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Postmodern Principles: Fostering Empowerment and Self through Critical Pedagogy

By

ANNETTE SALDANA

UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
2015

Abstract

This literature review is an examination of Postmodern art education and its ability to
strengthen conceptual art frameworks within contemporary curriculum design. The topic
surveyed examines the use of Critical Pedagogy to promote social and self growth through
classroom art practices. Extensive research has been examined in order to create authentic
experiences, and meaningful activities for students to engage in. Scholarly articles, magazines,
books, newspapers, journals, and films have been reviewed to thoroughly develop inferences.
Through the use of postmodern topics such as identity, culture, and social justice, high school art
students will be lead into projects and lessons that help them to discover where genuine
inspirations and influences begin.within ourselves.

Table of Contents
Title Page .................................................................................................................................... 1
Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 2
Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 4
Critical Pedagogy ....................................................................................................................... 4
Semiotics ................................................................................................................................... 5
Dialogic Teaching ...................................................................................................................... 5
Visual Culture ........................................................................................................................... 6
Boundaries as a Big Idea ............................................................................................................ 7
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 10
References ............................................................................................................................... 11

Introduction
I believe many art educators may want to develop more conceptual art frameworks within
their curriculum designs that are tied to social injustice. However, more information and further
research is needed in order to provide examples as to how to develop a classroom that makes
postmodern principles a primary focus. Many experts have inspired me to investigate this topic
such as Paulo Freire, Henry Giroux, Richard Cary, Kerry Freedman, and Shirley Yokely. These
authors have allowed me to see how educators might use semiotics, dialogic teaching, visual
culture, and contemporary art, to investigate ideas based on oppression. My literature review is a
close examination of Critical Pedagogy and the ways it can guide students into praxis and
reflection. Through the use of postmodern topics such as identity, culture, and social justice, I
hope to engage my students in activities that will help them analyze how borders and boundaries
exist and the ways they are detrimental to societal transformation.
Critical Pedagogy
By critically examining power and oppression, students have the potential to create a
resistance towards injustice. Injustices come in many forms as students may see how issues tied
to consumerism, violence, gender, and politics are relevant in todays society. Paulo Freires
pedagogical ideas of liberation were put in place in hopes that compassion could lead to a world
that was more round, less ugly, and more just (Macedo in Freire, 1970, p. 26). Through critical
pedagogy students can analyze damaging effects connected to hegemonic matters. Darder (2002)
states that, Economic inequalities and social injustice dehumanizes us, distorting our capacity to
love each other, the world, and ourselves. (p. 35). The study of humanities allows for this
postmodern principle to thrive as students are encouraged to look at how borders and boundaries
exist and how they can be detrimental to societal transformation. Yokely (1999) comments that,

The power of the arts simultaneously promotes and limits freedom in all countries and cultures
by revealing, confronting, subverting, or supporting prevailing belief systems or ideologies.
(p.18).
Semiotics
Context and content play a large role in how visuals are understood and interpreted by
diverse people in different cultures. For that reason, it is suggested that students investigate how
meaning can be embedded in materials, symbols, mark making, imagery, and more. Political and
cultural ideology often presents itself during visual thinking strategies/critiques of art works.
Cary (1999) mentions that, As humans interact in the world, they use signs, and as they use
particular signs, certain significations or meanings accrue. (p. 172). Critical interpretations
based on semiotics can reveal how facts insinuate concepts that grouped together become
generalizations. (Yokely, p. 21). Theories based on power and oppression can be analyzed so
that underlying connotations may be unearthed. Freire (1994) suggests that we take careful
account of the reading of the world being made by popular groups and expressed in their
discourse, their syntax, their semantics, their dreams and desires. (p. 12).
Dialogic Teaching
Reflective studies beckon us to not only think about where we stand on certain issues, but
also dig and figure out why we think the way we do about something. By asking the hows and
whys, students are being invited to discuss topics on a deeper level. If students are not able to
transform their lived experiences into knowledge and to use the already acquired knowledge as a
process to unveil new knowledge, they will never be able to participate rigorously in a dialogue
as a process of learning and knowing. (Macedo in Freire, 1970, p. 19). Open-ended inquiry
involves philosophical understanding and can guide students into epistemological curiosity and

