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Title: Chapter One - The Professional Field: Theorizing Visual Culture in Education

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics and

the social life of art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

Visual culture is embedded in our daily lives in which we live and in turn lays the
foundation of how humans approach life through its complex and diverse nature. A visual
culture education helps in identity formation as well as an environmental understanding
as students are constantly changing the more they learn which in affect changes who they
are as humans through the process of analysis through images and objects continuously
seen and interpreted/reinterpreted. Fine art is not the only visual art worth studying in a
world that continues to change as visual culture is what is relevant and heavily saturated
in our society; the art curriculum must consider and critically reflect this notion.

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

The visual arts have been undergoing a transformative process as there has been
an expansion upon furthering connections between social issues, political discourse,
social interaction, and cultural identity in art. This is because of visual culture and its
importance and prominence in the world of art today. Freedman (2003) states, “Use of
the term visual culture inherently provides context for the visual arts in its effects and
points to the connections between popular and fine art forms” (p. 1). Visual culture is the
visual experiences that humans encounter and experience in their everyday lives without
even knowing it. Freedman furthers her point by saying, “An education in the visual arts
takes place in and through the realm of visual culture, inside and outside of schools, at all
educational levels, through objects, ideas, beliefs, and practices that make up the total of
humanly conceived visual experiences; it shapes our thinking about the world and leads
us to create new knowledge through visual form” (p.2). Visual culture should be
considered when writing a curriculum because the more the students can understand the
culture that they live in and the images that they are surrounded by, the better they can
understand society as a whole. This naturally helps students form who they are as
individuals. As educations we must understand the importance of representation as we
can help students construct their knowledge in ways that are enriching to their overall art
experiences (p.14). For example, we must introduce and subject our students to a wide
range of art. It would not be beneficial to only show students fine art as students might
then think that art that they see in museums and galleries is the only art of any
significance. By showing students a wide range of fine art and popular art, students will
be able to critically look at art of all kinds and further their understanding of the vast
influences of visual culture within the world of art.

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

This chapter captures the complexity of the visual world and how as art educators
we need to be equipped to help our students critically analyze and reflect upon this world
they embody. In order for us as educators to help students understand the visual culture
surrounding and impacting them, we must be able to do it within our own lives. We
cannot help our students understand visual culture and how it impacts them if we cannot
do decipher this for ourselves first. I still find visual culture to be overwhelming as it is
truly everywhere, and we experience visual culture everyday whether we know it or not.
With the introduction of visual culture in my life, I find myself taking longer looks at
images and taking more time to reflect on films and messages delivered on television.
While taking this extra time, visual culture has helped me view my world with more
criticality and thoughtful reflection. This in turn has helped me understand why it is so
important to teach visual culture. If visual culture is not a part of an art education and art
educators do not take into account visual culture, students are missing out on vital
information about images and visuals that they see all the time that are appearing
currently and constantly in their lives. If material is presented in a relevant and relatable
fashion as a visual culture approach does, this better helps students fully engage in what
they are learning about as they can relate to current content. Art education takes into
account the difficulties of circumstances and environments in which objects of visual
culture exist.
Fine art and popular art have started to lose their distinctive qualities. Fine art
used to only be considered art that was executed with exquisite technique and
compositional decisions clearly made. Nowadays, media such as film and photography
are considered fine art instead of popular art. Fine art now expresses ideas/concepts about
the world and the culture that we live in regardless of the level of complexity or technical
skills required in order to create it. In fine art today, we see the culture and the world
reflected within it. As educators, we should strive to integrate images from students’
visual culture within the art curriculum so that it is relevant to students and can help
students better understand their place in the world. Not to mention, video games and
movies a lot of times are of natural interest to students. This only further engages students
in the content of what you are teaching.
It is hard for students to open up and think about their world and their daily life
experiences if information is presented to them only from one point of view or a limiting
point of view. This is why integrating choice and showing students multiple ways of
thinking, doing, and creating will be pivotal and transformational in their artistic career.

