Category Archives: Reading Reflections

Here’s where you put your biweekly reading responses

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unnamed unnamed-1 will trump

After reading Vermeer in Bosnia, I immediately thought about the power and of influence of art in terms of propaganda and advertising. These pictures above ( besides the protest agenda) suggest many students dressed a certain way for shock value, some with the purpose to offend and encourage negative dialogue with other students. I for one, am glad the election is over. Debate and discussion has been prominent among the student body, they even went as far as to enforce a agenda of protest via social media, however, it was immediately squashed by administration .

I am however, disappointed as administration never debriefed the staff, prepared us as to how to hostile, disruptive and handle situations with students. I conducted classes with discretion and ignored most of the questions pertaining to my voting preference. I tried to flip this a teachable moment and tied a Bansky lesson into class. I showed various Banksy images and we had discussions about whether the first amendment freedom of speech protections should protect political expression in art. Visual art has an undisputed place in contemporary social activism… or does it?

Author, Lawrence Weschler states,  ” Vermeer was not a painter in the epic tradition; on the contrary, his life’s work can be seen, within its historical moment, as a heroic, extended attempt to steer his ( and his viewers’) way clear of such a depersonalizing approach to experiencing one’s fellow human beings. (23). I have always admired Vermeer as an artist and his paintings . After reading, I now recognize that war, poverty and diminishing economic circumstances affected Vermeer and his painting style. His paintings seem quiet, portraying, domestic peace. His breakdown during the Rampjaar transcended into deeper studies of  photo realism, soft lights and genre scenes that ring of meloncoly tones and impending sense of defeat. As artists, I feel that often we express our inner emotions in all states of flux. Students perhaps are exercising their right of freedom of speech vicariously through their choice of clothing, as they have yet the legal right to vote. Vermeer is also confronting ideas of personal loss and frustration through having dialogue through color and his chosen subject matter within his paintings.

 

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The political discussions within this chapter brought my thoughts to the current political conversations in the U.S. with the election. I automatically thought about the wide spread hate that is seeping through the news and scaring much of my student population. There have been discussions amongst students and teachers about what appears to be this acceptance that it is now okay to display and express hate since Trump’s election. Then I thought of my own personal negative events that are occurring. I agree with Weschler. I think his statement is right. That:
…. in times of storm, we mustn’t allow the storm to enter ourselves; rather we have to find peace inside ourselves and then breathe it out (pg. 17- 18).
It is in times of turmoil and negativity that turning to things that bring us peace are important. Art has always been a way to bring peace, but also a format where individuals can make sense of negative circumstance.
Weschler mentions that Vermeer’s work portrays peacefulness because he was dealing with external violent factors such as war. That his paintings appear peaceful because he was painting them to bring himself to such a state of mind. Whether it is something political, something personal, or something to represent for a specific group, art has always been a source of reassurance; it offers a voice, an escape, or a form of communication to formulate thoughts for understanding. I think this is what is important to not only teach, but remember as an artist and teacher; what art allows and alleviates.

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It was a pleasure speaking with most of you, and I’m looking forward to see your work in person in the winter session!  Many of you have aluded to the difficulty of making art when you are spending almost all your time and energy dealing with under-resourced and sometimes chaotic schools and classrooms.  This week, this reading seemed timely.  As usual, creative and visual responses are welcome!

Vermeer in Bosnia by Lawrence Weschler

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I found this reading a bit difficult to follow, as I felt it was all over the place, but it has a good message behind it. At one point, Lamott describes writers as not really knowing what they’re doing until they’re done, and I think that applies perfectly to artists. The beginning of artworks that we create are our shitty first drafts- they are designed to be a way to let our ideas out and we go from there. It is easy in art to get caught up in getting the first draft perfect, but we do not really learn that way. First drafts are not necessarily what you will pursue, but gives you the chance to test out ideas and techniques. By not knowing what we are doing, we have the chance to create an opportunity to learn what we can do and what we want to do.

