The Importance of Social Justice Art Curriculum a Thesi

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE

Art as a Tool for Communication: The Importance of Social Justice Art Curriculum

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

For the degree of Master of Art in Art, Art Education

Charlene Hattier

December 2017

The thesis of Charlene Hattier is approved:

Mario Ontiveros, Ph.D. Date

Edie Pistolesi, Ph.D. Date

Lynette K. Henderson, Ph. D. Chair Date

California State University, Northridge

Table of Contents

SIGNATURE PAGE ...... II

LIST OF FIGURES ...... IV

ABSTRACT ...... VI

INTRODUCTION ...... 1 MAJOR INFLUENCES ...... 5 METHODOLOGY ...... 9 PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS ...... 11 PROJECT 1 ...... 11 PROJECT 2 ...... 33 PROJECT 3 ...... 41 PROJECT 4 ...... 52 CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS ...... 63 APPENDICES ...... 67

A. ACTIVIST ART ...... 67

B. TOOLS FOR RESEARCH AND WRITING ...... 72

C. INTRODUCTION TO SATIRE ...... 76

D. LESSON OUTLINE FORMAT ...... 78

WORKS CITED ...... 81

III

List of Figures

Project 1

Figure 1 Woman’s March protest sign……………………….……………………………….. 18

Figure 2 Brainstorming word map for project 1……………….……………………………….18

Figure 3 Instructional resources for project 1…………………………………………………. 19

Figure 4 Student I example of superhero drawing…….………….…………………………….20

Figure 5 Student II example of superhero drawing……….……..……………………………..20

Figure 6 Student III example of superhero drawing……………………………………….…...21

Figure 7 Student IV example of superhero drawing……………..……………………………..21

Figure 8 Student V example of kite construction………………………………………………22

Figure 9 Student example VI of completed kites…………………..…………………………..27

Figure 10 Student example VII of kite artwork…………………….………………………….28

Figure 11 Student example VII of kite artwork…………………….………………………….29

Figure 12 Student example IX of kite artwork…………..……………………………………..30

Figure 13 Student example X of kite artwork…………………………………………………..31

Figure 14 Student example XI of kite artwork…………………………………………………32

Project 2

Figure 15 Student example I of book construction…………………………………………..... 37

Figure 16 Student example II of book construction…………………………………………....37

Figure 17 Student example III of completed book sculptures…………………………...……. 38

Figure 18 Student IV example of book sculpture ……………………………………….……..38

Figure 19 Student V example of book sculpture………………………………………….……39

Figure 20 Student VI example of book sculpture………………………………………………39

Figure 21 Student VII example of book sculpture…………………………………………..…40 IV

Project 3

Figure 22 Brainstorming word map for project 2………………….……………………...……46

Figure 23 Student example I of sketchbook……………………………………………..……..47

Figure 24 Student example I of completed artwork………………………………….…..…….47

Figure 25 Student example II of sketchbook………………………………………………..….48

Figure 26 Student example II of completed artwork……………………………………….…..48

Figure 27 Student example III of sketchbook …………………………...……………………..49

Figure 28 Student example III of completed artwork …………………….……………………49

Figure 29 Student example IV of sketchbook ………………………………………………….50

Figure 30 Student example IV of completed artwork………………….……………………….50

Figure 31 Student example V of sketchbook……………………………….…………………..51

Figure 32 Student example V of completed artwork…………………..……………………….51

Project 4

Figure 33 Student example I……………………………………………………………………58

Figure 34 Student example II…………………………………………………………………..58

Figure 35 Student example III………………………...………………………………………..59

Figure 36 Student example IV………………………………………………………………….60

Figure 37 Student example V…………………………………………………….…………….61

Figure 38 Student example VI………………………………….………………………………62

Figure 39 Student example VII………………………….……………………………………..62

Abstract

Art as a Tool for Communication: The Importance of Social Justice Art Curriculum

Charlene Hattier

Master of Art in Art, Art Education

The general question to be investigated is, “How do educators address difficult, controversial topics of the human experience through effective strategies of art education?” The objective of this investigation is to understand the important responsibility art has in fostering personal growth within the classroom; especially regarding the development of a student’s own sense of identity relative to the chaos and complexity of life outside of school. My thesis contends that art education curriculum created with an umbrella theme, or broad concept, can provide a conceptual focus for teachers and students to explore various power struggles of the human experience. By challenging students’ preconceptions and opinions through controversial artwork, educators can create a forum for navigating the various contradictions or inequities

VI students may experience in society.

The art making process is often integrative in exploring the meaning, value, and interrelationships of art and society. The artwork students learn about and create naturally raises sensitive topics and promotes controversial discussions related to greater social issues. Art education should provide opportunities for students to think critically about these issues and make connections across disciplines. Creating “Big Idea” themes for curricula can help inspire creative and meaningful work along with incorporating technique, artistic perception and historical context. For this reason, the curriculum unit for my culminating thesis is created under the umbrella theme, “All humans are social beings.” This theme encourages students to explore larger social issues and express their unique perspectives about them through art. This exploration lends itself to artwork that can raise awareness of relevant social issues in a safe space.

VII

Introduction

In the fall of 2015, I began my first job as a high school art teacher. In order to fulfill the requirements for my teaching credential, I had taught in two different high school settings prior to this position. It was in the first full year of teaching in my own classroom that I realized the various discrepancies between the art world and the art classroom as well as discrepancies between my values and motives as an artist and those of the greater institution of education. As a first year high school art teacher, I spent a lot of time reflecting on the transition between my identity as a student and as a teacher. Moreover, as my first year of teaching progressed, I realized that my identities as an individual, artist and teacher began to conflict.

In my relatively brief experience teaching art, I quickly learned that pedagogy for art education differs based on the programs, departments, and individual teachers involved. Art educator develop differing ideals and expectations in the process of practicing art, versus the process of teaching it; and these ideals and expectations are constructed by the contrasting communities surrounding art practice and education (Cohen-Evron 3). Within these communities, art and artists are very highly regarded. However, their role in the school setting

“is defined by an educational system that has discourses and agendas in which art and art teachers are marginalized” (Cohen-Evron 3). In my own experience as an art educator in a variety of school settings, the administration and school community tend to agree that art is important to include on campus, but they lack a developed understanding of why it is important.

This superficial understanding of art often leads to the trivialization of the subject.

Censorship

In addition to feelings of isolation and misunderstandings of the field of art, I have also witnessed an aspect of censorship in art education. It is common that artwork created by students

or artwork studied in class may touch upon sensitive topics and can promote controversial discussions of greater social issues. However, many art teachers express a fear of negative reactions when addressing social issues within their art curriculum. In the article, Addressing

Contemporary Social Issues in Art Education: A Survey of Public School Art Educators in

Georgia by Melody K. Milbrandt, participating teachers voiced concern over whether parents and school administration would support students discussing sensitive issues. When teachers are apprehensive about student, parent, and administrative reaction to these discussions, “there

[appears] to be a natural tendency to avoid the possibility of confrontation, regardless of the potential benefit to students” (141). In 1974, Vincent Lanier gave a lecture that declared that art educators avoided social issues in their classrooms due to the tradition of extensive neutrality in academics, the fear of personal or professional reprisal, and the lack of available substantial information about social issues within the field. While this lecture was given over forty years ago, these conditions appear similar today (141). Ultimately, all of these fears come from a history of heightened repressive measures that suppress controversy and avoid confrontation in schools (141).

Many art teachers, including myself, find themselves in a state of self-censorship. In many institutions, there has been limited training on what controversial topics may be discussed in the classroom. Furthermore, institutions tend to be more conservative or careful not to offend administration and community members, teachers often succumb to censorship for fear they may be reprimanded. “Issues of personal freedom, moral and social responsibility, long ignored or avoided in much of education may provide the new locus for academic achievement” (142).

Such reform calls for a change in curriculum content and form, and in the active involvement with the community at large. Art teachers shouldn’t be afraid to bring up these profound real-

world issues that inevitably find their way into the art classroom. In order for this fear to dissipate and for some of these discrepancies of discourse to resolve, I felt a very strong need to conduct a personal paradigm shift in the way I approach art education.

Real Life Application and Engaged Pedagogy

Milbrandt defines "social issues" as a term that denotes collective concerns that exist in the public or social arena. She argues that personal concerns may become broader social concerns when they are shared collectively by a group or a community (142). Visual art naturally lends itself to engage with and reflect on these personal or social concerns. Various art educators have emphasized that addressing concerns related to gender, feminism, diversity, race and class is important and appropriate content for the art classroom (142). The nature and study of aesthetics is integrative in exploring the meaning, value, and interrelationships of art and society.