FACILITATION SHEET
Title: Chapter 2 - Finding Meaning in Aesthetics: The Interdependence of Form, Feeling,
and Knowing

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics and

the social life of art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

In this chapter Freedman discusses multiple levels of the aesthetic experience in

an art education; She specifically mentions how an arts-based education derived from
visual culture has further pushed the limits with new visual forms to a level only
previously before imagined not before considered. While looking at aesthetics
foundationally built in the curriculum, Freedman explains the importance of aesthetics in
an art education, the history of aesthetics, as well as takes a critical look at how the use of
worthy aesthetics can help students create meaningful work.

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

Freedman (2003) takes this chapter to critically analyze aesthetics in art. There
has been much debate on how aesthetic concepts should be introduced to students as well
as when in their academic career. Aesthetics have the power to make us truly believe
what we see and promote strong feelings of excellence while communicating dynamic
messages. While the use of strong aesthetics can help communicate messages and overall
concepts, aesthetics must be integrated correctly into the curriculum so that students can
learn to work with formal qualities altogether rather as separate and unrelated
components. Formalism is often a concentration because it is easy to be added into the
curriculum as well as assessed. Freedman addresses this issue by observing how

It can include the breaking down of visual form into component parts that neatly
fit into the structure of curriculum as content is broken up into courses and
lessons. This model of aesthetics does not include an analysis of use, function,
underlying assumptions, social impact, and so on, because its application does not
tend to take into account sociocultural aspects of visual culture (p. 27).

Not only does the content feel disconnected, but there are problems with acculturation as
material is presented in a universal way. Formalism at one point became the definition of
aesthetics in education; this was/is problematic because the importance of social and
cultural meanings of art in education are ignored and not a focus as they should be (p.30).
With a visual culture arts-based curriculum and contemporary theory at hand, meaningful
works of art naturally arise. Freedman notes “However, in contrast to mainstream
curriculum, which tends to establish border conflict, form versus meaning, in an
increasing body of contemporary theory, meaning is inherent to aesthetics and interested
interpretations are not only expected but promoted” (p.33). Aesthetics and formal
decisions more naturally happen in artmaking when meanings and relationships are
emphasized.

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

After reading this chapter, I realized the importance of analyzing and critically
looking at systems that have been in place for long periods of time. A strong emphasis on
the formal qualities of art have been established and engrained in a lot of art curriculums.
While these formal qualities are important and can be integrated throughout the
curriculum, it would be absurd to have them be the curriculum in its entirety. If formal
qualities are taught alone and without any meaning, students will have so much harder of
a time grasping how to perform these technical skills anyway as they have no real reason
as to why they are doing what they are doing. It makes sense as to why art educators in
the past would rely so heavy on the formal qualities because they are easy to assess and
prove to be worthy; however, just because something is easy does not mean that it is the
right way to go about doing something. This whole topic really hits home for me because
I was taught solely on technical skill and the formal qualities of art my entire artistic
career until I started at Northern. I can still remember sitting in class having no idea why
I was drawing geometric designs that all individually were supposed to represent a
principle of art. I had no connection to these lines and there was no conceptuality
whatsoever in the assignment. I was bored and the whole experience felt like a huge
waste of time. This is why as a future educator I will never assign an assignment even
remotely similar to this. I do believe that meaning and aesthetics work together naturally.
There are ways to guide students to make aesthetics decisions instead of assigning
projects strictly focusing on aesthetics. Introducing students to aesthetics using their
visual culture as a vehicle to help students understand would only further engage the
students and allow for students to grasp this concept overall on a level that they can relate
to. For example, showing students different Instagram feeds where the creator has made a
clear decision to post pictures that all hang together in some way is an easy way to help
students understand what aesthetic is as well as how they may see it in their own daily
lives.

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Title: Chapter 3 - The Social Life of Art: The Importance of Connecting the Past with the
Present

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics and

the social life of art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

Chapter three focuses on how the past lives in the present and future. In order for
students to understand their world today, students should be guided on how to connect
their lives heavily influenced by visual culture to their past in order to understand the
complexities of the visual art world and in return help them to create meaningful works
of art. History is made up of stories from the past that call attention to particular moments
well as reflect the past and it is the job of educators to lead students through this history
as well as ensure that students are equipped with the tools to reflect critically on the
history that is being presented to them.

