Unit 1: IDENTITY 1

Unit 1: Identity

Art 133
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Facts, dates, memorization, and one-sided interpretations; these are a few of the 21st

Century approaches students are taught to perceive art pieces. They are often given the

conception that art can only be a pretty picture. They often miss the meaning-making of an art

piece and/or the big idea leaving no room for self-exploration of ones own mind. How can a

students mind grow when he or she is encoded to memorize and reiterate the same knowledge as

that of his or her teachers? Big ideas and meaning-making should be incorporated into

educational and art curriculums for students to explore their own identity and creativity.

In order for students to develop big ideas and meaning-making, having an understanding

of their own personal connections will help form what a student wants to present and/or create.

According to Walker (2001), By using big ideas, students find that artmaking is more than

creating an interesting design or learning a particular technique with a specific medium (p. xiii).

Big ideas serve as the purpose and conceptual or abstract ground of what an artist wants his or

her audience to think. Franco, Ward, and Unrath (2015) include in a diagram, Art meanings are

manifold and invite varied interpretations (p. 44). Making art meaningful will encourage

students to create visual art pieces that display their identity, but also interact with others through

various interpretations. It is a students own voice connecting to his or her audience visually.

Ways in which I would modify the content of identity, meaning-making and big ideas

into future population would be for students to explore what their passions or interests are.

Through that interest, students will create visual art pieces using that interest as a subject, but

instill big ideas of what they want their audience to think about. Students will then present their

art piece to the class and engage in a Visual Thinking Strategy (VTS) discussion using a

constructive approach.
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References

Franco, M. J., Ward, A., & Unrath, K. (2015). Artmaking as meaning-making: A new model for

preservice elementary generalists. Art Education, 68(5), 28-33.

Walker, S. (2001). Teaching meaning in artmaking. Worchester, MA: Davis.