Reflecting on Kamhi: The Most Disappointing Article of All Time

I am sure that due to the title of my post, you can guess what I am going to say.  I am assuming you all will say something similar.  This week, I read Michelle Kamhi's article, Rescuing Art from 'Visual Culture Studies', based on a presentation she made at the NAEA conference in 2003.  This article is on the totally opposite spectrum from the other required read from Olivia Gude.  Michelle Kamhi's article details the current ruin of art education due to a lack of understanding of what art is.  Kamhi claims that the visual culture that is being taught in today's art classrooms, combined with abstract art, are causing the demise of art education programs.  She states, "Art teachers who have been immersed in postmodern culture, and in the postmodernist work that now passes for art, have lost sight of the salient qualities of works of visual art. As a result, their interpretations are prone to error, blurring major differences not only between painting, sculpture, and other types of imagery but also between works of visual art and artifacts that are not images at all."  Why should abstract and postmodern art be put on this level?  Just because the skills required for this artform is a bit different than that of photorealism does not mean that it should be any less important or respected.  Maybe Kamhi is missing the point of these works of art.  Later in the article, Kamhi goes into great detail to define what fine art is and essentially says that all art teachers have no understanding on the subject.

I am not sure that I have ever in my life gotten so angry when reading something as I did when I read this article.  As I was trying to understand where she was coming from, I just kept seeing a vision of some snotty woman who is better than anyone because she knows the true definition of art, which is what I was most upset by in the reading.  When I started my classes this year, we began the first day by having a discussion about art.  What is it?  Who says what it is?  Who says if it's good?  I can tell you that the answer is not Michelle Kamhi.  Art can be anything, and that's the beauty of it.  Art is anything that is created.  Anything that is designed.  Anything that has come from someone's imagination with a purpose, whether that be utilitarian or to send a message.  Kamhi's blindness to some of the greatest kinds of art (specific to abstract art, expressionism, minimalism, and even photography) just because their meaning is not as easily seen as Realist painting is unheard of.  I genuinely hope that there are not many people who side with Kamhi on this issue.

Reflecting on Olivia Gude

Olivia Gude's article, New School Art Styles: The Project of Art Education, from Art Education Magazine, was a fascinating read and a bit of a learning experience for me this week.  The article tells of schools' current art programs, which Gude believes "do not actually support creative self-expression and that they are not effective in teaching students about methods of artmaking outside of school contexts."  Gude believes that current art education is old hat.  She argues for an arts education that supports student learning and enrichment by creating projects that ask students to find meaning in their artwork and "reflect as closely as possible to the actual methodologies" of the artist who is being taught.    Gude says that by letting go of the old, outdated, repetitive projects that teachers currently give, we can begin to embrace the art education of the future that provides for better, more inspired products.

When I first read this article, I was excited, shocked, and depressed all at once.  I loved that this was such a positive article that had so many suggestions for better ways to educate students, however my first reaction was a bit disheartened, if I am being totally honest.  After reading the article, I felt like I have been giving my students a disadvantaged art program because I have not been teaching them in the way that Gude suggests.  In all reality, I am a first year teacher, who has many years ahead to learn, reflect, and grow.  In the past several months of my teaching at Fulton, I have tried to focus on the Big Ideas in art that I learned so much about in my undergraduate career.  Getting kids to understand concepts and think critically about them in their work has definitely been a challenge.  I feel that I have done a fairly good job at this, but Gude's article made me feel that I should be doing more to engage them with their artwork.  My only hope is that I can put some of the articles suggestions to use in my classroom to provide a better, more well-rounded art curriculum for my kids.

I would love to know if Gude has a website or resource with lots of lesson ideas for educators.  I loved the little side comments that provided project ideas because it helped me to better understand some of what Gude was describing.  If anyone knows where I can find this, please let me know.  Hope you all loved the article as much as I did.