Until I started the Masters of Art Education program at Texas Tech University, I never realized how many ways there were to influence my students to become not only designers of their own world but also better citizens in that world and in the global community. My professors opened my eyes, through my courses, to some societal issues that I had never given more than cursory thought to before. Like many teachers, I entered the education business with my own experiences as an artist, and I knew the concepts that needed to be taught because I had participated heavily in my own high school art program, including AP Studio. I was fortunate to be able to draw on those previous experiences. However, I realized quickly that knowing something is quite different from being able to teach it. My first and second years of teaching were primarily focused on technique-based art production. I was not creative enough yet as a teacher to give instruction on more than the proper shading techniques or the best way to make green from mixing blue and yellow. Needles to say, I certainly was not prepared to base lesson plans on societal concepts like those I have learned in my master’s coursework.
In the Master of Art Education program, I learned about a concept called social justice. Social justice usually applies to topics that are beyond the realm of the individual. They are usually global but can also be applied to communities. Such topics include but are not limited to: gender rights, LGBT prejudice, violence, racism, exploitation, and so many more.
The topic I am drawn most to is women’s rights. This is mostly because I come from a family tradition of strong southern women. I was raised to be independent, a free thinker, and to stand up for my rights and the rights of others. Injustice infuriates me. This is why when I learned about the concept of social justice, specifically, gender injustice, I was captivated by the facts and figures of gender inequality, hatred, female castration, and femicide that so many women experience under patriarchal regimes (Andrzejewski, Baltodono, & Symcox, 2009). This social justice concept was what led me to realize the unique position I am in as a teacher. I can make a difference in the future, so I began to alter my curriculum.
With social justice in mind I transitioned from technique-based projects to focusing my students on conceptual projects. I wanted them to produce larger, globally-focused artworks. I knew that if I wanted to make a difference in the world, then teaching the next generation of movers and shakers, decision makers, and achievers was the way to do it. If I can at least instill new concepts and thoughts of what is happening in the world beyond the small community of Katy, Texas, in the mind of a few of my students, then I know that, in turn, they can inspire others. This is sort of a “pay it forward” concept except it is using knowledge and education to change the world instead of good and charitable acts.
Studying social justice has helped me to understand that even though I am one person I can make an impact through my art and in the classroom. I think that all art should have meaning and that many artists have strayed from the exploration of issues to a commercialistic from of art. Unfortunately, now it seems that art and money, talent and celebrity have been confused (Haden-Guest, 1996). Art in the public celebrity mainstream is less about global issues and more about making the most profit from a gallery show.
This is why in my classroom I choose to only study artists who have something to say with their art. In Art in Action, Pat Steir’s (Dragon Tooth Waterfall) statement, “There are two kinds of art. One shows you things you’ve never seen before. The other makes you see things you’ve always seen, but with a different eye,” really defines how I want my students to create and perceive art (Natural World Museum, 2007, p. 63). As well as, Chester Arnold’s (Thy Will Be Done and Digger) statement of “A work of art should be more than just beautiful; it should ‘raise questions and raise the hairs on your back.’ That art must be used to explore issues that are more troubling than reassuring (Natural World Museum, 2007, p. 76).” These two artists exemplify what I think is important to stress to students, that art should be a form of expression, from simple to large issues.
I was ready to begin my journey into teaching conceptual-based art on social justice. I started with the list of “[9] root causes of war, violence, and hatred” from Social Justice, Peace, and Environmental Education (Andrzejewski, Baltodono, & Symcox, 2009, pp. 100-104).
1. Greed and Imperialism
2. Coercive Power of the State
3. Arms Industry and Military
4. Economics Racism and Inequality of Global Resources
5. Propaganda and Censorship
6. Overconsumption and Exploitation of Global Resources
7. Ideologies of Superiority and Self Centeredness
8. Patriarchy and Male Domination
9. Selling of Violent Culture, Militarism, and War
Even though I knew what I wanted my students to achieve visually and conceptually, I was not ready for the inherent problems and the successive failure that occurred from teaching such a broad-range conceptual topic with no restrictions, rules, or rubrics. The primary problem that occurred was, I did not know what media to choose for the project. The first year I did this project I left the materials and the media choice up to my students. Regrettably, the freedoms that the students had with media choice backfired, as a result, the projects were unsuccessfully produced.