Through aesthetic discussion, questions and controversies are raised that elevate the concerns of art from [mere] production to a thoughtful and influential connection to life itself (Mibrandt 144, as summarized from Moore, 1995). Therefore, through various art projects, students may begin to question their basic assumptions about life. Additionally, involvement in art history and art criticism may give rise to aesthetic philosophical discussions based on the students' experience and developmental level in a multicultural society (144). In theory, teaching social issues is not an isolated element of art instruction, but should be viewed as a thematic or contextual topic relating to the discipline of art (143). This means that social issues should be embedded within the curriculum, making it a natural and fluid part of the art classroom. If open discussion becomes the norm and students are taught how to respect one another while approaching sensitive topics without expression of judgement, then there should be no fear of offensive content. If high school students are serious about a career in the field of art, then they should be

able to talk about controversial works, such as Shirin Neshat’s Rebellious Silence, Women of

Allah series, 1994, which questions the complexities and positions of women in Islamic culture or Kehinde Wiley’s Femme piquee par un serpent, 2000, which raises questions about race, gender, and the politics of representation by portraying a contemporary African American male using the conventions of traditional European portraiture. If discussing topics such as these becomes the norm in the classroom, it will lessen the tendency of self-censorship among art educators and students.

Conversely, students should not be the only ones who are asked to speak their minds in the classroom. According to Bell Hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of

Freedom, engaged pedagogy does not seek to simply empower students; it also encourages teachers to show vulnerability and take risks just as they ask their students to do (21). This is vital to the success of an art classroom exploring sensitive personal and social issues. This holistic model of learning empowers teacher and allows them to grow in their careers (21). It helps to create a learning process in the classroom that engages everyone. “Pedagogical strategies should engage more fully in ideas and issues that have direct relation to the students’ own experiences” (86). Relating and incorporating student experiences is an effective way to engage those students who consider themselves “non-artists.” It makes the subject of art more relevant than simply teaching skills and techniques in art. Techniques and skills are highly important, but art curriculum should be broadened to incorporate social and personal issues that concern all students.

Major Influences

Activist Art Pop Up

About two years prior to creating and teaching these lessons, I had the opportunity to attend an exhibition called, Manifest: Justice held by Amnesty International USA. This exhibition ran from May1-10, 2015, in a modest creative loft in Baldwin Hills. It had several floors featuring 275 works by an estimated 150 artists including local artists, famous artists, and even high school artists from the community. I later found out that this event was a part of an activist art pop-up exhibition that tours around the United States. According to the exhibition’s website, the organizations and people involved with Manifest: Justice believe in four major themes: justice, human rights, power, and action; and each of these values were prominent in the artwork on display. Subjects of the artwork included, the lack of health care for undocumented immigrants, police brutality, the criminalization of poverty, extreme fossil fuel extraction and more. But people attending this event quickly realized that it was more than just an art exhibit.

According to the organization’s website, there were a total of “30 organizations to educate the public on social issues, get signatures on petitions and letters to politicians and sign people up for services and programs. The organizations include SCOPE, Homeboy Industries, Amnesty

International, the Work Source Center, LA Trade Tech and more” (Manifest: Justice).

I did not realize this when creating the lessons included in this thesis, but after reflecting back on it, I can see that this art exhibition had a profound influence on my teaching. It allowed me to witness art as communication in action. I attended the event for two full days and was able to observe people using art to convey their positions on modern social issues. In my time there, I had two important experiences: One day, I watched a panel of Los Angeles Police Department

officers answer difficult questions from the public regarding recent shootings and profiling of minorities. The panelists shared their perspective on how they serve the public and asked for the community’s feedback on how they could do so in the most ethical, effective manner possible.

On my second day there, I heard Sabrina Fulton speak about the murder of her son, Trayvon

Martin, and how she has used her experience as an opportunity to educate the public on issues of social justice. This was one of the most powerful exhibition I have ever seen, because it was relevant to the stories of police brutality that were dominating the news at the time. I could not help but think that this level of social expression is the true essence of art and that I had just witnessed art education at its finest.

In each lesson described in this thesis, I began by sharing my Manifest: Justice experience with my students. I showed them images of the artwork I had seen at the exhibition and shared with them how the experience has impacted me as an educator and world citizen.

Looking at certain images prompted discussion of multiple topics, including Trayvon Martin’s story and how it has raised awareness of racism and police brutality in the United States (see

Appendix A, Figure 2-4). Social justice topics became even more relevant when I introduced these lessons during the 2016-2017 school year, during which time there was a controversial presidential campaign taking place. This was a polarizing time in America, leading many students to look closely at politics and civil rights issues. It prompted important discussions in the classroom about immigration, women’s rights and the power dynamic of gender. Ultimately, these discussions gave students an opportunity to discuss their political views in a safe, accepting space where free speech is encouraged.

Emphasis on Content Based Curriculum

I was introduced to content-based curriculum through the Art Education program at

California State University, Northridge. The work of my mentors, Drs. Edie Pistolesi and

Lynette K. Henderson, greatly inspired my curriculum and theories for teaching art. They advocate building curriculum around umbrella themes that result in more meaningful lessons and go beyond teaching the formal qualities of art creation. This places emphasis on the student’s personal experiences while also making connections between art and socio-cultural events in the everyday world.

For the projects and lessons I will discuss in the following sections, I was greatly influenced by the article, Meltdown at Fukushima: Global Catastrophic Events, Visual Literacy and Art Education by Lynette K. Henderson. In this piece, Henderson discusses theory and practice for an innovative collaborative thematic curriculum unit. She outlines the need for political analysis, formulating questions, and thinking critically in relation to visual literacy in the art classroom. Henderson claims that viewing and making art can assist in creating skills that are useful in the practice of critical thinking. These skills include those such as "observation, questioning, association, inference, evidential reasoning, and openness to multiple perspectives”

(qtd. In Henderson 84). She goes further to say that combining these skills with the cultivation of curiosity results in “habitual application of critical thinking processes” (84). Curiosity sparks when students are given freedom to think for themselves about a topic. However, simply allowing students to research major topics on their own may lead to surface level results. For this reason, students should acquire knowledge through instructor-provided images and texts, group discussions and brainstorming, and a list of sub-topics before conducting research on their own

(84).

Henderson describes multiple challenges a teacher may face when implementing content- based curriculum. It is possible, and common, for students to deny or refuse new information or

ideas when they have strong opinions about the issues being discussed. Henderson describes the cognitive dissonance students can experience when in contact with new ideas. “Cognitive dissonance is defined as an internal disharmony arising from engaging conflicting ideas, thoughts and/or actions at the same time” (85). This happens when students are asked to engage in research of a topic that may challenge their assumptions and beliefs. If the student is not receptive to the topic, then “they will be compelled to restore themselves to harmony by shutting down to the new incoming idea, thought or action; this compulsion to harmony rather than disharmony” (85). Using Henderson’s ideas, I have been able to address the challenge of cognitive dissonance in the classroom. For instance, I have been able to address both emotional and cognitive processes in order to work productively with students on material that may challenge their beliefs and assumptions. I learned to be prepared for a variety of responses to these issues in the classroom, especially subversive responses. Resistance can be healthy as,

"learning takes place in environments fraught with [both] individual and group resistance, especially resistance to the dominant patterns of teaching and learning in the social structure of higher education” (qtd. In Henderson 84). The solutions that Henderson offers go beyond the research of subtopics (while also important) to include such elements as guest speakers, written reflections, and group exhibitions. Teaching this method of content-based curriculum can be unpredictable, and the experiences in each class may be different, but it is also “enlightening, empowering, enjoyable, and inevitably ‘discomforting’ as teachers encounter not only students' resistance but their own” (86).

Methodology

School Demographics

My research was conducted from my own curriculum taught at Chaminade College

Preparatory. Chaminade College Preparatory is a private Catholic preparatory school in the San

Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. “The student body consists of 1,350 students made up of 5 ethnicities. The largest ethnic group is Caucasian (81%), followed by Asian (8.3

%), Hispanic (7.2 %), Black (1.9 %) and Indian (1.6 %). The male population of the school is slightly larger (53.7 %) than the female population (46.3 %)” (USA School Info.). This research focuses on two separate classes: Advance Studio and Art Appreciation. Advance Studio consists of 15 students (10th-12th grade) that have at least two years’ experience in studio art at

Chaminade. Art Appreciation consists of a class of 30 students (9-12th grade) that have no prior experience in art at Chaminade.

