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.

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:

1. The push to influence thoughts and shape values, and
2. 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

Family poses a unique dilemma since they can:

1. Undermine any burgeoning interest in art by giving the impression it is silly or unworthy of serious study,
2. Never expose children to the value of the arts,
3. Encourage the arts but in a diminished capacity as a “mere” hobby or
4. 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.