I was not going to give up because teaching social justice in the classroom is an important goal, and I knew there was a way to achieve it. The second year I presented the same project again, but I was prepared with restrictions, rules, and a rubric to prevent the failure that occurred last year. I also chose my media. An altered book project became the canvas. In this altered book project, I discussed at length with my students the different causes of war, violence, and hatred. I gave a presentation on how other artists like Renata Stih and Frieder Schnock have dealt with large global topics like the Holocaust. Then students researched their assigned root causes of war, specifically, the concepts that they did not understand. As a last step to their research they presented a presentation on their topic in order for the whole class to understand what was going on globally in reference to their topic. I felt the research was warranted in order for everyone to understand the topics because the ultimate goal was the creation of an altered book that reflected this concept.
After the group presentations, they started their altered book. They had to create four sections with a front and back cover that visually expressed their topic or their feelings and reactions toward that topic. They had nine visual media rules to follow with each section:
1. Paint
2. Additional Color (Oil Pastel/Chalk Pastel/Crayon/Markers/Prismacolor, etc.)
3. Collaged items that are pictorial/images
4. Collaged items that have texture/textural
5. Text
6. Alteration of pages (niches, envelope, pockets, hidden pictures, folding, tearing, sewing)
7. Additions (watch faces, mirror frames, memorabilia, envelopes [physical], ticket stubs)
8. Stain (coffee or ink)
9. A Drawing (Outline, Gesture, Action, Contour, Blind Contour, Caricature, Cartoon, Manga)
Student #1, Altered Book, Topic: An Emotive Record of Thoughts
In the Master of Art Education program, I learned about a concept called social justice. Social justice usually applies to topics that are beyond the realm of the individual. They are usually global but can also be applied to communities. Such topics include but are not limited to: gender rights, LGBT prejudice, violence, racism, exploitation, and so many more.
The topic I am drawn most to is women’s rights. This is mostly because I come from a family tradition of strong southern women. I was raised to be independent, a free thinker, and to stand up for my rights and the rights of others. Injustice infuriates me. This is why when I learned about the concept of social justice, specifically, gender injustice, I was captivated by the facts and figures of gender inequality, hatred, female castration, and femicide that so many women experience under patriarchal regimes (Andrzejewski, Baltodono, & Symcox, 2009). This social justice concept was what led me to realize the unique position I am in as a teacher. I can make a difference in the future, so I began to alter my curriculum.
With social justice in mind I transitioned from technique-based projects to focusing my students on conceptual projects. I wanted them to produce larger, globally-focused artworks. I knew that if I wanted to make a difference in the world, then teaching the next generation of movers and shakers, decision makers, and achievers was the way to do it. If I can at least instill new concepts and thoughts of what is happening in the world beyond the small community of Katy, Texas, in the mind of a few of my students, then I know that, in turn, they can inspire others. This is sort of a “pay it forward” concept except it is using knowledge and education to change the world instead of good and charitable acts.
Studying social justice has helped me to understand that even though I am one person I can make an impact through my art and in the classroom. I think that all art should have meaning and that many artists have strayed from the exploration of issues to a commercialistic from of art. Unfortunately, now it seems that art and money, talent and celebrity have been confused (Haden-Guest, 1996). Art in the public celebrity mainstream is less about global issues and more about making the most profit from a gallery show.
This is why in my classroom I choose to only study artists who have something to say with their art. In Art in Action, Pat Steir’s (Dragon Tooth Waterfall) statement, “There are two kinds of art. One shows you things you’ve never seen before. The other makes you see things you’ve always seen, but with a different eye,” really defines how I want my students to create and perceive art (Natural World Museum, 2007, p. 63). As well as, Chester Arnold’s (Thy Will Be Done and Digger) statement of “A work of art should be more than just beautiful; it should ‘raise questions and raise the hairs on your back.’ That art must be used to explore issues that are more troubling than reassuring (Natural World Museum, 2007, p. 76).” These two artists exemplify what I think is important to stress to students, that art should be a form of expression, from simple to large issues.
