Name: Laura Murphy

FACILITATION SHEET

Title: Chapter 1- The Professional Field: Theorizing Visual Culture in Education

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date:
Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and the social life
of art. New York: NY: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

Freedman (2003) discusses the many aspects of visual culture in this chapter. The
visual arts are most of visual culture, and Freedman covers the common misconceptions
of an education of visual culture. This means that visual arts education spans art in muse-
ums as much as the art that surrounds students (p. 2). Freedman also discusses the impact
of visual culture on identity, the importance of representation by including many visual
cultures in the art classroom, and considering visual culture as part of the everyday expe-
rience.

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

Freedman (2003) discusses the evolution of the visual arts to include visual cul-
ture. She expresses this by saying:

What was once considered an elite and isolated form of human production is
becoming increasingly realized as part of daily life. The visual arts are expanding
not only in their forms, but in their influence through connections to the range of
social issues, including social issues not always thought of as social in character,
such as ecology and conception of self (p. 1).

This framework establishes visual culture in the arts classroom as far more than the typi-
cal visual arts. It pushes the boundaries and calls on teachers and students to be critical
thinkers and agents of social change. While touching on identity, Freedman goes on to
say, “An important educational aspect of visual culture is its effect on identity, in terms of
both art-making and viewing, which is perhaps the greatest issue in education” (p. 2).
Students are learning in school, which is aiding them in forming their identity because we
“change as we learn” (Freedman, p. 2). This profound changing process while being ex-
posed to visual culture both in and outside of school is impacting students for the rest of
their lives.
Due to this impact, it is also especially important for teachers to be thinking about
representation in the visual arts classroom. Freedman (2003) explains this by saying
 Name: Laura Murphy

“…understanding the importance of representation is critical because we can help direct

the construction of knowledge in ways that enrich students’ experiences with art” (p. 14).
This includes teaching the visual culture of many cultures in the classroom, this inclusion
sets a precedent of diversity in art in the classroom (Freedman, p. 15). All of these aspects
relate to visual culture as whole in the art classroom. Freedman explains this idea by say-
ing:

Fine art is still critically important but is is only one form of visual culture worthy
of study. Visual culture as a whole must be seen as real in the sense that it is a
major part of everyday experience (p. 20).

This summarizes the idea of putting the evolved visual culture classroom in a historical
context. Fine arts are still an important element to visual arts learning, but must be seen
as only part of the art students are surrounded by. This approach will create an environ-
ment of critical thinking in the classroom.

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

Freedman (2003) does an excellent job explaining the importance and value of a
visual arts curriculum. As a student who grew up with a DBAE curriculum, I knew there
were major elements of learning that I was missing, even if I could not pinpoint what
they were exactly at the time. In hindsight, I realize that my teachers were not allowing
me to explore topics I was interested in. The lessons they were teaching were also not
ones that allowed me to be creative when I so desperately desired that. This approach that
Freedman discusses accounts for a holistic curriculum that incorporates fine arts, but also
the everyday experience of the visual culture that surrounds you. The topic of identity
formation through visual culture is quite relevant to me as I am teaching that lesson to my
5th grade class right now and it is a topic I feel very strongly about. I think it is an essen-
tial area to consider when teaching in the visual arts classroom. Students are being con-
sistently influenced by their visual culture and addressing that visual culture and assisting
with that identity formation process is an important job of an educator.
 Name: Laura Murphy

FACILITATION SHEET

Title: Chapter 2- Finding Meaning in Aesthetics

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date:
Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and the social life
of art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

Freedman (2003) discusses the concept of critiquing and connecting meaning to

visual culture. The aesthetic response and aesthetic experience are also at the foundation
of curriculum whether or not educators intend that. Freedman also discusses the in-
terdisciplinary aspects of visual culture, taught by crossing cultures and technologies.

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

Freedman (2003) discusses aesthetics in art education. This has been increasingly
discussed in the classroom, which Freedman explains by saying:

Since the 1960’s, attention has been increasingly given to given to making
aesthetics overt in K-12 art curriculum by, for example, teaching elements
and principals of art and design as aesthetic qualities, addressing the ‘big
questions’ of art and aesthetics, and discussing the work of aestheticians
as a professional field (p. 23).

