the lifeworld of the teacher of art || art, ambiguity and critical thinking

National Art Education Association

Art, Ambiguity and Critical ThinkingAuthor(s): Susan K. LeshnoffSource: Art Education, Vol. 48, No. 5, The Lifeworld of the Teacher of Art (Sep., 1995), pp.51-56Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3193532 .

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Art, Ambiguity an

Critical0 Thnkn nT r hat education in the visual

arts contributes to a more profound understanding and appreciation of civilization is

a widely held position. In terms of curriculum, the combination of art history, aesthetics, art criticism, and experiences in studio production is a means to reach this educational goal.

Art criticism offers the teacher an opportunity to interact with students about their personal reactions to art and to involve them in critical thinking. The teacher can encourage students to become art critics by encouraging them to derive meaning from works of art and to share those insights with others (Anderson, 1990). However, the reactions that students have to an artwork might be entirely different from those experienced by a teacher. This can occur due to distinctly different sets of individual experiences.

Tolstoy (1898) theorized that the audience will respond to art with the same emotion that the artist had during its creation. However, the set of circumstances surrounding viewers' responses, including what they know and what they believe, can affect the way they see (Berger, 1977, p. 8). Although the artist's way of seeing is reflected in choice of subject and the way that it is presented compositionally and stylistically, the reaction of the

viewer might be entirely different from what the artist felt or had in mind during the process of creation.

How teachers view artwork is often colored by a flow of information. Teachers who have been educated in the visual arts have been influenced by what they have read, what they have discussed, what they have been taught, and what they have experienced. Theories about art, social and political

Goya y Lucientes,

contexts, are some Francisco de. The Third of the constructs of May 1808 (1814). within which their Prado, Madrid, Spain. interpretations of art are often placed. Photo courtesy of

These theories Scala/Art Resource, NY. have tremendous power to influence a teacher's viewpoint. Students, on the other hand, normally do not have the same depth or breadth or experiences.

BY SUSAN K. LESHNOFF

SEPTEMBER 1995 / ART EDUCATION



HOW INTERPRETATIONS DIFFER

Regarding the theoretical constructs within which teachers tend to interpret art, Danto (1964) states that one's decision to call a commonplace object a work of art derives from viewing the object within a theory that allows it to be perceived as such. In particular, Danto refers to the facsimiles of Brillo cartons made by Andy Warhol and their elevation to the status of art. In another vein, the paintings of the Impressionists would not have been considered art in ancient Greece or for that matter during the eighteenth century, as the predominant theory of art during much of these periods allowed only objects that imitated nature according to their objective appearance-the mimetic theory-to be so categorized. The non- representational paintings of Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock are more understandable as art because of the theoretical framework developed around Abstract-Expressionism.

How teachers view artwork has also been colored by a knowledge of art history. The masterworks studied in texts or in museums are often the masterworks teachers share with students, the selection based upon the opinions of art historians, curators, and editors. Often, paintings have become famous for their historical subjects, for their portrayals of famous people or for their stylistic innovations. These are brought to students' attention because of their contextual importance in the history of art. Without classroom discussion, teachers might assume that student opinions and interpretations about these artworks are in concurrence with established opinion. Critical discourse can test the validity of this assumption, if teachers do not hold back students from sincerely expressing their reactions to works of art.

The ambiguous meanings that viewers perceive result in diverse interpretations of artworks and vice versa. Danto describes a hypothetical situation in which two painters are asked to make frescoes to decorate the east and west walls of a science library. The completed paintings, when unveiled, are indistinguishable from one another, both having a black horizontal line drawn across a white oblong ground approximately two- thirds down from the upper edge. One, entitled, Newton's First Law is described by the painter: "a mass, pressing downward, is met by a mass pressing upward, the lower mass reacts equally and oppositely to the upper one" (Danto, p. 577).

The second painting, entitled Newton's Third Law, is described by the other artist: "the line through the space is the path of an isolated particle. The path goes from edge to edge to give the sense of its going beyond" (Danto, p. 577).

These two diverse interpretations of what appears to be the same artwork are only two of several possibilities; these painters have been commissioned by scientists informed by Newton's basic theories. Danto also brings to the fore in this hypothetical situation an abstractionist who insists, when regarding the painting, that literary interpretations do not apply. For this viewer, the content of these paintings is the self-expressiveness of the artists, evident in the compositional form itself and needing no outside reference.

Lastly, Danto brings into the discourse the protest of an onlooker who states that all he sees is paint. The notions of physical reality brought to bear by this onlooker have much in

common with the way a child uninformed about artistic theory and contextual meaning sees much of the artworld. To the young child, the ideally proportioned, anatomically beautiful ancient Greek Classical statues, reflective of a perfected human temperament dominated by rational thought and controlled emotion can, upon first encounter, look simply like naked people, some of whom have lost their limbs.

