National Art Education Association

National Art Education Association

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nAtof timei ,
? ?~\o

,
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o3-

Postmo
BY OLIVIA

GUDE

An infinite amount of time

is wasted in misdirected
effort because tradition
has a strong hold...

0-

Princi
T

The elements and prinies?

he 100th Anniversary issue of School

Arts magazineexplainedthe roots

of today'selementsandprinciplesof
-Arthur WesleyDow, 1920
designin the workof the early20thcenturyarteducator,ArthurWesleyDow
(Walkup,2001).ThearticledescribedDow's
commitmentto teachingstudentsto apply
formalprinciplesto all aspects of the "fine
arts"as well as the objectsandenvironments
of everydaylife.Thearticletrumpeted
Dow'sinfluenceon greatAmerican
modernistssuch as GeorgiaO'Keeffeand
AlfredStieglitz.A headlinefora companion
articleon the teachingof elementsand
principlesin today'sschools proudly
announced,"Accordingto a recentNAEA
survey,teachingunderstandingof the
elementsandprinciplesof designis the
majorcurriculumgoal [emphasisadded]
for artteachersat the beginningof the 21st
century"(SclIoolArts, 2001).
WhenvisitingK-12school artprograms,
I rarelysee meaningfulconnectionsbeing
madebetweenthese formaldescriptorsand
understandingworksof artor analyzingthe
qualityof everydaydesign.I ponderthe
piles of exercises on line,shape,or color
harmoniesleft behindby hundredsand
hundredsof studentseachyear.I wonder
why whatis still consideredby manyto be
the appropriateorganizingcontentfor the
foundationsof 21st centuryartcurriculumis
but a shadowof whatwas moder, fresh,
andinspirational100yearsago.

Theelementsandprinciplpsof artare
enshrinedin most arted(ition
textbookstoday(CrystalProductions,
2000;Hobbs&Salome,1995;Ragans,
2000;Wachowiakand Clements,2000).
Note the shift fromelementsof design to
elementsof art.'Theseelementsand
principlesareprofferedas universaland
Thedefinitearticlethe
foundational.2
suggeststhatthese lists proposeto be
morethanattemptsto presenta descriptive vocabularyof observedform.They
arenot presentedas somevocabulary
wordsor concepts thathavebeen
identifiedas usefulfor constructingart
or interpretingthe workof others.The
elementsandprinciplesarepresentedas
the essence of artmaking.If not literally
engravedin stone, the big seven
(elements)+ seven (principles)are
reifiedin print,achievingtheoretical
unity,not throughpersuasiveargument,
butthroughseeminglyendlessrepetition
in formallyorientedtextbooksor,during
the last decade,as governmentmandatedstandards.

In

ART EDUCATION / JANUARY 2004

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Search

of

APPROPRIATION:
Studentsrecycled
catalog
imagesto create
Surrealist
who
characters
onconsumer
comment
culture.SpoiledBratby
highschoolstudent
Tiffani
created
McDuffy
at SpiralWorkshop
2001.
Photocourtesyof
of Illinois
at
University
Chicago.