There are two sides to the curriculum of aesthetics. Freedman (2003) discusses that
“Aesthetics can promote feelings of righteousness, communicate vital messages, and il-
lustrate excellence” (p. 24). On the other side, Freedman explains “they also remind us of
our weaknesses… Aesthetics can seduce us to adopting stereotypes, convince us to accept
unrealistic body images, and persuade us to buy products without critical reflection” (p.
24). It is important to be aware of this duality, but also be aware of the interdisciplinary
aspect of visual culture. Freedman extends on this idea by saying “Imagination develops
through interdisciplinary and disciplinary experiences with visual culture, which are con-
texts that play a part in the extension of meaning and learning” (p. 32). When talking
about meaning, form is an essential component to meaning in visual culture as well.
Freedman (2003) connects the theory of meaning making to the theories of
Dewey. When talking about the notion of aesthetic experience, Freedman describes this,
saying “He [Dewey] viewed art as fundamentally providing an integrative experience
connecting body and mind and criticized the idea of an aesthetic that sought to separate
 Name: Laura Murphy

the two” (p. 38). It is important to note that meaning is essential to visual culture but “has
not always been reflected as so in art education” (Freedman, p. 38). It is important to note
what is being done in art education, versus what is actually being done. Freedman contin-
ually points out these shortcomings in curriculum.

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

Freedman (2003) does an excellent job expressing the importance of meaning

making in art education and visual culture. Aesthetics are also a complex theory in art
education, but Freedman explains the multiple aspects to to aesthetics and how this ap-
plies to the K-12 classroom. I found the connection to Dewey’s theories most applicable
to future teaching. In particular, Freedman describes “From Dewey’s perspective, stu-
dents were to get an aesthetic education, not merely an art education” (p. 40). This quote
is a profound distinction when considering aesthetics and art educational practice. I find
this to be an important part of my own educational philosophy as well as part of a holistic
classroom learning experience. As the visual arts expand into visual culture, it is impor-
tant for educators to be aware that the content students should be learning is the material
that surrounds them throughout their life. It is art of the past, present, and future. Visual
culture is no longer separate from visual arts and aesthetics, and Freedman eloquently
explains how the curriculum should overlap now. This is why visual culture is important
to my future classroom, because visual culture is the visual arts. That is how you teach a
holistic and comprehensive curriculum. Now it is apparent that you cannot have one
without the other.
 Name: Laura Murphy

FACILITATION SHEET

Title: Chapter 3-The Social Life of Art

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date:
Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and the social life
of art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

Freedman (2003) discusses merging art history and the history of visual culture in
a modern curriculum. This chapter covers this subject in three broad topics of critically
examining the discipline of art history, the importance of contexts and reconsidering
quality for teaching, and the future of postmodern visual culture.

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

Freedman (2003) discusses misconceptions of visual culture in education, and in-

troduces this concept by saying, “The educational challenge of teaching visual culture of
the past is not merely a matter of teaching art history, but rather the bigger issue of help-
ing students to develop an understanding of the rich social life of visual culture” (p. 43).
Freedman is trying to illustrate that art history and visual culture have been taught as sep-
arate areas of curriculum, when they actually overlap and should be taught as the same
discipline. When critically examining art history, Freedman states “we must go outside of
art history for appropriate language and other aids of analysis” (p. 46). Furthermore,
Freedman states on this subject, “Less important is the narrow influence of individual ob-
jects and styles on subsequent fine art and more important are the social influences and
dynamics of cultural development” (p. 47).
Freedman (2003) makes an important distinction by stating, “Context actually
means contexts, because no image or object has only on context” (p. 49). These two
broad contexts are production contexts and viewing contexts. When talking about judge-
ments of quality, Freedman explains “As boundaries between various forms of visual cul-
ture break down, old assumptions of quality must be interrogated, quality in curriculum
content must be redefined, and instructional methods must be reconsidered in relation to
contemporary experience” (p. 52). This is an essential distinction to be made when dis-
cussing quality in teaching. To reiterate this concept, Freedman states “In the recent past,
quality of curriculum content has typically referred to the problem of deciding which ex-
emplars to include in instruction. Issues of quality centered on the selection of objects
rather than the selection of critical concepts” (p. 53). This is an important issue to address
in the present day visual arts classroom Rather than address what art is “good,” all quali-
 Name: Laura Murphy

ties of art should be addressed.

