Jennifer Chen – Art is the Window to the Soul

Reflection on the Gund Collection, VAG

On Oct 24^th, 2015, I visited the Vancouver Art Gallery with a group of teachers during Pro-D programs. Gallery tour presents the exhibition: the Gund Collection. The main goals of the tour are to consider historical and contemporary artistic traditions and disciplines and examine artists’ approaches to their art in terms of ideas, materials, techniques and inspiration.

This exhibition features a group of historical and contemporary Northwest Coast First Nations art objects, including magnificent nineteenth-century masks, feast bowls, argillite carvings and other objects from across the region. It comprises some nineteen historical works by Haida and other First National artists, as well as important contemporary works: poles by Ken Mowatt and Norman Tait, drawings by Bill Reid and a collection of extraordinary mask works by Robert Davidson. The Gund Collection tells a story of art in their regions.

Robert Davidson is one of Canada’s most important contemporary artists and a leading figure in the renaissance of Haida culture. Born in Hydaburg, Alaska, in 1946, Davidson spent his early years in the Haida community of Old Massett and learned to carve from his father and grandfather who were accomplished Haida carvers. While retaining precise technical traditions of Haida art and the legacy of Haida stories, Davidson has also established a distinct personal style, pushing formline design beyond traditional limits, combining elements in a manner that is at once deeply traditional and very contemporary.

In a major exhibition in 2004, Robert wrote: “My passion is reconnecting with my ancestors’ knowledge. The philosophy is what bred the art, and now the art has become the catalyst for us to explore the philosophy. I feel that, for Haida people, it’s the art that has helped us to reclaim our place—to reclaim our beliefs, mythology and spirituality. Other facets we’re working on are our language and our songs, our dances, our Haida names. What’s exciting for me is to express what the art is all about from my experience…I want the art to be recognized as a high art form. I feel it is up to the artists to bring it into that arena, to challenge the art world’s blinders of ‘curio’ that still define how our art is seen” (Duffek, 2004).

A great artist is able to appreciate his/her root culture and know how to bring their traditional elements back into modern life. Therefore, Robert constantly challenges himself to represent Haida art in different ways. His works builds on both the ancestral art that often incorporates animal figures in totem poles and masks and contemporary, abstract shapes.

Encouraging students to bring their traditional elements into the process of art making is also a part of art education. Making art, encountering art and using art is crucial in understanding how we learn to make sense of the changing world around us. Through art, we could find where we belong. This experience builds the bridge over communities, schools and social groups, links us to cultures across space and time and shapes our cultural identity. Art making is also a process that shapes the way we think, our relationships with others, and how our ideas become action that can make a difference (Sullian, 2011). As Robert wrote in 1993: “Our art has helped us as a people to reconnect with our cultural past, helped us in regaining our own identity, giving us strength to reclaim our place in the world.”

Traditional craft skills, such as caving, weaving, forging and soldering, are in danger of being lost as demand for them falls in the digital age. Robert Davidson, as one of Canada’s most respected craftsmen, was surrounded by fine carving from an early age from both his father and grandfather. He has carried on the family artistic tradition since he was 13 years old. Those skills still hold meaning for us today. They are valuable for our students to learn in our contemporary art class.

When using traditional skills, we literally grasp nature, as Robert used alder, horse hair, shells, stones and feather in his collection. Natural materials electrify our sense of touch and smell, and direct us to contact with nature like no other material pursuit. Furthermore, traditional skills could stretch our creativity and reveal our inner craftsperson. Practicing these skills sharpens the mind and taps our body’s kinesthetic sense. Through mastering traditional skills, our students could have another set of resources to rely on in the wildneress as our natural environment has not changed all that much. So as acquiring skills, students also could gain insight from nature and environmental awareness.