I was ready to begin my journey into teaching conceptual-based art on social justice. I started with the list of “[9] root causes of war, violence, and hatred” from Social Justice, Peace, and Environmental Education (Andrzejewski, Baltodono, & Symcox, 2009, pp. 100-104).
1. Greed and Imperialism
2. Coercive Power of the State
3. Arms Industry and Military
4. Economics Racism and Inequality of Global Resources
5. Propaganda and Censorship
6. Overconsumption and Exploitation of Global Resources
7. Ideologies of Superiority and Self Centeredness
8. Patriarchy and Male Domination
9. Selling of Violent Culture, Militarism, and War
Even though I knew what I wanted my students to achieve visually and conceptually, I was not ready for the inherent problems and the successive failure that occurred from teaching such a broad-range conceptual topic with no restrictions, rules, or rubrics. The primary problem that occurred was, I did not know what media to choose for the project. The first year I did this project I left the materials and the media choice up to my students. Regrettably, the freedoms that the students had with media choice backfired, as a result, the projects were unsuccessfully produced.
I was not going to give up because teaching social justice in the classroom is an important goal, and I knew there was a way to achieve it. The second year I presented the same project again, but I was prepared with restrictions, rules, and a rubric to prevent the failure that occurred last year. I also chose my media. An altered book project became the canvas. In this altered book project, I discussed at length with my students the different causes of war, violence, and hatred. I gave a presentation on how other artists like Renata Stih and Frieder Schnock have dealt with large global topics like the Holocaust. Then students researched their assigned root causes of war, specifically, the concepts that they did not understand. As a last step to their research they presented a presentation on their topic in order for the whole class to understand what was going on globally in reference to their topic. I felt the research was warranted in order for everyone to understand the topics because the ultimate goal was the creation of an altered book that reflected this concept.
After the group presentations, they started their altered book. They had to create four sections with a front and back cover that visually expressed their topic or their feelings and reactions toward that topic. They had nine visual media rules to follow with each section:
1. Paint
2. Additional Color (Oil Pastel/Chalk Pastel/Crayon/Markers/Prismacolor, etc.)
3. Collaged items that are pictorial/images
4. Collaged items that have texture/textural
5. Text
6. Alteration of pages (niches, envelope, pockets, hidden pictures, folding, tearing, sewing)
7. Additions (watch faces, mirror frames, memorabilia, envelopes [physical], ticket stubs)
8. Stain (coffee or ink)
9. A Drawing (Outline, Gesture, Action, Contour, Blind Contour, Caricature, Cartoon, Manga)
Student #1, Altered Book, Topic: An Emotive Record of Thoughts
I loved the success of my second year in this project. However, I realized I could take social justice art a step further. I could go further in depth emotionally with the art in my classroom, from a globally conscious social justice art assignment to a more personal assignment that was meant to heal the students in my room. According to Teaching in the Middle and Secondary Schools, in order for my students, 14-19 year olds, to be able to abstract a global concept, developmentally they must first be able to expand their own personal thoughts, which is a part of Piaget’s three phase learning cycle (Callahan, Clark, & Kellough, 2002).
Therefore, my students require a record of personal mental and emotional growth in order to focus on the social justice in their own lives. I asked the question, “What needs to change immediately in my students’ emotional make up and mental growth to help them become stewards of the future and enable social justice on the global scale?” In A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink draws a correlation to global problem solving to arts education, saying that arts education drives “R-Directed [Right Brain] Thinking [which] will increasingly determine who gets ahead as we move from the Technology age to the Conceptual Age (Pink, 2006, p. 30).”
I reformulated the idea of social justice and applied it to a personal level that I call internal justice. I define internal justice as becoming at peace with oneself and the events in one’s life. How to explain the concept of internal justice to my students became the next step. I found that Betty Edwards’s book, Drawing on the Artist Within was a great reference for teaching students to harness an emotional quality in their work. In her book, I read George Orwell’s essay “New Worlds.” Orwell suggested that “Each of us has an outer and an inner mental life: the former expressed in the ordinary language we use in everyday life and the latter in another form of thought that rarely surfaces because ordinary words cannot express its complexity (Edwards, 1986, p. 66).” Expressing this “inner mental life” visually was what I wanted to achieve with the concept of internal justice.
