After reading Philip Yenawine's piece on VTS and information, I was really struck by his comparison of viewing art to reading a text (since art IS a visual text anyway...). Yenawine stated that art, like a text, needs to be considered from multiple perspectives. Yenawine says, "...we feel that capacities to observe, think about what one sees, reflect on meanings, and consider various interpretations are basic to art viewing and the prerequisites for later learning." After taking a course on visual literacy and visual culture, I have learned that this comparison of art to text is absolutely true. Why should art be held to a higher, more rigorous standard than a typical text? Why is it not ok to look at an image and wonder or imagine?
I absolutely side with Philip Yenawine here. The student who imagined aliens instead of gas masks was not damaging other students or making a mistake. He/she was simply using their experiences and prior knowledge to bring themselves into the image. What I love about art is that it is open to interpretation. Each viewer who looks at a work brings their own background and experiences to the table when looking at a piece of art. Without a little room to move for interpretation, art becomes fixed and black and white, like a math problem, which couldn't be more opposite of what art is really all about.
I, too, was impressed with Yenawine's comparison of reading printed and visual texts. This should clearly resonate with all educators. "Literacy" is no longer limited to reading and writing the printed word; the visual is a bonafide literacy in the 21st century (and indeed, always has been!) I love the way students connect images to their own experiences. It offers them a way to make meaning, but also us as educators a way to peer into their lives and histories. I can't image any area of the curriculum that does that better or more directly. Writing is revelatory, but depends so much on mastery of written expression. Discussing what one sees is so much more immediate and universally accessible. Great reflections!
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