If one consultsa numberof classic

chic, the studentexamplesin these works
differgreatlyfromthe listless lines and
modernisttexts aboutteachingartand
uninterestingcolor schemes resulting
design,such as ArthurWesleyDow's
fromcontemporarytextbookart
Composition:A Series of Exercisesin
exercises.
ArtStructureforthe Useof Studentsand
Teachers(1920),JohannesItten'sDesign
Manyof these modernisttexts also
and Form:theBasic Courseat the
differsharplyfromtheirderacinated
Bauhaus (1964),or Mauricede
contemporarycousinsin thatthey
Sausmarez'sBasic Design: TheDynamics contain
culturallyspecificaestheticreferof VisualForm (1971),the now familiar
ences, such as Dow'spromotionof notan
7 + 7 arenot found.Thereis no single,
(a Japaneseworddenotingthe balance
agreed-uponset of termsor constituent
betweenflatplanesof lightanddark)or
elementsof the visualin these books.
Itten'sreferencesto the philosophyof
Instead,variousstructuresof organizatraditionalChinesepainting(Dow,1920;
tion areproposedwith different
Green&Poesch, 1999;Itten,1964).In
emphases,principles,andsuggested
manycontemporaryarteducation
areasfor investigation.
textbooks,the artof "others"is often
utilizedto illustratevariouselementsand
Thereis some degreeof overlap
principles.Theartworksareviewed and
amongthese lists as they all attemptto
understoodusingthe streamlined7 + 7
systematicallyrecordvisualconcepts
Euro-American
usefulto artists,teachers,andcritics
systemof describing
when drawingattentionto andanalyzing form,thereforestudentsoften do not
learnthe aestheticcontext of makingand
variousformalfeaturesof a workof art
or design.Eachauthorpresentshis own
valuinginherentto the artistsandcommunities who actuallycreatedthe works.
vision of contemporaryartteachingand
the visualexamplesaccompanyingthese
Thisungroundedandhighlyproblemtexts are often quitebeautifulandunique. atic use of the artof "others"is almost
Whetherembodyingthe gracefuldignity
inevitablein classroomsthatuse 7 + 7
of an Artsand Craftssensibility,idiosynconcepts as a foundationalcurriculum
craticearlymodernism,or hip sixties
structurebecausethe modernistphilos-

21st

ophyof elementsandprinciplesprivileges
formalistWesternconceptionsover other
ways to valueandunderstandart.For
example,in the introductionto his classic
workComposition,Dow (1920/1997)
makesslightingremarksaboutartthatis
"onlystorytelling"(p. 64). The wellmeaningteacherwho uses artfrom
diverseculturesto illustrate7 + 7
concepts sincerelyattemptsto infuse
multiculturalism
into a mono-cultural
curriculumstructure.Unfortunately,
this
in
for
students
succeeds
only
modeling
thatthe artof otherculturescanbe
ahistoricallyappropriatedfor current
uses of Western,ostensiblyneutral,
educationalandaestheticsystems.
TheOxfordEnglishDictionary (1971)
definesprinciple as "fundamental
truth,
law,or motiveforce."Fromthe perspective of 21st centuryaesthetictheory,the
notionof ascribingfundamentaltruth
to anyvisualformseems naiveand
uninformed(Wallis,1984).Early20thcenturyartcriticallanguagedescribed
authenticmeaningas arisingfromthe
purelyformalaspects of artmaking
(Harrison&Wood,1992).Today
discussionsof the meaningof art,
includingmoder andcontemporary

Education
CenturyArt
JANUARY 2004

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/ ART EDUCATION

abstractart,aremorelikelyto centeron
the contextwithinwhichthe artwas
madeandseen andthe culturalcodes the
artistchooses to referenceandmanipulate (Riemschneider&Grosenick,1999).
Thenotionof hermeticartistic
experiencesin whichmeaningis created
in directformalcommunicationbetween
artistandaudienceis no longerconsidereda credibleexplanationof how
meaningin visualartis generatedand
communicated.
Form-basedteaching,originatingwith
traditionssuch as the GermanBauhaus
andmodernistAmericanarteducators
such as Dow,was not originallyconceived
of as preliminaryto in-depthartisticinvestigations.WhenPaulKleeaskedstudents
to do a line exercise,it was not becausehe
felt they shouldlearnmarkmakingbefore
doingmoremeaningfulart.Rather,it was
because Kleewas excited aboutthe
meaningof line.Inthe spiritof those
times,studentswere askedto makethe
radicalmoveto eschew whatwas then
seen as extra-visualelementssuch as
narrativeandinsteadexplorethe deep
spiritualandsocial energyreleasedby
abstractart.
Dow advocateda new systemof art
educationhe believedwouldbringto the
student"anincreaseof creativepower"
(1920/1997,p. 65). But 75 yearshave
passed since he wrotethose words.We
owe it to ourfield andourstudentsto
studythe artof ourtimes andto begin,as
Dow did,withprobingquestionsandfarreachinggoals.Whatdo ourstudents
need to knowto understandthe artof
manycultures,fromthe past andthe 21st
century?Today,what knowledgedo
studentsneed to stimulateandincrease
theircreativepowers?