Orwell used the phrase “Making thought visible (Edwards, 1986, p.50).” This phrase is what I started with to teach the concept of internal justice in the classroom. I used my own emotional artwork. I disclosed to my students that sometimes my emotions are so strong I truly cannot express what I am feeling in words, but my art can express those emotions for me. This was before I learned the concept of Autoethnography and how, from this concept, remembering the emotions from a situation, reliving them, and writing those down as an emotive record of thought can be therapeutic and a teaching tool for others (Ellis, 2008).
In the past, I have used my own paintings and sculptures to express emotions that I am going through, as my own form of therapy. Unfortunately, my health and my love life are the two areas in my life in which I have had many traumas. In these areas, I used the concept of internal justice and started using art to help me work through the end of relationships, or the lack there of, and my fears of starting a new one. I explored loneliness and my isolation due to my health. Steven King said, “There’s no way to explain humor any more than there is a way to explain horror (King, 1992, p.5)”. I find that this is true. Some things in my life I cannot explain, but my art can speak for me.
****
Authoethnography surrounding Self Portrait #7, 2001
Therefore, my students require a record of personal mental and emotional growth in order to focus on the social justice in their own lives. I asked the question, “What needs to change immediately in my students’ emotional make up and mental growth to help them become stewards of the future and enable social justice on the global scale?” In A Whole New Mind, Daniel Pink draws a correlation to global problem solving to arts education, saying that arts education drives “R-Directed [Right Brain] Thinking [which] will increasingly determine who gets ahead as we move from the Technology age to the Conceptual Age (Pink, 2006, p. 30).”
I reformulated the idea of social justice and applied it to a personal level that I call internal justice. I define internal justice as becoming at peace with oneself and the events in one’s life. How to explain the concept of internal justice to my students became the next step. I found that Betty Edwards’s book, Drawing on the Artist Within was a great reference for teaching students to harness an emotional quality in their work. In her book, I read George Orwell’s essay “New Worlds.” Orwell suggested that “Each of us has an outer and an inner mental life: the former expressed in the ordinary language we use in everyday life and the latter in another form of thought that rarely surfaces because ordinary words cannot express its complexity (Edwards, 1986, p. 66).” Expressing this “inner mental life” visually was what I wanted to achieve with the concept of internal justice.
Orwell used the phrase “Making thought visible (Edwards, 1986, p.50).” This phrase is what I started with to teach the concept of internal justice in the classroom. I used my own emotional artwork. I disclosed to my students that sometimes my emotions are so strong I truly cannot express what I am feeling in words, but my art can express those emotions for me. This was before I learned the concept of Autoethnography and how, from this concept, remembering the emotions from a situation, reliving them, and writing those down as an emotive record of thought can be therapeutic and a teaching tool for others (Ellis, 2008).
In the past, I have used my own paintings and sculptures to express emotions that I am going through, as my own form of therapy. Unfortunately, my health and my love life are the two areas in my life in which I have had many traumas. In these areas, I used the concept of internal justice and started using art to help me work through the end of relationships, or the lack there of, and my fears of starting a new one. I explored loneliness and my isolation due to my health. Steven King said, “There’s no way to explain humor any more than there is a way to explain horror (King, 1992, p.5)”. I find that this is true. Some things in my life I cannot explain, but my art can speak for me.
****
Authoethnography surrounding Self Portrait #7, 2001
There is a hole in my chest. I can’t breathe and even if I could I wouldn’t want to. How can he leave? How can he just walk away so cavalierly like the past nine months meant nothing? I gave him everything: my love, my heart, and my soul. God, why does it hurt so bad? How am I not dead? I just want the pain to go away. Make it stop. Make me stop.
Authoethnography surrounding Retablo #4, 2008
I wish my friends and family would stop telling me to get out there and date. I can’t believe my 
father asked me this weekend if I was going to get married before he died. Really? I mean, really? I don’t want to meet anyone. I don’t care. I’m making enough money to live on my own. I don’t need a man. I don’t need the stress, the anxiety, the complication, the insecurity, the neuroses, the crazy person I turn into when I’m dating. I don’t care if I’m lonely. I’ll get a dog when I’m done with grad school. I just don’t think I can experience the absolute death that occurs in my soul once again when I am dropped like yesterday’s trash.