That reminds me of my observation in one art class with 6 students and another film class with 32 students during my school visit, which made me realize the impacts of media education and the need of promoting traditional art with hands-on experiences. Youth already spend so much time on media and electronic equipment. I think we should encourage them to take more courses on working with body, as fine art, drama, dance etc, and highlight the value of traditional handcrafts to our students.

Reference

Hussain A. (2012). Editor’s Note: Robert Davidson, Haida Artist. Retrieved from: http://jaar.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/10/10/jaarel.lfs085.extract
Quinn T., Ploof J. and Hochtritt L. (2012). Art and social justice education: Culture as commons. Published by Routledge

Reflection on Social Issues through Public Art

It is generally understood that personal growth and social development are related. The involvement in a collaborate art-making project is a social learning experience. It offers the students “a sense of belonging by participating in the events that punctuate the social life of the community” (Wallot, 1999). However, the students learn about another culture in class, but not in the context of that culture, so it may lack authenticity. The students may resort to stereotyping because they lack a personal connection with the community, and they only have superficial knowledge of the ethic group or community. Some Aboriginal artists, such as Rita L. Irwin (1999), have critiqued the dominant culture as only painting stereotypical images of Aboriginal peoples, which degrades public perception of them and sacred sites of land.

Critical Question: What can we do to bring cultural experience into the classroom and allow our students to better understand and build personal connections with other ethic groups?

Assessment in Art

Critical Question:

What is the role of assessment in expressive/ spiritual/social justice art?

Why should we assess art? Back to the basic: Why should we teach art? studio technique? literacy? communication? theory? history? criticism?

Reflection on Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy roots in displaying cultural competence at teaching in a cross-cultural or multicultural setting. Especially, in Canada, there is a need to bridge the gap between traditional Aboriginal education and western education systems by including spirituality in Aboriginal education practices.

In Art 8, the teacher assigned a project of using Aboriginal art forms as the base by adding contemporary art elements from your own cultural background to make a new art of mixing cultural elements, which enabled each student to relate the project content to his or her cultural context.

The similar idea has been incorporated in Ceramic 12. Students have been encouraged to make 3D fishes with personal and cultural hand marks or symbols. These works do represent their individual creativity as well as life experience. These projects help students explore their true identity and integrity (self-acceptance). A “critical pedagogy that takes into consideration how the symbolic and material transactions of the everyday provide the basis for rethinking how people give meaning and ethnical substance to their experience and voices” (Ladson-Billings, 2014). Bearing this in mind, teachers who are comfortable to teach within their identity and integrity are able to make student connections and bring subjects alive.

Another thing I observed is high population of new International students in art class who do not speak English very well. Language barrier becomes a major issue during art making. They do not understand and therefore are not able to follow the teachers’ instruction. Living in a new environment is a big challenge for them, asking for help is another challenge. What I did in the class during practicum is offering language translation and writing down the keywords we were using in another language and pasted them on the wall to expand their art vocabulary. I believe that by making education culturally relevant, it improves academic achievement.

Reflection on school visit

King George Secondary School

It’s a city school located in downtown with MYP IB program. We observed two art classes with junior high and senior high. The teacher, named Matt, has build rapport and mutual trust with school and students for he has been there for 5 years.

Hook Question:

In the first junior high art class, Matt showed a 10 mins demo on blind contour drawing and followed by student practice. I like the way he used hook questions to connect students’ life experience. For example, he first asked if there was anyone played video games last weekend and then explained blind contour drawing as you playing video games or playing piano without looking at the keyboard. By doing this, students got less worried about trying out something new.

Class Management:

The number of each class was around 10, comparing the number of our teacher candidates were more than 20, so the ratio was 1:2. They were kind of being overwhelmed by the big cohort of people. But the students really know about their teacher and his expectation, both classes went really well until the end. In the senior high art class, students were allowed to take photographs out of school in community, but within the permitted areas Matt provided in the map.

Technology Assistant:

Projector, Youtube video and images from google have been mostly used.

Classroom Setting:

Kiln, cameras, cabinet to place paint, adequate sunlight, even also has bike repair studio with full sets of tools.

