Clarifying Visual Culture Art Education

Id@rt Experience: A Transnational Blended-learning Project Founded on Visual Culture

“…Visual culture art education is a critical and qualitative interpretive-approach that includes the use of all forms of audio-visual culture in the classroom [e.g. 6,7]. Thus, this approach does not use or consider only 'greatest works of art' but include what is broadly understood as visual culture [6,8].…”

“…6,7]. Thus, this approach does not use or consider only 'greatest works of art' but include what is broadly understood as visual culture [6,8]. Furthermore, the visual cultural educative experiences are considered highly useful for the self-reflection and expression provided to users and for the exploration and construction of their identity, which is understood not as a static element but as something in constant evolution and in relation to external environment [2,7].…”

Biculturalism and Multiculturalism: Competing Tensions in Visual Arts Education in Aotearoa-New Zealand

“…The specification of these fields positions visual arts education in New Zealand firmly within the Eurocentric conception of the -fine arts.‖ There is no reference to the marginalized forms of -popular arts,‖ or other cultural manifestations such as 6 craft, folk art, the decorative arts, applied arts, or tribal arts (Brottman, 2005;Chalmers, 1999;Crowther, 2007). Nor is there mention of such international trends as -visual culture‖ education (Duncum, 2009;Freedman & Stuhr, 2004;Mason & Eça, 2008) and -material culture‖ studies (Blandy & Bolin, 2003).…”

“…Education, as advocated by Freire (1985) and Giroux (1994), is seen as a vital agency for informing people of the realities of ethnic diversity and cultural difference and the necessity for equity of achievement rather than mere equity of opportunity. In this context, art education theorists argue that the very visibility of art, as well as its function as a metaphor for culture, can play a significant educational role (Duncum, 2009;Freedman & Stuhr, 2004;Mason & Eça, 2008). Art education is an ideal vehicle through which teachers can provide opportunities for all students to find their -voice,‖ and to gain understanding of the voices of others.…”

“…Although the teachers considered these approaches to be -multicultural,‖ such tokenism did little to promote students' understanding of each other or of others' cultures. Similarly, when students at School E collaboratively expressed the -popular cultural iconography‖ of New Zealand in making -kiwiana‖ chairs, there was no critical examination of popular forms of visual culture in a socio-cultural context (Duncum, 2009;Freedman & Stuhr, 2004;Mason & Eça, 2008) 5 .…”