Vignette #1 Analysis

ETEC-532
June 4, 14
Chad Tobin
Student #87038139
After having viewed the Vignette entitled Art, culture, identity, and
representation: A conversation with three art educators, I think the main approach
shared by the three art educators is simply that the creation of art brings us a
connection with others, and the medium allows us new ways to look at art in
relation to culture and identity. Approaching art with self-exploration and
expressing our own individual understanding, in turn leads to making meaning with
in the complex nature of both identity and culture. One of the dilemmas that
appeared to me in the video for the art educators was the fact that one cannot
simply look at culture and identity on their own. We need visual representation to
achieve understanding, and art is one method of creating a path of discovery and
understanding. Looking at the Tapscott (2008) article, we see students multitasking in a dorm lounge with numerous sensory activities happening, which shows
that beyond the visual representation, there are so many factors of art that can be
considered such as: the tactile representation of an object, sound/music, and nature
elements which all contribute in their own way.
I think one of the ways these art educators negotiate the visible/tangible and
the invisible/intangible is by providing opportunities for first creating and viewing
art, and then allowing exploration and illumination of words with regards to
abstract concepts that lead to conversations. Another method explored by the art
educators in negotiating both the visible and invisible, is creating situations where

students place themselves in different perspectives through the use of puppets to

gain insight and explore issues in meaningful ways through the expression of art.
When examining the Friedman (2004) film entitled Art education culture: A
puppet based exploration of identity, racism, and responsibility, we see that it
serves as an example of students as producers, because of the ability to facilitate
themselves with the exploration of complex and sensitive cultural issues. Giving
students the opportunity to create video allows for a much deeper reflection in
playback, which leads to better communication of both the experience and issues
being discussed in a safe classroom setting. Goldfarb (2002) puts forth the idea that
the skills learned in media production allow students to gain critical thinking when
producing their own media. As producers, students can then unpack cultural
representations and misrepresentations with ownership and opportunity for
growth and learning.
There are huge responsibilities that educators need to consider as they use
new technologies in their practice. First of all, creating a safe and secure learning
environment where students can feel safe to express themselves, and also
understanding the responsibility that comes with using technical devices. Guidelines
and discussions have to be a part of the learning experience before starting to utilize
the media. Being aware of students comfort zones with regards to sharing and
expressing thoughts is extremely critical in a safe learning environment.
Implementing choice of technological expression would probably increase
participation and effort on the students behalf.

After completing the readings and watching the videos in Week 4, I have to
say that technology plays a large role in culture, identity, and representation. Having
the ability to utilize different forms of technology to investigate just who we are is a
very powerful experience. Through the use of technology, we can ask thought
provoking critical questions, along with representing and interpreting stories of the
past and present, through art and humanities in the classroom.

References
Friedman, S. (2004). Art Education Culture: A puppet based exploration of identity,
racism, and responsibility.
Friedman, S. Responsibility and re/presentation: Reflection on digital video and
puppet-based inquiry.
Goldfarb, B. (2002). Students as producers. In Visual pedagogy: Media cultures in and
beyond the classroom. Durham: Duke University Press.
Tapscott, D. (2008). Net Geners Relate to News in New Ways. Nieman Reports, 62(4),
p18-19.
Vignette: Art, Culture, Identity and Representation: A Conversation with Three Art
Educators. (n.d.). Retrieved 06 04, 2014