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Lesson Plans


Re: art teachers that manipulate

From: Amenay2
Date: Fri Mar 24 2000 - 06:14:12 PST

  • Next message: Nagel, Judy: "RE: Vangogh show detroit"

    Right on! This is a huge problem in that there are teachers that allow
    students to copy/trace photos and think nothing about entering these in
    contest/shows. The problem continues higher up in that these works are also
    accepted at higher institutions of learning and praised for their
    wonderfulness. I usually have had a strict policy of no photo copying.
    Tried to revise this as to the referencing of a photo for research and
    expansion of ideas and this has become interpreted as...that means I can copy
    the photo as long as I change the color, etc. This is even from students
    with the capability to render fairly life like images from life. Creativity
    has become zilch since I opted to experiment with this. Next year my program
    will revert back to the non photo - non copy rendering of art works. I will
    allow for the compositional photo arranged by the student and taken by the
    student...plus I teach them how to develop and print the photos. However
    this is still 2D to 2D not the wonderful creative expression rendered as the
    student explores 3D to 2D (or 3D to 3D). By the way...I have taught high
    school for 12 years and in that time I have only had about five students with
    the talent to render art photographically from life studies. Not that this
    is a requirement to success but definitely an advantage from which to grow
    into greater things. I am amazed at the number of student capable of now
    doing such work. To be truthful...I don't have that level of talent in my
    school now...and I only have one freshman, maybe 2, coming up with that
    ability...no one in the junior or sophomore class. Lots of in-between
    ability but not the Picasso who will need a life time to learn to draw like a
    child again.

    As to the correcting of student works and whether they are still considered
    qualified for show. Depends upon how much I altered the piece. For example,
    if all I did was to show a student how to work an area and from there the
    student finished the work and put his own expression into it...then I
    consider that part of my job and okay for show. However, if it is obvious
    that I touched the work (my style of drawing is like a signature) then NO it
    cannot go to show. This goes for any grade level.

    Do agree that copy/tracing only as a learning tool is acceptable in small
    degrees but that ultimately the student must learn to explore the work
    personally and correct or take advantage of their limitations.

    I have also had comments from students who came from the award winning art
    teacher who corrected everything and won all of the prizes. They were so
    glad to have someone accept their art work as is. They wanted to learn but
    they also wanted to express themselves. In my classes...esp when I was in
    elementary school...my job was to teach/guide the students and display the
    art works...their job was to create them. My pleasure was to see how many
    different ways I could display the art works without repeating a display
    method. In three years...never had the same show twice (then I moved...thank
    goodness...it would have been more of a challenge the 4th year). Such was a
    successful combination...their creative works and my creative displays...both
    complimented each other.

    Bets 

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