Five Ways to Integrate: Using Strategies from Contemporary Art

Julia Marshall writes this article for teachers as a means of demonstrating how to integrate art teachings with other academic disciplines. In doing this, Marshall presents five strategies: Depiction, Extension/Projection, Reformatting, Mimicry, and Metaphor. She explains each extensively with examples and lists their benefits to helping students think critically.

This article tries to  convince the reader that studying about art is useful and also easily compatible with other disciplines of general education. In response to the question of whether art and academic discipline can exist without shadowing one another, Julia Marshall lists five strategies that show how this is possible and beneficial to students. A key point stressed by Marshall is that art is connected to in some cases directly addresses information from all disciplines.

The first of these strategies is Depiction. The process of depiction involves rendering a given subject from observation. An example given by Marshall is the work of medical illustrators and other artists take an active role in the science and medical field such as work done for botany or astrology. In listing these examples, Marshall notes how the

           Next, Marshall explains the strategy of Extension or Projection. This strategy entail of speculating all the possible outcomes of a given idea and considering their impact. In the science field this would be akin to creating a hypothesis. This method places heavy emphasis on imagination and the understanding required in accurately executing this.

           The third model Julia Marshall lists is the strategy of reformatting. This strategy is described as reformatting a topic by “picturing it mapping it in a new visual format.” As explained near the beginning of the article, many of these strategies interrelate with each other. This strategy could be assumed to heavily depend on the strategy of Extension/Projection and is also very similar to Metaphor, another strategy we will talk about later. Involving reformatting in the integration process typically results in taking objects from one discipline and presenting them in the form of another.

The next strategy listed is Mimicry. Mentioned in a straightforward manner, Mimicry is the act of copying. In example given in the article is performing experiments.  This allows students to learn from the discipline by experience. Again, this strategy could also be linked to the earlier strategy of Depiction.

The last strategy listed is metaphor. Metaphor is explained as “the depiction of one thing in terms of another.” This practice is very often done in literature, poetry specifically. Metaphor creates a comparison between two objects, and is thus vaguely similar to the strategy of Reformatting. The benefits listed of being able to effectively use metaphor is that it hones their skills of analysis and perception, and aids them in learning how to think symbolically.

Art About Change:The Work of Tyree Guyton

This article presents the work of Tyree Guyton, and artist from Detroit who makes are of abandoned buildings and also paints and creates sculptures out of fond objects in the city. The author, Melanie Buffington, hopes that through the discussion of his work, students will be able to understand the multiple ways art can be interpreted, and to also see how an artist can communicate social messages through their artwork.

This article was written to highlight the ways that art can empower communities and encourage citizens to work together. In depicting this, the article mainly focuses on the art of Tyree Guyton and the message he tries to convey in his work. Tyree Guyton is a Detroit Native who creatures art that is mainly presented in much of the deserted space in Detroit, frequently painting abandoned houses and reclaiming waste such as dilapidated vehicles for his projects.

Guyton’s history is touched upon briefly in the article. Guyton was born in 1955 and gray up on Heidelberg Street of Detroit’s East side. These years were noted to be very impactful on his life, growing up nine siblings. Guyton did not have much motivation to be an artists by family, but he showed an interest very early in life and was very determined, visiting museums in his childhood and painting in his free time as an adult. His memories there were so memorable that the street is what now houses a majority of his work.

The Heidelberg Project was created in 1986 and continues to present day. The author Melanie Buffington states, “an important aspect of Guyton’s work is that it encourages people to talk about difficult issues including politics, racism, religion, poverty, homelessness, and consumption. The first of his works in the project mentioned is the Dotty Wotty House (1993-2001). The house of the project actually belonged to Guyton’s mother and was painted over with a myriad of colored dots. The dots were said to both represent his grandfather’s infatuation with jellybeans, and tackle tackle the deeper issues of race in that it portrays how are different colors but all the same on the inside.