Personal Practice

The type of research I conducted is called action research. According to Action

Research: Are Teachers Finding Their Voice? by Mary Beth Llorens, action research is a process in which teachers conduct research for educational change through the “capacity to reflect on and improve their practice as well as to suggest changes for the teaching field” (1-2).

Therefore, action research is a search for answers that come directly from the moment of teaching (1-2). Similarly, in the article, Teaching as Research, John W. Moore declares that action research gives educators the ability to refine and improve their practice. “Observing students working in the learning environments we provide, interviewing students about their experience, in our courses, devising other methods for finding out how well students are learning and how they react to what we do…are [all] powerful tools that enable us to improve what we

do” and impart these tools to other educators and institutions (535). My own action research aims to answer questions and provide strategies for addressing difficult topics of social issues through visual literacy instruction in two different environments: active studio vs. art appreciation and production of artwork vs. reactions/discussion of artwork. I will include layouts of my lesson plans, reflect on student testimonials, and provide examples of creative and written work.

Curriculum

The curriculum for both active studio and art appreciation are organized around advocacy for social change. While humans may be different in many ways, we all have basic needs that include shelter, love, food, and clothing, for example. With the umbrella theme, “All humans are social beings,” students explored inequalities of the human experience based on topics of gender, race, and class. Students worked in groups to break down issues within these broader categories.

They researched online and through library sources both individually and collaboratively, then students created art projects related to this theme. In a culmination of their work, my students and I are organizing an exhibition off campus to reteach their findings to the local community.

Project Descriptions

Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation)

My art appreciation course is designed for students to use elements of art and principles of design to analyze historical and contemporary art pieces, while also applying these concepts to their own creative experiences. This balance of academic work and hands-on art making is meant to guide students toward cultivating a holistic understanding of art. The Superheroes Soaring for

Social Justice project began no differently, as it helped students study the art forms and practices of cultures from different times and places around the world. The purpose of this activity was to connect historical and cultural practices with contemporary practices to help students understand that every artwork is a form of communicating and relaying ideas. For instance, the Superheroes

Soaring for Social Justice kite project a examined kites from around the world. Students researched kites in England, South Korea, Japan, China, Malaysia, North America, and India. In groups, students researched kites within their assigned country. The groups then created a

PowerPoint presentation to share their research with the class. This presentation included a map of the country, the time period when the kites were first used, who first created a kite in this country, popular designs of their kites and other relevant factors.

After the groups presented, I posted the following questions on a discussion thread: “what is a kite?” and “what could a kite be a symbol for?” Students were then asked to write their answers based on their own recollection of the information covered in the presentations. I was pleased to see that my students were symbolical and thoughtful with their definition of kites.

Their comments are included below.

Student A wrote “[A kite] is an object that lets you express yourself and personality or your culture without the use of words…the many colors and symbols in kites symbolize peace,

love, actions and your personality. Kites symbolize many different things in different cultures but I think in general a kite’s ability to fly freely in the sky symbolizes freedom and the string connected to the kite connects the kite to you—your personality.”

Student B wrote, “I think that a kite can symbolize freedom. We all dream of soaring the entire world, but we are being held on by something, and [in] this case, a string.”

Finally, student C wrote that a kite “is a fun toy that gets caught by air and also a symbol for freedom and or restriction…on one hand it flies and oftentimes look beautiful, on the other hand it represents restriction because it has limitations to how far it can go.”

Once the students researched various uses of kites from different cultures and brainstormed the symbolism of kites, I introduced them to the artwork portion of the Soaring for

Social Justice kite project. I began this part of the lesson by posing the questions, “what is a social issue,” and “what is Social Justice?” I asked the students to write their own definitions without any research, drawing on their own previous experience or knowledge. Most students had incredibly thoughtful answers that invoked the concept of egalitarianism. Selected comments are included below.

Student D wrote, “The definition of a social issue is when a group of people or a person is discriminated against for something that they cannot change” and “social justice is [the idea that] no matter where you come from or what you look like, you should be treated the same as everyone else.”

Student E wrote, “a social issue or problem is a conflict between societies that most likely starts because of different opinions expressed that do not correlate” and “social justice is bringing those social issues, problems, and conflicts and resolving them in order to find solutions

for our whole society.”

Finally, Student F said, “I think that the definition of a social issue or problem would be something that takes away the fundamental rights of humans. Something that discriminates unfairly or treats people differently for their race, religion, age, gender or any other unfair characteristic” and “I think that the definition of social justice means that everyone is given what they need and treated fairly. Sometimes everyone being treated equally actually ends up being unfair so as long as certain people aren't being treated above or below others.”

We shared these answers in class, which allowed me to summarize student responses.

From this discussion, I was able to end with an overlying definition of social justice as “a state of human equality.” At this point in the lesson, I showed students a slideshow of images from the

Manifest: Justice exhibition. I described the purpose of the exhibition and how impactful it was to me and why. In each slide, I was able to describe the kinds of topics that were addressed in this show, while also giving students examples of artwork that boldly expresses ideas of social justice and equality (See appendix A). Additionally, I shared advertisements created by artists for social justice campaigns such as Nylon Bags. The imagery for this ad was created for Emirates

Environmental Group and consists of three sushi rolls wrapped in used nylon bags instead of seaweed. The caption underneath reads, “What goes around comes around. Keep the sea clean”

(see Appendix A, Figure 10). By looking at campaign advertisements like these, students were able to see additional uses of visual imagery used as a tool to communicate awareness of social issues.

Brainstorming with Students

As previously mentioned, the 2016-2017 school year was characterized by a controversial political climate that prompted the general public to question and debate human rights issues.

Many of my students had witnessed and were discussing the worldwide Women’s March along with other protests going on at the time, which were a response to the policies and rhetoric of

President-elect Donald Trump. According to The Women’s March website, “On Jan. 21, 2017, people of all backgrounds—women and men and gender nonconforming people, young, and old, of diverse faiths, differently abled, immigrants and indigenous—came together, 5 million strong, on all seven continents of the world. [All of which are] answering a call to show up and be counted as those who believe in a world that is equitable, tolerant, just and safe for all, one in which the human rights and dignity of each person is protected and our planet is safe from destruction” (The March). Not long after the Women’s March, Donald Trump issued a travel ban of seven Muslim-majority countries. As documented by Andy Newman in The New York Times, this resulted in an outrage of “tens of thousands Americans [who] chanted and shouted their opposition to the Trump administration’s travel ban-and their solidarity with refugees and

Muslims-at more than 40 protests across the country” (Newman). Whether or not students agreed with or supported the policies and ideas of the new administration, they were well aware of the dividedness of our country and were watching the affects through social media and news outlets.

I was able to utilize this recent turn of events to make this project even more relevant to my students. Even though our nation has a long history of political protests and activism, we focused on the most recent protests as inspiration. Students were instructed to research protest signs online and post at least one image of a sign onto the discussion thread created on

Blackboard. From here, I drew up each image onto my computer to project to the class. We went through the images one by one to determine the different inequalities that each of the protest signs represented. For example, the protest sign in Figure 1, displays a woman wearing the U.S. flag like a hijab, and holding a sign that reads, “Our bodies, our minds, our power.” This

prompted discussion of issues related to women’s rights and gender inequality. After looking at each individual protest sign, we defined the inequality represented by using one word. With this,

I went back and forth between the protest signs and a large poster board, where I wrote down the name of each inequality students pointed out. Using all of the words we came up with in this exercise, we developed a word map including words such as race, gender, and money/income

(see Figure 2). As our map grew, we began to connect different words with one another to show many of these issues do not stand alone and oftentimes affect one another. For example, according to our word map, injustices of gender and race are both connected to stereotypes and income levels.

From here, students were instructed to pick one of these sub-topics about inequality to research. For this research they had to follow a list of reliable news sources along with a guided worksheet. The worksheet prompted students to declare their topic, find three sources from the list provided, and write the significance of each source (see Appendix C). Students were instructed to go through and highlight the “who, what, where, and when” of their topic from the three different sources. This breakdown was the basis for the introductory paragraph of their research essay. As homework, students followed an outline posted on Blackboard to complete a five paragraph essay with an introduction, three body paragraphs, a conclusion, and a works cited page.

