Marisa Sanchez

Professor Ward
Art 133
23 September 2015
21st Century Art Education Approaches: Visual Culture and Social Justice
As the fourth week of the semester comes to an end, we conclude the second unit of this art
education class. This units readings focused on art education approaches of the 21st century
while focusing on visual culture and social justice. Readings were pulled from articles and books
by Terry Barrett, Olivia Gude, and Al Hurwitz and Michael Day. The artwork created by my
peers and I was heavily influenced by the big idea of Conservation and Ecology. The second
studio of this unit, titled Material Means, encouraged my classmates and me to reflect on
social and environmental problems that we face, today. Each of us brought in an object that is
mass produced and often discarded. (Ward 2015). Then, we collaborated with each other to
create sculptures using these discarded items, transforming them into powerful visual statements.
As I looked around the room, a few students sculptures included a tree or natural aspect of some
sort as the center piece, thus tying into the big idea of conservation and ecology.
Common ideas found within the readings this unit included the denotative and connotative
meanings of pieces of art. The denotation is what the viewer physically sees. The connotation is
what the message the art conveys. Asking students to identify and describe the denotations and
connotations of a piece of art encourages a deeper, more thorough analysis of art. As creators, the
art produced by students will be more meaningful as they truly think about what their art work is
telling the world. As a future teacher who wants her students to express themselves in ways that
reflect the social world in which they live, I will give my best attempt at teaching art in a way
that stimulates meaningful art making. My fellow educators and I can pull ideas from Hurwitz

Barrett, T. (2003). Interpreting visual culture. Art Education, 56(2), 6-12.

Hurwitz, A., & Day, M. (2007). Children and their art: Methods for the elementary
school, (8th
ed.). Thompson Wadsworth.

Marisa Sanchez
Professor Ward
Art 133
23 September 2015
and Days Visual Culture in Art Education, for art projects that go beyond re-creating, as
students create art works that are, rather, socioeconomic and ecological statements.

Barrett, T. (2003). Interpreting visual culture. Art Education, 56(2), 6-12.

Hurwitz, A., & Day, M. (2007). Children and their art: Methods for the elementary
school, (8th
ed.). Thompson Wadsworth.