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Lesson Plans


Re: Who are artists?

[ Thread ][ Subject ][ Author ][ Date ]
Leon R. Nuell (lrnuell)
Fri, 9 Feb 1996 08:35:43 -0600 (CST)

Europeans like uniforms,....jackets, caps with all the trimmings.
Americans like titles like artist or writer or dancer or actor/actress.
Each makes the wearer or assumer of title feel good. In education a
little of that is good, but so is truth and proper use of
language/appelation. Kids will do wha they ahve always done and will
enjoy those acts with or without title attached. Me thinks that such
titles make adults feel good about what they think their kids are.

On Thu, 8 Feb 1996, Kathryn A Rosenfeld wrote:

> Preserving a distinction between "artist" and "non-artist" seems to me to
> be along the same lines as preserving the high art/low art dichotomy. It
> doesn't seem very useful, or very relevant to most people's lives,
> especially those of students. Haven't humans always created? To me, it
> is an instinct, not an acquired profession or an inborn talent. This is
> not to romanticize the notion of creativity - I agree that generally one
> isn't "born with talent." I always considered myself an aritist because
> I had the desire and drive to make art, because it was important to me
> and I was engaged in a thought process with it most of the time. Then I
> found out that I didn't live up to a lot of the criteria the "real art
> world" holds for designating someone an artist. That's when I decided to
> teach instead of try to attain to a standard that seemed completely
> contrived and useless to me. Isn't our idea of "the artist" as a
> rarified being in society a pretty recent one, dictated mostly by Western
> and relatively modern constructs like "the art market?" In any case, it
> doesn't seem useful for art students in K-12, unless perhaps for a gifted
> class.
>
>
> Kathy
>
> rosenfka.edu "ART IS NOT OPTIONAL"
> University of Cincinnati - Art Education -printed on rock
> outside the Art
> Academy of Cincinnati
>
>