Why Art? Why Art Education?

I began my career as the only art educator in a small rural school district, and as such, I had many opportunities to weigh in on questions from colleagues and the greater community about or related to the arts. There was a perception that having a degree in the field gave one permission to be historian, technician, practitioner, critic, assessor, ambassador etc., so trying not to disappoint, I wore all those hats and then some.

As the "art guy" in a world with no peers, I assumed the role and was proud to represent the arts at the education table even when my knowledge base was not as deep as others assumed. Over time, my position allowed and required me to build a broader base of subject and history, and I began to form some opinions based on observation about the place that art holds in the grand parade of civilization and some questions about the feasibility of actually teaching the arts.

Germaine to this discussion is a common notion that I encountered almost daily: the belief that we are either art "types" or we are not. If we are not, then what is to be done? And if we are then how do you teach something as personal and individual as the creative experience?

My observations have led to a belief that any student who is convinced that they are not an art type will have a transformative experience when they actually produce art or, they will continue for some time to hold onto their doubts in spite of contrary evidence until they learn more about working the creative process. Very few refuse to even try. My conclusion agrees with what many cultures know and put into practice: That we are all potential artists and become so as soon as we begin doing art.

What is doing art? I would define the doing as focusing energy into a creative experience that leads to a personal expression through that experience. In the art room, a high value is placed on understanding, developing and strengthening this process. Education is rediscovering that this teachable process is essential for success in any subject and through any walk in life.

Our world has automatons and robots; what we do not produce through our technology is the celebration of the human experience. Key to that celebration is the ability to concoct something that previously existed only in the imagination. Let us take a look at the elements of what we can call a creative experience.

Imagination- To use the mind to image or see or feel some form of an idea is common to all humans. We all do it all the time. It is the starting point of the experience.

Organization- In order to find expression, the components of a thought, vision or feeling need to be prioritized. What is primary, tertiary etc. requires choices.

Materialization- At some point, organized thought must manifest. Just using mental energy does not count as the experience, as it cannot be verified.  Organized thoughts can take form in any number of ways to qualify the experience: writing, speaking, acting, dancing, drawing, painting, sculpting, playing music. We choose the instrument of our expression. A creative act requires a physical expression.

Assessment- A word I much prefer to critique. A left brain function that is impossible to separate from the experience. When the organized thoughts materialize, they become subject to evaluation and comparison. By ourselves and others. We do it all the time. All of us. Critical thinking leads us to reevaluate, change, improve, improvise.

That is it in a nut shell. Who among us does not do these things every day? Not that we always do them well, but that is the point. We can get better. The masterpiece becomes possible when the components of the creative experience are cycled over and over until a high degree of expression is achieved. Not only can we learn new ways  to express our better selves, but to allow what is unique about us to become an active part of the big story.

Arts education holds a place of distinction in academia because the focus centers totally on the creative process. In any branch of study, simply repeating what has gone before is not the formula for evolution. New thinking is only possible when new ideas become manifest. We are all players and art types when we use the creative experience, and we do it all the time. We use this process when we choose furnishings, fonts and fashion, and when we acknowledge this in ourselves we open ourselves up to explore new thinking. More on this topic forthcoming.