new bodies of knowledge. Postmodern art classrooms allow for Socratic learning to take place.
Yokely (1999) notes that, To pursue in-depth critical examination of imagery, teachers offer
opportunity for critical comparison, contrast, dialogue and debate. (p. 20). Critiques and
discussions about art permit students to engage in discussion that allows for a myriad of outlooks
to be heard and analyzed. From there, dialogic teaching can lead to action aimed at a greater
realization of the ideals of justice. (Cary, 1999, p. 9).
Visual Culture
According to Freedman (2003), Visual culture is a form of social production: it plays an
important role in the construction of social lifeit influences the way people think about the
world, visualize, and live in it. (p. 54). Because our own lived experiences shape how we view
and interpret visual culture, it is a paramount component to conceptual art frameworks in
contemporary curriculum design. Art can take on thousands of different meanings depending on
who is looking at and analyzing it. Educators can help students make better sense of how power
and oppression is affecting them on both on a social and a personal level. Weiner (2001) states
that, Integrating cultural material into the curriculum offers the teacher an opportunity to use his
or her authority to link cultural artifacts with social formations of power, while constructing
oppositional knowledge that challenges the moral legitimacy of dominant social formations. (p.
438). Conversations about imagery leads students to better understand other peoples outlooks
about art and see different through various perspective lenses other than just their own. Art is
social and it leads us to create, connect, respond to, and interpret art in a more enriched way. A
critical pedagogy of representation can be fostered as students decipher representations
including works of art, television, advertising, printed material, texts, and imagery from popular
culture. (Yokely, 1999, p. 20).

Stop thinking about art works as objects, and start thinking about them as triggers for
experiences. Brian Eno

Boundaries as a Big Idea

Critical pedagogy can be utilized to help students find a sense of self. People deal with
the topic of oppression in unique, personalized ways. Students can explore the theme of
boundaries as a big idea by looking at the manner in which contemporary artists are making
socially charged pieces that not only speak to the public, but speak to themselves as individuals.
Projects based on hegemony can allow for deep reflection as to how boundaries can hinder us
from working together as a democratic society. Observations and discussions about the following
artists and their works could lead to a greater understanding as to how a sense of self can be
embodied within social justice art works:
Collaborating artists Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla create experimental art
pieces that explore whether or not ideas on authorship, nationality, borders, and democracy
adequately describe todays increasingly global and consumerist society. (Art21, 2007). In
1998, they began an interactive installation called Chalk that urges people on the street to draw
and write along the sidewalks with 64 inch pieces of chalk (Figure 1). It has elicited political
remarks from participants as the one of the sites this project was positioned was near a public
parliament building. Allora and Calzadilla intentionally chose their medium as a symbolic
metaphor stating, We were interested in the matter-of-factness of what chalk is- a toolsomething you find in the classroom. But its also a geological substance, found naturally in the
earth. Because of its nature, it is ephemeral and fragile. Its a beautiful white form, minimal
looking and very clean- but paradoxically its also something that can have a connotation of

something dirty because it is used to mark a surface. (Art21, 2007). Their work, Chalk, has
become an ongoing, thought provoking event that promotes freedom of speech.

Figure 1: Chalk (Lima)

Contemporary artist, Carrie Mae Weems, primarily uses photography to create social
commentary, and has been active in this pursuit for three decades. She combines typography,
textiles, audio, and digital images to raise awareness about oppression. Her permanent
installation, The Hampton Project (Figure 2) created in 2000, knits her concerns about
individual identity, class, assimilation, education, and the legacy of slavery into a series of
photographic banners that force viewers to reassess their own moral and ethical boundaries, as
well as the political and socioeconomic realities of twentieth-century America. (WCMA, 2007,
para 1).