Communication with students:

approachable and understanding (talking to students more like friends), clear and brief instruction, provides step by step guidelines, effective time management

Assessment:

Matt mentioned it is hard for him to assess both IB students and non IB students in the same class. Since it is a small school, if mark the students too hard, they would lose their interest in taking art class, which might lead to lose his job. Higher grade students are more motived than lower grade.

Mulgrave IB school

That is one of the top schools in BC. Since it is also an IB school, I imagined the students there must work so hard and stressed out. Actually, it blew me away to see the enlightened students from a new perspective. I interviewed a student from art class and asked how she felt about the workload. She surprised me by saying that the workload was manageable and she liked being challenged. She knew all she was doing would be good for her future and also enjoyed the various subjects she could choose from. I believe IB program not only develops the “genius” but also 21st century skills as well as promoting student maturity and self-regulation.

Class Observation:

Christine, the art teacher in senior school, is very professionalism and has a good heart. She gave us a warm welcome through verbal language and significant amount of eye contact. She also speaks at medium speed with clarity to us and all her students including ESL students. There were only 6 students in her class and each year getting fewer students for most of them became more interested in film making. That made me start to think how to highlight the value of visual art and address its unique and aesthetic characteristic.

The big idea of this art class is self identity exploration through all kinds of media. The students firstly needed to work on their own art journal with self portrait sketches and did experiments with all different materials; secondly, they would do research on the artists who inspired them with their art techniques or skills; finally, students will work on the final art project and reflective essay.

Assessment:

In each stage, students were welcome to critique each other’s art work and provide feedback. Before doing this, they did self-evaluation by placing three cards with rubrics in order from the most strongest area they have, to the area they think they need to work on. The three rubrics are conceptual qualities, work connects to research, technical competence/ elements and principles. She emphasizes on each area equally. I like the way she values contributions from different perspective, so that art education is more holistic and balanced.

Field Trip Observation:

We went to visit Golden Smith Art Gallery with students and Christine. A lady who worked in gallery led the tour. I was surprised to see their reflective thought on arts were also mature and provided great insight. Each person got a chance to speak out and engaged in the discussion. After each artwork being presented, Christine would raise another question to summary up and connected these questions/art works/techniques to her students’ personal projects: letting them think about what they can apply into their art making.

Observation on Film Class

32 students, way more than the students in art class. New studio with updated equipments. Make me realize the significance of media education. But youth already spend too much time on media and electronic equipment, I think we should encourage them to take more courses of working with body, as fine art, drama, dance etc. Rubric on assessment: 50% production, 25% theory, 25% analysis. Students come into this class at any beginning of semester. In order to make each one to catch up with the rest of class, the teacher is giving one to one instruction to a newcomer.

Social and Personal Transformation

More participation, communication, and collaboration in school education which allows students to be more critical producers of their own cultures, not just consumers.

“Copy + Share” project advocates that we would get more benefits by sharing our own resources.

“If you are not actively trying to dismantle systems of injustice, you are helping to maintain the status quo.”

Art can also bring critical pedagogical discourse within the field to reach young people and affect in them a transformation of consciousness to positive social change.

Teaching from object to subject: traditional art education is “object”-centered; it tend to place the “art work” over experiences and relationship with art.

What is he purpose of art class? Art education that focuses on cultural production, in which the students is the one who has vision and wants to learn and to ask. When we failed to understand their vision, it is hard to flight against the notion that it is the student who lacks. Meanwhile, we need to avoid the cliches while insisting that we don’t know what will come out of the process.

Social transformation requires personal transformation, and sometimes means risking these personal investments and opening ourselves up for new possibilities and new ways of relating to one another.

Art (rebellion) + education (institute) = creativity + discipline

Through listening, reflecting, and articulating our respective stories we shape the meaning, significance, and connectedness of our experiences. But role can story and image play in challenging notions of difference?