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

In this chapter, Freedman (2003) goes over history being not just the past but a
“reconstruction of the past.” Freedman notes “As such, the discipline of art history has
cast what came to be called the fine arts in a role of elevated economic value, moral
virtue, and universal appreciation” (p. 44). Art is deemed valuable because history has
said so and it has remained that way for a long period of time. Freedman also looks at
“the methods of valuation developed by art historians and how that has directly
influenced how people think about art,” not to mention the works of art covered in art
history classes are most of the times selected by art historians who have selected them to
be important (p.46). These selected works have been used over and over again and have
started to lose value because of the rather uninformed anti-multiculturalist nature. For
example, a lot of art that is looked at in art history classes comes from the same art
history textbook used for decades with euro-centric views and underrepresentation of
woman artists. In this case “professors and k-12 teachers on the whole still must
supplement these books with additional readings, on women artists, for example, which
unfortunately may work to reify the separation of the groups they seek to include” (p.
47). Time and the way that art history is presented in such a chronological way has
seemed to have subdued understandings of the past. A chronological portrayal such as
history presented in small bits of the past, indicate that there are no other ideas or actions
that took place during that specific time anywhere else in this compartmentalized way of
thinking about and considering time. Thinking about time in a multidimensional way
however demonstrates to students how different cultures’ ideas can coexist and happen
simultaneously. Along with these views Freedman observes that “As boundaries between
various forms of visual culture breakdown, old assumptions of quality must be
interrogated, quality in curriculum content must be redefined, and instructional methods
must be reconsidered in relation to contemporary experiences (p. 52). As new
advancements in technology are made and people go through new experiences in their
lives, artwork is viewed differently, and the quality of the work can sometimes change. It
is imperative that we change right there with it.

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

I have never really thought too deeply about why we learn about certain works of
art in an art history class. I guess I always just assumed that the works of art that we learn
about are specifically selected as important and worth learning about. While this may be
true, it never occurred to me that someone did have to select these works way back when
and in many art history classes nothing has changed. Classes are still learning about the
same works. In a world that changes so quickly it is kind of hard to believe that there are
not more contemporary and visual culture components in art history classes. While visual
culture changes daily, so should the way we look at and analyze art. As far as mainstream
art history being presented on a timeline, I for one, would have really benefited if it was
presented in a multidimensional way when I was younger. That goes for history in
general. When I was younger, I would learn about the history of a certain culture and
when we would move on to the next culture in my head I thought that that was what
happened next when in actuality, these cultures have lives and histories happening
simultaneously. Lately I have been really being considering underrepresented populations
of people/cultures and how I can be more inclusive with my daily language/what I bring
to the classroom. This chapter solidified the importance of that for me in the way that it
detailed how it is crucial to critically consider the subliminal messages that even art
history courses/textbooks deliver, i.e. artwork created by white heterosexual men. In my
future classroom, I cannot wait to introduce my students to a variety of working artists,
especially contemporary artists so that students can contextualize these artist’s current
impact on the visual world. I never really had the option to explore artists on my own. I
was just told what artists I needed to study by some of my professors and who were told
(probably) by art historians. This is exactly the point that Kerry Freedman is making.
Giving students the choice to explore artists that they find inspiring will only help their
artwork and further engage them in learning about history as it would be through a more
contemporary lens. Comparing and contrasting visual culture/contemporary works with
older works of art would be a way for students to see how far art as come but also how
some components of art has stayed the same.
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Title: Chapter 4 - Art and Cognition: Knowing Visual Culture

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching Visual Culture: Curriculum, Aesthetics

and the Social Life of Art (p. 63-85). New York, New York: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

A series of cognitive processes occur when we encounter or interact with visual

culture which in return engages us in our environment on multiple different levels; these
processes are a combination of psychobiological and sociocultural effects. Education
along with other sociocultural experiences influence the way that we think and therefore
approach the world with these personal and cultural methodologies. With the guidance of
a curriculum enriched with visual culture through cognitive processes of production and
viewing, students can better understand the relationship of form, feeling, and knowing
not only in the visual arts but in their life holistically.

