Visual Arts in Education and Beyond

Art has commonly been assigned the duty of pleasing the eye. However, humans have long benefited from the creative process and enjoyment of art, beyond visual satisfaction. To unearth the benefits that often go unrecognized, we must promote visual arts in schools and throughout society. Understanding how to teach an effective visual arts course, emphasizing the importance of a visual arts education by sharing its positive impact and preparing art students for a smooth transition into the professional art world can help re-establish the essential role of visual arts in our lives.

 

The Art of Teaching Art

For years we have categorized art classes as equivalent in nature to other courses, but effective teaching in the arts encompasses more than just lessons. Contrary to popular belief, becoming a better artist is not simply a visual learning process. Students who only watch how a piece is composed do not receive the full learning experience. Essentially, effective teaching in a visual arts education demands an interactive approach that utilizes multiple sources to help students grow as both artists and individuals in a social environment.

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To distinguish between artists and teachers, artists broaden the field of art while art teachers broaden the skills of their students in multiple categories through contemporary teaching methods and specific studio components. Extensions of these general teaching methods are “subject specific” methods that pertain to specific artistic fields, their features and issues (Tomljenovic). They encourage students to observe subject matter from a different perspective for deeper, individual insight and are used in aesthetic communication between teachers and students, understanding visual arts phenomena and patterns in relation to everyday life, and creative approach to art materials. Such teaching exposes students to different directions they may take in creating their art. To further promote a multifaceted view, well-trained teachers use the metaphor of art as language to help students focus on expression and view art as writing; in contrast, the metaphor of art as text emphasises the interpretation of art as literature for knowledge and moral inspiration (Lindström). This approach to art using a linguistic view develops a comprehensive skillset that helps students in visual analysis and supports the idea that teachers and artists have knowledge structured by different perspectives. Essentially, depicting art as language or text provides a knowledge base for visual arts education and a foundation for students to utilize in their learning experience.

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In the classroom, students are able to dictate the outcome of their projects, to create what they desire based on an objective. Moreover students are “active knowledge constructors” who build their own personal knowledge from their thinking with the indirect help of the teacher (Tomljenovic). Teachers who don’t implement strict guidelines for students’ projects promote creative thinking and individual skill development which, consequently, produces more variation in projects throughout the class. This theory draws from the idea that art has no defined beauty or level of correctness. Thus, a flexible curriculum often elicits the most out of a student’s knowledge and potential. However, throughout a curriculum, a consistent methodology must be maintained. Teachers strive to achieve a balance of three “studio structures for learning” - “demonstration - lecture”, “students at work” and “critique sessions” (Hetland). Effective art classes are comprised of these three basic structures. The “demonstration-lecture” is known as the visual learning process and constitutes only a portion of the class while student work time and critique sessions follow as extensions of the first visual lesson, completing the cycle of teaching art. A classroom composed of all three of these components would deliver an optimized learning experience.

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Considering the more intimate aspects of a class, a positive, socio-emotional relationship and communication between the students and teacher is also essential to maximizing the learning experience. Interacting with younger students, in particular, requires effective communication to ensure lasting engagement. At the beginning of every lesson, teachers must clearly communicate the objectives to students through a “demonstration-lecture” rather than a traditional lecture (Hetland). What makes the demonstration-lecture superior to the traditional lecture is its incorporation of a visual aid. Captivating students through a painting demonstration, for example, in lieu of a monotone PowerPoint presentation can provide the motivation necessary for students to direct their attention to the lesson at hand. Communication is the tool that allows teachers to not only form an attachment to students, but also understand the various backgrounds and experiences students have in art. A 2003 national survey of Sweden’s art teachers concluded that 45 percent of teachers defined visual arts as “an aesthetic-practical school subject”, and the same percentage agreed that communication is at the core of the curriculum (Lindström). Those who associate art with the core classes normally don’t value communication as much and believe that art studios in schools can be treated the same way as the standard classroom. Art teachers who believe this misconception don’t take the opportunity to learn more about individual students and their styles of art. Teaching in the visual arts, essentially, is “a creative art and improvisational performance” that produces effective classroom conversation (Tomljenovic). The art studio must be centralized on the idea of two way communication as a social process  that involves conversation in which teachers share their artistic experiences with students. In addition, teachers assign daily studio assignments to not only keep students’ minds active, but also to learn about and discuss students’ ideas (Hetland). Thus, this method of indirect communication generates creativity and assists teachers in both exploring their student’s potential and designing personalized teaching for individuals. Taking the initiative to understand a student is a similar approach to “audience analysis” in business communication. Age, personality, socioeconomic background, and other factors must all be taken into consideration. Communication’s influential role is omnipresent, and future careers that art students pursue may encompass a significant amount of communication as well.