I knew tht a curriculum

based on the bland and
formal 7 + 7 would not
engender in teen artiststhe
commitmentto get out of bed
on chillySaturdaymornings.

Founding Principles

In 1995,I plannedthe firstSpiral

Workshop,the Universityof Illinoisat
Chicago'sSaturdayartclasses for teens.
I lookedfor ways to articulateto the
preserviceteacherswho wouldbecome
the workshopfaculty,some guiding
principlesfor developingourcurriculum.
I didnot considerusingthe elementsand
principlesof designbecauseI wantedthe
youngteachersto experiencethe thrillof
teachingyouthin a way thatwould
inspireimpassionedartmaking.I knew
thata curriculumbased on the blandand
formal7 + 7 wouldnot engenderin teen
artiststhe commitmentto get out of bed
on chillySaturdaymornings.I wantedan
artcurriculumthatcouldsurvivewithout
a compulsoryattendancepolicyto back
it up.
Inspiredby the spiritthoughnot the
contentof modem arteducation,I wanted
the SpiralWorkshopcurriculumto give
studentsa sense of participatingin the
unfoldingof contemporaryculture.3
Studentsin a qualityarteducation
programgainthe capacityto reflecton
culturalissues relatedto self andsociety.
Throughstudyingandmakingart,
studentsbecome attunedto nuanceand
complexity.Theylearnto recognizethe
culturalchoices thatunderlieeventhe
most mundanemomentsandactionsof
everydaylife andconsiderwhetherthese
arethe choices they themselveswish to
make.
SpiralWorkshopevolvedthreecriteria
for ourcurriculum:
* curriculum based on generative
themes thatrelateto the lives of
studentsandtheircommunities;
* studio art projects based on diverse
practices of contemporaryartmaking
andrelatedtraditionalarts;
* art as investigation-understanding
the artof othersandseeingtheirown
artmaking,not as exercises,but as
researchthatproducesnew visualand
conceptualinsights.

In 2000,I was appointeda GreatCities

FacultyScholarat the Universityof
Illinoisat Chicago.TheGreatCities
Institute'smissionis to improvethe
qualityof life in metropolitanChicagoand
otherurbanareas.I was pleasedthatmy
colleaguesfromurbanplanningandthe
social sciences sharedmyvision of the
importanceof arteducationto a
democraticsociety.Myprojectfor the
yearwas the ContemporaryCommunity
Curriculum
Initiative(CCCI).TheCCCI
introducedinserviceteachersto the
SpiralWorkshopphilosophyandcreated
workingpartnershipsbetweenart
teachersandcontemporaryartists.The
projectsdevelopedby these groupswere
taughtin areaschools andthe resulting
curriculumwas showcasedat a student
artandcurriculumshow at the university
gallery.4
Recently,as I prepareda lecture
summarizingmy GreatCitiesresearch,
I surveyed5 yearsof SpiralWorkshop
curriculumas well as the 25 projects
createdby the CCCIparticipantteachers.
I hadoriginallystructuredmytalkto
focus on the social themesthatemerged
in the youths'artworkwhen I noticed
othercommonalitieslinkingthe projects.
A commonvocabularycouldbe used to
describevariousvisualandconceptual
strategiesin the students'artworksandin
the contemporaryprofessionalartworks
on whichtheywere modeled.I also
noticedthatthe traditional7 + 7 elements
andprinciplesvocabularycouldnot
adequatelydescribethese artworks.
I identified15categoriesor
Originally,
that
describedthe students'
principles
artworkandrelatedcontemporaryart
practices.Noticingthe criss-crossingand
overlappingsimilaritiesof some of the
categories,I havesince editedand consolidatedthe list to highlighteightimportant
postmodernartmakingpractices.These
"newlydiscovered"postmodemprinciples are oftenthe fusionof a visualform
anda conceptualartmakingstrategy.
Theyarehybridsof the visualandthe
conceptual.Thishybridizationis itself a
hallmarkof manypostmoderncultural
productions,eschewingthe boundaries
imposedby outmodeddiscipline-based
structures.