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

In this chapter by Freedman (2003), discusses the relationship of form, feeling,

and knowing to learning with a visual culture approach. Our responses to visual culture
and some/part of the reason for why it is produced is a result of our psychobiological
responses and have a great deal to do with our ecological development as humans.
“Children are often more accepting of ambiguity in visual culture because they do not
have the same feelings tied to understanding. Rather, they have different emotional-
cognitive responses, which are also tied to their interests, such as active involvement, that
promote learning” (p. 66). The more students are engaged, the more students learn and
therefore are emotionally invested in the material.
When it comes to social learning and visual culture, Freedman (2003) states that
“although the purposes of public school art education have sociocultural roots, children
have been represented in curriculum as though they are without attributes of culture”
(p.75). This is evident when considering the stage-by-age and expert-novice models that
ignore culture/individuality. These models give helpful information to the field of art
education but do tend to overlook sociocultural and contextual factors. These factors
should not be ignored as much “much learning takes place in the context of social
conditions that shape what and how people know (p.74). Individual child development is
not universal and should not be treated as such.

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

Art and the connection of mental processes involved with production and viewing are
being recognized by researchers and scientists. That in and of itself is a major victory for
the field of art education. It is important to teach students why art is important as art is
one, if not the only subject that combines feelings/emotion with subject matter. Students
need art so that they have a place to make connections between the way that they feel and
what they are learning influenced by their peers and visual culture. The art classroom
allows for these types of ideas to flourish. Students are not very often asked to think
about their emotional state or to consider emotions that they have. Exploring these
feelings and providing a safe open environment for students to do this allows for students
to make stronger connections to the subject matter of art which in return deepens that
learning. Naturally, the more one is emotionally invested, the more they are engaged,
care, and therefore learn. I found it interesting when this chapter specifically discussed
student learning driven by student interests. This is something that I found to be
particularly relevant to the lesson that I conducted this semester with my fifth graders.
My lesson literally had students choosing their interests and hobbies and visually
depicting them. While some of them struggled technically with this, the students were
excited because they were able to choose their personal interests and hobbies; this kept
them engaged throughout. When students are actively involved in an activity that
considers what they are interested in, they are naturally going to be more engaged and
have feelings/emotions associated to these types of projects. It’s more impactful on a
student’s life regarding the visual arts if they are able to feel real emotions for their work
and about their work. It gives students a greater appreciation of the power that the visual
arts have whether it be when producing or viewing work. I plan to continue to have
projects that involve students actively exploring what they are interested in. What better
way to do this than by including student’s visual culture into the curriculum.
 FACILITATION SHEET

Title: Chapter 5 - Interpreting Visual Culture: Constructing Concepts for Curriculum

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date:

Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching Visual Culture: Curriculum, Aesthetics and the Social
Life of Art (p. 86-105). New York, New York: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

Visual culture plays a large role in cultural knowledge which in return influences
student interpretation both in terms of viewing art and making art. The visual arts
curriculum should address both contexts of viewing and making art as these contexts
provide fundamental assumptions in which visual culture is created and seen. As art
educators, it is crucial to teach our students to critically analyze the visual culture that
they are a part and critically reflect to develop strong interpretive skills so that they have
an awareness of the world that they live in and can make their own judgements; this will
only help them establish what kind of voice they want to have and want to be heard.

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

Freedman (2003) starts off this chapter by emphasizing “in the process of
viewing, people develop ideas about art, ranging from definitions and arts categories to
aesthetic judgments and what it means to be ‘cultured’ (p.86). From viewing art and
visual culture which as we have learned in previous chapters are blurring their boundary
lines, we can get contextual cultural insights and cues on what the world is like.
Freedman states that “new contexts cause new meanings to be constructed” (p.87). These
different contexts provide more of a significance for art in and of itself and can impact
the way that the work is perceived. Freedman states that “the skills required to produce,
analyze, and assess this expanding realm of visual culture are complex, crossing many
types of old boundaries, and indicate that a broadening of curriculum is essential” (p.87).
In this way the curriculum in which we teach our students should cover a variety of
objects made, viewed, and judged considering sociocultural aspects of life. This way, all
students can feel connected to and can relate to some type of work shown in class. This
level of comfort with familiar work may allow students to look at work that they have no
experience in viewing through a spiral curriculum.
Freedman (2003) situates “to teach visual culture requires interdisciplinary
investigations of the underlying assumptions that can be revealed in the conceptual space
between images and objects” (p.89). It is essential that we teach our students to become
critical analyzers of what they see and view everyday so that students don’t become
immune to the messages that are being delivered to them all the time, especially when
borders between cultures are being crossed and suggestive images are being represented.
Freedman states that
 Rather seeking the best, expert interpretation of a work of art, students can
broaden their understanding of interpretation and their interpretive skills by
finding their own personal and cultural meanings, comparing, combining, and
challenging these with the interpretations of others to increase associations and
build complexity (p.93).
Educators must promote the idea of multiple ways of thinking and doing so that students
understand that there are a multitude of possibilities and ways to interpret. This way they
do not ever feel as though they are thinking “wrong.”

