Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
A Final Project
By
*****
2006
____________________________________
Advisor
Graduate Program in Art Education
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ABSTRACT
This project is a website resource geared towards art educators interested in integrating
environmental education through the arts. It The website features relevant literature,
artists/artworks and green classroom ideas. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the
need and rationale for such a project. The importance of this project and corresponding
paper for art education is that it illuminates the wealth of existing resources and presents
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Dedicated to my parents
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I thank Tera Stockdale for her valuable support and kind suggestions throughout
this process.
I also wish to thank the entire faculty in the art education department at The Ohio
State University. Without their passion, creativity and compelling stories, I would not be
where I am today.
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Environmental Arts Education in Central Ohio: A Web Resource
pressures teachers address on a daily basis many art educators do not have
the time to invest in research that is currently needed to find resources and
are difficult to find which can further discourage art educators from
pursuing the topic. Additionally, many art educators have not been
this website individuals will be able to more readily find and make
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hydrologists, business and community leaders, civic organizers, local
This project has been developed with the intention of serving the
experiences working with fellow art educators through the Ohio State
real interest in environmental education and the arts. The problem is that
in, about, and for the environment. Education in the environment helps
physical, and social systems that make up our environment. Education for
arts-based focus.
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A report conducted by The Environmental Education Council of
indicated the need for a resource about environmental education and the
response rate of 74%. Results from the study suggest that, on the
based on the data collected indicate that no more than 39% of all
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educators and other interested individuals need the opportunity to be
Ohio has a wealth of resources, but these can be difficult and time
and the Audubon Society of Ohio have worked hard to provide services to
both practicing teachers and preservice teachers and want all individuals
within the teaching community to take part. As stated in the report by The
make them accessible to art educators who may not ordinarily utilize these
and art resources into a clear and easy to use website they become readily
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available to individuals with internet access. Teachers at schools with
more widely used. A web-based format for this resource requires fewer
raw materials and therefore more closely aligns with the theoretical
intimately related to all subjects. The health of our planet and its ability to
classroom, experiential links are created between subject areas and to the
because they can begin “to see” (hooks, 1990, p. 113) relationships among
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fragmented disciplinary information and inquiry processes” (2000, p.
268).
problem solving. The issues that effect our environment, both locally and
globally, are complex and multi-layered and will require a great amount of
every subject area as well as to individuals’ daily lives. By using the arts
knowledge.
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2. raise questions about the relationships between the margins and
practices.
coalitions for breaking down the debilitating separation that occurs in the
community are not segregated realms for theory and practice, but
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is the establishment of alliances between cultural workers in various
feelings and values, and problem solving related to local and global
Ana Mae Barbosa, an art educator from Brazil, knows well the
as, around the world. She also is aware of the deep connection this
teach about our societies pressing issues. Ana Mae Barboza (1991) states
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communications specialists, social psychologists, and anthropologists – in
leads to a better quality of life and a better environment” (p. 60). Ecology
then becomes, not a separate subject, but the concern of all the disciplines.
intertwined. A uniting factor of this world we live in is the fact that all of
us are part of the ecosystem of the natural world. For many cultures
can understand and learn about the natural environment from past
relationships to the world and prevent the same mistakes from happening
again. Artists today are using recycled pieces for their artworks, a practice
which has its history in folk art. This art, as well as many other types of
art, considers the long term consequences of our choices and develops a
creative response. As Ana Mae Barboza (1991) states, “Art educators can
their students about these artists and a respect for diversity, their materials,
this the art curriculum should be enlarged to include art forms that actively
that:
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Life-centered approaches to curriculum organization infuse the arts
(1995) suggests that art “must reach those for whom the art’s
subject is a critical life issue” (p. 54). For example, artist and
treatment plants that use plant life and wetlands to purify water.