AMBIGUOUS MESSAGES: A HISTORICAL EXAMPLE

In the history of art, diverse interpretations of artwork abound that are dependent upon the orientation of viewers. For instance, it is common for viewers today to regard The Third of May, 1808 (1814) by Francisco de Goya (1746-1820) as a timeless expression of the inhuman atrocities waged by armed military against helpless civilians. Here, Goya depicts a wall of Napoleonic soldiers under a dark night sky, united as a firing squad against an unarmed civilian whose arms are raised, as he faces imminent execution, surrounded by the newly killed and those who continue to witness the bloodshed. A lantern, the only source of light in the drama, focuses its brightness upon the condemned and the dead. In the shadowed distance is a dimmed image of a church. Their backs turned to the viewer, members of the firing squad are also depicted in shadow.

In how many ways can this painting be interpreted? Licht (1979, pp. 11-12) states that no trustworthy facts exist that allow the public to formulate what Goya's personal feelings were about specific political events or public figures in Spain during his mature years as a painter. The Third ofMay, 1808 was painted as a celebration of the return of the Spanish Bourbons after the

ART EDUCATION / SEPTEMBER 1995



Napoleonic defeat This particular depiction was meant to symbolize to King Ferdinand VII the courageous loyalty to the Bourbon dynasty of the rebellious guerrillas (Licht, p. 12).

Goya planned the composition so that the viewer enters the painting's action from the point of view of the executioners on the right side. The bright lantern placed in front of the executioners' feet lies below the positioned guns, compositionally laid out as a series of horizontal lines pointed toward the victim. Just behind the poised rifles is a man cringing in horror, his hands dramatically covering his entire face. The physical center of the composition lies on this overlap. In such a portrayal of opposing forces, it is possible for additional interpretations to be argued in a classroom. The classroom teacher should encourage student interpretations based upon what Baron (Glatthorn & Baron, 1985, p. 49) describes as "good thinking" patterns.

Baron proposed a model of a good thinker that begins with the consideration of a state of uncertainty about what to do or believe. This initial doubt is linked to some sort of goal that will provide insight or solution. The good thinker will search for possibilities, based upon evidence, toward reaching that goal, thus relieving the state of uncertainty. When applied to art critical discourse, the good thinker develops a point of view or an interpretation of the artwork based upon evidence.

Translated into a classroom situation, the teacher helps students come to grips with the stage of uncertainty by asking them for a point of view: "How do you feel about this painting?" or "What is this painting

about?" Following this opener, the teacher tells the students to look at the imagery in the painting for evidence that supports a point of view or feeling. Thus, the initial doubt or stage of uncertainty is linked to the simple goal of answering a question about art, based upon opinion which is linked to evidentiary support in the artwork itself.

For the viewer uninformed about the contextual facts surrounding The Third ofMay. Goya has depicted the poised moment just before an execution, the executioners to one side of the canvas and the victims to the other. A good thinker could develop an argument that favors a celebration of military triumph as an interpretation of The Third of May. This happened in one of my college classes. A student reasoned that the dark grim night sky and the unlit church symbolized divine disapproval of the in- surrection against a military state. He viewed the cries, panic and trauma among the rebels as reactions to and guilt over their insurrec- tionist behavior. This student belonged to a military youth group and viewed the compositional format of this painting as por- traying the military in a stronger, more commanding role. Military obedience to

Duane Hanson. The Tourists.

1970. Polyester and fiber-

glass, polychromed in oil,

with accessories. Life-size.

National Galleries of Scotland.

the state was for him a way of life and thus colored his way of seeing.

The good thinker, in response to a work of visual art, will utilize what Taylor (1957, pp. 43-44) described as "expressive content" as a primary basis for belief or opinion. More than the identification of subject matter in the visual imagery included in the artwork, expressive content refers to how the visualform of the composition itself contributes to meaning and interpretation.

Visual form can be analyzed as the elements (color, shape, line, light, value, texture, space) and principles (balance, repetition, rhythm, focal point, contrast, unity, variety, etc.) of design. The elements and principles of design are part of perception in everyday life.




However, the average person might not be so aware of them as the trained artist (Gilbert & McCarter, 1988, p. 141). The artist manipulates these design concepts toward a particular expressive intention, conveyed visually.