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

First of all, I believe that students should have the opportunity to observe art in a
multitude of contexts in order to understand that the meaning of art can change depending
on where it is displayed. Meanings of work can deepen with the environment that it is
placed in. Field trips are a great way for students to observe art. Yes, museums and
gallery visits are always a great way for students to view art. However, bringing students
to more unconventional locations to view presentations and visual culture will help
students understand that they are surrounded by art in their everyday life. I work in a
retail and the way my store builds walls and constructs tables is by trend and color
story/motif. For example, the color story of a wall may be yellow, and the trend may be
streetwear. This wall would then have yellow apparel and accessories that are classified
as streetwear merchandised in it. By bringing students even to a shopping mall to see how
stores set up displays will help them construct meanings of why it was done in the order
and way that it was done as well as giving them the opportunity to view visual qualities
and aesthetics. Not to mention, a place like a shopping mall is loaded with advertisements
for students to critically view. It is important for students to realize that they do not only
have to be in a museum or gallery to view art with the muddling lines of fine art and
visual culture.
I appreciated the end of the chapter that discussed artists represented in the mass
media. I have always felt as though I don’t have what it takes to be an artist. I love to
make art but who I am as a person and what I look like does not fit what I have
constructed in my brain as “an artist.” I believe this has a lot to do with the way I view
artists in the media and what I have built up in my own brain of what an artist should be
as I overthink everything. I have recently come to terms with identifying as an artist
however there is still a part of me that does not feel that I fit in. I go back and forth with
that and I want students to realize that even artists have stereotypes that they must not fall
to the confines of. Teaching students to critically reflect on how the media portrays artists
and how there is not a checklist that one must adhere to be an artist will help them feel
comfortable with their identity and the visual arts.

FACILITATION SHEET
Title: Chapter 6 - Curriculum as Process: Visual Culture and Democratic Education

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching Visual Culture: Curriculum, Aesthetics

and the Social Life of Art (p. 106-127). New York, New York: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

Curriculum should reflect the lives of students and the visual culture that they are
a part of as it is a form of social action and must be treated as such. By supporting a
democratic curriculum that fosters intellectual freedom, creative imagination, and social
responsibility, students are given the opportunity to explore themselves as well as other
cultures deepening their learning on a global level. In a contemporary art curriculum,
students actively construct meaning through their personal experiences and the media and
are easily able to take in new information strengthening their overall knowledgebase due
to the multiple opportunities for interactive artistic investigation.

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

In this chapter Freedman (2003) begins by saying that while difficult to achieve,
democratic principles are ideals. Freedman states that “postmodern art makes imperative
a connectedness that undermines knowledge traditionally taught in school, highlighting
the importance of interactions between individuals, cultural groups, forms of
representation, and professional disciplines” (p. 108). This brings up the point that
students are always learning. They come into the classroom with these unique lived
experiences and an array of cultural knowledge in which the curriculum should allow for
them to explore their own self for further investigation of their place in the world and the
visual culture that they are surrounded by.
Freedman continues her discussion by saying that there are at least five distinct
conditions that show the curriculum in process, these include: being a form of
representation, is like a collage, is a creative production, are “likely stories” rather than
objectified and disembodied truths and should be made transparent. These conditions
regarding process can best be executed through a spiral curriculum form. Students can
delve into the intricacies of visual culture as its organization is meant to build on
knowledge as well as strengthening it. Freedman states “no other part of education can
help students understand the power of the visual arts in human life or so well explain the
interactive relationship between cognition and emotion, thinking and feeling” (p. 115).
Students benefit from art education by exploring their visual culture which helps them
construct knowledge and extend their imaginations but also helps them construct their
identities. If art education is looked upon as a discipline in which students are enlightened
in the way that they see themselves and the world as it should be, an art teacher has a
much bigger job than what it may seem on the surface level. There should be a desire to
keep the education of children intellectually challenging and this means teaching about
conflicts which provide meaning. If cultural institutions in a democracy are to educate
enlightened citizens who take part in political decision-making and work together to
improve cultural conditions, then relationships and conflicts of meaning in the realm of
images must be considered in curriculum” (p. 124). This goes to show the importance of
art as a social form of action as mentioned earlier by Freedman in the chapter.
It is also important that skills and concepts be taught simultaneously to ensure
that students can appropriately and successfully construct and connect information
together. Freedman suggests that this can be done “…by briefly teaching a new concept
or skill every day through additional skill training as it is needed in the process of
completion of a student work of art, by building conceptual complexity through the
introduction of related concepts as a lesson progresses, or by including the work of
diverse artists and various forms of visual culture as new examples of previously taught
concepts within a lesson” (p. 120).

