Marissa Wendolovske
Research Memo #2 Elaborate on Question & Sub-Question
How can a focus on contemporary art in art education programs in schools
and museums benefit student learning? I am interested in teaching art using
contemporary artists as a platform for learning about art, and having a focus on
contemporary art in the curriculum to create lifelong learners and inquirers. My K12 art education experience lacked learning about and working with contemporary
art and artists. I only began to learn about contemporary artists when I reached
advanced studio classes in University.
During my K-12 art education experience and leading into University, my
own personal art making consisted of portraits and self-portraits. I remember my K12 art education being more about the techniques of art, such as how to crosshatch
with pen and ink, or how your eyes should be one-eye length apart, rather than
conceptual ideas and overall themes in my pieces. When I attended University and
started to learn about contemporary artists in my studio classes, it blew my mind. I
remember learning about the famous fur-covered teacup titled Object by Meret
Oppenheim and thinking “Oh! This is what contemporary art is about!” I had never
seen anything like it before and I remember feeling like I had missed out on
something. Why hadn’t I learned about this in my K-12 art education? Why was this
left out? Perhaps it was because my teacher’s lacked the knowledge, or perhaps the
rules of censorship within the school were the reasons I did not have contemporary
art weaved into my art education.
After being introduced to the fur-covered teacup, I began looking for what
other contemporary (Meret Oppenheim’ s Object was made in 1936 and its
associated with the surrealist movement…he was ahead of his time and the piece
still feels so contemporary but be careful with the terminology for the term
contemporary is not applicable post-mortem) , art was out there. What had I been
missing all these years? I started to research more and more about contemporary
art and artists, which lead to my own personal art making to change drastically from
self-portraits to conceptual paintings consisting of stripes in which I integrate
mathematics and color theory. At the time of my K-12 art education experience, I
had not even known about post-modern principles, conceptual art making, or the
possibility of an integrated curriculum. Although I feel learning the classics of art,
such as Caravaggio, Michelangelo, Monet, and Seurat to name a few, is important, I
feel learning contemporary art would give a more valued art learning and exploring
experience for students. I believe if I had a focus on contemporary art in my K-12 art
education experience, I would have a more definitive understanding of art in
general, and I would be better able to apply knowledge of conceptual ideas to my
own personal art making and everyday experiences. I trust that students learning
art with contemporary art as the main focus will lead to individuals who will use
contemporary art as a platform for their own conceptual art making, as well as a
tool for grasping the world around them.
I am interested in teaching with contemporary art in the alternative settings
for art education, museums particularly. My curiosity in museum education
blossomed in 2009 when I started volunteering at a small private collection in Glens
Falls, New York, named the Hyde Collection. Learning of the possibility for
alternative settings for learning intrigued me, and with my newfound interest in
contemporary art I wondered how the two could be intertwined. Following moving
to New York City, I obtained a position in 2010 at the Whitney Museum of American
Art, which focuses on contemporary art and supporting contemporary artists. In this
setting, my interests peaked in how can focuses on contemporary art in learning
benefit students.
One question I would look to for supporting my main question would be;
how is contemporary art currently used in teaching art? I feel It will be important
for me to study how teachers and art educators in museums (Which ones?) are
currently teaching with contemporary art to assess how it is used and how effective
it is (in which sense? What effects are you specifically looking for?). Another
question I will need to answer for supporting my main questions will be; how
effective are current contemporary art education programs? It will be important to
study how contemporary art museums are teaching art in their programs. I will
have to compare them to other contemporary museum programs, as well as
museums that hold more than contemporary art, and how they are integrating that
into learning art.
My strong interest in contemporary art, and using contemporary art as a
focus for learning, will be extremely beneficial to my career as an artist and future
educator creating lifelong learners who will use contemporary art as a tool for
making art and comprehending the world around them.
Marissa, this is a fascinating topic! Some clarifying questions to help you focus your
research… Think about how you can be more specific about stating exactly what you
want to do..start thinking about the WHO, and the WHERE of your research and
commit to it. Make some decisions about which are the learnings you are interested
in measuring. Do you want to measure the effects of museum education on students’
literacy, their ability to make cross-curricular connection, transfer knowledge, score
higher on tests, self- esteem and confidence…do you want to focus on programs that
get students to look at art or that gets them to make art, or do you want to compare
the two?