Responding to Art

The NAEA directors James Rees (High School), Kim Cairy (Middle Level), Angie Fischer (Supervision), 
Jackie Terrassa (Museum), Flavia Bastos (Higher Education), and Nancy Walkup (Elementary) 

As do many art teachers, I wear many hats. In addition to being the editor of SchoolArts, I am the director of the North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts at the University of North Texas (NTIEVA), and the National Art Education Association (NAEA) Elementary Director. Through I have taught all levels at one time or another, I was an elementary art teacher for the longest period of time (15 years) and the elementary level is my personal favorite (I can be as fidgety as they are).

SchoolArts and our publisher Davis Publications have a long symbiotic relationship with NAEA of mutual support for our very similar missions. SchoolArts is “committed to promoting excellence, advocacy, and professional support for educators in the visual arts” and NAEA’s mission is “advancing visual arts education to fulfill human potential and promote global understanding.” We’ve been in business since 1901 and NAEA got its start in 1947; we’re both proud to be part of art education history. SchoolArts, along with NAEA, has responded and continues to respond to the ever-changing environment of art education and the needs of art educators.

Another historical milestone we have been anticipating all year is the imminent release of the National Core Arts Standards: A Conceptual Framework for Arts Learning. Over 1,000 art educators from around the country have responded, reviewed, and provided feedback on the new standards; hopefully many of you were involved in the review. The new standards will be web-based and are voluntary but should be of use to you even if your state does not adopt them.

I’ve addressed a different component of the standards in each of my letters this volume year and this month I would like to focus on responding. Responding is one of the artistic processes addressed in the new standards, along with creating, presenting, producing, and connecting. These artistic processes are the cognitive and physical actions by which arts learning and making are realized.

The new standards define responding as “interacting with and reflecting on artistic work and performances to develop understanding.” Students can respond and reflect in a myriad of ways to work that is their own, the work of other students, or the work of adult artists. Our articles in SchoolArts Magazine this month suggest a variety of approaches to responding.

In “Exploring the Ideas of Hundertwasser,” first graders respond to the concepts and ideas found in the artist’s work. In “Taking a Stand,” middle school students respond to the challenge to make artworks based on this prompt, “Think back to a time when you felt alone and isolated. How could you make a sculpture that expresses that mood/emotion?”

In “The Virginia Project,” high school students respond to the opportunity to work directly with an artist and to tell their own personal stories on skateboard decks. Responding to and reflecting upon one’s artwork is also an integral part of artistic practice in the article “In Their Own Words.” And in “Minimalism, Architecture, and Haiku Poetry,” students react to visual images found in contemporary architecture, respond with poetry, and then create images that combine both.

We all want our students to be reflective and curious thinkers. Opportunities for thoughtful responses to engaging and challenging problems abound in the art room. Why not give a tip of the hat to the process of responding?