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

This chapter really made me realize the fact that students are constantly learning
inside and outside of the classroom. They are constantly taking in new information,
constructing, reconstructing, and synthesizing new knowledge. This is why it is important
to recognize that each and every student is going to come into the classroom with
different lived experiences and cultural influences. Creating a democratic curriculum that
gives all students the opportunity to share who they are as an individual and express their
own unique voice through art is of utmost importance. It is so important that all students
feel that they can share their ideas and have their voice be heard no matter where they
come from. In my academic career, I felt that I could be heard but did not feel like what I
had to say was important. To challenge this as a future educator, I must encourage
students that their ideas are important and acknowledge the importance of their ideas, so
they not only feel like they can share, but they feel that what they are sharing matters.
On another note, my experience with art in high school and at my community
college was very technique based. I like that Freedman (2003) recognizes the importance
of skills and concepts being taught simultaneously. I feel that I could have learned skills
more effectively if I had been working on developing concepts behind what I was
working on. I’ll never forget this assignment that I was given in my 2-D design class at
my community college. It consisted of using line and geometric figures on Bristol board
paper. Each piece of Bristol board had to have a design on it that represented one of the
elements and principles of art. There was no conceptuality to it whatsoever. I remember
sitting in class wondering, “Why am I doing this?” I also remember thinking that this
project was for little kids because of how seemingly “easy” the project was. My newborn
teacher brain now tells me that this would not even be a helpful assignment for younger
students because of its lack of concept and how bored I was with it. Why would I ever
want to bore my students with something like this in the future? This just goes to show
the imperative nature of teaching skills and concepts together as it strengthens the
meaning and development of the skills in general.

FACILITATION SHEET
Title: Chapter 7 - Art.edu: Technological Images, Artifacts, and Communities

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching Visual Culture: Curriculum, Aesthetics

and the Social Life of Art (p. 128-146). New York, New York: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

With the seemingly endless advancements in technology, art has been changed
forever; it is the job of an art educator to help students critically analyze and dissect the
blurring and crossing boundaries of concepts, truth, and fiction. It is important to note the
social conditions and the relationship between the audience and viewing an image
because cultural and personal meanings are created. Since technology and the internet has
become a normal part of life, students need the tools to make educated decisions and
judgements regarding the sensual, pervasive aesthetics of images in order for them to
understand this technological visually, stimulating world that they live in.

