Artistic Vision
Art Education. Straight Up.Archive for Pop Culture
Using Manga and Superheroes to Teach Drawing
I’ve mentioned before that I been contemplating changing my present stand-alone courses (i.e., Drawing from Observation, Introduction to Painting and Ceramics) to the more traditional Art I, II and III classes where drawing, painting and ceramics would be covered using units of study.
One of the perennial problems I continue to face in my school is with the student demographic. Namely, my particular urban population doesn’t see much purpose in seriously studying visual art. Likewise, their parents remain ignorant to any potential career opportunities.
This past year, student schedules prevented me getting a new crop of 9th and 10th graders. The seniors I had weren’t interested in doing much work without a serious amount of prodding. It was pretty dreadful. Fortunately, I worked it with my administration behind the scenes to move them along to other things.
My hope centers on using manga and comic book superhero art as the foundation for the drawing unit for Art I. I’ve gotten Mastering the Art of Manga, Simplified Anatomy for the Comic Book Artist and Superheroes and Beyond. I’ll look for other books to supplement these texts as I further develop what I plan on teaching. If you have recommendations I’d appreciate your feedback.
Pop Goes the Culture (Sports vs. The Arts, Part 7)
In my final post for this series, I’m going to quickly touch upon our culture and its influences upon both young and old.
The influence of pop culture on the hearts and minds of today’s young people (arguably, most Americans) is undeniable. Regardless of the contemporary medium you select, pop culture is pervasive. Two of the primary core values of pop culture are:
- The push to influence thoughts and shape values, and
- The need to make money and drive more sales.
Influencing Thoughts, Shaping Values
What does culture have to say to my students, or, more specifically, what do they hear when it “speaks?” Both boys and girls equated interest or aptitude in the arts with sensitivity, femininity and, to some extent, gayness. I can’t say that I was surprised by their comments since each is pretty stereotypical and has been around for I don’t know how long. Consider:
- Many prominent artists in history have carried with them the badge of emotionally sensitive. Probably one of the most prominent historical examples would be Vincent van Gogh. You can probably recollect a few on your own. Dr. Eric Maisel, in his book Creativity for Life, has an entire chapter entitled The Challenges of the Artistic Personality. I highly recommend the book.
- Generalization or not, girls often exhibit an early aptitude for coloring and interest in drawing whereas boys don’t seem to catch up for two or three years. Sadly, I think parents don’t take this as a life-lesson opportunity and nurture their sons through the early frustrations of hand-eye coordination needed for color and drawing. Unfortunately, many parents fail to consider that semi-regular coloring and drawing opportunities may not reappear until school introduces them. Even then, most elementary school art programs aren’t particularly rigorous where drawing is concerned so a talent may go undiscovered.
- Lastly, it doesn’t require much thought to figure out where my students get the idea of gayness associated with artistic types. Television provides ample exposure in both fictional and nonfictional genre. Consider artsy reality shows like Project Runway, Shear Genius or Queer Eye for a Straight Guy. And, once you factor in the strong religious undercurrents in many urban communities, you have another reason why there is negativity associated with this particular image.
Culture’s images for sports are polar opposites to the above. Ruggedness, no gender confusion, always getting the girl, wealth, popularity and fame stand in stark contrast to the characterizations mentioned above. This is why I think the arts have a mainstream image problem.
Making Money. Driving Sales
Once you factor in the backdoor messages that my students have (unconsciously? consciously?) picked up on, the nail on the coffin comes from the sheer volume of cash associated with the sports industry. Sports franchises are about packaging youth and selling athletes for their unique talent. In our free-market economy where entertainment is a multi-billion dollar enterprise, I can’t fault marketers or business people who leverage every possible angle of the sports world to turn a profit. It’s like a legal drug that my students are raised on from a very early age. The sports industry taps into boys needing exercise, teens looking for acceptance, young adults seeking fame and fortune, and outliers seeking to relive the glory days.
I don’t know how else to end this series except by commenting that until the arts can find an avenue into the hearts of the mainstream population it will remain of peripheral concern for them; a periodic diversion for the masses and a more regular one for the wealthy and more educated. Perhaps I’m wrong in wanting to mainstream the arts, but I have a hard time not seeing that as part of my job as an effective art educator.
Family Affair (Sports vs. The Arts, Part 6b)
In this post, I’m going to discuss the important role parents (as well as family) often play—both intentionally and unintentionally—when it comes to the sports vs. the arts debate.
Family
Family poses a unique dilemma since they can:
- Undermine any burgeoning interest in art by giving the impression it is silly or unworthy of serious study,
- Never expose children to the value of the arts,
- Encourage the arts but in a diminished capacity as a “mere” hobby or
- Nurture the arts in their children as both a hobby and viable career opportunity.
In my district, many parents have limited exposure to the arts. So, for them, it is a classic case of ignorance—not knowing any differently. When they were children they were not educated about the value of the arts and/or never exposed to its career potential (often a key concern). Therefore, a lack of parent education perpetuates the cycle of ignorance.
On some level, the arts require an educated appreciation in meaning and value: in description, interpretation and analysis. as well as hands-on application. Of course, this doesn’t prevent people from liking what they like; however, it does keep them from a broader knowledge and deeper understanding. Certainly, the so-called “cultured” art world hasn’t helped the general population’s attitude concerning the importance of the arts when it celebrates bizarreness and incoherence as a right. Should it really surprise us when people look at a piece of art and say, “My three-year old could do that!”
Contrast this with sports… There is a low point of entry: you play with friends in context of casual, low-pressure spare time. The fear of looking silly is short-lived because the average skill level to do well is much more easily within reach. (Please don’t misunderstand…I’m not speaking of the skill level to play collegiate or professional sports just in the neighborhood.)