From a different contextual orientation, a good thinker can approach the imagery of the rebels in The Third of May more sympathetically, using an argument based upon expressive content. This person perceives that the band of civilians is portrayed in chaotic gestural frenzy, compared to the unilateral movement of the line of military, all arched in posture, ready to execute. Goya's use of parallel movements among the men unifies them into a disciplined, like-minded group. The repetition of shapes used for their outfits and the repetition of postures, bent as they aim at their human target, emphasizes this feeling. The military presence is evoked almost as a wall of gunfire, made more inhumane by having the soldiers' faces turned away from the viewer.

The hapless civilia ns_

find themselves in an inescapable position, a hill behind them and the firing squad ahead of them. Goya has made this place even more confining by having the diagonal line that outlines the hill seemingly continue along the hat and outfit of the soldier most in the foreground. The victims are caged in through the expressive use of line.

The soldiers appear robotic and mechanical compared to the haphazard group of traumatized civilians. Their angular postures form decisive, strong lines, compared to the curving, slumped lines that outline the huddled victims. The lantern as a geometric form placed at the feet of the soldiers makes more emphatic the disciplined, mechanistic block of soldiers.

Goya selected muted colors for much of the painting. The dark night sky envelops the church seen in shadow in the background. The only source of illumination, the lantern, highlights the civilian about to be executed, those next in line, and those already dead, who are lying in a blood bath on the ground. Especially ,

intense colors are used for the victim's outfit and the bloody ground under the dead. Such intense color and lighting draw the viewer's eyes to this area, making the civilian the focal point of the painting.

A sympathetic viewpoint for the civilian as an innocent based upon expressive content might be inferred by translating the white color of the civilian's shirt as a common metaphor for chasteness or innocence. To further a sympathetic viewpoint, the outline of the civilian's pose, with arms upraised, might be considered reminiscent of the Crucifixion.

AMBIGUOUS MESSAGES: A CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLE

Ambiguous messages in art can be found in contemporary work as well. An artist in point is Duane Hanson (1925-), known best for his cast sculptures of everyday people that blur the distinction between art and reality. Because his sculptures wear actual

clothes and are accessorized

OI_ with commonplace objects, it is



not unusual for people in a museum exhibiting Hanson's work to mistake the sculptures for actual people in the gallery.

As Hanson edged toward more believable sculptures of people in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he selected relaxed, natural poses of lower-middle class Americans in common situations that portrayed what the artist termed "the empty-headedness, the fatigue, the aging, the frustration" of their lives (Bush, 1985, p. 15). The Tourists (1970) represents this period. Decked out in outfits that the artist considered tasteless (Bush, p. 48), the man and woman, portrayed as older and overweight tourists, are focusing their attention on an unidentified site.

Regarding the image that The Tourists presented, Hanson stated, "But I sort of like tastelessness... They are cutting, sort of mean-critical, but still compassionate. At least I hope they are. I sort of think the tourists are beautiful, likable, just a little tacky-looking" (p. 48). This duality of the artisfs intention- critical of a lifestyle but still compassionate regarding their station-makes his artworks ripe for critical examination.

In the 4th edition of History of Art, Janson (1991) has written of Hanson's artwork,

His subjects, however, are types of people so familiar that we take them for granted. Be they satires of tourists in gaudy attire orsympathetic renderings of elderly persons or workers, Hanson's sculptures, taken collectively, represent the failure of the American dream. (p. 771)

If, as teachers, we treat as a type of gospel Janson's summary statement- that taken collectively, Hanson's sculptures "represent the failure of the American dream," then we are not allowing students to react with

authentic responses to these artworks, and we are allowing an art historian to dominate our interpretations.

Hanson's Self-Portrait and Model (1979), is a sculptural presentation of the artist and a bespectacled middle- aged, overweight woman clothed in a housedress, sitting at a table on top of which is a commercial napkin holder and sugar container. The woman appears engrossed in her reading of a newspaper, while holding an empty sundae dish. Hanson has portrayed himself holding a Coca-Cola bottle in one hand while looking across the table at her.

At first, when my high school students viewed a slide of this sculpture, many of their initial responses were disparaging; the model was seen as fat, lazy, and sloppy. "Look at her," one student said, "dressed like that in a restaurant!" Comments began to change and soften as class discussion ensued about the woman as a person. Students queried, 'Why can't she control ? herself? If she has a weight problem, why is she eating a sundae?"

When asked to write I more considered interpretations of the meaning of this sculpture, the majority of my students in a large urban high school wrote in a more appreciative manner that it seemed as if the

Duane Hanson. Young Shopper. 1973.

Polyester and fiberglass, polychromed

in oil, with accessories. Life-size.