Guyton has painted many abandoned homes in this fashion across Detroit, receiving positive and negative criticism from citizens, and appears to be in a constant struggle with the local government as much of his artwork is subject to being torn down or towed. Another one of his works, titled Move to the Rear (1994-2000) was a tribute ot the death of Rosa parks. Guyton painted over an abandoned bus with his now-notorious polka dots and adorned the bus with ornamental scrap and decoration. The city attempted tow the vehicle in 1999 and was even stolen in 2001, but was later retrieved by the FBI and placed on Heidelberg street opposed to the lot it formerly resided in.

What Buffington hopes for us to draw from this is that art can be used to inspire a community, to bring awareness and provoke meaningful conversation. As this article was meant to be an exercise, it must also be note that Buffington intended for students exposed to Guyton’s work understand that art can be interpreted multiple ways. Upon realizing this, she hopes that students will be able to become comfortable with the idea of multiple viewpoints and being able to articulate themselves through discussion about social issues.

Enhancing Creativity

This article thoroughly explores multiple assumptions about creativity, with the author, Raymond Nickerson, explaining his views how what creativity is along the way. Nickerson first inquires the multiple definitions of creativity and explores the many characteristics often attributed to the trait. Then, after debating skills which shown to directly correlate with creativity, he goes on to question whether or not creativity can actually be enhanced.

This article, Enhancing Creativity, investigates the multiple assumptions about the creative process in relation to individuals. The author, Raymond Nickerson, explains his views how what creativity is along the way. Two main points he tries to focus on are whether or not creativity can be enhanced, and if yes, how. To do this, he first seeks to define creativity and what it entails. From a general standpoint, Nickerson assumes that creativity is defined as a “result of activity”. This creative activity results in the production of “creative products”, identified as having useful and novel qualities, or having some other sort of social value. This criteria would include products such as inventions and scientific theories as well as poems, paintings and other liberal creations as long as they are acknowledged to be valuable.

After establishing this loose definition based on multiple sources, Nickerson lists more examples in the arts such as music, and then goes on to list examples in maths and sciences. He ponders how sometimes creativity can be attributed to a creator or creation well after its formation. For example, many inventions of today were thought as useless or absurd at their date of creation. The author goes on to disprove points of this previous definition using more sources, claiming favor over the idea that creativity need only be original or novel to the individual involved for it to be considered a creative experience.

After debating the base definition of the words “creativity”, Nickerson goes on to list more qualities of creativity and seeks to answer whether or not creativity can be enhanced.

The first methods of possibly doing this involved familiarizing instructors with the process of creative problem solving. Nickerson comes to this conclusion as insight is often associated with creativity. As brought up in the article, “students who have been taught to explore different ways to define problems may engage in more creative problem solving over the longer term,” (Baer, 1988). Others methods include recognizing the potential of the combination of critical thinking and creative thinking where Nickerson expresses that one cannot be effective without the other, giving various examples.

While resorting back to critiquing the definition of creativity, Nickerson points out that there must varying levels of degrees. This opposes traditional views something being labeled either creative or simply uncreative. Nickerson distinguishes the difference between three types of people: those expressing unique thoughts, those experiencing the world in new ways, and those who bring significant changes in society/culture.

In the rest of the article, Nickerson goes on to list particular techniques used by individuals that have proven to be effective in enhancing traits that are known to correspond to nurturing creativity. However, whether there is an all-encompassing method that directly increases the level of creativity in students is never said to be wholly possible, though there are studies that lean toward it.

Understanding Digital-Synthesized Photographs

This article focuses on the photographer Tom Bamberger. Bamberger seeks to finds “truth” in reality through his photography. The article explores Bramberger’s views in order to better understand the meanings of his work in hopes of becoming better and understanding photography or artists as a whole.

