Some benefits of studying art
If you are heading into the study of Visual Art, at secondary school, TAFE, University or some other course of learning then you may find the following list of value. For secondary students if your folks are giving you grief about taking on an art subject or course, print the list and nail it to their foreheads with a nail gun, if they don’t get why you want to do art by then, move house! (okay that’s a joke but think about it as an image, neat huh…)
Teachers feel free to use this list anytime someone in “authority” decides to cut your budget, give you grief about art being non essential etc… or use it to show parents the value of art and why their child should make it a subject worthy of their learning and not throw clay etc…
“Studying Visual Art, can…”
- Be a creative outlet from more academic subjects you may choose.
- Build further knowledge of Visual Art and Art techniques.
- Allow you to express yourself creatively.
- Put emphasis on the value of content, which helps students understand “quality” as a key value.
- Build problem-solving skills.
- Make us think and see in a way that everyday reality cannot.
- Put you in touch with your soul.
- Put us in touch with other customs, heritage, society and civilisations.
- Be therapeutic.
- Convey knowledge, meaning, and skills not learned through the study of other subjects
- Boost your confidence and self esteem.
- Boost literacy skills.
- Help you to describe things in detail and explore the use of words to better describe things.
- Flex your “brain muscle!”
- Give you a sense of accomplishment.
- Give you, Critical thinking; Problem solving; Teamwork; Informed perception; Tolerating ambiguity; and Appreciating different cultures.
- Develop fine motor skills.
- Cultivate the whole person.
- Add to your emotional intelligence.
- Help you to make sense of the world.
- Give you higher level thinking skills.
- Prepare us to handle a challenging world.
- Develop collaborative and teamwork skills, technological competencies, flexible thinking, and an appreciation for diversity.
- Enhance self discipline.
- Develop intuition, reasoning, imagination, and dexterity into unique forms of expression and communication.
- Develop a sensitive, and intelligent participation in society.
- Build thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and critical judgment.
- Nourish creativity.
- Assist us to appreciate and understand ourselves better.
- Be a significant catalyst for community development support for cultural institutions, and economic health.
- Add to our aesthetic literacy.
- Give us access to greater understanding of a universal language.
- Encourage high achievement.
- Encourage a suppleness of mind, toleration for ambiguity, a taste for nuance, and the ability to make trade-offs among alternative courses of action.
- Assist us to be more comfortable using many different symbol systems (verbal, mathematical, visual, auditory and kinesthetic.
- Assist us to understand and appreciate others.
- Teach us about materials and processes.
- Assist us to integrate knowledge and “think outside the square.”
- Lead to a range of creative career options.
- Engage and develop human intellectual ability…
- Assist us to explore challenges and test out ideas.
Art education is vital for today’s world including the ability to allocate resources; to work successfully with others; to find, analyze, and communicate information; to operate increasingly complex systems of seemingly unrelated parts; and, finally, to use technology.
Learning is an action process, and the arts allow students to take action, to do things, to make mistakes, to explore and search for answers. No other educational medium offers the same kind of opportunity.
Art can provide an unparalleled opportunity to teach higher-level basics, which are increasingly critical, not only for today’s work force, but also tomorrow’s…
“The quality of civilization can be measured by the breadth of symbols used. We need words, music, dance and the visual arts to give expression to the profound urgings of the human spirit.
Now more than ever, all people need to see clearly, hear acutely and feel sensitively through the arts. These languages are no longer simply desirable but are essential if we are to convey adequately our deepest feelings, and survive with civility and joy.” Ernest L. Boyer,
Thats the list and a few notions to explore… I hope that helps!
Leading professor and Chair of the Faculty at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, James Catterall has an insightful book “Doing Well and Doing Good by Doing Art: A 12-Year Longitudinal Study of Arts Education—Effects on the Achievements and Values of Young Adults (2009).”
Catterall’s study addresses the questions “Do the arts matter?” “Just how?” and “For whom?” Focusing on more than 12,000 students from diverse backgrounds, the study’s findings demonstrate, intensive involvement in the arts by students during middle and high school is positively associated with higher levels of achievement in school and college attainment.
But if you still get grief for exploring Visual Art then hand the harasser this career option list… and remind them that studying subjects like psychology, sport, high level maths, physics and the like does not mean a job in those areas, but they are also part of building a range of life skills of value in a range of jobs and career options.
Some possible career options…
- Graphic designer.
- Multi media designer.
- Photographer.
- Artist.
- Craftsperson.
- Furniture designer.
- Gallery Director.
- Gallery Assistant.
- Illustrator.
- Interior Designer.
- Printer.
- Screen Printer.
- Architect.
- Art Therapist.
- Cartoonist.
- Animator.
- Museum Technician.
- Hairdresser.
- Set and props designer/constructor
for theatre, films or TV. - Sign Writer.
- Web page Designer.
- Costume Designer.
- Art Teacher.
- Industrial Designer.
- Fashion Designer.
P.S. it didn’t take too long to do an internet search on the benefits of studying art to build my lists from… think of them as starting points to do some of our own research and see what else you can find.
Matrix concept
Coming to terms with the wide array of works and styles in the art world is a challenge at times, this “matrix” MAY provide some useful starting points for us to explore with. Where do you “fit” as an Artist? Using the comments facility at the end of the post, feel free to add information I can use to improve this.
Note it is intended to provide a guide to appreciating various “categories” of art in the market place rather than a device to indicate if a style “better than another”. Perhaps it’s “best” use may be for a beginning investor or collector wanting to appreciate what they are looking at and if it may have a possibility of increasing in value due to critical and or peer review.
This “matrix” has been through several versions starting at No: 7 (the previous 6 were for my eyes only and took a while to gain a format which I felt worked for a wider public audience.) this one is currently version 9.1.