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

Freedman (2003) discusses the aesthetics of visual technologies that suggest as

well as represent. Because of the aesthetics of technology, the crossing of conceptual
borders occurs which leads to connections between different people, places, objects,
ideals and professional disciplines to be made. Freedman states that “technological
imagery blurs the boundaries between truth and fiction by acting as both” (p. 129).
Images made onscreen can appear to be so realistic and visually appealing that they can
be rather confusing to an audience on whether or not what is being shown is real or fake.
Especially for children, this distinction can be even harder growing up in a world full of
technology and visual images. Freedman concludes that “visual culture plays a crucial
role in boundary crossing precisely because images are often more believable than texts
and newer technologies have accentuated this condition” (p. 130). This is especially since
young kids can see and understand images before they can read. It is crucial that we teach
children how to be critical consumers of these images as pervasive images can even cause
a desensitization to reality.
Children are even exposed to art with video and computer games that they play
enriching their visual culture experience. Freedman (2003) states “these computer games
exemplify the border crossing between visual forms of entertainment and education. They
are problem-solving simulations, entertaining games, and examples of computer art” (p.
131). Players of these games are receiving information visually and interacting with these
images creating new stories throughout the process. Freedman notes, “such games
promote the development of many alternative answers to questions and various routes to
establish a narrative” (p. 132). Again, we can see that an art form is suggesting that there
is no one, correct answer to arrive at in the end.
Freedman (2003) continues the conversation by saying “any single image can be
interpreted in many ways, and some image-makers, such as fine artists, have long
deliberately constructed images that suggest unlimited and unstable meanings” (p. 140).
Sometimes when images are made they are made to intentionally be confusing or have
multiple meanings making it difficult for children and even adults to understand. With an
effective art education, students can be made conscious of the implications of these
images through exposure and dynamic conversations and discussions in the classroom.
Freedman observes, “through a contextual curriculum, students gain an awareness of the
place of technology in the production and reproduction of for example, visual
stereotypes, and become aware of the perils and possibilities of the virtual world” (p.
142).
People can access information through technology with the click of a button,
literally. These visual forms are more easily to access than literary forms in this day and
age. Freedman concludes this chapter by discussing that television reinvented the
availability of visual representation. It can be said that television is its own curriculum in
which the media educates. This is known as edu-tainment. With the help, support, and
encouragement of teachers, students can separate what they see from images instead of
what the images are telling them to see which deepens their understanding of the power
and influence that technology has.

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

As stated from my art and technology k-12 class professor Nicholas Leonard,
“Technology is not inherently good or evil.” This has particularly stuck with me and I
thought of it often while reading this chapter because I now realize the vast amounts of
information, benefits, and ease technology offers but I also understand the implications of
technology and the power of images created with the use of technological advancements.
The art and technology class helped me feel more confident and in control of the machine
that I was operating. As a human, I still have the ultimate power over the technology that
I am exposed to and use. Teaching students that they have the power and control over
what the computer does is a good way to motivate and self-assure them so that they are
not intimidated by technology and can confidently and critically be aware of technology
and the messages that technology has the power to make.
I see how influential technology is for young kids often. I nanny for my family at
least twenty hours a week. Just the other day I watched my twelve-year-old cousin Gisele
spill a glass of milk on her lap as she was invested in doing something on her phone and
not paying attention to drinking from her cup. On the way home from picking up my 7-
year-old cousin Scarlett from dance, she asked me if it was okay if she could eat her
dinner while watching television downstairs. In the family both Gisele and Scarlett have a
limited amount of “screen time.” They must send a request via iPhone to me, my aunt or
my uncle if they want to be on an internet application for a longer period of time than
they are granted daily. At first, I was not sure of this until I realized how much both the
girls wanted to be on the internet/their phones and understood why this rule was set in
place. Students still must be able to fully function the real world, so they can better make
the differentiation from reality and fiction that tend to bleed together through technology
as mentioned in the text. It is important for students to have real life experiences and
technological experiences as they are one and the same in this day and age. Helping
students realize the importance of when to put down technology and when to pick up
technology is a crucial revelation that teachers can help students with so that they are able
to communicate effectively online and in real life situations.

FACILITATION SHEET
Title: Chapter 8 - Contributing to Visual Culture: Student Artistic Production and
Assessment

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date: Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching Visual Culture: Curriculum, Aesthetics

and the Social Life of Art (p. 147-168). New York, New York: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

Art education through a visual culture lens allows for students to experience how
to produce art while making crucial connections between form, feeling, and knowing. It
is important that students not only are critically consuming the images that they see but
are contributing by making a statement through their own work that promotes who they
are and what they have to say through their own visual voice. Assessment in the arts is
difficult to say the least, but a variety of assessment methods exist so that students can
extend their learning after the production of the art. Proper reflection is essential in order
to help understand the complexities and thought processes behind the making of the art
and inherent contextual ideas and concepts within the art.