ART EDUCATION / JANUARY 2004

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JAppropriation
Oneof the most strikingthingsabout
manyof the curriculumprojectswas the
routineuse of appropriatedmaterials.
Whethercreatedin the spiritof Romare
Bearden'shistoriesof the AfricanAmericanexperiencecomposedof
fragmentsof foundphotos (Bearden&
Henderson,1993)or KennyScharf's
Junkie,in whichpaintedpurplevines
entwineon a yellow fieldof retro
insecticideads (TonyShafraziGallery,
1998),the studentartworkoftenused
printmaterialsas the stuff out of which
theirartwas composed.Forthe students,
recyclingimageryfelt comfortableand
commonplace.If one lives in a forest,
wood will likelybecome one'smedium
for creativeplay.If one growsup in a
worldfilledwith cheap,disposable
images,they easilybecome the stuffof
one'sown creativeexpression.

Juxtaposition
RobertRauschenbergrevolutionized
expressivepaintingwhen he substituted
the seeminglyrandomjuxtaposition of
foundimagesforpersonallygenerated
abstractmarks(Forge,1972).The
modernistprincipleof contrastis not
adequateto describethe energy
7-'
1*

L-

6K>

-C

Often,positioninga familiarimagein
relationshipto pictures,symbols,or texts
withwhichit is not usuallyassociated
generatesmeaningin an artwork.Hannah
Hoch,an earlyDadaproponentof the
new mediumof photomontage,created
provocativeworksby recombiningfound
imagery.InDie Braut of 1927,winged
objectsswirlaroundthe centralimageof
a traditionalbrideandgroom.The
woman'sheadis replacedby an oversized
imageof a youngchild'sface (Makela&
Boswell, 1996).Thissimplevisualmove
changesanypotentialromanticfantasy
readingsof the bridalcouple,shiftingthe
focus to society'sdegradinglegal,
religious,andculturalconventions
regardingthe status of women.

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Recontextualization

11t

generatedby bringingtogetherradically
disparateelements,an artisticstrategy
utilizedsince Dadaphotomontageand
Surrealistobjectssuch as Meret
Oppenheim'sfur-coveredteacup
(Burckhardt&Curiger,1996).Theterm
juxtaposition is usefulin helping
studentsdiscuss the fanmiliar
shocks of
contemporarylife in whichimagesand
objectsfromvariousrealmsandsensibilities come togetheras intentionalclashes
or randomhappenings.

I-

how
JUXTAPOSITION:
Students
explored
in
choiceof materials
createsmeaning
the
artbyimagining
contemporary
materials.
Herea
of non-art
juxtaposition
selfteenartistcreateda psychological
Marshmallows
andFire,atthe
portrait,
1996.
SpiralWorkshop
Thefamiliar
RECONTEXTUALIZATION:
image
Barbie?doll
of a fashionable
accessorized
takeson newmeaning
whenrecontextualwomen
izedwiththereality
of poorMexican
Statesto find
seekingto cometo theUnited
Border
Barbie
bypreservice
employment.
forSpiralWorkshop
teacherGinaIbarra
2002.
at
of University
of Illinois
Photoscourtesy
Chicago.

2004 / ARTEDUCATION
JANUARY

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(Emerson,1999,p. 127).Thetext does not

describethe work,nordoes the image
illustratethe text. The interplaybetween
the two elementsgeneratesrichand
ironicassociationsaboutgender,social
possibilities,andcleanliness.Students
who makeandvalueartin the 21st
centurymustlearnnot to demanda literal
matchof verbalandvisualsignifiers,but
ratherto exploredisjuncturebetween
these modes as a source of meaningand
pleasure.