(p. 268)
exploring eco-artists and artworks students can begin to see the ways that
directly affecting them. Artists such as Joseph Beuys, Helen and Newton
the art curriculum broadens the boundaries of art and enhances students
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awareness of ecological issues and validates the power they have to create
vantage points from which to view this world and call attention to the
the arts. There are many artists who are using their art to make a positive
impact upon these ecological issues. The artist and writer Ruth Wallen,
issues, both through her words and through her artworks. She states that
stories that make relationships, stories that kindle meaning. [My] work
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to look and listen carefully” (Wallen, 2003, p. 179). By creating her
works using metaphors and then reflecting upon them through language
description of her project, View Points (1995), which was created for the
issues that surround it, including pollution, border crossing and erosion.
environment.
their backs to the landscape and use this concave mirror to frame
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dredging to keep the mouth of the estuary open. To encourage
and enhances our bond with the environment. It has the potential to affect
us at the core of our being and point the way toward greater bonding with
many artists are addressing these issues through their art, “ecoartists seek
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to gain access to and become advocates for communities, working as both
natural and social systems” (Watts, 2005, p.1). Krug (2003) similarly
states that, “most contemporary ecological artists are keenly attuned to the
their creative energies to solve real life-centered problems that affect the
interdependency of nature and culture” (p. 7). The artists Jackie Brookner
and Susan Steinman demonstrate this collaboration with their work in the
trail along the banks of the Hoquarten Slough. The trail would
connect the city with the bay and provide pedestrian and bike paths
for the trail. Armed with Brookner and Steinman’s concepts, local
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children’s artworks for fundraising opportunities.
(Watts, 2005, p. 6)
particular piece of art, students become personally involved and are able to
education, the better able they are to teach about it. This website is
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contains valuable information about environmental education and art in a
website has been was designed to specifically appeal to art educators, but
many years to come. I would like to see this website grow and develop
would like to see the art education department at The Ohio State
art educators and prior students of The Ohio State University. The
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increase in visibility is important because it establishes an awareness of
education through the arts, was gradual and very much connected to my
appreciation for the natural world. From a young age I was encouraged to
that care for the environment can only be effective if it is part of your
sustainable choices only when at home, care for the environment may be
model their behavior both by how they are taught and by observing the
to others, young people and adults. As a new business owner I have found
this. My business takes steps to conserve energy and water, recycles and
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limits the amount of waste generated by reusing materials. These
green practices.
need to actively participate in the stewardship of the planet. This does not
make small changes that carry over to all aspects of daily life. Discussing
these ideas with others and sharing your efforts with the community can
VIII. References
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Beardsley, J. (1998). Earthworks and beyond: Contemporary art in the
landscape, 3rd edition. New York: Abbeville Press.
Blandy, D., Congdon, K.G., Krug, D.H. (1998). Art, ecological restoration
and art education. Studies in Art Education, 39(3), 230-243.
Bourseiller, P. (2005). 365 ways to save the earth (Simon Jones, Trans.). New
York: Harry N. Abrams.
Gablik, Suzi. (1991). The Reenchantment of art. New York: Thames and
Hudson Inc.
Giroux, H. (1999). What is critical literacy. Rage & Hope. Retrieved March
13th, 2006 from http://www.perfectfit.org/CT/giroux2.html
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Krug, D.H. (2003). Teaching art in the context of everyday life. ArtsEdNet.
Retrieved November 25, 2005 from http://greenmuseum.org/generic_
content.php?ct_id_134
Louv, R. (2006). Last child in the woods: Saving our children from nature-
deficit disorder. New York: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
Ohio EPA (n/d). Our Mission. Retrieved on February 21st, 2006 from
http://www.epa.state.oh.us/oeef/
Solnit, R. (2001). As eve said to the serpent: On landscape, gender and art.
Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
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Watts, P. (2005). Ecoartists: Engaging communities in a new metaphor.
Community Arts Network. Retrieved on December 12, 2005 from
http://www.communityarts.net/readingroom/archivefiles/2005/01/ecoartist
s_enga.php.
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