The article, Beyond Visual Culture: Seven Statements of Support for Material Culture Studies in Art Education asks us to expand or view of Visual Culture and consider that Material Culture is a more appropriate and encompassing terminology and idea. Early in the article, the authors (Paul E. Bolin & Doug Blandy) state that Art Educators are advantaged over other educators in preparing people to live and learn in a visual environment (247). I agree that Art Educators are fortunate to deal with the world of visual culture, but we are presented with an endless amount of material and information to access and make sense of. It is exciting, but it is also a massive challenge.
As article progresses, we learn that the term visual culture is not enough in that we must consider multi-sensory aspects of art and culture such as sound, performance, everyday objects, media, technology and tactile forms, etc. When we consider the idea of Material Culture as well, it expands this vast arena even more, making it even more daunting to tackle in a classroom. Art educators are striving to educate children and youth about art amid a torrent of fast moving sensory experiences that are pervasive, encompassing, and distracting (255).
I enjoyed thinking about these seven pointed statements, getting us to think about Material Culture and I accept that the term Visual Culture is not enough to accurately describe what are face day to day. As time progresses, and this idea expands even further, I wonder if the term Material Culture is not quite doing the trick anymore, and what a more appropriate term will be? Or is already?