Hybridity

Manycontemporaryartistsincorporatevariousmediainto theirpieces, using

whateveris requiredto fullyinvestigate
the subject.Contemporary
artists
routinelycreatesculpturalinstallations
utilizingnew mediasuch as large-scale
projectionsof video,soundpieces, digital
photography,andcomputeranimation.
Indeed,multi-mediaworksof artarenow
encounteredin contemporarymuseums
andgalleriesmorefrequentlythan
traditionalsculptedor paintedobjects.
Theconceptof hybridityalso
describesthe culturalblendingevidentin
manyworks.New YorkandTokyo-based
LAYERING:
Students
theirfears
explored
Layering
Mariko
Moridrawson costuming,makeandhopesafterthetragedy
of September
As
become
and
cheap
plentiful,
images
up,
popular
culture,andtraditional
11 bymutingandlayering
imagesandtext
areno longertreatedas precious,but Buddhistbeliefs to createcomplexphotothey
ontotheheadline
of
those
newspaper
pages
insteadareoften literallypiledon top of
terrible
graphicandvideo installations.Herwork
days.AreYouThereYet?byhigh
each other.Layeredimageryevokingthe
schoolstudentKristy
Puritun
createdat
exploresboundariesbetweenspirituality
complexityof the unconsciousmindis a
andcyberculture,betweenthe humanand
2001.Photocourtesyof
SpiralWorkshop
familiarstrategyin Surrealistartandof
of Illinois
at Chicago.
the re-creationof the humanthrough
University
earlyexperimentalapproachesto photog- technology(Fineberg,2000).
raphy.Inpostmoder worksby artists
such as DavidSalle,SigmarPolke,and
Gazing
AdrianPiper,the strategyevokes the
In BetyeSaar's77e Liber'ationofAunt
layeredcomplexityof contemporary
Jemima, the traditionalmeaningof the
Thoughdeconstructionhas a more
culturallife (Fox, 1987;Grosenick,2001). saccharineimageis challengedwhenit is
specific meaningin the theoryof Jacques Multiplelayersof varyingtransparency
presentedwith an even morestereotypDerrida(Glusberg,1991),in everydayart
will increasinglybe a readilyavailable
ical depictionof a wide-eyed,red-lipped
worldparlance,recontextualizationand
African-American
womanholdinga
strategyto studentsbecause it is a
deconstructioncan often function
commonfeatureof most digitalimaging
broomin one handanda riflein the other,
synonymously.The magazineAdbuste's
programssuch as AdobePhotoshop?
juxtposedwith a life-sizeBlackPower
has manyexamplesof deconstructing
clenchedfist (Broude&Garrard,1994).
(Freeman,2001).
contemporaryadvertisementsby pairing
By shiftingthe context withinwhicha
Interaction of Text & Image
the originalads with fragmentsof other
fanmiliar
advertisingimageis seen,
Ina 1990montage,artistBarbara
imagesandtexts thatcontextualizethe
studentsspontaneouslyquestionwho
consumerfantasieswithinenvironmental Krugerpaireda photographof a woman,
createsandcontrolsimageryandhow this
andglobaljustice discourses.'
peeringthrougha magnifyingglass, witha imageryaffects ourunderstandingsof
greatlyenlargedeye, with the text "It'sa
reality-an importantactivityof visual
smallworldbut not if you haveto clean it" culturearteducation.

ART EDUCATION / JANUARY 2004

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~
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it :

HYBRIDITY:
ArtteacherMathiasSchergen
led studentsof JennerElementary
School
in makingthe 2000 multi-media
installation,
"MemoryMuseum,"as a tributeto the
closingof the old school andthe changein
the communityas gentrification
displaced
publichousing.Theinstallationincluded
arrangedfoundobjectsandstudentartand
writingas wellas videointerviewsof school
andcommunityresidents.Photocourtesyof
the Contemporary
Curriculum
Community
Initiative.

workof contemporary
GAZING:
artists,the SpiralWorkshopteens andteachersin the Chiaroscuro
Inspiredby the riskyandsometimescontroversial
groupmadethe installation,"WhenI Lookat YouI See"in 1998. Thetextaccompanyingeach portraitdescribedthe messages thatthese urbanteens
saw reflectedin the gaze of adultswho lookat themand makestereotypicaljudgmentsaboutthem.Photocourtesyof Universityof Illinoisat Chicago.
The term g(zc(,is frequently used in
(ontemporary discourses to recognize
that when talking about the act of looking,
it is important to consider who is being
looked at and who is (loing the looking
(Olin, 1996). Gazing, asso(iated with
issues of knowledge and I)leasure, is
also a form of power and of cont rolling
lerceptions of what is "real"and
"natural."Much critical theory in alt
histloy and film studlies makes use of the
term to investigate how our notions of
"others" are con'structted(
through prol)rietary acts of looking and representing.