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The setting in which teaching occurs is also crucial -- a lively studio culture incorporates multimedia engagement in standard teaching methods and encourages students to experiment with their creativity. One technique that helps students with the creative thinking process is drawing upon physical media from digital sources such as television, social platforms, etc. to reflect on how they process the information from their environment in a creative manner (Bull). Simply referencing photos often develops an unfavorable artist habit and becomes a limiting factor on a student’s creativity. In contrast, collecting inspiration from one’s environment using an observant mindset presents students with more ideas for their projects. In fact, the most successful artists carry this habit out of the studio and often depict their work as a reflection of reality through their eyes; students who adhere to this approach at an early stage discover more of their potential later on in their art careers. Similarly, using live, digital sound and unique objects as subjects for drawing helps generate a “sensitivity of mark-making as a gestural trace of movement” and develops concentration on a drawing (Bull). Again, the effects of direct observation and “natural” subject matter are evident in the artistic process. Direct observation welcomes expressive mark-making and ultimately brings out an artist’s style. Subject matter within the studio, however, shouldn’t undermine the importance of other classroom elements. To promote work-flow and a spontaneous mood in the studio, teachers must consider several elements such as space, time, language, music, and routines (Hetland). The cohesive functioning of all these elements invigorates the studio and creates the necessary environment for productivity and creativity. Teachers have begun to adapt to the social setting of their younger students and thus shape the studio in a way that complements students’ work habits.

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Teaching art, in essence, is an art that many art teachers themselves are still trying to master. However, teachers are now able to adopt developed strategies that may help with engaging students. The interactive approach that dominates contemporary teaching methods proves its positive impact and continues to serve as a model for art teachers around the world.

 

Benefits of a Visual Arts Education

            “Artistic” cannot be used to describe someone is who concerned with only aesthetics. Art pushes creative thought, and students often feel compelled to take this creative aspect outside of the art classroom. When the aforementioned teaching strategies are properly employed, students can experience the full range of benefits offered by a visual arts education.

On the surface, it may appear that knowing how to mix colors or gradate values is trivial in our modernized society of high-tech jobs. Over the years, there has been a steady decline in attention to arts education because of the distorted belief that visual arts in general don’t provide benefits necessary for students to succeed. In recent years, schools around the U.S. have relied more on local and state funding rather than federal funding; in fact, only recently did the Department of Education acknowledge the “well-rounded education” provisions of the Every Child Succeeds Act and federal grants awarded to nonprofit organizations supporting the arts have dwindled in number (AAEA).  Reversing this trend will actually contribute to more success for students in the future. In addition, funds must be carefully distributed to satisfy the different demands of a quality, visual art education. While most people envision funds to be expended primarily on art supplies, the salaries of art teachers and minute aspects of an art course require equal support. With a constrained budget in most states, addressing every need has been difficult to accomplish.

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Although the No Child Left Behind Policy did list art as part of the core curriculum, the Every Student Succeeds helped accentuate the importance of a well-rounded education that includes visual arts (Walters). Unfortunately, the implementation of this well-rounded education has been slow to catch on, and most people still only see the product of visual arts and not the process within its education that so many students benefit from. A visual arts education, when effectively utilized, equips students with an unique skillset that can propel their academic and artistic experiences, foster individual growth and prepare them for the real world.