Authoethnography surrounding Retablo #5, 2011
****
I have found that sharing my experiences with loved ones, talking through it, and even empathizing with others has not given me the closure I need or seek. There are still some issues I will work toward and seek closure with my art. Finally I may lay to rest some of the horrific events I have experienced with my health.
****
I have to believe that if art helps me express things that cannot be expressed in words, then it can also help my students do the same. “The mind seems to long for conclusion, for termination, for closure – closure that most often consists of naming and categorizing, of identifying a stimulus (Edwards, 1986, p.166).” I explained to my students that even the process of creating the art can be cathartic in healing the wounds I have experienced, or on a more positive side, express love, tenderness, and caring, in non-verbal ways. I used my own personal experiences and the art I created from my emotions to achieve a level of comfort in my classroom. I wanted my students to feel reassured in order to explore issues that are emotional for them because I have done the same.
The initial problem that occurred in exploring internal justice was that my advanced students had a hard time switching off their analytical mind and changing over to a creative mind in order to express the many emotions running through them. In my modern adaptation of a Retablo project, I talked about expressionism and how it can correlate to a visual expression of internal justice. To explain expressionism to my students I refer to Art Speak which has a wonderful definition that they instantly understood, “Expressionism refers to art that puts a premium on expressing emotions. Painters and sculptors communicate emotion by distorting color or shape or surface or space in a highly personal fashion (Atkins, 1990, p.89).” Using internal justice and expressionism in their Retablo project helped them to work though those issues that they cannot express verbally in their lives.
Student #2, Retablo: El Odio Y Amor
Student #3, Retablo: Antonia Hilda Rodriguez Flores
Social justice and internal justice spring from ideas that I read and studied in Social Justice, Peace, and Environmental Education. Unfortunately, I have had administrative critics question, not the validity of what I am teaching, but it’s relevance to the ability to win competitions. Like most public art teachers I have one inherent problem: how do I teach such a conceptual unit but also still enter the competitions we have to participate in. I decided that even with the competition-heavy programs my administrators and district hegemonies require me to participate in: I teach what I want to teach, and what I think will produce lasting good.
References
Andrzejewski, J., Baltodano, M. P., & Symcox, L. (2009). Social justice, peace, and environmental education: Transformative standards. New York, NY: Routledge.
Atkins, R. A. (1990). Art speak: A guide to contemporary ideas, movements, and buzzwords, 1945 to the present (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Abbeville Press.
Callahan, J. F., Clark, L. H., & Kellough, R. D. (2002). Teaching in the middle and secondary schools (7th ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Edwards, B. (1986). Drawing on the artist within. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Ellis, C. (2008). Revision: Autoethnographic reflections of life and work. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press
Haden-Guest, A. (1996). True colors: The real life of the art world. New York, NY: The Atlantic Monthly Press.
King, S. (1992). Introduction. In G. Larson, Far side gallery 2 (pp. 5-6). New York, NY: Andrews and McMeel.
Natural World Museum. (2007). Art in action: Nature, creativity and our collective future. San Rafael, CA: Earth Aware.
Pink, D. H. (2006). A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.
father asked me this weekend if I was going to get married before he died. Really? I mean, really? I don’t want to meet anyone. I don’t care. I’m making enough money to live on my own. I don’t need a man. I don’t need the stress, the anxiety, the complication, the insecurity, the neuroses, the crazy person I turn into when I’m dating. I don’t care if I’m lonely. I’ll get a dog when I’m done with grad school. I just don’t think I can experience the absolute death that occurs in my soul once again when I am dropped like yesterday’s trash.Authoethnography surrounding Retablo #5, 2011
Pinch me I’m dreaming. Is this guy for real???? Can I love again? Can I be giggly? Should I let him in? Is he serious? Can relationships really be this easy, this good? He said he loves me and wants a future. He turned down a promotion to Virginia to be with me, WITH ME! Is this what truly being loved is finally like?
