It has been quite a while since I’ve critiqued the Educational Industrial Complex, though now I am back in all of my article-writing glory. A close former colleague of mine suggested today’s topic, while his recommendation was a single concise sentence, its underlying meaning remained slightly abstract. I’ve covered far more objective classes in the past such as science class and Math class though I haven’t traveled too far into electives and other softer courses. So today, I’ll critique everything that is wrong with the way art is taught in K-12 public schools in America. This goes without saying, but to do so I’ll have to make some generalizations, though they are based on the experiences of both myself and many I’ve spoken with. How unscientific of me! Gasp!
First, before we start overhauling the curriculum, the culture behind art and its instructors absolutely needs to change (art teachers across the nation have already started to sharpen their pitchforks). Currently there exists a large exclusionary bias as to what constitutes, or more accurately what they constitute as art, and it’s hurting everyone involved. Manga and anime are both real art. Yes, you read that correctly; Anime is art and the culture of the art scene needs to adapt to the changing society in which it occupies. Respected museums host manga works now, so it is art, and denying it isn’t helping you reach students. There is currently a large stigma around anime/manga, and it is only driving students away from art class (and hence a potential career in art). Furthermore, street murals and Banksy works are also art. The artform itself seems to have less pushback, though the individuals who create it seem to still be vilified. Street murals and Banksy-inspired works are commonly found in urban areas, so denying these art forms in a very real way is by extension rejecting the culture in which many modern K-12 students hail from. The continued insistence that it’s not real art is only hurting students participating in art class, art teachers seeking more funding, and the wider art community as a whole. These teachers are just mad that they never made it to Sotheby’s. There is more to art than just Leonardo Da Vinci or Bob Ross, and the culture of exclusion needs to stop already. The sooner that happens, the better. Furthermore, there are no reputable science teachers making grand proclamations like Geology isn’t a real science! We would never take such a nonsense notion seriously, yet we do it with art constantly.
I’d like to layout the map of what I want art education in public schools to look like. Generally speaking, I’d like for the curriculum to start with early with basic techniques before moving onto compound skills that invoke the use of several previously learned skills. Along the way, vigorously drill the core concepts into students, and ensure they have a solid grasp on many different techniques. Bill Deresiewicz wrote about how artists struggle to shift gears in the market, so let’s arm students with ability to do so! Ultimately, high school seniors will not only be skilled enough to put together artworks, but they’ll be educated enough to have a basic understanding of what a career in art is truly like. If the overall arc of this type of education sounds eerily familiar, that’s because it is; this is how courses such as Math and English are already taught. To write a four-page essay, one must know the alphabet, and to factor polynomials one must have sound multiplication skills. Art is no different. While this may seem obvious, this isn’t how art is taught in public schools. The subject is broached sporadically, with little to no continuity between grade levels. Therefore, the first step to changing art class (after reforming the culture) is to simply start treating it the same way we do Math and English, and less like we teach History.
Somewhere in the junior high and early high school levels, we need to start teaching students how to make computer generated art. In case art administrators haven’t noticed; animation has changed drastically over the past 25 years. The late 90’s saw a lot of animated cartoons and films still being created by hand, but now that’s basically unheard of. The world has changed, and the curriculum needs to include mediums used in the real world. I attended a vocational high school, and none of the students in the auto repair program trained on Model T Fords, yet art class still relies on similarly archaic mediums.
While art classes are content with teaching Rembrandt-style portraits and landscapes, there is a burgeoning field called graphic design that art administrators in public schools seem all too happy to ignore. As I touched upon in my book, there is a ton of thought and background knowledge that goes into graphic design. Given that we are constantly bombarded by marketing, we should arm students with the ability to create some logos and branding. Concepts such as font choice to alter the delivery of a message, color theory as a means of conditioning the viewer, and so much more are required to visually present information to the audience. However, these concepts aren’t being taught at all (outside of vocational schools) and the most instruction most get on the topic comes from a helpful YouTube channel. Currently, students who wish to pursue careers as graphic designers need to attend a pricy art school and rack up tons of student loans in the process. This is can all be avoided by dropping the culture of exclusion and embracing our ever-changing society.
Finally, the student’s academic career would end with a vigorous primer on the ins-and-outs of the legal side of art. Students will need to know how to legally protect their work, and the nuances of the legal landscape regarding their intellectual property. Currently, few (if any) art teachers bother to broach the topic at all; the ones that do only briefly skim the topic. The point isn’t to make students into attorneys, but let’s help prevent them from getting ripped off. While we’re at it, we need to go over the process of writing grants, applying to galleries, finding a suitable piece of real estate to serve as your studio, the intricacies of selling art and the second-hand market, the legalities of commissioned art, and the rest of the non-artistic things that are involved with forging a career in the arts. We constantly bemoan D1 universities for producing athletes who can’t understand contracts or marketing, yet we do the same thing with art and no one bats an eye.
I hope I’ve painted a clear enough picture for you…
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