Edmund Pillsbury Family Collection.

two were having a nice time enjoying each other's company while eating lunch. To students whose lives outside school are dominated by poverty and are influenced by the never-ending potential of random violence, two people sitting at a table peacefully and calmly eating, reading, and talking is a nice experience and has little to do with a blanket failure of the American dream in their eyes. Such an interpretation




illustrates an authentic and valid way of seeing based upon a set of circumstances absent from Janson's perspective.

The tension that exists in many Hanson sculptures between criticism of lifestyle and compassionate empathy creates genuine ambiguity for the audience. John Russell (1978), art critic of The New York Times wrote about Hanson's sculptures:

Somewhere within these sculptures there is in fact an unpleasant note of patronage. Life is sold short when we are not allowed to remember that some of those American tourists arefeisty and independent old people who feel a genuine awe at the site of old monuments... There is a difference between social awareness and homogenization, and it doesn't always come through in these sculptures. (Bush, p. 94)

In 1973, Hanson completed Young Shopper, a sculpture of a blond-haired overweight young woman wearing a knee-length print skirt, a red top and a mustard-colored sweater that is buttoned only in the middle just above her protruding stomach. She is carrying packages under each arm, while gripping a pocketbook and additional bags with her hands. Regarding this sculpture, Hanson has stated,

I like the physical burdens this woman carries. She is weighted down by all ofher shopping bags and purchases, and she has become almost a bag herself She carries physical burdens and psychological burdens-the burdens of life, of everyday living. (Bush, p. 57)

Once again, Hanson's ambiguous position in intention-at once both critical and compassionate-is articulated.

CONCLUSION Teachers can create a classroom

conducive to critical thinking by posing

problems, raising questions, and introducing dilemmas that students attempt to resolve. Critical discussion can be attained if teachers encourage the free exchange of ideas, require evidentiary support, and remain nonjudgemental.

As a medium for stimulating critical thinking, art masterpieces can generate those types of questions and present those dilemmas. Meaning and interpretations may be based upon internal evidence and expressive content in the artwork itself. When viewed within an appropriate historical, literary, and social context, analysis based upon facts and theories surrounding the creation of the artwork can support several points of view (Risati, 1987, pp. 222-223).

Varied responses to a work of art are based upon who the audience is. It may include the artist and the original patron. What the present day audience feels or thinks about an artwork can be totally different from how the artwork was viewed in its original setting (Berger, p. 16). The teacher should encourage and respect authentic student responses, based upon a current set of circumstances, including the contextual framework of a student's belief. Consideration of a subject from a variety of perspectives is at the heart of good decision making.

Neurological and psychological research identifies at least two different modes of information storage in the brain-the imaginal and the verbal. Broudy (1987) points out that the role of imagery in learning has been underutilized in terms of what he calls "the generalizing potential of images, whereby a highly complex structure can be apprehended directly through an

image" (p. 13). Artworks that present uncertainty regarding meaning, from the artist's point of view, the patron's point of view, or the audience's point of view offer especially fine visual material to generate good thinking habits among students. Great works of art can become indelible visual experiences for students as they learn to think critically about them.

Susan K Leshnoffis a Clinical Adjunct Faculty member of the Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Montclair State University, UpperMontclair, NJ, and teaches art at East Orange High School, East Orange, NJ.

REFERENCES Anderson, T. (1990). Art criticism and social

integration of the disciplines of art In B. Little (Ed.), Secondary art education: An anthology of issues. Reston, VA: NationalArt Education Association.

Berger, J. (1977). Ways of Seeing. NewYork: Penguin.

Broudy, H. (1987). The role of imagery in learning. Los Angeles: Getty Center for Education in the Arts.

Bush, M.H. (1985). Sculptures by Duane Hanson. Wichita, KS: Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University.

Danto, A (1964). The artworld. The Journal of Philosophy, 61(19), 571-584.

Gilbert, R., & McCarter, W. (1988). Living with art (2nd ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Glathom, A, & Baron, J. (1985). The good thinker. In A Costa, (Ed.), Developing minds: A resource book for teaching thinking. Alexandria, VA: Association for Super- vision and Curriculum Development

Janson, H.W., &Janson, AF. (1991). History of Art. (4th ed.). New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Licht, F. (1979). Goya: The origins of the modern temper in art. NewYork: Universe Books.

Risati, H. (1987). Art criticism in discipline- based art education. The Journal of Aesthetic Education, 21(2), 217-225.

Russell, J. (1978, February 10). "Art: Effigies of Humanity." The New York Times. p. C20.

Taylor, J. (1957). Learning to look: A handbook for the visual arts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Tolstoy, L. (1938). What is art? London: Oxford University Press (first published in 1898).

ART EDUCATION / SEPTEMBER 1995



the lifeworld of the teacher of art || art, ambiguity and critical thinking

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