Components in Art Education Essay -- essays papers

Components in Art Education Balanced programs for art education have been constantly changing and adapting over the years. One program that was developed back in the late 1960’s by Elliot Eisner incorporated three areas of art into the curriculum. These included art object, art criticism and the historical context of art. His program developed into a theoretical base for art curriculum in the elementary schools that is very similar to programs used today (Madeja 2001). Today most art education programs are made up of four components. One of these components is art aesthetics. Aesthetics is the study of the nature of a piece of artwork. It analyzes the work by asking specific questions regarding the artist and the piece. The viewer becomes the judge in a sense. It tries to discover what the artwork might be representing. They could also ask what type of emotion the artist was trying to convey in their work. The viewer also takes part in analyzing the physical aspects and characteristics of the work. It focuses on the use of color, sequence and synchrony of an artwork. It notes the artist’s craftsmanship, artistic ability and proficiency in technique (Hoffman 1999). Art criticism is another component of art instruction. It includes showing appreciation for an artwork and its purpose. The critic uses their own knowledge of art and their own depiction of the work to make an opinionated statement on it. It requires background knowledge and a trained eye of perception to be able to make an accurate analysis of a person’s work. This includes knowledge of the physical details, design, technique and style of the work (Hurwitz 1991). Art history is also a component of art education. This component includes teaching children ... ... academic subject. Overby, L. (1992). Status of dance in education (Report No. ED348368). Washington, DC: Eric Clearinghouse on Teacher Education. Discusses the status of dance as a part of the elementary school curriculum. This Digest examines the rationale for dance in education, the status of dance education, and selected issues in dance education. Cato, T. (2001, January1). Reasons to support art education. Retrieved September 18th, 2002 from http://www.gaea.armstrong.edu/. Promotes the teaching of art education in Georgia. Calls for research into art education to show its benefits and advantages. Kaiser, M. (2002, June). National standards of art education. Retrieved October 29th, 2002 from http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/. Provides the national standards for art education. Also has teaching materials and professional resources for art educators.