inputs then it's a bonus. If that bonus results from chance, an accident, then perhaps more effort is invested to see if that bonus can be replicated. If so, it becomes a formula. 

Someone told us that as teachers, we can never be paid enough for what we do. That is true. In the above diagram, I think the most unfortunately domain to reside in is 'unconscious incompetence'. My own interpretation of that is you don't know what you do not know (yet). I guess the point about learning is gradually uncovering what you do not really know yet and not repeating formulas.

In a way, learning is to a large extent associated with self-awareness. Nobody can force you to learn something if you are not keen in mastering a skill. How you learn a skill is also important. For example, it could be self-taught or from someone that you are keen to hear from. Next, to enable learning is to disable ego. To dissipate judgement, fear and ego meant that learning can be achieved in a peaceful manner.  

Art Class: Reference Books.

Below are some books that were bought as teachers' resources (you don't have to be teaching Art to be reading those). I have yet to read them from cover to cover but I think it's useful to tab some chapters for future reference. Another great resource for borrowing books is from the MOE library read@academy. Just select the books that you want to borrow online and they would deliver them to your school on scheduled days. How convenient!