Blog for Art Education 7701

Is art ordinary or special?

3/20/2013

I am constantly thinking about the role art plays in my life and in the life of my students. I'm torn between treating art and visual culture as the ordinary things we see everyday, which we all need to be able to address thoughtfully, and treating art as someting special, somehow different from t This is further muddied by my definitions of art, education and art education. I'm not looking for any definitve answers from anyone, but wonder if anyone else feels this tension. Is art something special or is it ordinary?
Drew

3 Comments

Ramya

3/21/2013 05:02:49 am

I always thought about art as something that shapes and reshapes the every day experience.

I wonder where/when the notion of making art special thing/object to be viewed within very specific parameters came into being? (this totally does not answer your question!)

Priya

3/21/2013 05:28:35 am

Great question, Drew! I guess art might become ordinary, depending on the frequency with which we encounter it.

Here's a story to illustrate my thoughts--
When I was about 7-8 years old, in Hyderabad, India, my dad took the family to see the first and only 'moving' billboard in the city--we were loaded up in our car and drove out just to see this. This billboard, featured 3 different ads. We were fascinated to see the image changing, on such a large scale, up there in the evening sky. This was special, filled with excitement of things to come.

Now. I drive by numerous billboards, many digital, without a second glance. They are ordinary, a part of every day.

See what I mean?

Jorie

3/22/2013 08:41:44 am

I think about this all the time, especially in terms of my weaving practice and the "art" vs "craft' binary. I REALLY want to get past this binary, but I feel trapped. I make a lot of "utilitarian" objects - dishtowels, napkins, blankets, scarves. I think of these as "craft." When I make something that also has some conceptual aspect, I end up thinking that it's "art." I think this is the legacy of my time in an MFA studio art program ( I dropped out after 1 year.)

Is art ordinary or special?

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