This article was written to investigate photographer Tom Bamberger’s view of the world in hopes that it will better help us understand the principles of photography and art making. Barmberger’s photography style is notable as he manipulates his photos in order to make them into seamless images. He does this by sample a small portion of his photo and repeating it infinitely. It is stated in the article how this process is similar to that of a bacterium multiplying itself in a culture. This comparison is relevant as Bamberger’s is frequently inspired by science, math and philosophy. his work is directly related to the studies of scientist Charles Darwin, his evolutionary theory in particular. According to the author, Bamberger recognizes no separation between the world of man-made creation and nature said to be created by God. It is through this perspective that he believes that science brings truth. However, in relating to the world of art, Bamberger finds himself questioning, “What is the truth in photography?” This question is what he confronts in his current body of work.

Babmerger’s fascination with photography was said to have started with him as as child on a camping trip to the Canadian Rockies. After taking a picture to commemorate the moment, he was later surprised to find that the resulting photo captured little of the moment he sought to re-live from his memory. It is this moment that he attributes to sparking his interesting in appropriately capture nature with his photography. Bamberger says, “If I would have thought ‘Oh, my God, that’s great!’ I never would have become a photographer. It is only when people realize that it is not so great and struggle that they become photographers. The “truth” That Bamberger seeks to find can be seen as as synonymous with beauty in this context, beauty being something he defines as “a particular kind of form that human beings find pleasure in.” It is from this that Bamberger tries to understand the truth of the world.

It is from here that Bamberger distinguishes the difference between “truth”--an abstract concept agreed upon--and “reality”, being something tangible to experience with ones own senses. He says that “reality is what you make up it,” insisting that we all interpret the world we inhabit and its meanings in our own way. He believes that even what we consider to be truth is merely construction.

After this point, the article goes on to discuss the theoretical understandings of the Tom Bamberger’s photography. The author, Yi Hui Huang, interprets that there are apparently two layers of reality present in Bamber’s work: “his sensory experiences, and his own construction of those experiences.” The sensory experience is caught in the photographs themselves with the construction being what happens once manipulates them with Photoshop. The author explains how Bamberger’s first player indicates a problem, wherein the second layers seeks for truth via experimentation. This, according to Huang, is why Bramberger says, “you don’t make art unless you have a problem with reality.”

Creativity Assignment

Topic: What Creativity is and is not.

(i found this image on google, but I feel like it really suits my post as it shows an abundance of ideas, which I feel is really characteristic of a creative person)

What is creativity? your own definition. 

Creativity is the ability to create unique ideas. We can be creative in different ways, but creativity involves being able to brainstorm and problem solve in order to be most effective. Creativity can be a good or bad thing, in my eyes, as too much creativity in a matter that requires a simple solution can be an inefficient use of time.

Are you creative at all? if yes, in what ways? Give an example of a creative person.

How can creativity be learned?

I would consider myself creative. I’m able to think abstractly. As an illustrator, I come up with scenes and concepts either via inspiration, from observation or from personal experience. Creativity can be learned by honing critical thinking skills. The same way creativity can be learned, it can also be lost, or weakened by lack of use or nurturing. A creative person is able to adapt to situations, coming up with ideas that are possible to be worked with and edited to suit the needs of whatever project at hand.

Why creativity NOW?  Why do you think creativity is especially important now?

Creativity is important now, as in contemporary society, because our world is evolving at a rapid pace, throwing problems are way that we are always trying to find answers to. Components of everyday life are constantly being updated and change, and being able to adapt to that is especially valuable in all fields of work.

How can technology (digital media) be used to enhance creativity in learning through the visual art?

Digital media is becoming more and more relevant to our lives, and is the cause behind much of the adaptation needed that I mentioned earlier. 

Digital media is effective in enhancing creativity in that ables to share ideas frequently and more quickly, transcending time and space. This sort of feedback during the brainstorming process is really helpful as, more recently, creativity has been defined as being a “social” process. Passing ideas back and forth with each other during the creation process--one a global scale--is a really beneficial advantage that we have today.