Students chose to research topics such as homelessness, poverty, racial inequality, animal cruelty, and immigration in the United States. I found that, in the essays describing their research topic, many students expressed vague arguments about how people should treat animals and one another. To help them communicate their ideas in a more specific, effective manner, I introduced them to the three key terms encompassing social inequality. The first term was

intersectionality, defined as “the complex and cumulative way that the effects of different forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, and yes, intersect— especially in the experiences of marginalized people or groups” (Merriam-Webster). I described how some activist movements believe in intersectionality as a means to recognize the shared struggle different groups have against discrimination, and that all people should work together to end it. Furthermore, we reviewed the definition of speciesism. According to the British

Broadcasting Corporation, speciesism is the idea that “being human is a good enough reason for human animals to have greater moral rights than non-human animals” or in other words, “a prejudice or bias in favor of the interests of members of one's own species and against those of members of other species” (The Ethics Guide). People who fight against animal abuse, therefore, believe speciesism to be just as condemnable as racism or sexism. Finally, we spoke about the word racism. By reading the rough drafts of students’ essays, I could see that many of them understood racism as overt discrimination against people of color by Caucasians. Therefore, as a class we discussed different types of racism, what it can look or sound like, and the many types of people who can be a victim of it. In the end, we resolved on the definition that racism is any,

“prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior” (English Oxford).

Superhero Development

After all brainstorming and research was completed, students were instructed to compose a drawing of a superhero “fighting” for social justice. Using reference photos from contemporary news media to collect their favorite protest signage, they created a contour line drawing of a superhero holding up a protest sign. Students were able to choose their own super hero represented in an “action pose” to show that they are actively fighting for the issue at hand.

Before they began the drawing, they were given examples of sketches for this project that displayed the use of line quality to create depth. As a result, their superhero was not only symbolic and full of content, it also emphasized the formal quality of line variations: thick, medium, and thin (see Figure 3).This technique was later applied to the “adornment” of their kite.

Kite construction

The last step of this unit was the construction of their kites. Following a demo given in class, students assembled their kites with tissue paper, string, bamboo sticks, and glue (see

Figure 7). The use of color and pattern was emphasized in the design of their kite. Once students assembled their kite structure, we printed their superhero drawing onto vellum and glued it to the front of their kite. For the final touches, students added string and streamers to fly their kites.

When everyone was finished, we went outside with our kites and flew them around an area on campus. During this process, students encountered various people on campus and were able to describe the purpose of the project. They were able to talk about the topics they researched while also having fun flying them in the sky.

Figure 1. Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation), 2017. Image posted by art appreciation student from www.vox.com.

Figure 2. Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation), 2017. Brainstorming map with students. Photo by author.

Figure 3. Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation), 2017. Connecting content with formal quality PowerPoint slides and examples. Photo by author.

Figure 4. Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work I. Superhero Drawing. Photo by author.

Figure 5. Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work II. Superhero Drawing. Photo by author.

Figure 6. Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work III. Superhero Drawing. Photo by author.

Figure 7. Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work IV. Superhero Drawing. Photo by author.

Figure 8. Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work V. Kite construction. Photo by author. Successes

Students were successfully introduced to the idea of art as a tool for communication.

They could see, from firsthand experience, how an artwork is able to relay a strong message to its audience. For many of them, this was their first experience creating artwork that had powerful meaning. Students were excited about expressing their personal opinions.

In their reflection on this project, Student G wrote, “What I really liked about this art project was that it allowed us to state our personal views and allow us to make art that represents us and what we believe in.”

While some students expressed that they did not enjoy writing a full essay on their topic, others showed appreciation for the discussion and research aspect of the project. Many students also said that they enjoyed learning about various social issues from the art and research of their

fellow classmates. Another common student response was that their issue of choice was far more complex than they originally believed, and that they were surprised that the issue they researched was still highly relevant or prominent. Not only were they able to share information through their artwork, but students also gained new perspective about a topic that is important to them.

Ultimately, they were able to teach themselves while teaching others. At the end of this project, many students looked forward to carrying their newfound knowledge beyond this class and becoming more conscious of the world around them.

A successful outcome that was unanticipated was that students came to the realization that social issues are not just topics of the past or something they read about in their history books. Many students from this class realized that these issues of inequality are still relevant today.

Student H wrote, “After completing this project I have a whole new understanding of social justice issues. I learned that there are children the same age even younger than me that are dying by the hundreds everyday due to starvation and dehydration. From my classmates’ social justice projects, I learned that many groups such as gays, trans- gender, and women are still discriminated against to this day. Whether it be being payed less for the same jobs or not being able to use the bathroom you want many people are facing modern discrimination before our very eyes”

Student I wrote, “The project heroes soaring for social justice was a good way for us to learn about all the different social injustices in the world and to make us aware that our world is not perfect, and that there are so much things we have to learn more about so that we can be able to prevent these social injustices along the line in our life.” Other students felt thankful for being

able to share their opinions on these topics.

Student J wrote, “I liked many different phases of this project because it portrayed topics that are not usually focused on academically and gave us an outlet to speak our voices in a unique way.” This student also claimed that, “I entered an entirely new atmosphere that I was utterly inexperienced with, but it delivered new found knowledge and necessary first-hand experiences. I learned about the variety of aspects of social injustice that are correlated, such as animal abuse, racism, stereotypes, etc.”

By reading student reflections and seeing their final products, it was apparent that a great majority of the students also understood the formal quality portion of the project.

Student H wrote, “The element [of art] I used in the kite project includes using thick and thin lines to demonstrate composition. For example, in the Hulk, I created and used thick and thin lines to illustrate a three dimensional effect.”

Another student wrote, “Some elements of art I used were line, and value because in my drawing I had to use the different lines of thick and thin. What thick and thin lines create is an effect on how you view the lines, if it is thicker it looks closer and creates more emphasis than the thin lines” (Student K).

Challenges

As anticipated, challenges in this project included guiding and improvising students through the discussion of difficult topics. The difficulty comes with the wide variety of opinions on these issues and the sensitivity that these issues bring up. As a teacher, there is no way to predict what opinions students will have and what they will say in response to the sensitive

topics that have divided our country- something highlighted by the aftermath of the new administration elected in November 2016. The teacher is not a neutral bystander either. Speaking of the identity of the teacher, it is of course, natural for the teacher to have strong opinions on these topics as well. Therefore, by modeling how to listen and respond in a way that is open- minded and constructive, the teacher may be learning these new skills as well. This strays from the model of the teacher who believes he or she knows everything and piles information onto students before requiring them to regurgitate it back. The model I am espousing may seem more difficult, especially for teachers who rely on control, but the results are more rewarding to students.

A challenge that I did not anticipate for this project was the difficulty for students to come up with a slogan for their superhero’s protest sign. When this project came to a close, I realized that students were effective in brainstorming about the project and coming up with a theme, but they struggled with the writing and communication portion of the assignment. While their individual research was well constructed, transferring their research into a slogan proved difficult for many students. Some examples of broad protest slogans were “Save the Animals”,

“Racism Ruins Lives”, or “All Lives Matter.” Since there were so many steps involved with this project, I didn’t realize until its completion that we needed to focus more on the wording of the slogans.

Even though some of the signs were vague, it was rewarding to witness a majority of students grasping the concept of art as a means of communication. My students were fully engaged and inspired by their topics. One student even wrote that they, “would have liked to talk more about everyone else's social injustice…and find a way to help end everyone’s social injustice (Student J). This excitement (and great ambition) to go further with the project is just

one example of how these difficult and challenging discussions of social injustices can result in learning and enlightenment for students. However, I still felt it was an important goal for students to be succinct with the messages in their work. For this reason, I created a smaller follow-up project meant to focus on their topics more. The following project description outlines how students created book sculptures out of cardboard and papier-mâché to address their topics through humor and satire.

Figure 9. Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work VI. Completed Kites. Photo by author.

Figure 10. Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student work VII. Completed Kite. Photo by author.

Figure 11. Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work VIII. Completed Kite. Photo by author.

Figure 12. Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work IX. Completed Kite. Photo by author.

Figure 13. Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work X. Completed Kite. Photo by author.

Figure 14. Project 1: Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work XI. Completed Kite. Photo by author.

Project 2: Satirical Books (Art Appreciation)

For project 2 of this unit, students created a satirical book sculpture as an additional representation of their social issue sub-topic. Reflecting on the challenges from the previous lesson, I decided that the main focus for this project would be on the use of text with imagery.

Since the semester was coming to a close and we were pressed for time, students created a slogan and combined it with a found image rather than drawing their own imagery. Even though this project was created without drawing, students still learned how to unite content with effective design. With previous research and knowledge of their topics, they thoughtfully and astutely combined images with words to create their book sculptures. Additionally, they learned basic construction and assemblage skills to create a 3D form with the use of basic line, form, mass, and texture.

