UC Course: The Art of Looking at Art, Week 3

Wow! This was such a great class, held at the Contemporary Art Museum. We had time to look closely and engage with the work of local contemporary artists Juan William Chavez and Michelle Oosterbaan. After having some great conversations in the galleries about their work, we were able to have the chance to meet these two artists and talk to them about their work. We also discussed the role of artist's intentions (and personal motivations for making their work) in the overall experience with the work.

An interesting quote from the gallery brochure:

"I invite the viewer to put his or her imprint on the isolated images--to apply multiple interpretations of work--an act that maintains a sense of mystery and curiosity and in the end increases the layers of the story's potential." -- Michelle Oosterbaan

I'd love to ask members of this class to continue any discussions from our meeting here (by adding Comments to any of these postings), or to add thoughts or ideas that you were not able to express during our class meetings.

UC Course: The Art of Looking at Art, Week 2

During our second meeting, we explored the work of Dan Flavin at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, and more closely examined the role of the museum space in our experience with art.

Some interesting quotes:

“Space is not just where things happen; things make space happen.” -- Brian O’Doherty

“I regard museums as spaces where one steps even deeper into society, from where one can scrutinize society.” – Olafur Eliasson

And, while the works of Dan Flavin draw our direct attention to the architectural space around us, I strongly encourage museum visitors to consider the salient role that the museum or gallery space itself has on our understanding of, and experience with, all works of art.

UC Course: The Art of Looking at Art, Week 1

Currently, I am teaching a University College short course on the process of “looking at art,” and we’ve been engaging in some exciting discussions about art and the role of the viewer/participant in our experiences with art. We’ve also been engaging in some open and interesting dialogues in the galleries about particular works of art. In fact, this class has been one of main motivating factors for finally developing this blog.

Week 1 Overview:

What is the “art” of looking at art? Is there such a thing? Does it matter? How should we approach modern and contemporary art? What are the elements of our “experience” with works of art?

We discussed the elements of the aesthetic experience, the importance of keeping an open mind when looking at art, and then engaged with a painting by contemporary artists Thaddeus Strode. I thought that the conversation we had in front of his work "Picket Fence" was very enjoyable and meaningful. We were able to "step up" to the painting as viewers, bringing our own experiences and stories to Strode's mixed-up and imaginative worlds.

In the exhibition's audio guide and podcast, Strode expresses his interest in the experience that happens "between the viewer and the painting, because then there's a whole new dialogue that happens . . . a whole new narrative that starts." "With any work of art, I believe there's a phenomenon that happens between the viewer and the work of art," Strode continues. "When you look at a work of art, there's something new that's built."

What is the 'Art Dialogues' blog?

As both an art museum educator and a constant museum visitor, I am perpetually interested in the issues of how people access and experience art. For some time now, I have been interested in creating an open forum for people to freely engage in dialogues about art education, teaching, and museum experiences. So here goes . . .

This blog is an attempt to provide such an open forum to explore issues of how we view and think about art, and how we teach and learn--extending these conversations beyond the walls of the museum. I see this blog as a unique opportunity to serve the following goals (and hopefully some that I'm not even aware of yet):

• to open an ongoing dialogue about arts teaching and learning relevant to issues and concerns in the 21st century museum,
• to move toward the act of conversation,
• to connect with each other and with the community,
• to see museums as creative sites of unplanned directions and multilayered interpretations,
• to see art as a living activity in which everyone has the potential to participate.

I encourage everyone that finds their way to this blog to submit comments and participate in the discussions. Share your personal experiences and encounters with art, your concerns and questions about how museums interact with their audiences, and your thoughts and ideas that might help others view art and learning in a new light.

Enjoy!

-Mike