Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Art and Design Theses Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design Spring 5-9-2015 Using The Old To Speak To The New: An Appropriative Studio Approach David W. Batterman Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/art_design_theses Recommended Citation Batterman, David W., "Using The Old To Speak To The New: An Appropriative Studio Approach." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2015. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/art_design_theses/171 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Ernest G. Welch School of Art and Design at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Art and Design Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. USING THE OLD TO SPEAK TO THE NEW: AN APPROPRIATIVE STUDIO APPROACH by DAVID BATTERMAN Under the Direction of Dr. Kevin Hsieh ABSTRACT This thesis is an A/R/Tographically-based investigation of my appropriative studio approach, resulting in a series of multi-media collage work entitled “Tonight’s Programming,” dealing with issues of militarism and commercialism in our everyday lives. Through research regarding appropriation in art history, examination of personal artistic influences, and regarding the work through the lenses of Artist, Researcher, and Teacher, I gained a deeper insight into not only my appropriative practices, but how these practices could be applied in the high school art classroom. INDEX WORDS: Appropriation, Multi-media, Militarism, Commercialism, A/R/Tography USING THE OLD TO SPEAK TO THE NEW: AN APPROPRIATIVE STUDIO APPROACH by DAVID BATTERMAN A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Art Education in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2015 Copyright by David Batterman 2015 USING THE OLD TO SPEAK TO THE NEW: AN APPROPRIATIVE STUDIO APPROACH by DAVID BATTERMAN Committee Chair: Kevin Hsieh Committee: Kevin Hsieh Melanie Davenport Timothy Flowers Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University May 2015 iv DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my lovely, patient, and understanding wife, whose encouragement and faith in me has led to an amazing journey I never dreamed I would ever undertake. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Kevin Hsieh, for being the first of the Art Education faculty to meet with me and help set my path in graduate school, and for pushing me to succeed. I would also like to thank Dr. Melanie Davenport for being my Art Education mom, colleague, friend, and tireless advocate for all things artistic and righteous. All my thanks as well to Dr. Melody Milbrandt, for introducing me to the world of aesthetics, being a great leader and an amazing art educator. Finally, a huge thanks to Tim Flowers, for providing an amazing studio environment, a wealth of knowledge and practical ideas, and unceasing positivity. To my committee as a whole, thank you for your patience, understanding, and commitment to me through the thesis process. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 Examining My Early Influences: Two Anecdotes ...................................................................... 1 An Appropriative Studio Approach ............................................................................................ 4 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ......................................................................... 7 A General Overview: Appropriation As A Force In Art ............................................................. 7 Artists Who Utilized The Method Of Appropriation To Speak To New Political Realities .... 11 Feminism and Commercialism: Cindy Sherman And Barbara Kruger .................................... 14 Cold War Collage: Winston Smith............................................................................................ 18 Appropriative Studio Approach And The Art Education Classroom ....................................... 22 Appropriation And Collage In The Classroom ......................................................................... 22 Appropriation In Examining Visual Culture ............................................................................. 23 Addressing Current Issues In The Classroom ........................................................................... 25 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 27 A/R/Tographic Inquiry and Studio-Based Research ................................................................. 27 The A/R/Tographic Framework ................................................................................................ 27 Studio-based and Auto-ethnographic Methods ......................................................................... 29 Limitations of the Investigation ................................................................................................ 31 CHAPTER 4: THE DEVELOPMENT AND CREATION OF “TONIGHT’S PROGRAMMING ....................................................................................................................................................... 32 Ephemera From A Bygone Time .............................................................................................. 33 The Key to Illustrating the Dissonance of Distant War ............................................................ 36 The Early Process of Construction: Literality and Implications ............................................... 38 vii The Method of Choice: Collage on the Fly ............................................................................... 42 Video and Audio: Eyes and Ears of Appropriation................................................................... 44 Final Reflections as Artist on Appropriative Artistic Practice .................................................. 46 Chapter 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ART EDUCATION CLASSROOM .............................................................................................................................. 48 Appropriation as Illustration of a Remixed Visual Culture ...................................................... 48 Addressing Compositional Development through Collage on the Fly ..................................... 52 Encouraging Meaningful Reflection on Personal Artistic Voice .............................................. 53 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 57 APPENDIX: TRANSCRIPTIONS OF SPEECHES USED IN TONIGHT’S PROGRAMMING 61 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1, Various DIY collage flyers. Adapted from Classic Punk Flyers, in dcscorpiongirl.com, Retrieved on June 6, 2014 from https://dcscorpiongirl.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/classic-show- flyers/ ............................................................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2.1, Arch of Constantine, detail, Adapted from “Instances of Appropriation in Late Roman and Early Christian Art”, by D. Kinney, 2012, Essays In Medieval Studies, 28(1), p.6. ....................... 9 Figure 2.2, Statuette of Good Shepherd, Adapted from “Instances of Appropriation in Late Roman and Early Christian Art”, by D. Kinney, 2012, Essays In Medieval Studies, 28(1), p.10. ..................... 9 Figure 2.3, The Oath of the Horatii, Adapted from “The Oath of the Horatii”, by O. Lerouge, Retrieved June 13, 2014, from http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/oath-horatii, Copyright 2009 by Musee de Louvre by Erich Lessing................................................................................................ 11 Figure 2.4, The Intervention of the Sabine Women, Adapted from “The Intervention of the Sabine Women”, by O. Lerouge, Retrieved June 13, 2014, from http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre- notices/intervention-sabine-women, Copyright 2010 by Musee de Louvre by Angele Dequier ... 13 Figure 2.5, Untitled Film Still #10, Adapted from “Cindy Sherman”,n.a,, Retrieved July 10, 2014, http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=56555, Copyright 2014 by Cindy Sherman ......................................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 2.6, Untitled Film Still #21, Adapted from “Cindy Sherman”,n.a,, Retrieved July 10, 2014, http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=56618, Copyright 2014 by Cindy Sherman ......................................................................................................................................... 15 Figure. 2.7, Untitled We Don’t Need Another Hero, Adapted from Untitled We Don’t Need Another Hero, n.a., Retrieved July 10, 2010, http://www.wikiart.org/en/barbara-kruger/untitled-we-don-t- need-another-hero-1986