Jump Starting Visual Literacy: Thoughts on Image Selection

ions are discouraged for beginning viewPI'S not because t1wy dislike them, but because they continue to look for stories-often idiosyncratic and imaginative funtasies-i-whore none is intended by the artist. Even for adult viewers, early experiences with art remain within the realm of the concrete and the obvious; thinking abstractly is a sophisticated behavior, one that must be grown into. Still lives are not encouraged because the qualities one appreciates in a still life, like the qualities ofan abstract painting, are not the ones that beginners are drawn to explore. Even appreciation of beauty presupposes experience. Similarly, most decorative arts and architecture are difficult for beginning viewers to appreciate because so much oftheir meaning has to do with either abstract issues (e.g., status, power, wealth, space, proportion) or with the use of materials and craftsmanship that are not the concerns of beginners. Experience and time will eventually lead the viewer to these special areas ofart. Again, studying Hausen, we can see that from late Stage II onward, all kinds ofart are negotiable and attractive to viewers. Taste is by then likely to be a deciding factor in what will most interest the viewer. Specific Considerations for Younger Viewers. Very young viewers (up to age 7) are usually satisfied with finding, naming, listing, counting, scoutingout-and to some extent making up stories about what they see. Overall, images for them should be fairly simple-even spareso not to overwhelm. Imagery should be familiar, ofcourse, and clearly rendered to allow formany concrete observations, which is the arena in which they operate. Make it easy for them to identifypeople (especially children and families), objects, actions, gestures, and expressions. They are not naturally inclined toward reasoning, seeking out levels of meaning, orpulling back and reflecting. Select accordingly. For Viewers with Some Experience. During Hausen's Stage n, where most adult museum visitors are, viewers are aware ofartists and interested in what they think and feel. Images that include artists at work and self-portraits are recommended. It might also be useful to have groups ofpictures by single artists to allow viewers to delve into an individual's way of working, choice making, or concerns. Stage n viewers may also be concerned about why things appear as they do, perhaps manifesting this with questions or challenging remarks. Both technique and logic are issues: 'Things should appear in art as they are "supposed" to be in life. Viewers may be umboum Brothers (15th c.). November (Acorn harvest). Calendar miniature from the Tres Riches Heures duDuc de Berry. 1416. Ms.65. f.11v. Photo: R. G. Ojeda. Musl!e Cond6. Chantilly, France. Copyright geunlon des Musees NationauxlArt Resource, NY. more conservative in their tastes than they were at the beginning, when they were in Stage I; the so-called openness ofthose Stage I viewers is actually a matter of ignorance, which, as we have been told, is bliss. After some experience, personal tastes, attitudes, and values come into play. We should respect this ifwe want to keep viewers searching for meaning in new ways, instead of sidetracking them into arguments about what is right orwrong with a style, technique, or subject. In terms ofstyle, staying within the framework of realist tradition will avoid consternation, but the boundaries can be pushed by way ofexpressionist works and surrealism. JANUARV 2003 / ART EDUCATION • Nominations are requested for theArt Education Editorial Board and Review Panel to replace four current members who will soon complete their terms of service. Nominees should be active art educators who are willing to review approximately 10-12 manuscripts peryear. The Editorial Board and Review Panel should consist of "NAEA members representing each division and region of the association." Following NAEA policy, each member should be willing to serve a 4-year term beginning at the 2003 NAEA conference in Minneapolis. Nominees should be familiarwith current trends and issues in art education and should be able to make positive, concrete suggestions that the editor can use to help writers strengthen their submissions to the journal. Willingness to evaluate and return manuscripts in a timely manner is vital. Please send the nominee's name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, resume or brief description of relevant experience, and a statement that the nominee has agreed to serve in this capacity to: B. Stephen Carpenter, II,Associate Editor, Department of Art Education, Virginia Commonwealth University, P.O. Box 843084, Richmond, Virginia 23284-2519. bscarpenter@vcu.edu. A list of recommended appointments, based on nominations received by February 15, 2003, will be forwarded to the NAEA Board of Directors for ratification at its spring 2003 meeting. Response requested before February 15, 2003, Art Education Call for Editorial Board and Review Panel Nominations Conclusion The impetus to consider image selection in terms of beginning viewer interests and skills results from Hausen's research. Her data open new doors for museum educators. She discovered the strengths of beginning viewers, and we can now make choices building on what people naturally want to do. We can see what capacities can be strengthened and predict what is most likely to produce growth. In applying Hausen's work to museum teaching, one assumption we make is that viewing is best taught by activating learners-helping them look carefully, think about what they see, and articulate their responses to it. This is most productively done in the context of discussions among groups of peers-people with equal experience and exposure to art, who therefore • speak the same language. In discussions aided by a facilitator, individuals can overcome their own limitations by sharing observations and insights with others. A group of people brings a breadth of information and experience to the process, even ifit is not experience with art. Importantly, the synergy of people adding to each other's observations and bouncing ideas off one another enables a "group mind" to find possible meanings in unfamiliar images much more productively than any individual alone could do. Through group process, the individual's possibilities are enhanced significantly. By applying Hausen's research with regard both to teaching method and image selection, we have been able to produce growth: Students who began as rank beginners grew, by the end of elementary school, to think in the same ways as randomly selected adult visitors at MOMA. In both cases, the norm is Stage II (I1ouspn, ~()()()-~()()I). Tlw students are, however, more open and flexible in their approaches to art: they are more observant, and t1wy draw more conclusions, mort>confidently. They are almost ready for the kind of instruction that has tradit ion.illy dominated museum education: tho careful, insightful presentation of information, A substantial part of the n-ason for this development is the «hoico of images, ones that invite them to Iwcomp active, thorough, successful viewers. 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