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A visual arts education promotes a process of self-discovery and skill development while enhancing students’ thinking abilities. Creating art, essentially, is influential in both the student’s learning and growing experiences. Visual art classes assist in both the cognitive and affective development of students from various backgrounds, including youth-at-risk. The three aspects of affective development that are emphasized by visual arts include self-concept, self-efficacy and peer relations (Jobe). These three products of visual arts help students succeed in a social environment as they begin to understand the world around them. Positive trends in such aspects of the human development help justify the need to integrate more visual arts into education. In addition, the imagination of young students may prove to be insightful and cannot be ignored. Art courses, in fact, are the best tool for “sustaining the natural creativity that young children share” (Roege). Allowing creativity to prosper is essential to the healthy development of students because it defines the early stages of life. Although some subjects may prompt students to “think outside the box” when solving problems, the creativity utilized is not necessarily applicable to what students experience in the real world. For example, a math problem demands logical reasoning which, although it entails some creativity, only offers a few approaches towards a solution. In contrast, the creativity nurtured by visual arts does not instill limitations on how a problem is solved in the real world. Furthermore, a visual arts education is unique in that it provides the opportunity for creative thinking that can’t be found in any other discipline, capable of strengthening skills in “valued” areas and teaching skills that no other subject can teach (Hetland and Ellen). Essentially, a visual arts education promotes high quality creative thinking that is superb to that from other types of education. In terms of the impact that visual arts has on students, numbers too often dominate the basis for evaluation. Researchers such as Hetland and Ellen argue that a visual arts education should be justified not only by statistics, but also by the experience and opportunity for creative expression available to art students. Because of this, neglecting a visual arts education inhibits the self-expression and emotional wellbeing of students who are genuinely interested in art and want to demonstrate their understandings of the world through art education (Roege). Incorporating visual arts at an early stage can open up portals for expression and is a way of considering the voices of young minds that may be very valuable to our own understanding of the world. Failure to provide students with this condition ultimately stifles youth development, their involvement in society, and innovative thought.

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Visual arts students receive a more comprehensive overall education that allows them to excel in both school and their community. The education they receive establishes a foundation from which students can “decode” visual messages in their environment, develop literacy skills, discover character, and understand their community (Kedves). The ability to “decode” visual messages augments students’ visual analytic skills, which are connected indirectly to creative problem-solving skills. Interpreting the environment through a visual arts perspective not only provides students with a better understanding of their community, but also motivates them to take on a larger role as art students and, potentially, youth leaders. In terms of academic performance, students in arts education score higher on the verbal and math sections of the SAT, and those SAT scores are “correlated positively with the number of years of enrollment in the arts” (Ruppert). More importantly, a four year high school plan that integrates visual arts improves a student’s attitude towards school because art students see a progressive improvement in their grades. Intellectuals advocate for a curriculum influenced by visual arts because of the relationship derived from educational research. Research from Project Zero at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education “utilized effect sizes to determine the strength of the relationship between two variables - visual arts education and academic subjects” (Hetland and Ellen). In 4 reports that integrated visual arts with reading instruction, researchers calculated a “medium sized relationship between integrated arts/reading instruction and reading outcomes” (Hetland and Ellen). When considering this relationship, a larger effect size indicates a stronger, positive impact on academic subjects. Reading and visual arts complement each other well as art forms, but “effect sizes” extend to other courses as well. Students who transition into an art course perform better in their core classes and experience improvement in reading, writing, calculations, and scientific concepts (Hetland and Ellen). Aside from academic performance, artistic concepts and skills translate into creative problem solving or insightful responses from students in communication. Visual arts is versatile in its application to other aspects of a student’s life and encourages different perspectives when addressing both academic and community situations, giving art students an advantage over their peers. The positive links between education in an art form and achievement in a non-art discipline have gained evidence throughout the years from test results and academic evaluations of schools that have begun to emphasize the arts in their education.