Lamott also discusses the idea of having someone you can go to to “read your drafts” and give feedback. Being able to have someone to go to and discuss what it is that you are doing is of great importance I feel in art making.  The very act of communicating your thoughts to someone else makes you consider what it really is that you are doing. It also creates the opportunity for sharing of ideas and building off of what you have already done to improve it further. The same value can be said in being the person who looks at other people’s works and letting them know how you feel about it. Being put in that kind of situation demands that you become familiar with what you do and do not like, and also requires that you explain the reasons behind it. Being in the position of judging can create a chance for us to learn more about the art being made, and also how we may value what is included in art or what we feel that should be included.

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Allowing oneself to be vulnerable to honesty is extremely difficult. Disliking honest critiques can be gut wrenching, but I truly believe this allows for personal growth. Denial will only leave you wanting. It is like Anne Lamott says in, “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life,”:
Criticism is very hard to take. But then whichever friend is savaging my work will suggest that we go through it together page by page, line by line, and in clipped, high-pitched voice I’ll often suggest that this won’t be necessary, that everything’s just fine. But these friends will talk me into going through the manuscript…. By the end, I am breathing a great sigh of relief and gratitude (11).
People should be encouraged to embark upon difficult endeavors. I don’t think this is fostered here in the United States in our education system. Telling students it is okay to take risks and fail is important to learning. I tell my students everyday it should be hard and challenging, otherwise what is the point? Making mistakes is the learning process. It is how we start out when we are babies, struggling to stand and then proceeding to walking, so why should it not be part of higher levels of learning? Many of my students rather flat out fail than fail trying; or believe that if they fail once, the whole universe is going to come crashing down; it is all or nothing. I started reading a book awhile back called The Smartest Kids in the World and how they got that way by Amanda Ripley. She talks about the education system in Finland, and how American students are not demanded to put forth enough effort. She goes further into describing the Finish education system and explains a math class where students are presented with extremely hard math problems, and the vast majority fail. No one complains or gets upset, they just try it again. It is curious how the future would unfold if we could foster classrooms based on effort rather than grade (or is this the point of Montessori schools?)

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allentownjack_phelanstormI wanted to include images form the graphic novel- The Storm in the Barn. I can remember reading this when I was in school, it tells the story of the 1937 Dust Bowl in Kansas as seen through the main character – Jacks perspective. What a great resource that remains engaging and displays powerful imagery that acknowledges feelings of hope, despair, hardship and fear –  executed through the art of comic…

 

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Upon reading this article I was in awe of this artist, how clever to write your entire dissertation in the form of comics!  After researching Sousanis further and also browsing his webpage, I learned he is quite spectacular. He was just awarded the Lynd award for best graphic novel (among many other achievements). The artist describes his latest comic column titled, “Against the Flow” written for the Boston Globe, as inspired by his fathers lecture about entropy in connection with a Robert Frost poem….. and also Sousanis’s own investigation about when things swirl.   I never before realty thought of implementing comic study into my own teaching practices- I almost feel that comics are taboo these days, we no longer read comics for recreation although they really do function as a departure for visual thinking.

Before joining this program, I was previously enrolled in the literacy program (Birth – 6th Grade). In a children’s literature class, I now recall our professor emphasizing the importance of incorporating graphic novels into classroom libraries. The importance of graphic novel study ( as well as picture books) allow children the freedom to make meaning of the images presented to them. Sequential images, juxtaposed, allows predictions to occur then leading to inferring and better recall. The joy of comics is that children do not need decoding skills to comprehend the text. Even in the early stages of child development, we associate words with pictures. In pre-k, children are often presented with phonemic awareness games such as rhyming games utilizing picture cards. Word families are represented by images- such as mat, bat, cat, rat etc. As children, we are natural detectives trying to make sense about the world around us and all the things in it.  Our sense of sight helps us determine imagery cognitively before making verbal sense.

Myself, I think comics can employ the skill of drawing as another dimension of thinking. Imagery has the power to contribute to our visual processing thus encouraging artistic thoughts.  In figure two, the artist is using eyes to represent the multiple perspectives we may perceive the world as. The eyes are symbolic of our sense of sight and that is unique among every individual. Comics import meaning as artists import meaning through their own artworks. I am looking forward to sharing some of Sousanis’s work with my own students, hopefully it will motivate them to utilize their sketchbooks more as a tool for journaling and documenting, thoughts, words, ideas and sketches…..

