Philosophy of Art Education

It is my mission to foster critical thinking skills and encourage students to be independent thinkers. In this strain, I aim to make sure that students are able to thoughtfully critique others’ work as well as their own. I wish to instill the concept that art is an academic subject, and a thought process, as well as a skill to be refined. As an art student as well as an art educator, I will prepare students for art schools and art careers as well as introduce applications of art in other arenas for students who may not pursue art as a main part of their career.  Trends in art education are now focusing on concept over skill and technique, which I feel does students a great disservice.  I will ensure that students know and can demonstrate their knowledge of the rules of proportion, composition, shading, color, and realize they can break the rules as well. These skills will serve as a vocabulary with which to express and understand new ways of creating art.

As I will not simply wave a magic wand and bestow these skills on my students, there will be certain means I use to help my students achieve the objectives I set for them. 

In order for students to fully make connections, I will design curriculum units to gradually work from specific assignments to more conceptual works. Assigning papers and written assignments as well as art activities will give students a disciplined view of the arts as an academic subject as well as a studio course.  Creating collaborative projects as well as individual ones will benefit students by giving them time to brainstorm and see projects from varied perspectives.  Students will take frequent field trips to museums, read art journals, and keep up communication with artists through email and interviews in order to keep abreast of the changing art world.

Media Influences:

Pages: Lu Xun, Thomas Hardy, Voltaire, Basho, Baudelaire, Kafka, Auden, Kandinsky, Kant, Heidegger

Artists: Egon Schiele, Ida Applebroog, Matisse, Alice Neel, Matthew Barney, Caillebotte, Gaugin, Goya, Toulouse-Lautrec, Kahlo, Duchamp, Kandinsky, Signorelli, Modigliani, Mucha, Thiebaud, Twombly

Music: David Bowie, The Postal Service, Billie Holiday, Pink Lincolns, The Pixies, The Smiths, Ella Fitzgerald, Holly Golightly, Spider Kelly, Bjork, Elliott Smith, Hold on Nothing, Talking Heads, Q and not U, Velvet Underground, Descendants, Franz Ferdinand, The Rentals, The Zutons, Eartha Kitt, Beck, Stan Getz, The Shins, Modest Mouse, The Decemberists, Bingomut, Belle and Sebastian, Interpol, Weezer, Atom and His Package, White Stripes, Beehive & the Barracudas, The Weakerthans, Miles Davis

Screen: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Garden State, Motorcyle Diaries, Big Fish, Amelie, Rushmore, 28 Days Later, Big Night, La JetÈe, Run Lola Run, The Wedding Banquet, Edward Scissorhands, Suicide Kings, Royal Tennenbaums, Rear Window, The Big Lebowski, Harold and Maude, Citizen Kane, Donnie Darko, Rosemary's Baby, Raise the Red Lantern, Pi, Napoleon Dynamite, Bottle Rocket, Eat Drink Man Woman, High Fidelity, The Life Aquatic