For examl)le, consider the stantlar(l alt

historical (liscussion of Gaughin's
lelict ion of Tahitian women in which his
(rientalist theories and Iprojectionsof
sl)irituality, timelessness, and sensuousness (letermine outrplercel)tion of the
woImen(Janson, 1968).

Representin'
lU.S.urban street slang for proclaiming
one's ildentity and( affiliations, )represeti)lli/'

(lescribes the strategy of locating one's

artistic voice within one's own lpersonal
history and(culture of origin. David

Wojnarowicz groundedlhis art in his

experiences as a young, gay man in New
Yorkduring the emerging AIDS crisis
(Scholder, 1999). Tracey Emin makes
fuiky mixed media paintings and objects
that investigate all aspects of her life,
including crummy jobs, alcohol abuse,
and sexuality (Riemschneider &
Grosenick, 1999). Shirin Neshat creates
video installations andlphoto text works
that explore the psychological conditions
of womenl in Islamic societies (Grosenick,
2001). It is important that alt classes
p)rovidest udenltswith opportunities for

JANUARY 2004

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/ ART EDUCATION

I
REPRESENTIN':
comics
Makingautobiographical
createscomfortable
opportunities
for studentsto represent
themselvessituatedwithintheir
familiesandcommunities.Ina
MixedMediaclass at Whitney
YoungHighSchoolin Chicago,
HaibinhHguyencreateda haunting
storyabout
abouthow
howimmigration
immigration
story
affectsfamilyrelationships.
Photo
courtesyof artteacher,LisaWax.

andprojects
in
... artexamples
schoolartcurricula
shouldnot
bereductive
representations
oftheoretical
but
principles,
shouldreflectthecomplexity
ofactualart.

meaningful self-expression in which they

become 7representin',self-creating beings.
These opportunities should allow
students to see examples of contemporary artists using artmakingto explore the
potentials and problems inherent in their
own cultural and political settings (Gude,
2003).
v *.a
A Principled Position on the
Future of Art Education
The elements and principles of design
were never the universal and timeless
descriptors they were claimed to be.
Indeed, they are not even sufficient to
introduce students to most moder art
because modernism has always been a
tradition with two sharply different
manifestations, the "coolly formal"and
the often "enragedengaged."
Much art education has been associated with what critic Clement Greenberg
referred to as "cold modernism" (1971),
focused on artists such as Manet, Seurat,
Cezanne, Matisse, and Picasso. "Hot
modernism,"characterized by artists such
as Duchamp and the Dadaists, has not
been adequately represented in K-12art
discourses despite the fact that such

artists are far more likely to be cited as

influential to today's artworld.
The list of postmoder principles
described in this article is not meant to be
exhaustive. The principles were empiri
cally derived from curriculumprojects
based on contemporary art, developed by
a nexus of Chicago area teachers and
nexus of Chicago areateachers and
artists. Further curriculum research
wil no doubt identy other imporant
postmodern concepts and practices that
ought to be considered for inclusion in
contemporary art education curricula.
In true postmoder fashion, these
principles are not a set of discrete
entities, but are rhizomatic. Because
these principles overlap and crisscross,
the illustrations of professional art and
student work provided above often
exemplify more than one principle. That's
okay; art examples and projects in school
art curricula should not be reductive
representations of theoretical principles,
but should reflect the complexity of
actual art.
It can be frustratingand disconcerting
to lose the certainty of an earlier time,
but I do not think that it is wise to

