Mar 21, 2013

Art21: Using Contemporary Art Resources in Your Classroom

I was once asked by a professor on the first day of design 101,

“If you make art and no ones sees it, is it art?”

To a freshman art major, this tore up my mind. To myself, I thought, if I make something, follow the rules of the trade (or break), use artistic media, ect, then it has to be art. Right? However, if no one sees it, how do I know that it is “art”? See the dilemma? I have taken that moment into my double life as a teacher and artist and expanded the issue. What is this relationship between seeing and art? What does it mean to be an artist? What does it mean to see?

Contemporary art can easily be left out of K-12 art curriculum planing, especially at the Elementary Level, but it shouldn’t be! Over the years Art 21 has has become one of the most trusted resources for educators in the contemporary art world. Personally, I use the Art21 series and online resources frequently in my secondary classroom. If you have not heard of the series, Art21 began in 1997 as a non-profit organization. With a mission to elevate contemporary art, the programming continues to: highlight the art of working artists , activate critical discussions on the arts, create an educational space and engage the public with events.

For a teacher in the arts, Art21 is one stop shopping and what’s even more amazing… the online resources are FREE. Under the education tab, you will find highly organized lesson plans, guides to teaching, libraries, glossary, blog, professional development and a student gallery. They even link the materials to the National Standards for you!

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Overall, from my personal experiences with Art21, I found three, main strengths in their programming and online resources.

√ Quality: The artist are prominent in their fields & the materials are thoughtfully organized with the teacher/student in mind.

√ Timeless: The themes cross the barriers of cultures, ages and time.

√ Useful: Exposure to art and the speaking, living artist is yet another component to understanding the art of seeing.

The Next time you’re looking for a contemporary resource for artists, quality videos and relevant lesson plans, I highly recommend the PBS site: Art21

“The question is not what you look at, but what you see”

-Henry David Thoreau

What experiences do you have using Art 21 in the classroom?

Why do you think Contemporary Art seems so unreachable to many art teachers?

http://www.theartofed.com/ Cassidy Reinken

I’m familiar with Art 21 and really like the site, but I currently don’t use it in my middle school classroom. (I really like anything PBS related!) I think Contemporary Art seems so unreachable to many art teachers because it’s new and difficult to understand and teach because it’s unknown. I am intimidated by Contemporary Art because I assume it is inappropriate, which I know isn’t true. I know my students would love to learn about art that is “new” and not old and “boring.”
- http://www.theartofed.com/ Jessica Balsley
  
  I agree, Cassidy. Students are always asking “Is the artist dead or alive” and so often we must answer “Dead.” – Think of the intrigue if we could more often answer “Alive” and here is their newest exhibit!
Vicky Siegel

Once again…”I love this Art of Ed!” I did not know about this site!!
Lisa H

I love Art 21. We watched much of it in college. I would love to teach some to my elementary students, but the interviews are not censored and their jargon is much too confusing for young artists. I believe contemporary art should be taught more to the younger students but it’s hard to find valuable enough resources for that age group.

One contemporary form of art that I’ve found the students love is Lego art. PBS even has a youtube video about it. It’s rather short so I looked up the artists mentioned and found additional videos on youtube. I also did an at-home “challenge” for students to create a Lego sculpture. They could either bring in or e-mail a photo of it. I had many amazing entries! I even had a 4th grader make a Lego stop-motion animation. The students get very excited to see what they can make with things found around their home.
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