Jessica LeBoeuf

Art 133
Unit Paper #2
2/16/17
In unit two, we discussed power and visual culture. Until this unit, I had never

noticed the impact that social media, advertising, and famous people have on

myself and others. Art educators have seen the need for students to be aware of

the contemporary world (Hurwitz, 2007). I feel like I have been blind for a long time,

and I now see it as a necessity to teach my future students about visual culture.

Another concept covered during the two weeks was power. Through the radical

visual culture approach, students are exposed to political issues to make critically

aware and active citizens (Hurwitz 2007).

The two studios presented to us allowed me to challenge my views of our

current social standing. The Google earth activity allowed me to shape the image in

a way that let me convey a message. This would be great in the classroom to teach

students about Google earth and how to use the computer. Something I could

change would be to assign each student a state in the US to relate it to history. They

could study the state and its history and find a message of power to convey for that

state. For example, a student assigned to Wyoming could find a vast green

landscape and paint using only shades of black to convey Wyoming having the

largest coal mine. I enjoyed the second activity because it allowed me to explore

current social issues, and also open my eyes to how sexualized women are

portrayed. I would change this lesson by only offering kid-friendly magazines,

because my target age is the first grade. Before we began the project, I would

present to the class different issues around the world with the idea it would spark
ideas from the class. I would then ask them to make a collage to show these issues

and how these issues make them feel.

Hurwitz, A., & Day, M. (2007). Children and their art: Methods for the elementary

school, (8th ed.). Thompson Wadsworth