****
I have found that sharing my experiences with loved ones, talking through it, and even empathizing with others has not given me the closure I need or seek. There are still some issues I will work toward and seek closure with my art. Finally I may lay to rest some of the horrific events I have experienced with my health.
****
I have to believe that if art helps me express things that cannot be expressed in words, then it can also help my students do the same. “The mind seems to long for conclusion, for termination, for closure – closure that most often consists of naming and categorizing, of identifying a stimulus (Edwards, 1986, p.166).” I explained to my students that even the process of creating the art can be cathartic in healing the wounds I have experienced, or on a more positive side, express love, tenderness, and caring, in non-verbal ways. I used my own personal experiences and the art I created from my emotions to achieve a level of comfort in my classroom. I wanted my students to feel reassured in order to explore issues that are emotional for them because I have done the same.
The initial problem that occurred in exploring internal justice was that my advanced students had a hard time switching off their analytical mind and changing over to a creative mind in order to express the many emotions running through them. In my modern adaptation of a Retablo project, I talked about expressionism and how it can correlate to a visual expression of internal justice. To explain expressionism to my students I refer to Art Speak which has a wonderful definition that they instantly understood, “Expressionism refers to art that puts a premium on expressing emotions. Painters and sculptors communicate emotion by distorting color or shape or surface or space in a highly personal fashion (Atkins, 1990, p.89).” Using internal justice and expressionism in their Retablo project helped them to work though those issues that they cannot express verbally in their lives.
Student #2, Retablo: El Odio Y Amor
I have a student this year that used her Retablo to express a period in her life where she was cutting herself. She has overcome that behavior, but, since it was such a big part of her life and her past she needed closure. Her internal justice was using her art to talk about and share her tragic past with others. This has created a great support system for her in my classroom.
Student #3, Retablo: Antonia Hilda Rodriguez Flores
This student used her Retablo to work on her feelings associated with her grandmother’s decent into Alzheimer’s. Corinne had her grandmother do several doodles and incorporated them into her Retablo. This is an extremely emotional event for her, and this piece of art has helped her work through these emotions, as well as gives her an artwork that will forever have a part of her grandmother’s legacy.
Social justice and internal justice spring from ideas that I read and studied in Social Justice, Peace, and Environmental Education. Unfortunately, I have had administrative critics question, not the validity of what I am teaching, but it’s relevance to the ability to win competitions. Like most public art teachers I have one inherent problem: how do I teach such a conceptual unit but also still enter the competitions we have to participate in. I decided that even with the competition-heavy programs my administrators and district hegemonies require me to participate in: I teach what I want to teach, and what I think will produce lasting good.
I want my legacy to my students to be understanding of issues in the world beyond the community of Katy, Texas. I will enter these projects into local Texas contests like Visual Arts Scholastic Event, Youth Art Month, and The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. If my students do well, great; if they don't, then that’s okay too because I have the satisfaction of knowing I made a difference in their perspectives of the world around them. I feel that as art teachers we should strive to challenge our students to create a piece of art that can be socially conscious and displayed at art competitions, because the best artwork comes from big ideas and from the emotional well within each of us.
References
Andrzejewski, J., Baltodano, M. P., & Symcox, L. (2009). Social justice, peace, and environmental education: Transformative standards. New York, NY: Routledge.
Atkins, R. A. (1990). Art speak: A guide to contemporary ideas, movements, and buzzwords, 1945 to the present (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Abbeville Press.
Callahan, J. F., Clark, L. H., & Kellough, R. D. (2002). Teaching in the middle and secondary schools (7th ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Edwards, B. (1986). Drawing on the artist within. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Ellis, C. (2008). Revision: Autoethnographic reflections of life and work. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press
Haden-Guest, A. (1996). True colors: The real life of the art world. New York, NY: The Atlantic Monthly Press.
King, S. (1992). Introduction. In G. Larson, Far side gallery 2 (pp. 5-6). New York, NY: Andrews and McMeel.
Natural World Museum. (2007). Art in action: Nature, creativity and our collective future. San Rafael, CA: Earth Aware.
Pink, D. H. (2006). A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.
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