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The social skills and innovative methodology acquired from a visual arts education are applicable to the real world and assist students in career development. Visual arts teach students to effectively use visual communication, a skill that is “at the core of 21st-century technology” (Kedves). Learning how to interpret and discuss art helps students master visual literacy skills that are essential in today’s world characterized by technological development. Proficiency in the use of art materials actually equips students with the skills necessary to excel in hands-on activities in the real world, which demands workers to be adept in utilization of complex tools. Additionally, visual art in school is a cumulative process that prepares students for the future in which business acumen is crucial to success. As companies strive to recruit creative professionals for innovative business development, arts education helps students build entrepreneurial-type skills that become useful in today’s creative economy (Roege). Critique sessions in class encourage students to speak with confidence. This quality, in conjunction with the creativity that is nurtured by visual arts, develops students as not just artists, but entrepreneurs as well. In terms of necessary skills for young adults entering the professional world, products of a visual arts education include strong cognitive ability, social skills and self-efficacy - all of which have been identified as crucial factors to success for art graduates aspiring to become self-established artists (Ruppert).  Regardless of whether or not an art student elects to pursue a career as an artist, any job that demands a creative and social mind is most suitable for candidates who have received a visual arts education. This education, which many have concluded to be simply visual instruction, actually prepares students for the next step in their lives by training them in how to receive more exposure and market their artwork. Thus, through visual arts, students aren’t solely becoming better artists -- they are becoming more aware of what awaits them in the real world.

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Experiencing the unmatched benefits of visual arts is a cumulative process. Over the years, students will notice an upwards trend in grades, an increase in quality of their own art, shifts in their understanding of the world around them, and overall a form of self-improvement. Both the internal and external benefits of visual arts usually cannot be identified in other fields of study, highlighting the unique and essential role of visual arts in student development. In order for students to capitalize on the various benefits from visual arts, schools must implement a system that offers more visual arts classes.

 

Visual Arts: Business and Career Development

When integrated successfully, a visual arts education provides the tools and skills necessary for a successful future characterized by art or non-art related careers. As visual arts students approach the end of their education, they must start researching career paths with careful consideration because both artistic talent and knowledge contribute to success in the art world; the street artist’s mini-masterpiece juxtaposed with his disheveled clothing provides proof that some of the most unique talent often goes unrecognized. Thus, many art schools now are shifting to an education that is both art and career-oriented to prepare visual arts students for the real world. Understanding how the art economy functions, developing marketing skills to increase exposure, and recognizing art-related job opportunities are essential to successful career development for young artists.

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The art world has an uniquely insular economy that demands professional artists to understand the concepts of networking, branding and contemporary culture. Becoming a prominent artist in the market is ultimately not a one man job. Artists require several assets to thrive in the art world. Specifically, a team comprised of art dealers, brokers and the artist is necessary to solidify a place in the market (Thompson). While the artist is occupied with creating a new work, he or she needs someone else to help push marketing and build clientele. Art dealers receive commissions and news regarding upcoming gallery shows, which are later reported to the artist. In addition, dealers are involved with most of the negotiating and influence purchases of the artist’s work. Thus, transactions in the art economy rarely occur directly between the artist and consumers and instead are produced by the talk of effusive art dealers, rather than traditional commissions, who dominate the flow of money (Thompson). Essentially, although it is ideal for the artist to have polished marketing skills, a dealer who performs his or her job well can carry out most of the marketing so that the artist has more time to focus on creating new work. It is also important to understand that a “hierarchy” exists in the art world amongst buyers. In the art economy, the majority of wealth is concentrated in prestigious galleries and auction houses that sell art to the “upper echelon of today’s consumers” (Thompson). Characterized by reputation, galleries become a decisive factor in providing the launch pad for emerging artists. Although the journey towards becoming well-branded can be determined by how well an artist takes advantage of opportunities that arise, recognizing what type of art prestigious galleries try to recruit can also assist in branding. Auction houses such as Christie’s include some of today’s most discussed contemporary artwork that demonstrate deviations from traditional style work (Thompson). Ultimately, artists must accept the fact that elite galleries are inclined to invite contemporary artists because they create art that wealthy buyers desire. The diffusion of economic behavior from the upper class of society into the art market is inevitable. However, art students must understand that the path towards renowned status in the art world is like the process of reaching any goal in that one must start small. Any art student who is knowledgeable of the art world’s nature and his or her competition can find a way to attain some form of success as an artist.