Since the focus of this lesson was on grouping words with visual content, I began with a presentation on Irony in literature and art (see Appendix C). I defined several literary devices including satire, tone, caricature, pun, and parody, and gave various examples of each. In this presentation, satire was defined as a “critical attitude that usually presents material with wit and humor” (Candide: Critical Essays). A common rhetorical device that satirists use is irony, which is a “means of which the writer's or speaker’s actual intent is expressed in a manner carrying the opposite meaning” (Candide: Critical Essays). It was emphasized that even though satire is humorous, the ultimate purpose is to expose humanity’s immoralities and to inspire societal reform. Therefore, “writers frequently employ satire to point at the dishonesty and silliness of individuals and society and criticize them by ridiculing them” (Satire). Parody was defined as

“humorous imitation of serious works.” I showed students examples of parodies done by Weird

Al Yankovich. We first watched the music video by Pharell Williams for his popular hit,

“Happy.” Then, we watched the music video for, “Tacky,” Weird Al’s parody of the song. While they enjoyed laughing at the humor behind Weird Al’s music video, students were also able to see how one video and song was a mockery of the other (see Appendix C).

Caricature was defined as a “grotesque or ludicrous representation of persons or things by an absurd exaggeration of what is characteristic” (Caricature). I showed students examples of political cartoons and how they use caricatures in this way. We also talked about puns and how they employ double meanings to convey a certain point of view (see Appendix C).

After this brief lesson on irony and satire, I showed examples of how-to books and

“Books for Dummies” to help students see the kinds of typeface that are specific to these genres and use them as inspiration for the design of their own books. The last set of examples I showed students were by an unknown artist whose artwork was presented to me by personal communication in 2016. The artwork was displayed in a major Los Angeles Gallery in 2007 and consisted of a large array of book sculptures that were parodies of cook books, self-help books,

#1 best-sellers, and children’s books, to name a few. These parodies commented on such topics as anorexia, health, gender identity, and vegetarianism.

After receiving these resources, students were instructed to compile found images with a title to create the cover for their own book. The juxtaposition between the title and image had to use one of the literary devices discussed in class. During this process, it was inevitable for students to conduct further research on their topic. They researched the internet for imagery and headlines related to their social issue. This prompted students to hone in on one specific part of their social issue. For example, one student decided to focus on the controversy of building a wall between Mexico and the U.S. to prevent immigration, a promise the new administration was

making to American citizens (see Figure 20). This sculptural book was titled, “Border Play by

John White” and had an image of two children, presumably minorities, trying to play with another child of a similar age (see Figure 20). The most powerful part of the image is the young

Caucasian boy holding his hand up as if to say no to playing with the two boys of color. The viewer can assume that, along with the title, the artist is addressing innate human rights that are denied to immigrants. The innocence of the children playing in this image adds another layer to the issue as many immigrants come to the U.S. as very young children. The imagery may even make one think of child refugees and the rights they are denied when attempting to flee to other countries.

Another student example, seen in Figure 21, is a sculptural book titled, “A Color Guide:

How to Determine Good Human Character.” This title is accompanied by an image taken from the television show “Family Guy.” In this image, one of the main characters of the show, Peter, appears to be passing through a security check where the person of authority decides whether

Peter can pass through based on the color of his skin (see Figure 21). According to this guide, lighter skin tones are “ok” while darker tones are “not ok.” Therefore, the book is not just referring to racism in general, but focuses on racial profiling by law enforcement with the use of satirical imagery.

Once students found an effective title and image combination for their cover, they constructed their books with cardboard, papier-mâché, and gesso (see Figures 15 and 16). Once completely assembled, the book structure was then painted, and the cover page was adhered to the top with Modge Podge, a kind of craft glue that can double as a protective clear finish.

Successes

The major achievement of this project was that students were more direct with the message communicated by their artwork. Instead of artwork that reads, “All Rights for All

People” as in Figure 13, this project successfully encouraged artwork that directly addressed specific instances of discrimination and/or denial of equal human rights. We can see this through examples such as “Border Play” and the “Color Guide” which address how white privilege directly affects minorities (see Figure 20 and 21).

Challenges

I quickly realized that the project was an ambitious endeavor for the time we had left in the semester. Ideally, this project would have students create a sample book sculpture first to ensure precision on their final book. There also could have been time spent on a tutorial with

Photoshop editing to create a more professionally crafted book cover. Both of these steps would help improve the overall craftsmanship of the book sculpture. Since the main purpose of this project was to teach students how to use literary devices to create a message in their work, the process of this project became more significant than the final object created. Considering this objective, the majority of students succeeded in meeting the goal of the assignment. Ideally, if time permits, this project would proceed with a showcase of student work, bringing their social commentary outside of the classroom and into the discourse of the school.

Figure 15. Project 2: Satirical Books (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work I. Book Construction. Photo by author.

Figure 16. Project 2: Satirical Books (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work II. Book Construction. Photo by author

Figure 17. Project 2: Satirical Books (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work III. Completed Book Sculptures. Photo by author

Figure 18. Project 2: Satirical Books (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work IV. Completed Book Sculptures. Photo by author.

Figure 19. Project 2: Satirical Books (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work V. Completed Book Sculpture. Photo by author.

Figure 20. Project 2: Satirical Books (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work VI. Completed Book Sculpture. Photo by author.

Figure 21. Project 2: Satirical Books (Art Appreciation), 2017. Student Work VI. Completed Book Sculpture. Photo by author.

Project 3: Drawing and Painting for Social Issues (Advanced Studio)

The beginning steps of this project were very similar to the first steps of Project 1:

Superheroes Soaring for Social Justice. We followed the same format, which began with (1) defining “social issue” and “social justice”, (2) brainstorming inequalities in our society through protest signs, (3) researching a specific sub-topic from a list of valid news sources, (4) writing a research paper following specific guidelines, and (5) the execution of the creative project. Since the format is similar, I will focus on the descriptions and reflections that are unique to this class.

Students were asked, “what is social justice?” to survey their opinions and prior knowledge of this topic. I was surprised that many of the students had a relatively extensive understanding of social justice, especially compared to the art appreciation students who were asked the same question. They were eager to write extensive definitions of social justice, some even giving specific examples.

Student L wrote, “Social justice is a powerful movement that embodies ideals of egalitarianism in an attempt to abolish the social inequalities that pollute our daily lives with hatred and injustice. Such injustices include racism, ageism, and the wage gap between men and women.”

Student M wrote, “Social issues range from everything between gender inequalities, to poverty, to discrimination, to environmental problems. Some specific examples would be the wage gap, skid row, racism and discrimination against the disabled (even subconscious discrimination) and pollution from factories and other businesses.”

Furthermore, most of the students in this class defined social justice as a form of aiming

for egalitarianism. Student N wrote, “Social justice to me is fighting for or against change in the world. It is based on the concepts of human rights and equality. Every day we are fighting against social injustices. For example, the Women's March on Washington, riots at UC Berkley,

Black Lives Matter Marches, etc. ‘We are the change we wish to see in the world’.”

Student M wrote, “Social injustices are any issues that prevent equality and a good standard of living…. [Social justice] is doing everything in one's power to make sure that everyone has a healthy standard of life, even though separate lives aren't lived in the same place or way.”

Since students already had their own ideas of social justice as a means for egalitarianism, it was a fluid transition when I introduced an overarching definition of social justice as a state of human equality. Overall, student responses incited an in-depth discussion extending on the previous student’s remarks. It was more engaging to begin this discussion with the student’s own words and opinions, rather than giving them a definition and having them write it down.

Therefore, defining social issues and social justice was an interactive and engaging process. I could tell from this first discussion that these students really cared about the issues we were about to discuss.

The next step was to share images from the exhibition, Manifest: Justice (see Appendix

A). Similar to the discussion with the art appreciation course, I explained why this exhibition had such an impact on me. Each artwork I shared from the exhibition was a talking point for issues related to racial profiling and the over-criminalization of youth in Los Angeles. It appeared as though my own passion for this artwork as well as the issues they addressed had a big impact on my students. At certain points, I asked students, “What is going on in this image?” and they were

able to respond with thoughtful comments and interpretations. They were especially affected by the artwork highlighting the uneven distribution of funding amongst prisons and schools in

California (see Appendix A, Figure 8 and 9). Overall, students began to think critically about the content of the artwork.

When conducting their own internet search of protest signs, most of the students took initiative and found multiple examples. Some students submitted images from protests in different countries, providing insight that these issues are global issues. Students took turns describing the protest signs they chose as I displayed them to the class on the projector. After each sign was discussed I asked, “Which inequality does this sign represent?” We went back and forth between the protest signs and a brainstorming word map, where I wrote down each of the inequality topics students came up with. In the end, our word map included words such as education, race, and economic disparity (see Figure 22). This map was intertwined with causes of these inequalities. Students began to see that many of these issues did not stand-alone and oftentimes affected one another. For example, environmental issues were connected to economic disparity, education, and greed.

