artistic practices: a response

In ch. 7 of Walker's Teaching Meaning in Artmaking, there are several artist practices discussed, including purposeful play, risk taking, experimentation, postponement of final meaning, and searching; questioning. I was so excited to read about these ideas as I find them all essential to artmaking.

Play especially stood out to me. Students must have opportunities to play. This becomes important when a new media is introduced. They need time to explore the media; practice mixing paint colors, blending colored pencils, molding clay, etc. Comfortability with media only comes with practice and the ability to play.

In one of Kathy's classes, the entire lesson was devoted to play. We explored paper, a basic media that is often taken for granted. She asked us to come up with as many ways to sculpt with paper in 5 minutes and then we were asked to create a sculpture by combining all of the pieces. To push the play aspect further, we had to switch with our neighbors and create something new out of their piece. The time restraints, the exploration of material, and the detachment from our own artwork allowed for us to play and to discover new ideas.

In Walker, I enjoyed how Skoglund was highlighted for her exploration and play with unusual materials. Many artists today are working with odd materials, such as gum, foods, coat hangers, zippers, plastic detergent bottles, styrofoam, etc. I think it's important in our own classrooms to allow our students opportunities to explore new materials. Fresh and exciting ideas can be created through this type of exploration and a breakaway from traditional media.

One thing I had a hard time wrapping my head around is the postponement of meaning. I understand allowing for ambiguity and individual interpretation, but it's hard to not allow the meaning to direct the piece. We teach big ideas, don't we? Those ideas drive concepts and artmaking that visually bring them to life. Starting with meaning pushes the piece to be conceptual and meaningful. Perhaps the reading is approaching the idea of being too literal in making meaning. The art doesn't need to be literally displaying the message, but can direct the reader through visual cues. Art can start with an idea and concept and then as it develops the meaning changes. I think the reading was trying to draw attention to that. It is easy to become preoccupied with the predetermined final product, but we must allow the process to shape the end result.

I like the idea of creating meaning through series, in which the students are further exploring and pushing an idea asking, "What more can I say? How can I say it more complexly or deeply? What can I say that is different?" This seems like a powerful approach. As artists, we often get attached to several ideas and continue to create artwork based on them. This allows for further exploration and new understandings. It also gives us the opportunity to synthesize what we've already done, to synthesize new ideas and combine them to form a brilliant new outcome.