Entry #2 - The Cult of Curriculum

Curriculum needs to be challenging without being intimidating, fun without being frivolous, and teach technical skills without being monotonous. Other things to consider are do I teach about that old master whose abilities have stood the test of time or about that edgy contemporary artist I read about in Cool New Artist Weekly whose style has revamped the old master’s style in an exciting way. Do we go with what we know works by re-running that old lesson or do we do a re-model and rip it apart with a new project and direction. Stop - you’re both right. I think great curriculum needs to excite us as well as the students so if the lesson seems dry and we aren’t looking forward to it - change it up. I also think that teaching about older artists is equally important.
Bottomline: Nothing can be sacred in our curriculum. We need to question what we teach, how we teach and why we teach it. Clearly, balance is key to developing a great curriculum.

Thomas Kinkade reminds me a lot of how Norman Rockwell must have been treated during his time. I find Rockwell's work to be inspiring in the fact that he could capture moments that are universally understood. Much like Kinkade can capture moments that are universally peaceful. Both Kinkade and Rockwell do not seem to receive the recognition that they deserve because they are not offending or mocking. Classified as "low-brow" artwork solely because it is widely accepted. If you like something - like because you like it or dislike it because you dislike it. I find it ironic when I hear people say that they liked a certain band or book or movie until it became popular. Taking the opposite position does not make you an individual anymore then following the crowd does... Everything provides an opportunity to learn.

Michal Rovner is a contemporary filmographer. Her films deal with flocks of birds in flight. The changing directions and blurry changes in focus are reminiscent of cubist work in that they show dramatic changes in direction but the subject changes and not the position of the viewer as in a typical cubist painting. She mixes both still and motion images as well as intermingling painted images to elicit more of the view that this is not a nature film but a metaphor. Rovner is not intent with studying birds in flight but drawing parallels with how birds change directions abruptly just as stages of life can change abruptly.

Art teaching and art making go hand in hand. I think that we need to make art to stay in connection with why we should make art. Art is an outlet but it is also an inspiration to observe and study things around us. We look for patterns naturally but we need to record them as well. Drawing connections to otherwise unrelated subjects just as Rovner does is the source of inspiration for many new discoveries. That ability to observe, refine, analyze and draw conclusions is a major reason for having art in school.

Demonstrating our own proficiency in the classroom will add credibility to our lessons and also allow us to remember the more challenging aspects of lessons. I think that remembering where you came from in this sense will help you to anticipate problems.