For many families (particularly those of urban youth), sports involvement finds a broad and welcome atmosphere. Many parents (not to mention coaches, guidance counselors and teachers) push students into sports early on because sports are a widely acknowledged and acceptable gateway to college scholarships and, of course, the coffers of the pro sports teams. And, while these may be reasonable goals (especially for a parent who has no means of funding a four-year college education), there are reasons to be concerned. I find the following commentary from an online article called Race and Sport to be a sobering point to end this post on:
While this may be true for black kids who devote extraordinary amounts of time, and expend prodigal amounts of energy honing skills and capacities that allow them to ultimately realize their dream of becoming professional athletes, one must ask why so many see this path as a realistic occupational goal given the odds against succeeding at it, and the odds for succeeding in other careers? Indeed, the large base of aspirants necessary to produce the disproportionate number of black athletes that we see today in our major sports is recognized as a social problem in that the development of other non-athletic skills, leading to more realistic career options, are being neglected (Ashe, 1977). Indeed, while blacks make up 77% of the NBA, 64% of the WNBA, and 65% of the NFL, they are only 4.2% of our physicians, 2.7% of our lawyers, and 2.2% of our civil engineers (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1997). The point is that striving to become a professional athlete is a risky proposition for any person since it often requires many years of total dedication that often is associated with a failure to develop knowledge and skill in other areas. The vast majority of aspirants never see a professional pay day, and are ill equipped to do other things. But for a variety of reasons, blacks have become more vulnerable to the carrot that is held out, and the great success of black athletes is accompanied by too many forgotten youth who not only have no contract, but no direction.
In my next post, I’ll touch upon what I had to say to my students about pop culture and its influences in our discussion of sports versus the arts.
Sports and the Power of Friendship (Sports vs. The Arts, Part 6a)
Sorry for being lax in posting. It’s been a crazy week with getting grades in for the end of the quarter. Needless to say, I’ve been recounting some of the points that have come up during my discussions with my students about the sports vs. the arts debate. Someone commented after my last post that they believed the core of the discussion was on one’s interests and likes; not that one is easy and the other difficult.
Certainly, interest plays a significant role as to why someone chooses to take part in an activity. But where does that interest come from? Is it purely innate? I don’t think so. I would posit that interest is also generated from (not in any particular order):
- Friends
- Family
- Pop Culture
Friends
I touched upon friendship in my last post. Specifically, I noted how art was a solitary activity. Therefore, those who push themselves to develop artistic skill in a specific medium (e.g., oil, acrylic, pastel) are going to miss out on many of the neighborhood activities of their friends. Especially in the formative middle and high school years, friendship is seemingly all-important to most young people. Issues of identity and belonging affect all of us throughout various stages of our life, but it is more keenly felt during those years. The fact that sporting activities—both playing and watching—reinforce that sense of self and camaraderie longed for makes it easy to see how friendship plays a powerful role in young people’s passion for sports. Plus, you have the release of endorphins through exercise and the general fun and excitement that comes from sports. Again, both powerful motivators.
The arts don’t offer such camaraderie since, even in a classroom setting, you are there to work and not socialize. By the time kids get older, they expect a certain level of verisimilitude from their artwork. Unfortunately, that takes time and effort. While sports certainly has its challenges, those with average skill can play and enjoy themselves. So, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying one is essentially harder than the other. A professional athlete gets paid huge sums of money because their talent is unique and their is a huge market ready to pay to see that talent in action. (But, more on that in a later post.)
Thus, the pull of friendship and all that it entails can pull young people away from participating in the arts, both short- and long-term.
In my next post, I’ll address the powerful role of parents in this discussion. I’ll look to post tonight or tomorrow.
Art is Boring (Sports vs. The Arts, Part 3)
My previous blog post detailed the responses I got from my students when I asked them why they believed sports was more compelling than either creating or viewing art. It was an interesting conversation, but I cannot say that their comments surprised me.
I originally was going to reflect upon each of the responses, but so many of them are rather straightforward that I thought I would give that a pass and focus on their perspectives on art. Over the next few posts, I’ll handle them one or two at a time. As always, your feedback is appreciated.
Art Is Just Plain Boring
At the heart of this statement is the false notion that art should be easy. This misperception comes from my students’ background where they have never persistently been challenged to think otherwise. Consider that most have not been to a museum (except for the Franklin Institute or The National Great Blacks in Wax) or looked at artwork other than manga, Family Guy or the shows like those on Cartoon Network. So, of course, my class should be easy because its value to them is little-to-nonexistent. They don’t know what possibilities are out there in the way of careers in the arts or even the joy of a life-long hobby that could be theirs if they were to practice developing a few skills.
In addition, our culture is focused on pop culture, not high culture. That’s where the money is: sports events/figures, celebrities and R&B. Much of the fascination with pop culture rests with our seemingly collective love of being entertained (which requires little or no thinking). Why go through the drudgery of trying to create a painting (composition, color balance, verisimilitude, etc.) when you can sit in front of the TV with no concerns except when your body tells you it’s time to snack, pee or poop.
Lastly, the art world itself has alienated kids (and many adults) to what is out there because, let’s face it, much of the contemporary art scene remains arcane or just plain weird—Duchamp’s readymades, anyone?
There is more to the whole “art is boring” concept, but I’ll leave it at these few. (Please feel free to put forth your own via comment.) But suffice it to say, art educators face a tough upstream battle convincing today’s postmodern-bred youth in seeing art as other than boring.
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