Students chose one of the sub-topics from the word map to research, using only the sources from the list provided to ensure quality work. Additionally, they completed a worksheet to state their topic and list three news sources from the list provided (see Appendix B). Students then highlighted the “who, what, where, and when” from each of their three sources. They wrote an introductory paragraph, defining their social injustice and introducing the “what, who, where, when” (see Appendix B). From here, they completed an essay with their introduction, three body paragraphs, a conclusion, and a works cited page. I found, similar to our class discussions, my students had a lot to say about their individual topics through their writing and they were excited

to start their sketches related to their topic. This breaking down of each step helped the research process. I was surprised that none of them seemed overwhelmed or stressed about writing a research paper for their project. They expressed that they cared about these topics, so it was

“easy for them to research.”

Additionally, students chose meaningful topics for their work. One student created a piece called, “Nasty Women,” seen in Figure 24. This piece is a triptych with portraits of

“women cropped to show only the lower half of their faces” (Student O). The portrait on the left is of “a dark skinned black woman making a sneering or almost snarling expression with her lip raised aggressively.” The woman in the middle is a woman of color,” golden toned, with her mouth open as if speaking out or yelling.” The woman on the right is a “white woman with red lipstick seen biting her lip, suggesting a sexual connotation” (Student O). This piece is in response to a moment during the last presidential debate of 2016 when Donald Trump interrupted Hilary Clinton as she was answering a question about social security. Trump mumbled into the microphone, “Such a nasty woman.” This phrase went viral as many women felt it equivalent to a sexist slur. Shortly thereafter, this phrase became a women’s empowerment message and a message for solidarity of “LGBTQ rights, education, racial equality, reproductive health care, and, yes, a woman in the White House” (Gray).

Another student created a piece called “I’m Scared” to communicate the innocence of young Middle Eastern children who fall victim to racism (see Figure 28). The subject of the artwork is “a young, sad looking boy with large emotional eyes. The horns and tail drawn over the portrait with marker is “done hastily and unsteadily to mask the purity and the emotions” of the young boy (Student P). In contrast, the boy’s neck has the words written, “I’m Scared” in

Farsi, emphasizing that innocent children “do not ask to be a part of the violence and atrocities

occurring in the Middle East” yet they are still demonized by others as a threat (Student P).

Finally, the piece titled, “Object of Your Affection” focuses on the “objectification of women, and how that objectification can [go as far as] sexual assault crimes” (see Figure 30).

The artist felt that “a major cause of sexual assault is the objectification of women in the media, which is why I made the woman in my painting naked: to foreshadow her sexual assault”

(Student Q). The painting has another layer added to it as the woman depicted is, just like the artist, a black woman. Student Q wrote, “I think making the woman black puts more emphasis on my topic of objectification because society shapes a woman into what it wants to see, like how it shapes a black woman into a white woman so she can be classified as beautiful.”

Successes

The major achievements of this project were similar to that of the Soaring for Social

Justice project conducted for art appreciation. The major differences were the prior knowledge and skillsets that these advanced students had. Having already completed Studio 1 and 2, these students had advanced knowledge of skills and technique. However, students were still in the process of refining these skills and using them to represent their own personal voice. The art assignments based on social issues proved successful in helping students find their voice. The brainstorming discussions were incredibly effective in generating ideas for the content of their work. It was inspiring to see that the students cared so much about these issues. Some even expressed that these topics were a bit “heavy” at times. Even so, they appeared appreciative to have conversations about them and create artwork with this content as the subject. Through this process, students expressed great empathy and compassion for different causes including racism, sexism, and ableism. They acted as leaders in pursuit of their own beliefs and convictions and

contributed to their society by creating artwork that calls to improve the quality of life for all.

Challenges

I did not discover many challenges in this project. The small class size, being able to work with students one on one, and the ability to reflect in a small group were all helpful aspects of navigating the heavy content. The only challenge was getting students to try something “out of the box.” Students were able to use any materials they pleased, but most of them stayed with the conventional paint on canvas. If one of the goals of this project was for students to produce artwork out of unconventional material or with more experimentation of material, then I would clearly outline this in the criteria of the project. Otherwise, it seems that most students will stay with materials that they are already comfortable with.

Figure 22. Project 3: Drawing and Painting for Social Issues (Advanced Studio), 2017. Brainstorming map with students. Photo by author.

Figure 23. Project 3 Drawing and Painting for Social Issues (Advanced Studio), 2017. Student Work I, Sketches. Photo by author.

Figure 24. Project 3 Drawing and Painting for Social Issues (Advanced Studio), 2017. Student Work I. Nasty Women. Photo by author.

Figure 25. Project 3 Drawing and Painting for Social Issues (Advanced Studio), 2017. Student Work II, Sketches. Photo by author.

Figure 26. Project 3 Drawing and Painting for Social Issues (Advanced Studio), 2017. Student Work II. Untitled. Photo by author.

Figure 27. Student Work III (Sketches). Project 3: Drawing and Painting for Social Issues (Advanced Studio), 2017. Photo by author.

Figure 28. Project 3: Drawing and Painting for Social Issues (Advanced Studio), 2017. Student Work III. “I’m Scared.” Photo by author.

Figure 29. Project 3: Drawing and Painting for Social Issues (Advanced Studio), 2017. Student Work IV, Sketches. Photo by author.

Figure 30. Project 3: Drawing and Painting for Social Issues (Advanced Studio), 2017. Student Work IV. “I Am Not an Object.” Photo by author.

Figure 31. Project 3: Drawing and Painting for Social Issues (Advanced Studio), 2017. Student Work V, Sketches. Photo by author.

Figure 32. Project 3: Drawing and Painting for Social Issues (Advanced Studio), 2017. Student Work V. “Able.” Photo by author.

Project 4: Language in Contemporary Art (Advanced Studio)

This creative project is an extension of Project 3. Students continued research of their social justice topics and created a second piece of artwork about them. However, for this second piece, students were challenged to create a drawing or painting with the use of text to thoughtfully and creatively complement or enhance the subject. Knowledge of the use of text and image was provided by the instructor through an assigned reading before additional individual research began. In order to save time and give further direction, this reading was a summary I wrote of the full text, Writing on the Wall: Word and Image in Modern Art by Simon

Morely. I focused on the idea that artists can control the tension created when words bond with imagery to “form identities, challenge authority, and make sense of a world in constant change”

(Morley). With this, students were introduced to the idea that “writing is indeed visual language, that is, it is something which appeals to the eye as well as to the mind” (12). Furthermore, my summary outlined the four kinds of interactions between the visual and the verbal sign that

Morely defines in the text. These can be identified as the trans-media relationship, multi-media relationship, mixed-media relationship, and inter-media relationship (10-12). These four categories determine different hierarchies that can exist between text and image. The summary was read aloud in class and prompted discussion of the provided examples of each of the four categories along with the definitions.

I originally planned to follow this reading by providing a list of contemporary artists for students to research. After some reflection, I came to the conclusion that my list was filled with artists I am interested in and that I have studied but I could not guarantee that my students would be passionate about the artists I selected. In a quest to attract student engagement, I allowed more room for students to discover artists on their own. I was recently inspired by the workshop,

Technology Integration to Create Engaging Art History Lessons given by Carol-Lynn

Comparetto given at the National Art Education Convention in spring 2017. Comparetto shared her experiences teaching art history and how uninspired her students were by the direct instruction model in which the teacher shows slide after slide of information students that students are expected to absorb and memorize. In her teaching practice, she found it much more engaging for students to go online and find their own artists to research based on the topic being covered in class. For example, while working on a watercolor project, she had students’ research artists working in this media and create a presentation of this artist to the class. Each student created a painting with different techniques based on the artist they researched.

In order to promote high engagement in their research process I decided to try something similar to Comparetto’s method. Students were asked to get into pairs to collaborate, discover, and choose an artist that utilizes text in their work. Students were required to select two art pieces by the artist to find and present information to the class. Students included information such as the title, media, description, and interpretation of each piece. Students chose the artists

Mobster, Banksy, Lichtenstein, and Jenny Holzer. All of these artists, either street artist or pop artist, utilize text as commentary on social issues and consumer culture. I was surprised by the students’ choices to research Mobster and Jenny Holzer who work solely with satirical text in public spaces to encourage people to question our interactions with advertising and other types of public signage. For this reason, we had a lengthy discussion about the public’s willingness to accept ads and slogans they see in their community every day. Finally, we discussed why people may be more likely to accept rather than to stop and question the signs they see on a daily basis.

