Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Professor Ward
Unit Paper #2
15 February 2018
Unit two was about the relationship between Power and Visual Culture. Visual Culture is
a very broad concept defined numerous ways by different people. According to Hurwitz & Day
(2007) “the definition of visual culture as “everything visual” is rejected; the term is defined for
art education as “contemporary applied arts.” Walker (2001) lists some very important key
concepts of what power is, such as: excess, scarcity, recognition, privilege, fear, inclusion and
exclusion, control, voice, change, insiders and outsiders, rules, and disruption. Artists apply these
key concepts and incorporate them in their visual culture all the time. An example of this would
be Banksy’s “subvertisements” he takes a regular picture and alters it and uses his “voice” of the
artwork to speak about touchy topics such as political and social issues. According to Hurwitz &
Day (2007) “several approaches are available for teaching visual culture in art education, for
example: (1) a radical change in art education with new aims or goals for the field and the
ascension of visual culture as the primary subject for study—the primary aim of the view is
social reconstruction the promotes democracy, liberty, and justice; (2) a traditional approach that
features study of various applied art forms, such as illustration, graphic design, and fashion
design, with emphasis on art making; (3) comprehensive art education, this approach expressed
throughout this book that recognizes four art disciplines, places visual culture as one component
within a broad art curriculum.” Some educators want a shift in the modern art education that
would change subject content and goals that uses visual culture to create social reconstruction
known as visual culture art education. With both Power and Visual culture combined together,
future artists have a better platform to showcase their work and have their underlying meanings
thoroughly understood.
For my future population, I would take all three of the approaches to art education and
combined them vs using just one approach. All three objectives are important in educating
students and future artists; you have to open the “artistic doors” to allow them to use art is
various ways. I would come up with art projects for all three topics, but I believe the most fun
studio would occur under the topic of “Applied Artists and Their Art.” I would give students a
pre-made book with only words, such as the tortoise and the hare. Next, I would intentionally
leave the page blank until the bottom where the words are. Then, I would have the children read
the book and illustrate each page to their artistic abilities. Finally, each student would read their
Hurwitz, A., & Day, M. (2007). Children and their art: Methods for the elementary school, (8th
ed.). Thompson Wadsworth.