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To become a self-established artist, art students must build a smooth marketing channel and find representation in some manner to gain exposure. The competition amongst artists for art dealers is intense; student artists must find one who complements him or her well and facilitates a marketing channel to network with gallery owners and museums (Cellini). Like a mechanical system, the artist and dealer must each perform their parts to truly optimize their efforts. Often, they must locate areas less concentrated with competition that are more suitable for the artist. No matter what route an artist’s marketing channel follows, the goal remains constant -- to appeal to an audience that other artists don’t reach. Because becoming an established artist is a gradual process for most art students, entering multiple art competitions and contacting local galleries provides a foundation that will attract more audience, increasing the likelihood of receiving commissions or opportunities to sell art in more well-branded galleries (Cellini). Some of today’s most famous artists are alumni of nationally renowned art programs that strive to promote the arts. In addition, several have been featured in widely read art magazines such as Artist’s Magazine and Fine Art Connoisseur at a young age. After emerging artists reach a stable point in their careers, they may become “their own gatekeepers by running their own galleries, managing their own exposure and re-establishing direct contact with their audiences and communities” (Batia). Such artists risk stability that could be provided by gallery representation, but have the potential to become even more famous in the art realm. Several have actually opened their own public studios for their audience to enjoy, a phenomena that in fact seizes the attention of media and gallery owners. This type of open studio is essentially a museum for the public to tour and increases the chance of expanding the artist’s audience beyond the local community. Thus, sometimes breaking from the traditional path of a typical artist in marketing can generate even more success for an artist.

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Aside from impacting an individual’s self-development, visual arts plays an influential role in today’s economy that presents a multitude of possible career paths for art students. Artists establish longevity and a strong brand by developing symbolic capital, or fame and reputation in the field, that translates into economic gain through the works of socially competent art agents. This practice in the art market provides valuable insight for mainstream brands (Rodner). The fact that many companies actually model their advertisements from the perspective of a visual arts arrangement clearly demonstrates the effects of visual arts on branding and marketing overall. Furthermore, creativity provides companies with a competitive advantage by fostering “creative management” and a more creative, entrepreneurial approach to marketing (Rodner). Visual artists are capable of generating innovative marketing tactics for a company and thus are highly valued in the marketing sector. Regarding the job opportunities that society presents to visual arts students, several directions for a career path exist. For example, a student doesn’t necessarily have to remain a self-employed artist. Fine artists create work that is meant to be “looked at, thought about and appreciated” while applied artists produce work that is meant to be used in a “more practical way” (Dubman). Advertising businesses usually are in need of applied artists who can create visual images for commercial art to help sell products. In addition, some art-related occupations such as art dealers, art agents and art brokers don’t even require candidates who are exceptionally gifted artists; the ideal candidates for these jobs should have a strong sense of both business and art. Outside the purely business side of art, art students may even look into teaching art in the future.  In fact, anyone who is involved in “writing about art, conducting research about art, or even displaying art to the public” is considered alongside art teachers in the field of art education (Dubman). With the ever growing demands of companies and corporations in today’s innovative society, experienced art students have access to numerous job opportunities. Selecting one is only a matter of the student’s preference. More importantly, the skills necessary for these jobs are interchangeable as most employed art students share a communal experience and the basic skill set acquired from a visual arts education.