Through examining the use of images and symbols to convey heightened emotion and action in various forms of sequential art, and revising these experiences through art assignments can facilitate platforms for discussions about discrimination, hazing, bullying, and perceived social hierarchies to which many of us fall victim in our formative years. We can, therefore, generate empathy for those who endure various forms of oppression by discussing our personal challenges. It also compel us to generate images that connect to these lives pains.

We first work to build a sense of community through personal exchanges before embarking on the challenging and painful issues that affect collective groups.

Discussing how images and objects convey emotions and evoke conversation serves as a bridge for connecting this content to the familiar world of our students.

Reflection on Media Education

” Good media education is not inoculation against feared effects but preparation in using and understanding how media operate, producing meaning, and help construct realities.” (Darts D. 2007)

Educators’ responsibility is not to shield students from the danger of negatives that media brings, but to promote their critical thinking and realization about where media comes from and what the purpose of it is. Be aware that media shapes our thought, behavior and belief. By participating in media activities, viewers become part of art creation and have great influence on forming other people’s thoughts. Therefore, media is a tool for us to express, to generate and to reflect. “Deconstructing and reproducing the technical and aesthetic ‘grammars’ that make up the language of multimodal media products can help young people important expressive and communicative skills and can facilitate understandings about how the media arts to frame and filter the world while seeming to be a clear window.”

How can we facilitate students to appreciate both “high” and “low” art and to understand both forms of art not just as products but as representations of different life experiences?

The Intersection of Art and Politics

Emily Jacir is a Palestinian American artist whose work addresses the plight of the Palestinian people through universal themes of home and community. Her artwork reveals to viewers the universal plight of human beings who suffer the loss of home and homeland. In which, I found an echo with her feeling about loss and confusion in cultural identity.

When I am thinking about community, I expect it is a place for everyone to grow by supporting each other. I know Vancouver already has done a great job on building multicultural community by facilitating colorful multicultural programs. However, let’s look at another side of Vancouver: the cost of living is increasingly out of reach for low-wage workers who are mostly new immigrants.

Vancouver is a place having special privileges for people who have potential networking connections for local people. Discrimination in employment still exists. In my first job, I didn’t get the same pay as other local people. But with the same qualifications, I am competent for a professional job in my homeland. Hence that makes me rethink citizenship as concept.

Painted in 2012 by J. Chen. As immigrants, we are like no-root dandelions flying around to find right places to plant ourselves.

Paula Nicho Cumez also speaks from the heart about immigrant rights in her Crossing Borders. Over the boarders, some people triumph, and some people fail. That’s how things go when someone leaves their place of born. Even I wasn’t forced to leave my country to Canada, I have strong feeling about people who leave their cherished home and migrate in order to survive.

Art as Experience

“Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results.” ― John Dewey

More thinking on the Dewey’s pedagogy of art as experience, it starts make more sense to me. Art plays a non-negligible role of activating a shift “in the one who experiences at the moment of experiencing, with the result that one is made different or becomes other than was prior to participation” (Grosz, 2011; . O’Donoghue, 2012) In Lee Mingwei’s work, the guests, who have been invited to dine with him, were sharing their stories of gratitude, forgiveness, and understanding with him in public setting with the minimalist table design. This simple yet multi-sensorial design of installation alludes to the spatiality and sensuality as an aesthetic faculty and the place where participants and artist to meet to exchange their experience of life and be changed by that.

Such experience reminds me of one of my art teaching with the primary elementary school students. When I was try to deliver a lesson on expressing hope through art in suffering, I met unexpected outcomes. Despite being a similar age, the students could not relate to artwork done by the children from the concentration camps. Learning from this experience, I redesigned the lesson plan. To inspire their experience of art, firstly I needed to enrich their experience of hardships and stimulate their imagination about what oppressed lives would be like. I set up a big tent in the classroom to show poor living conditions and cover all the windows to create a dark and miserable atmosphere. We watched videos about suffering kids in Syria, drank bitter tea, and meditated on the Psalm about suffering and salvation. These activities and experiences gave them deeper understanding about suffering. Afterwords, I asked them to make art on kites which would fly high above all the hardships symbolized as hope in their lives.