Even though this discussion was spontaneous, and a direct response to what students researched, it was the perfect foundational reflection for this project.

After students presented their artists to the class, I shared examples from the prior semester in which I implemented this project for the first time (examples included in Figure 33 and 34). This class is unique in that it has three different studio levels in one period. Therefore, all of the students that took Studio 3 the previous semester were now Studio 4 students in the same class period. I was able to ask my Studio 4 students to describe their artwork from this project as I displayed the image of their work on the projector. This worked well because my

Studio 4 students had the chance to discuss and share their work, while my Studio 3 students were able to learn from the various approaches and ideas. For example, in Figure 33, the artwork titled, “Waiting” was shown as an example in class by the student who had created it the semester beforehand. Student R explained how the title of their piece was inspired by, “Faith

Wilding’s performance piece Waiting for Him. The lack of color symbolizes the dull, nothingness of the lack of words escaping the girl’s mouth and the hand is a man’s left hand with a wedding ring. My intention was to poke at the social implications that were expected of women in the 1950s”. This student also explained the experimentation with materials by using distressed wood and creating texture with a blow torch as well as using chalk with tally marks to mirror etchings in a prison cell to emphasize the imprisoning feeling of waiting. Therefore, the artist students researched at the beginning, and the examples given by previous students, were meant to inspire ways to connect text and imagery in their own work. From there, students were expected to complete four thumbnail sketches and a color scheme in their sketchbooks.

Furthermore, I introduced students to various materials they could experiment with in this piece. I showed them examples of collaged artwork, the use of stamps, stencils, and textured backgrounds. I found that simply leaving these materials out at their disposal, students were more likely to pick them up and experiment with them. For example, in Figure 36, “Bloody

Rabbit” Student S experimented with scrapbook paper, stamps, and acrylic paint to create artwork that raises awareness of animal abuse through animal testing. Not only was this student experimental with materials but she also expanded creatively on her decision-making for this piece. Student S chose to use a character from Alice in Wonderland because animals in

“animated movies [are] sweet but if some of our favorite characters were put into reality, they wouldn’t survive.” Everything in this artwork plays on this idea. In the student’s reflection, they wrote that, “the text was supposed to be ironic, because instead of it being “don’t just stand there, do something” it’s reversed…all we’ve been doing is standing back and watching animal testing happen.” Student S was also able to describe the reasons for the color choices by writing, “the dark forest green gives us the Alice in Wonderland effect, as well as the scrapbook paper. To me it feels like the hand and glove are reaching into “Wonderland” to grab the white rabbit and pull him into reality. I think I did a good job on staying focused with the topic of animal testing and incorporated words into the piece in a unique way” (Student S).

Another student experimented with materials by the use of two different layers connected with a pin fastener to create a more interactive experience with the work. As seen in Figure 35, the artwork titled, “Symptom: Happy, Diagnosis: Perfect” speaks for the equal treatment for those with disabilities. Student T explained, “The bottom layer consists of the two boys [with disabilities]” and the top layer consists of cut-outs that read, Symptom: Happy, Diagnosis:

Perfect. Since the two layers are connected by a pin fastener, the viewer is invited to move the top layer around, eventually lifting it to see the full picture of the two boys underneath.

According to the artist, “doing [this] creates value and meaning that the words are more important along with putting emphasis on the boys smiling nature.” The student wanted to emphasize the innocence of these children and that people should “let them be themselves even

if that means living with a disability” (Student T).

Successes

Some students felt they were able to express their thoughts and feelings even if their opinions were somewhat countercultural. In figure 37, titled, “The Unheard Heartbeat” Student

U expressed the belief that it is the human right for each person to have life from conception to natural death. “This is a piece that comments on a topic that I don’t see commented on a lot, especially in the communities I’m in, most people I talk to are pro-choice, so for me actually expressing my pro-life stance was kind of significant. Since this is an opinion that most people I know fight against and something that I support, but don’t necessarily openly express it was unusual for me and fairly creative” (Student U). Not only was this student able to express their own beliefs on a controversial topic, but they also did it in an effective way. The artwork shows growth in drawing skills and successful use of emphasis. In their the reflection, Student U wrote,

“Attention is drawn to the idea that the heart signifies life by making the heart and words red and the actual words, “can you hear my heartbeat?”…The contrast between the black and white [and the red] emphasizes the message behind the piece.”

Student O was able to use language in their artwork in a satirical way and as social commentary on consumerist culture. Seen in Figure 39, “SALE” is the title and only word seen in the image that comments on the “overly sexualized marketing of females” (Student O). The text cleverly and successfully corresponds with the imagery of mannequins that, “all have very smooth shading, showing no texture to their surface, as well as “idealized” body shapes…they are drawn without specific facial features, only vague shadows of where their eyes and noses are, to emphasize their inhumanness…their character, individuality, and even their souls have been stripped away to leave these lifeless dummies in their place” (Student O). The piece successfully

uses satire to show how these unachievable ideals of the female body are literally and subconsciously being sold to our society. Overall, this project successfully sparked curiosity, inspired the exploration of mature topics, and allowed students to question and think critically of important social issues.

Challenges

While this project was successful for this particular class, there are some possible challenges that may arise for other classes. The small class size is a luxury in terms of the amount of time I was able to spend with each student and on group discussions. However, through the art appreciation projects outlined previously, we can see that larger groups are fully capable of following this format of brainstorming, discussion, and research. Because this project asks students to research artists on their own, it may get chaotic for the teacher to give feedback and guide research to each student on their topic. To avoid surface level research while also saving time, larger class sizes could ask students to work in larger groups of 3 or 4 to work together to discover an artist to research. This could allow for learning to happen through collaboration, and it is easier for the teacher to manage and guide ideas in groups.

Figure 33. Project 4: Language and Contemporary Art (Advanced Studio), 2016. Student Work I. “Waiting.” Photo by author.

Figure 34. Project 4: Language and Contemporary Art (Advanced Studio), 2016. Student Work II. “Untitled.” Photo by author.

Figure 35. Project 4: Language and Contemporary Art (Advanced Studio), 2017. Student Work III. “Symptom: Happy, Diagnosis: Perfect.” Photo by author.

Figure 36. Project 4: Language and Contemporary Art (Advanced Studio), 2017. Student Work IV. “Bloody Rabbit.” Photo by author.

Figure 37. Project 4: Language and Contemporary Art (Advanced Studio), 2017. Student Work V. “Can You Hear My Heartbeat?” Photo by author.

Figure 38. Project 4: Language and Contemporary Art (Advanced Studio), 2017. Student Work VI. “Beauty Comes in All Shades.” Photo by author.

Figure 39. Project 4: Language and Contemporary Art (Advanced Studio), 2017. Student Work VII. “SALE.” Photo by author.

Conclusions and Implications

There are many benefits of art curriculum that extend beyond reproduction of historical works or that rely solely on technique building. Art curriculum that teaches skill and technique with a profound theme as a central focus, provokes emotional responses from students, challenges them to take risks with their art making, and provides students with a new awareness of the world around them. With the focus theme, “All humans are social beings,” students in two different types of art courses, explored inequalities of the human experience based on topics of gender, race, and class. This type of art curriculum encouraged the examination and production of art in an uncensored environment. It also inspired self-reflection, educated each student on new topics, and challenged students (beginners and advanced alike) to take risks with their work.

This theme (and any quality umbrella theme) allows the teacher to cultivate an environment where teachers and students are less afraid to censor themselves or to take risks.

With this more open atmosphere, self-expression is encouraged and embraced. Even the challenges of this type of art curriculum are necessary hurdles to overcome in order to reach the much larger benefits, and provide teachable moments as well. While it is difficult to bring up social issues in the classroom, to have students face their own privileges, and to navigate through discussions full of different opinions, teacher and students alike benefit from the ability to communicate, listen, and respect each other.

It may seem much easier, and even tempting, to avoid this type of curriculum and stick to traditions such as the reproduction of the color wheel in studio art or even the replication of cave paintings for art history, and never explore themes or lessons that dive deeper into content. The effort, however, goes beyond the benefit of student learning outcomes and is beneficial to the educator’s own teaching experience as well. The projects of the curriculum I have described

were imagined, developed, and implemented over the course of two years. During this period of time, I realized that I had been holding myself back with my own practice for fear of the reprimand of others such as administration and parents. I was afraid that topics regarding social issues and social justice would be too controversial. Conversely, once engaged, I was pleasantly surprised with how much these topics fit in with the overall discourse of the school. While it was difficult for me, I found that stepping outside of my comfort zone was well worth it.

