Art for a New Era Art is or can be cathartic. This experience can be a healthy andempowering experience. Erase any fears about not knowing HOW to make art –that is what I am here to provide you – the skills and techniques will beintroduced and I don’t expect anyone to be instantly perfect. So tell yourinner-perfectionist or OCD to go to sleep. Those of you that are very literal will be aided by my juxtapositionassignments. These are akin to exercises. So they are practices increativity. Practices are just that. I don’t expect perfection. I grade oneffort: are you coming to class with your supplies? Do you DO work in class?Do you do Process Journal assignments? Are you participating in classcritiques? You will shine because you are UNIQUE. You have an individualperspective and each one of us is valuable and worthy. Some students willbe amazingly skilled. I caution you NOT TO COMPARE your skill-level withothers because we are all at different levels. I only want you to improvefrom your starting point. I also want you to be able to analyze. To analyze is to pick apart and examine. I will give many opportunitiesto do this throughout the course. This is also practice. I ask that youwrite in full sentences and write your analysis so that anyone, not in viewof the art you are describing, can get a mental picture of the artwork orsubject. Art Elements are the building blocks of art making and Art Principlesare the organizers. We will become familiar with them. They will constitutethe majority of our vocabulary. Vocabulary is an important part of youreducation. Words are the tools to accurately and fluidly convey yourknowledge and ideas. The right words lend credibility, the inability to findwords might suggest that you lack true understanding. I have created rubrics that show how you will be graded. This tellsyou, in advance, what I am looking for. I am looking for effort, personalbest and creativity. I want you to be able to use creative thinking in otherareas of your life. Mission For The ClassArt for a New Era Why CREATIVITY is ESSENTIAL: Creativity is linked with innovation. A creative thinker can pullseemingly disparate concepts or systems together to make something new. Thisis very necessary for success in any realm of the real, non-academic, aswell as the academic world. In Daniel H. Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind, he writes that advancedsocieties are entering a new era: the era of meaning. We have gone throughthe agricultural, industrial, technological, and informational eras.We are beginning a new era, in search of meaning, where we are in search ofa product or service to enhance or expand our existential questions andinclinations. Those societies that can create products and services, whichprovide MEANING, will reap economic and functional benefits. CREATIVE andINNOVATIVE thinking is the key. The ability to see a niche that consumers don’t yet know they need orwant is essential. This may come in the form of more user-friendly softwareprograms or the discovery of an “invisible point of view” in psychology thataids in helping people understand themselves therefore functioning better insociety, or a new way of managing a corporation that is beneficial to theenvironment as well as the bottom line ($), etc. All of this requires BIG PICTURE thinking. This is ANALYSIS + SYNTHESIS= CREATIVITY. This is what I want you to cultivate through this and otherart classes. I am attempting to decode creativity: The Process. My assignments aredesigned to exercise and strengthen those parts of the brain. All courses you will take in your lifetime and every experience youwill have – even if they do not fit obviously into your future career plans –will benefit you, the problem-solver, the innovator. So you are not justseeking to put facts into your head, you are making connections and usingareas of your brain that will benefit your ability to control that thing onthe TOP of YOUR BODY – its on the top for a reason! Human beings have survived as a direct result of the ability to problem-solve and innovate; we don’t have fierce claws or fangs; we cannot fight andout run predators. We have evolved because we became innovators due to need,due to environmental stressors. But we live in advanced, cozy societies now.We have so very much in terms of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need. (Google it.)What we are looking for, in this era of our evolution, is Meaning – Big M. Be present. Be aware. Make connections. Use what you learn from mycreativity exercises. Make ripples. Be fearless! Go! Change the world!
Art for a New Era
Art is or can be cathartic. This experience can be a healthy and
empowering experience. Erase any fears about not knowing HOW to make art –
that is what I am here to provide you – the skills and techniques will be
introduced and I don’t expect anyone to be instantly perfect. So tell your
inner-perfectionist or OCD to go to sleep.
Those of you that are very literal will be aided by my juxtaposition
assignments. These are akin to exercises. So they are practices in
creativity. Practices are just that. I don’t expect perfection. I grade on
effort: are you coming to class with your supplies? Do you DO work in class?
Do you do Process Journal assignments? Are you participating in class
critiques?
You will shine because you are UNIQUE. You have an individual
perspective and each one of us is valuable and worthy. Some students will
be amazingly skilled. I caution you NOT TO COMPARE your skill-level with
others because we are all at different levels. I only want you to improve
from your starting point. I also want you to be able to analyze.
To analyze is to pick apart and examine. I will give many opportunities
to do this throughout the course. This is also practice. I ask that you
write in full sentences and write your analysis so that anyone, not in view
of the art you are describing, can get a mental picture of the artwork or
subject.
Art Elements are the building blocks of art making and Art Principles
are the organizers. We will become familiar with them. They will constitute
the majority of our vocabulary. Vocabulary is an important part of your
education. Words are the tools to accurately and fluidly convey your
knowledge and ideas. The right words lend credibility, the inability to find
words might suggest that you lack true understanding.
I have created rubrics that show how you will be graded. This tells
you, in advance, what I am looking for. I am looking for effort, personal
best and creativity. I want you to be able to use creative thinking in other
areas of your life.
Why CREATIVITY is ESSENTIAL:
Creativity is linked with innovation. A creative thinker can pull
seemingly disparate concepts or systems together to make something new. This
is very necessary for success in any realm of the real, non-academic, as
well as the academic world.
In Daniel H. Pink’s book, A Whole New Mind, he writes that advanced
societies are entering a new era: the era of meaning. We have gone through
the agricultural, industrial, technological, and informational eras.
We are beginning a new era, in search of meaning, where we are in search of
a product or service to enhance or expand our existential questions and
inclinations. Those societies that can create products and services, which
provide MEANING, will reap economic and functional benefits. CREATIVE and
INNOVATIVE thinking is the key.
The ability to see a niche that consumers don’t yet know they need or
want is essential. This may come in the form of more user-friendly software
programs or the discovery of an “invisible point of view” in psychology that
aids in helping people understand themselves therefore functioning better in
society, or a new way of managing a corporation that is beneficial to the
environment as well as the bottom line ($), etc.
All of this requires BIG PICTURE thinking. This is ANALYSIS + SYNTHESIS
= CREATIVITY. This is what I want you to cultivate through this and other
art classes.
I am attempting to decode creativity: The Process. My assignments are
designed to exercise and strengthen those parts of the brain.
All courses you will take in your lifetime and every experience you
will have – even if they do not fit obviously into your future career plans –
will benefit you, the problem-solver, the innovator. So you are not just
seeking to put facts into your head, you are making connections and using
areas of your brain that will benefit your ability to control that thing on
the TOP of YOUR BODY – its on the top for a reason!
Human beings have survived as a direct result of the ability to problem-
solve and innovate; we don’t have fierce claws or fangs; we cannot fight and
out run predators. We have evolved because we became innovators due to need,
due to environmental stressors. But we live in advanced, cozy societies now.
We have so very much in terms of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need. (Google it.)
What we are looking for, in this era of our evolution, is Meaning – Big M.
Be present. Be aware. Make connections. Use what you learn from my
creativity exercises. Make ripples. Be fearless! Go! Change the world!