Figure 2: The Hampton Project

Known for his art activism projects, artist Ai Weiwei, seeks to create social change in
China. His recent installation Fairytale (Figure 3), featured in the Documenta 12 exhibition,
may not seem like an artistic feat at first glance as it mimics the surroundings one might see in a
dormitory. However, many might say that WeiWei found a way to blur the lines between art and
reality as he invited (and paid for) 1001 Chinese people of all different backgrounds to vacation
within this space that was stationed in Kassel Germany. Those selected were actually
documented and became part of the artistic experiment. For many of the participants it would be
the first time that they had felt a sense of freedom as they began to travel and adapt to their new
surroundings. Fairytale speaks on behalf of the Chinese people who were not allowed to leave
their country, for fear of global influences that would destroy their culture. (Northcote, 2013, p.
3). Many participants and viewers of the interactive art exhibit would later confess that they felt
compelled to not only contemplate their current living conditions, but their personal identity as
well. One Beijing architect who was made an integral part of Ais project said, Perhaps
Fairytale represents the boundary between the two cultures which I have now crossed.
(Freeman, p. 4).

Figure 3: Fairytale (Documenta 12)

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Conclusion
Topics based on social injustice can entail debate and controversy at times. However,
after completing this literature review, I have come to the conclusion that the positive aspects of
discussing themes based on oppression far outweigh the cons. As students begin to uncover those
things that may form restrictions in their own lives, they develop a sense of liberation and a
voice. Freedom from constraints is vital in dealing with issues that many of our youth face,
today. Many teens deal with bullying, violence, racism, gender inequality, body shaming,
poverty, and more. These types of perils can hinder the overall potential and accomplishments of
students (and people in general) as they strive for a brighter future. In order for students to reach
goals towards human empowerment, big ideas based on unfair acts must be incorporated into
curriculum frameworks. Through reflective practices that critical pedagogy offers, students can
begin to unveil the impact of visual arts and its ability to help artists tackle real world problems.
Furthermore, students who are engaged in more participatory environments learn how
collaboration can contribute to a sense of equity. By studying current issues, visual culture, and
contemporary artists, students can become engaged in relevant, authentic learning.

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REFERENCES
Art: 21. (2007). Allora and Calzadilla. Retrieved from:
http://ec2-75-101-145-29.compute-1.amazonaws.com/art21/artists/allora-calzadilla
Art: 21. (2007). "Chalk (Lima)" (1998-2002). Retrieved from:
http://www.pbs.org/art21/images/allora-calzadilla/chalk-lima-1998-2002
Cary, R. (1999). Critical art pedagogy: Foundations for postmodern art education. Connecticut:
Routledge.
Darder, A. (2002). Reinventing Paulo Freire: A pedagogy of love. Boulder, CO: Westview
Press.
Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics and the social life of
art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Freeman, T. Ai Weiweis fairytale , the drive and glocalism in Kassel Germany. Retrieved
from: http://academic.reed.edu/art/courses/art301/papers/kassel.pdf
Freire, P. (1970/1992). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.
Giroux, H. (1992).Border crossings: Cultural workers and the politics of education. New York:
Routledge.
Greenwell, D., & Watson, J. (2013, November). State of collaboration. SchoolArts, 8.
Northcote, S. (2013). Art as a social engagement with reference to Ai Weiwei. Retrieved from:
http://www.academia.edu/4660485/A_research_paper_On_Ai_Weiwei_and_the_analysis
_of_his_art_within_terms_of_History_culture_and_memory
Weiner, E. (2001). Making the pedagogical (re)turn: Henry Giroux's insurgent cultural
pedagogy. JAC, 21(2), 434-451.
Williams College Museum of Art. (2007). Carrie Mae Weems: The Hampton project. Retrieved
from:
http://wcma.williams.edu/exhibit/hampton-project/

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Yokley, S. (1999). Embracing a critical pedagogy in art education. Art Education, 52(5), 18-24.