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Visual arts prosper because of the freedom to create, and similarly, art students are not bound by regulations as they enter the professional world. Equipped with an artistic background, art students have a positive outlook on what awaits them. However, only those who are educated on the art economy’s distinct qualities, adept in marketing and aware of the vast career opportunities offered in the field of visual arts can truly thrive and reach their full potential. Such students are not just masters in visual arts, but also another art -- the art of business.

 

The Current State of Visual Arts Education

Clearly, without visual arts, we lack an important facet of our lives. Educators and advocates for the arts must address the issue at hand in a society with declining funds for visual arts. In 2010, little more than 40 percent of secondary schools required a fine arts course for graduation, and several states currently have more than half of their elementary and middle schools lacking fine art courses (National Center for Education Statistics). As a result, students have less access to visual art classes, and this condition can be attributed to budget strains that almost every school faces. With a limited budget, not only are art courses cut out of the education system, but teachers are laid off as well and thus can’t share their creative passion with students. In addition, the National Center for Education Statistics has conducted reports on the “equity gap between the availability of arts instruction” and the “depth of course offerings for students in various areas” (Association of American Educators). Fortunately, the Department of Education is addressing this issue by promoting budget flexibility plans throughout the states. This is the first step in allocating more time, effort and resources to the development of a strong art education throughout the country.

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Individuals have the capacity to promote the arts by joining nonprofit art organizations and supporting research on the benefits of a visual arts education. Americans for the Arts and Arts Education Partnership actively conduct research on the role of visual arts in the lives of youth and share numerous ways to advocate for the arts. Other organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts maintain contact with the Department of Education to collect grants. Just recently, the organization announced its major grant funding of $30 million for the 2017 fiscal year, which it plans to donate to nonprofit organizations and leadership initiatives, such as “Creativity Connect” by Crayola, around the world (National Endowment for the Arts). The advocacy for augmented visual arts educational opportunities is truly a global act. Groups such as the Dreaming Zebra Foundation specialize in providing art supplies to less fortunate children around the world and work in conjunction with major art supply business such as Blick’s. Refugees and students in less developed regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa benefit from cordial donations, and the promotion of visual arts in many places starts with a simple contribution of art supplies. Essentially, while we are fighting the save the arts in our domestic education, there is always a way to advocate for the arts on a global stage.

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Although we experience a quality education here in the United States, there is always room for improvement; the arts, in particular, have been lagging behind those of foreign educations systems. Because of the provisions under our Federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, schools are “required to show growth in math and reading” because these two subjects are on state tests (Gibas). As a result, our curriculums have suffered from strict requirements by the government. We must allow our voices to influence the educational policies designed by our government if we hope to match the performance of other countries in the arts. Thus, funding is not the only issue regarding arts education. The United States should follow the models of other art education systems, such as Australia’s “Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority” which actually divides the arts into five disciplines, unlike the United States which lump all fine arts under one category (Gibas). Countries such as Brazil are implementing plans to create art education programs that connect students with the cultural resources around them (Gibas). In the United States, cities of strong, cultural vitality such as New York City can consider this approach to truly link students with the artistic community around them. This is one of several options that the United States can take without risk. While resolutions for funding may be out of the picture for now, there are definitely ways to re-shape the backbone of our visual arts education by becoming more globally aware of its evolution.

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Considering the expectations of students, the younger generation must value an education in the arts more than ever as the world’s progress entails innovative thinkers. On a personalized scale, a visual arts education adds the necessary elements to a student’s life. Its importance is justified by the intrinsic benefits for individual development, thinking skills, academics and real world applications. In addition, teaching is an art itself that must be mastered in order for students to experience the value of a visual arts education, and visual arts ensure a smooth transition into the workforce as students learn to understand the functionality of the art world. Ultimately, an education in the arts fosters years of positive impact on students and the society in which they create.

 

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