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

While individualized studio production is important, the studio environment

within a classroom is an entirely unique and enriching collaborative experience.
Freedman (2003) describes this type of education setting as, “the foundation of a learning
community and a socially interactive environment that involves individuals and groups in
viewing, discussing, analyzing, debating, and making art” (p. 147). Students come into
the art classroom to express their ideas and what they have to say through the power and
creation of visuals. Freedman goes on to observe, “if education is working, students can
make art that comments on social injustice, community change, and concern for the
environment- issues about which they are often in the process of forming opinions” (p.
148). With the proper guidance on how to effectively analyze and debate artistic ideas in
a non-confrontational and democratic way, students will feel comfortable expressing
themselves and will feel comfortable giving their informed opinion on art presented to
them.
There has been much educational debate regarding assessment in the arts. This is
because of how art is a subject that students do not have to have one correct answer that
they should arrive at. In artmaking, students are encouraged to be original and express
one’s own ideas. With the variety of outcomes, assessment becomes difficult. Freedman
(2003) states “assessment of art is not a matter of being ‘subjective or ‘objective’; it is a
matter of experience (p. 150). With first-hand practice and exposure of assessment
methods students can understand the complexities involved when viewing art. In time
students will realize that there are multiple ways of making and knowing. Freedman
declares “by pointing out these differences, teachers can help students see that an
understanding of art requires a search beyond the surface that can give students skills in
investigation and help them to develop visual sensitivity” (pg. 153). Through the
teacher’s modeling of ways to make serious artistic judgments, students will be shown,
encouraged and motivated on how to do so as well.
Freedman (2003) continues by discussing critique methods in the art classroom
that provide a good foundation for conversation to emerge between students. Some of
these critiques include traditional critique, student questioning, individual dialogue, small
group critique, peer pairs, and role play. These assessment methods also hold the
individual accountable. Freedman states that “this focus on individualism is an
educational strength of art education because it fosters qualities of independent self-
expression and self-esteem in student learning that can be important benefits of the arts”
(pg. 158). Also, the more comfortable the student is individually, the better that he/she
will respond when put into a group. Students will begin to see how valued their opinion is
in conjunction with establishing their own artistic responsibility as an individual and
within a community of learning.

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

At the beginning of the chapter I really appreciate Freedman’s (2003) taking on

the studio environment and community dynamic that the art classroom offers. It’s more
than just a classroom that you make art in. There are special connections and vibrations in
the room that inspire and fill the air with creative energy. I have realized what an
influence a studio environment has on me when considering my old painting room at my
community college. I still find it so hard to pick up brush and just paint when I am at
home. When I am in the working studio sitting with other artists I find the tranquility that
I need to create. I feel so strongly about this that I am even considering taking an
independent study painting course at my old community college so that I will have the
extra push to make it into that classroom and get work done. Not only does the
environment motivate me in and of itself, but all the other working artists motivate me
and support me as they can relate to what I am doing. Through this kind of practice,
assessment methods naturally emerge. For example, everyone in the painting room gets
up at their leisure to walk around and look at what everyone is making. Many of the times
this is when other people provide feedback (formative assessment) which is encouraging
and helpful.
The impact that assessment in the arts can have on students has always stood out
to me. Especially when young, it is so easy for students to get burned during a critique
which can easily turn them away from the arts forever. This makes me feel like I will
have to try extra hard to ensure that the critiques I facilitate are conducted in such a way
that students are respectful and responsive to the feelings of those around them and the
comments that are made are to better the work and/or to support and encourage the artist.
In order to ensure that critiques remain a safe space for students to share their ideas, it is
important to lay ground rules regarding what is acceptable and not acceptable behavior.
As the teacher, I could point on differences in the work as Freedman (2003) mentions in
order to encourage and support students who show that they are taking risks in their work
and also to encourage the expression of original ideas.
In high school I took one art fundamentals course and I do not recall there ever
being one critique. Looking back on this, I am rather disappointed, and I wonder how
different the experience could have been if there would have been. The only form of
assessment that I remember is getting a numerical value score on a piece of paper given
to us with our artwork. We never even got to see the actual rubric. It was just a number
that meant little to nothing looking back on it now. Students must be able to understand
the assessment done by their teachers so that they can improve and better themselves as
an artist. In my future teaching endeavors, I will be sure to provide specific feedback so
that my students know how to improve upon their work. Critiques are a wonderful way
for students to feel comfortable sharing their ideas in a more formal way so integrating
different critique methods within lessons is a way for students to get used to this. If I
would have had more direct feedback and critiques earlier in my artistic life, I feel as
though I would be more comfortable talking about art than I am now.