This art class was way more successful than the one without experiencing suffering, which had great impact on them from now on. They would remember how art formed their way of looking into the world and themselves through experiences.

A Mirror of Self

Media as a Part of Life

Social Community

WeChat, Line, Facebook are the top social media that I have been using daily, and which shapes my lifestyles and builds up connections with people all over the world. I have to say, that I spend most of my social time on WeChat, which is an online Chinese community. With a group of my Chinese friends, I am feeling secure and be cared for, as I am alone in this country without any connections except for church friends. When I am thinking about community, I expect it is a place for everyone to grow by supporting each other. I know Vancouver already has done a great job on building multicultural community by facilitating colorful multicultural programs. However, let’s look at another side of Vancouver: the cost of living is increasingly out of reach for low-wage workers who are mostly new immigrants.

I do have some friends on Facebook, but not as many as my Chinese and Taiwanese friends. The goal for me in this year that to make more connections with local people and learn to overstep the cultural barrier. As an Art and Home Economics teacher Candidate, I should lead my students to accept multicultural differences in positive ways. So now, leaving all the negatives and fears behind, I am pursuing the goal of being a great teacher.

News

It has become my habit to check CBC and BBC news daily after this Education program start, since I just realized I have had no paid enough attention to social movements that have significant influence on not only education but also our kids’ mindset. To know what they care about is to know how to lead them beyond the classroom.

I am choosing two channels to look at because I know different countries or parties hold different point-of-views on a same issue. Britain has a stronger connection with China, since Hong Kong was a part of their territory. BBC obviously reports more about the mainland, and relationships between it and Taiwan or Hong Kong. BBC also has stronger sense on art, history and culture which Canada is really short of. I enjoy reading BBC news from wide variety of areas, despite their narcissistic or overly proud tone about their rich history.

CBC, on another hand, delivers the same political tone as America and moves at the same pace. For example, America started to issue 10 year visas for Chinese residents, not long after, Canada made the same action. Canada follows America closely behind, but America is more aggressive than Canada in terms of military engagement on foreign soil.

Learning Tools

Learning is a life-long process, a quest of self and a journey to the unknown world. Basically, I keep an English dictionary and online open-learning courses in my smart phone. The dictionary helps me with instant-translation and memorizing English words by mnemonics. Open-learning courses provided by universities around the world opens my mind of knowledge of interdisciplinary and intercultural education, which could be beneficial to my lesson plan for Art. For example, political, historical and social factors all have impact on Art movements. To let students be aware of these underlying factors is to help them understand how and why art streams are formed at a particular time. Therefore, artistic thinking is not separate from daily life, but rather can enrich every aspect of one’s life. The goal of Art education is more the spirit than the mechanical skills.

Spiritual Supply

Staying in tune with God’s word each day is essential in my life. After I open my eyes in bed, I turn on the radio at the channel of daily devotion and let God’s words to wake me up. That is where my daily strength comes from. His infinite grace supplies me to teach with passion and love.

Reflection

Social media is like a mirror reflecting who we are and whom we want to be. With more connection with Canadian people, I will be more like a Canadian. However, there must be cultural conflicts over self-identity, beliefs, and ethics. For people who speak English as their second language, they are likely to distant themselves from original ethnics once they have been assimilated, or even start to discriminate who are less Canadian, or in the other extreme, live with their ethical groups without attempts to learn new culture. Look at how hard indigenous people try to blend themselves into White culture, it is still controversial to say they gain or lose.
Be aware of how social media has cryptical strength to influence and control people’s life. Every day we are exposed to explosive news, advertisements, and theories of mind. We will be drowned by these ideologies if we are lacking in great discernment.