ART EDUCATION/ JANUARY2004

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prematurely sniooth away these amnbiguities and create a 21st century orthodoxy.
I do not hope to see a generation of art
education texts that merely add a few
postmodern principles suchsasjli.l'frt)ositioe and (l)ppropr)i(tlioil to their lists of
modcernistelements and principles and
thenlproceed to use them to structure and
justify a curriculum..
A basic tenet of all postmodern theory
is a suspicion of totalizing (liscourses andl
grand narratives-the belief that there is
one right way to organize an(dundlerstand
things. Nevertheless, much contemporary
art education has clung to narrowly
p)rescriptive theories, such as t1he
elements and principles, the four
disciplines that ostensibly include all the
concepts neelded to adequately understand art, or tlhesequence of steps one
should always follow in approaching an
artwork.
Postmodern thought embraces the
heterogeneous, the local, and the specific.
It affirms the choice-mlaking capacity of
individulalswho select from the past those
things that will best serve theli as starting
points for today. These choices will be
different in (lifferent places deplendingon
the history and present issues of each
school community. By structuring art
projects to introduce students to relevant

contempioraryart andlthus to postmodern

principles-strategies for understanding
an( miakingart today-students will gain
the skills to participate in and shape
contemporary cultural conversations.
Olivia Gilde is Associalte P'rofi,ssor (ltd(
Coordlinl(torof 'Art (Educattliol tt1ihe
UJiiil,esityl o['Illinlois (it CI icagqo.
E-Ilat il: (Jltde('ltic'.cdll

REFERENCES
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o1 Alrica(l-Aiinr'ricani
(il'lisIs: 1 792 to I/ic
))rese(')I. New York: Pantheon 13ooks.

Mcrcl
Burckhar(dt,.J.,& ('uriger, I3.( 1996()().
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I)ow, A.W.(1920/1).997).Composition: A series

t/i( use of'
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I niversity of('alifornia Press.

r KiJrugeri.
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icic(a i (lr ts(t it1 (cr)
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gydide. (;lenview, II: ('tystal Irod(luctions

('o.

(deSausmarez, 1M.( 1964/171). Basic desiti(:

the dtl/lla i1 ics of' riisuillfoi'iR.
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,r.

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Kendall/I hIlt IPublishing ('ompany.

INTERACTION
OFTEXT& IMAGE:
Studentsrespondedto insipidinspirational
postersthatliterallymatchtextand images
withplayfulnon-literalpairingsof images
andwords.SimpleThingsKeepYou
Grounded
createdin 2000 by JenniferBean
and KellyCarlsonin responseto a project
by teacherDenaCavazosforthe
Curriculum
Contemporary
Community
Initiative.
Photocourtesyof Universityof
Illinoisat Chicago.

JANUARY 2004

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/ ART EDUCATION

School Arts. (2001, September). Voices from

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Glencoe Division of Macmillan/McGraw
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Scholder, A. (1999). Fever: The art of David
Wojnarowicz. New York:Rizzoli
International Publications.

January,

C 01

Bi-Monthly
March,
May,

Add
7. CormpleteMailing

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NOTES
1The nomenclature in the 2002 textbookArt: A
Personal Journey by Eldon Katter and Marilyn
G. Stewart is a welcome reversal of this trend.
In this book, the elements and principles of
design are the basis of a single chapter and the
dominant organizing strategy for a curriculum
is clearly presented in a series of chapters
exploring the various roles of artists.
2Many authors of art education textbooks
have deep and complex understandings of the
visual arts that extend far beyond a limited
formalist emphasis on the elements and principles of design. Unfortunately, because many
texts reiterate nearly identical lists of elements

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3For information on Spiral theme-based

curriculum, visit the Spiral Art Education
website: http://spiral.aa.uic.edu
4For information on the structure and
programming of the Contemporary
Community Curriculum Initiative, visit the
Spiral Art Education website:
http://spiral.aa.uic.edu
5Back issues of Adbuster are available at bulk
rates for educators. Their many theme-based
issues are a good start for creating visual
culture curriculum units.
http://www.adbusters.org

and Circulation

Statement of Ownership, Management,

1. PbkactinTMl

4.

and principles, pairing these with a variety of

interesting approaches to studying the social
and cultural implications of artworks, some
educators have inferred that this common
denominator among texts-the lists of
elements and principles-represents foundational and universal ideas that are thus more
intellectually credible as a basis for curriculum
structure than the more subtle and diverse
aesthetic or social themes also included in
these textbooks.

n on thisform
inf
andlor sanctions