 “Language is a sea in which we swim in”- Sousanis

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It was interesting to read of the process involved in actually creating a comic as Sousanis described it. I was particularly interested in how he gained inspiration from a conversation he once had with his father.  Hearing about his experience and using a past conversation as a base on his art-making shows how ideas can develop and manifest into a visual form over time. What may seem inconsequential actually has all the possibilities of being an influential piece of inspiration in our own art-making- we just need to stay aware of such things and events.

These readings lead me to think more about comics as a resource in learning. I feel that often times they are overlooked as not something that can be academic and teach much. But the use of imagery is an extremely interesting approach and can at times help convey an idea better than words can. One of my favorite examples of utilizing comics as an educational resource is “Maus”by Art Spiegelman. It is a comic that depicts Spiegelman interviewing his father about his experiences as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor during WWII. The imagery of the comic is key to telling the story andhaving a comic format itself helps engage readers who otherwise may not be interested in reading such a story.

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Comics use imagery as a visual language that anyone is able to read and decipher.  The very making of comics is all about the visuals.  As Sousanis describes it, there is an “attention to the size, shape, and location of the panels on the page – where they are and what they’re next to – really a consideration of the entire composition as a whole experience”. This could not be more true. For many years, I worked at an art camp in which cartooning was a given subject for the campers. In that, the students learned about designing their own comics and how to set up a panel that convey information successfully.  They learned how the visuals of a comic alone can tell a story and the overall power of imagery.  It also taught them, similar to Sousanis’ process, how to sketch out their ideas beforehand and let them develop as they are working.

I also found the timing of this reading to be interesting  as just this past week, I was reading Carpenter and Tavin’s graphic depiction of the reconceptualization of art education (2010. “Drawing (past, present, and future) together: a (graphic) look at the reconceptualization of art education”. Studies in Art Education, Vol. 51, No. 4., pp. 327-352).  While it was a topic that I was familiar with, the inclusion of imagery and visuals made it all the more interesting and engaging.  The power of imagery is really extraordinary and there are time that with the current push for academic writing in schools, I forget just important and influential images can be.

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If words are limiting, then can’t pictures be as well? Especially pictures that are not coherent? Yes, the pleasurable thing about art is its ability to be open ended and relatable to all, but don’t artists—generally- create with intension? These are a few questions that came to mind when reading Nick Sousanis’s “Behind the Scenes of a Dissertation in Comics Form.” I enjoyed the synopsis from his dissertation, but I struggled with understanding much of his imagery in the raw form. I think I would have liked to see a few more “polished” strips. This leads me to another question, one in which he mentions text and imagery being a generative cycle. If his sketches are created for the intention of generating thought, is his intension to generate thought just for him or for the viewer as well? How can an artist create something that generates thought for the public and not just generated for the artist’s thoughts?
Sousanis’s excerpt generated many questions for me, especially since I document my work in a less creative manner. Much of my work generates from pictures. Pictures I have taken with my camera phone. I find that I am one who is guilty to being a slave of time. Due to that, I constantly take pictures on my phone of things I want to revisit. I don’t often carry a sketchbook around with me anymore because it takes up space, but instead, I allow the space to be consumed by my phone. A device that can capture what “captured” me more accurately—but maybe less creatively. However, I do appreciate his argument for visual thinking. I have seen many statistics on how humans obtain information mainly though seeing. This one, I have copied and pasted from http://velvetchainsaw.com/2012/05/23/your-senses-your-raw-information-learning-portals/:
Neuroscience and cognitive psychology research has uncovered the amazing power of our senses. This was unimaginable a few years ago.
According to researchers Dr. L.D. Rosenblum, Dr. Harold Stolovitch and Dr Erica Keeps, here’s how much information each of our senses processes at the same time as compared to our other senses.
83.0% – Sight
11.0% – Hearing
03.5% – Smell
01.5% – Touch
01.0% – Taste
That’s surprising. And it flies in the face of some of our conventional educational theories like VAK (visual, auditory and kinesthetic) and Learning Styles. No matter how you slice the pie, our brains give preference to processing vision as compared to our other senses.

So why don’t we emphasize the visual more in education?