Over these two years, I became more involved with my school, communicated to other teachers and administration, and studied various principles associated with Catholic teaching.

Unaware at the beginning, I now see that the social justice curriculum that my students and I were working on, based on the theme, “all humans are social beings,” aligned very well with the seven principles of Catholic Social Teaching. Among these seven principles, the Catholic faith believes that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. The Catholic faith also advocates that we should put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first and that the human race is all one family no matter which national, racial, ethnic, or ideological differences people may have. They believe that at the core of the virtue of solidarity is the pursuit of justice and peace (Seven Themes). Therefore, by taking these risks with my curriculum, I felt more connected with my personal identity, my practice as an artist, and even more connected with the mission of my Catholic school.

The experience as a new teacher can be scary at times. Coming into a new school environment can feel isolating and it is easy to have reservations about the support available to you. For this reason, it took me a while to investigate and discover the discourse of my school. I learned that reaching out to others in your community, such as colleagues and administration, is essential to building your own support system. Having open communication with your

department and speaking to other teachers from different disciplines also helps to build support and even gain ideas from what others have done inside and outside of your department. Taking risks in your curriculum is an ongoing effort and it is important to note that teaching art with strong content is a process of continuous examination. For this reason, the teacher should not feel that they need to know everything before they start each lesson, In fact, teachers will find answers through each of the lessons they teach.

Finally, I found that students may have needed a little more guidance than I provided. As mentioned previously, it was incredibly rewarding to witness a majority of students grasp the concept of art as a tool for communication and to see them engaged and inspired by their topics.

However, there are ways to go deeper into these topics and to help students be more focused and direct with their message. For example, if I were to do the “Soaring for Social Justice Kite

Project” again with future students, I would incorporate a smaller activity which introduces them to the topics and skills, and allows students to apply satire and irony within their artwork. This could be as simple as a collage assignment where each student is given the same topic and must express this topic in a similar way. Students can see various ways to approach artwork that combines words along with imagery. The class could then have a mini critique where students are able to articulate the artwork that is most successful in meeting the criteria of communication.

In addition to the mini-project, I suggest narrowing the number of topics from which students may choose. For example, the instructor could select five topics from which each student could choose. This way, it may be easier for students to collaborate and share ideas with others. Additionally, it would be easier for the teacher to focus on these five areas of interest

(rather than thirty) to give feedback and build on student knowledge throughout the project.

Finally, students should present their projects to the class in groups. All of these adaptations could help students go much deeper with their topic.

Again, this curricula is just one set of examples of discovering ways to incorporate content into a wide variety of media and object-making in art. Overall, teaching art as a tool for communication requires great flexibility: a willingness to try new things, and the ability to adapt and reflect throughout.

APPENDIX A

Activist Art

Figure 1: Exhibition description at the Baldwin Hills Theatre, Baldwin Hills, Ca. On display from May 1-10, 2015. Art Pop Up Brand Designed by Justin Kemerling Design Co. Photograph taken by author.

Figure 2: Actress and activist Rosario Dawson moderates a conversation with activist Sybrina Fulton. Sybrina is the mother of Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old boy shot to death by George Michael Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida on February 26, 2012. Photograph taken May 6, 2015 by author.

Figure 3: “Activist Sybrina Fulton poses next to a collage of her son Trayvon Martin at the Manifest: Justice pop-up art space on May 6, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.” Photo taken by Amanda Edwards and posted along with text on gettyimages.com. This mosaic portrait of Trayvon Martin created by Gerri Lawrence and Raul O’Campo, consists of hundreds of snapshots of everyday people wearing hoodies. Hank Willis Thomas added to this multilayered graphic by creating the words "It should have been me” from one angle and “I could have been you” by another angle.

Figure 4: “Executive Director of Amnesty International USA Steven Hawkins, actress Rosario Dawson, avitivist Sybrina Fulton and the California Endowment CEO Dr. Robert K. Ross attend a panel conversation with Sabryna Fulton at the Manifest: Justice pop-up art space” Posted on gettyimages.com. Photgraph taken by Amanda Edwards.

Figure 5: Unknown Artist. Manifest: Justice Exhibition, Los Angeles, Ca. May 2015. Photograph from the article, “Pop-Up Exhibit Provokes Conversation on Manifest Justice” by Patrick Healy on the NBCLA website.

Figure 6: Unknown Artist. Manifest: Justice Exhibition, Los Angeles, Ca. May 2015. Photograph from Justin Kemerling Website of the Manifest: Justice Exhibition.

Figure 7: Photograph from Justin Kemerling Website of the Manifest: Justice Exhibtion. Los Angeles, Ca. May 2015.

Figure 8: Unknown artist, “Do the Math.” Manifest: Justice Exhibition. Los Angeles, Ca. May 2015. Photo taken by author.

Figure 9: Unknown artist. Manifest: Justice Exhibition, Los Angeles, Ca. May 2015. Photograph from the article, “Pop-Up Exhibit Provokes Conversation on Manifest Justice” by Patrick Healy on the NBCLA website.

Figure 10: “Nylon Bags.” Illustrator: Nabil Kamara, Photographer: Trevor Vaughan, Food Stylist: Gabby Atkinson. Advertising Campaign by Emirates Environmental Group.

Appendix B

Tools for Research and Writing

Figure 1: List of sources to research

Figure 2: Introduction Paragraph

Figure 3: 5 paragraph essay outline

APPENDIX C

Introduction to Satire

Figure 1: Students were introduced to the use of parodies with the example of "Weird Al" Yankovic’s video of the song, “Tacky” which is a parody version of Pharrell's song and video, "Happy.” Images are snapshots of videos from youtube.com, 2017.

Figure 2: Example of pun shown for Art Appreciation course Spring 2017, Illustration by Mike Luckoich

Figure 3: Example of caricature shown for art appreciation course spring 2017, Illustration by Mike Luckoich

APPENDIX D

Lesson Outline Format

Drawing and Painting for Social Issues

Theme/Big Idea: All Humans are Social Beings

Teacher: Charlene Hattier

Grade Level: 10-12

Content Area: Studio Art III

Lesson Pacing: 5 weeks, 82 minute class periods

Main Concept/Big Idea:

The umbrella theme for this semester course is “all humans are social beings.” This theme lends itself to topics of connectedness and community. It also allows students to recognize where we, as humans, are together and where we are not together. While humans experience differences such as color, language, economic status, sex, and gender, we all have basic needs such as shelter, clothing, food, love, and opportunity. Therefore, this curriculum is organized around advocacy and teaches students how to unite around these topics.

Introduction/Overview:

Students discuss and research inequalities of race, gender, and class and how these inequalities affect the human experience. After guided brainstorming, students will choose one subtopic of these categories to explore and represent with their art. After researching their subtopic, students will take the bigger idea and “zoom into” it. Students may represent a more intimate or detailed part of the issue by narrowing their topic down to an emotion, specific person, or situation.

Materials:

Students have their choice of acrylic paint, pen & ink, watercolor, or water-based oils on multimedia paper, watercolor paper, canvas, or Bristol board.

Equipment:

● PowerPoint presentation

● Assignment process outline

● Brainstorming activity

● Research paper outline

● Reflection guide

● Assignment Rubric

Outline Format:

1. Instructor introduction of theme and curriculum unit through PowerPoint presentation o Follow with information (facts of the case at that point in time), including visual imagery & text.

2. Instructor facilitated brainstorm with students of related categories with subtopics; o Instructor prompts 3 broad issues on the board: (1) Race (2) Gender (3) Class o Emphasize inequalities within these topics- Sub topics such as disabilities, systemic issues, and socioeconomics.

3. Students conduct independent research on subtopics – bring photos and texts to class. o in groups of 4, students research chosen subtopics of Race, Gender, and Class. o Students research individually and then share research as a group in the form of a PowerPoint Presentation. o Instructor facilitates group sharing of findings; students voice concerns, beliefs, raise questions. o Instructor maintains sight of global perspective.

4. Begin acquisition of specific formal art skills, individual development of related ideas and sub-topics. o Students create a plan for the color scheme and composition of their work with the completion of four thumbnail sketches for their final piece. o Teacher provides feedback on these sketches to help guide for the most successful composition related to the student’s theme or topic.

5. Application of formal art skills to final project. o Students begin final project that addresses their chosen topic

o Students may choose any medium to complete this project.

6. Written reflection on project including description of artwork and how formal aspects create the message; summary and response(s) to facts, events, and continuing student questions. o Students write a guided reflection after completion of their project.

7. Group Critique o Suggestions and feedback o Reflection of experience

8. Group Exhibition

· Invite teachers, parents, and students

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