12/2/10
Analytical Frameworks
I have just been introduced to the Visual Art Analytical Frameworks which is a device utilised to analyse artworks for students studying Visual Art at VCE (Australia) levels. This framework device looks at four areas to analyse works buy and it can offer readers of the matrix another way of exploring artworks, I would like to think the two could be utilised together to enable a faster understanding and greater depth of analysis could happen.
1. The Formal Framework - Visual analysis - Technique - Style - Symbolism and metaphor.
2. The Personal Framework - Reflects the artists life - Links to other aspects which may relate to the artists life.
3. The Cultural Framework - The influences of time and place - Connections to contexts and cultural purposes.
4. The Contemporary Framework - Exploring contemporary issues.
If you were to follow these frameworks for analysing artworks I guess it would be possible to negate various aspects of hobby and simple decorative work and find yourself wanting more from an art piece when you realise there is more to be had than just the formal framework. A viewer could do well to use these four points in discussing works with artists and soon be able to asses the merit or otherwise of the artist and their works.
I would love to hear from students, artists and general readers about the four points listed, the matrix and or the whole lot! (check out the comments section at the bottom of the page, its a simple link.)
Copyright © Steve Gray 2009+
More Engaging Art?
An artist might have to find more effective ways of engaging the viewer in order to be more effective in the marketplace. Here Artist Phil Hansen has found a way to do just that. The technique, simply video and a viral approach, the CNN article gives an insight into how it came about.
Personally I like the idea of being able to connect more with the viewer and even get more viewers as others spread the word…
Consider ways Artists could do this with integrity, so they are noticed but not “sell out”.
The three sources of subject matter?
There are just three sources of subject matter in art;
- Observation
- Memory
- Imagination
Come to think of it I see this list as a bit deceiving, really I think it should read “Three devices the artist can call upon to explore subject matter.”
The initial statement I came across on a search of “Artistic Inspiration” and this popped up in the middle of a spiel on children’s art… I feel sure it’s not the first place it has been seen.
So this then raises a point, am I too pedantic, to quibbley about words… or are they right?
Sources for subject matter I feel would be more akin to - still life - landscape - figures, I could be wrong, perhaps there are others.
The thinking here is to get you thinking, therefore exploring, and it is this area the arts can cause you to work in quite effectively.
Teachers, use the above as a brainstorm starter then explore from there and see what comes up.
Students, do a bit of informal research and find out if there are other sources of subject matter.
The Visual Art students dilema
With over 200 students graduating from Visual Art schools each year in Australia alone, it raises a question or three, why so many, what do they do, and how should they go about it.
Visual Arts education in Australia takes a number of forms from senior secondary levels (Yr 11 - 12) to TAFE Certificate courses and Diplomas, to Degree and Post Graduate studies at University level.
From here the students graduate out into the “real art world” to do what? To make art, to teach art, to be a part of the arts community. Either way they are aiming to find their niche in the art world and get on nwith doing it. However there are challenges to getting on with it as we are about to find.
Seemingly many graduate with indifferent knowledge about what’s involved to be an artist, an art teacher or any number of other art related roles in the wider community. Professional practice information seems to be scattered, some get the information in depth, others get some, while others appear to get nothing. (I am basing this on my own observations and discussions with Students, Artists and Visual Art teachers.)
Anecdotal evidence points to a five year “burn out” period post study, meaning many simply give up on what was once a dream of some kind to have a career connected with the Visual Arts. Sure many people change careers and some suggest many of us will change careers 4 - 6 times in our lives. However are these arts people changing due to a shift in interest in the arts, an ambivalence to the art world, a disinterestedness created by a lack of understanding of the art world or perhaps a combination of them all.
I guess it ’s hard to tell but to bring this to a head lets try and nut out some of the reasons people get involved in Visual Arts and take a course of study, formal or otherwise.
- Creative types - They believe they are “creative” and should peruse an avenue of study that allows them to follow that course. The believe this due to others telling them they are creative, or they build an internal knowledge based on sensory perceptions providing them with input based on their knowledge of creativity, even if a little naive. These types may want to create art for art sake or at the least explore their creative urge through non formal study
- Art Teacher - These students have the skills to do the study and see it as an end in itself, the want to produce art for art sake is perhaps minimal, they may well love art and want to pass on that passion. Some go on to be both purists and teachers, taking a high level stance of Art Teachers can only teach if the passion to create is there, and that can only happen if they are active Visual Artists.
- Purists - These students are into art for art sake, they may ridicule others that “dabble” in the arts or creative pursuits, aiming to create works of some significance, culturally, personally, socially or politically.
There’s probably more categories but for now this list shall suffice, giving us a starting point to work from. Note that each category has their own intentions regarding career outcomes. While all may start out with noble intent the outcome can become different to the initial intention they had. Some may find a change in their intended study is required as their needs alter (from formal to informal or the other way around), some may find no real career prospects at the end of the study period exist, while others may be disillusioned by the “state of the arts” on having done their study.
In an ideal world the level of research done by a student prior to engaging in a course would be greater, in more detail and provide them with greater clarity of direction. However many seem to do only anecdotal research, a brief chat with secondary teachers or career advisors. A brief chat with lecturers and staff at TAFE and university open days. It can even come down to mature age students wanting to pursue a mid life career change, or a lifestyle change, wanting to explore their inner creativity in the hope it may shed some light or meaning on their lives.
The way forward for a career in the arts should be a carefully considered one, to ensure your chances of achieving what you set out to achieve are feasibile, that what you want is doable, and provides an effective level of reward at the end of the process.
The dilema for the Visual Art student should not be one of “which way do I go”, but more of, “Here is the direction is it worth getting on with it?”