When we are talking about the “future” of visual culture, the issue is thinking of
art and art history having a linear timeline. Freedman (2003) states, “The past and the fu-
ture coexist in the present” (p. 57). Freedman further explains this by saying:

in contemporary democracies, these conceptual boundaries have been challenged,

revealing that an education in visual culture must include an opening up of
disciplinary boundaries if we want students to understand ways in which the past
lives in the present and future (p. 62).

Academic structures of the visual arts have expanded to include the visual culture of daily
life, and the art history of the past, present and future. Reconsidering quality and contexts
are as important as our history as well.

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

Freedman (2003) really pushes the boundaries of what visual culture is and how it
fits into a traditional visual arts curriculum. More accurately, Freedman shatters the con-
struct of the traditional visual arts curriculum. The separate disciplines become one, and
the things we often consider as “givens” like art history, fine art, and judging art are
called into question. Most profoundly, Freedman states, “Issues of quality centered on the
selection of objects rather than the selection of critical concepts” (p. 53). I found this
whole page to be especially important, but that quote mostly. I wrote a research paper last
semester on this very topic. It was titled “The Right to Creativity: Integrating Creative
and Process Learning into the Visual Arts Classroom.” One of my main sources for the
paper was an article written by Freedman (2007) titled Artmaking/Troublemaking: Cre-
ativity, Policy, and Leadership in Art Education. All of this ties back to her concepts here
as well. This chapter is explaining that the world of visual arts and the way we approach
it in the classroom have changed. Subjects have merged, research shows there are new
ways we should be teaching, and it is time that we change with the time. My research pa-
per was based on this idea and on my teaching philosophy. The days of DBAE are over,
and the research shows that classrooms should be based on creativity and process based
learning. Why are we shifting to a visual arts curriculum, yet we still judge on the idea of
objects, technical, and formal qualities? Why don’t we have a curriculum based on criti-
cal concepts and creativity when those are the most essential building blocks of the visual
arts? We know what needs to change, but we will not change it. Freedman’s entire phi-
losophy and the majority of this book confront that idea very poignantly.
 Name: Laura Murphy

FACILITATION SHEET

Title: Chapter 4- Knowing Visual Culture

Author(s): Kerry Freedman

Source/Date:
Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and the social life
of art. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 sentences):

Freedman (2003) discusses the recent development of cognitive science and its
relationship to the arts. In the past, there have been associations made about the
simplicity of the visual arts, when there is a complexity to the visual arts that involves our
own knowledge, experiences, and cognitive development that influence how we view
visual culture and make meaning in the visual culture we see every day.

Short Overview (including any important quotes):

Freedman (2003) discusses the recent developments in the study of visual arts and
visual culture. Freedman introduces this concept by saying, “Cognitive scientists have
become interested in the realm of the visual arts and the relationship of the arts to
cognition” (p. 63). Freedman expands on this by stating, “Some of the processes involves
in viewing visual culture are psychobiological” (p. 63). There are many complex
processes involved in viewing art and why we believe art to be good, and why each
individuals views are different. Your personal experiences and cognitive development
play a large role in the way you view and understand art. When talking about meaning in
visual culture, Freedman explains, “The meaning of visual culture will be different to a
person well educated and greatly experienced in the visual arts than a naive viewer” (p.
68). Other new developments include a shift from Stage-By-Age to Expert-Novice
Development models. Freedman describes these by saying, “In contrast to the stage-by-
age models, expert-novice stage models of development are based on the steps of
learning required to advance from a novice level of knowledge to higher-order
expertise” (p. 72). This shift is a more natural development than the stage-by-age model.
Another important factor to consider in learning and understanding visual culture
is sociological perspectives. Freedman (2003) states, “Much learning takes place in the
context of social conditions that shape what and how people come to know” (p. 74).
Freedman further addresses this by saying, “Researchers who have studied the
sociological aspects of artistic development argue that several aspects of drawing are
connected to a wide range of cultural influences” (p. 75). We know that because of this,
all students learn and understand visual culture in a unique way. It is also important to
 Name: Laura Murphy

note that students may collect their knowledge both in and outside of the classroom.
Freedman connects all of this information by stating, “These methods should take into
account the variety go experiences people have with visual culture and how those
experiences direct learning” (p. 85). It is important to consider each student’s contexts,
and allow their experiences to be a part of their learning experience. It is also important
for educators to let students know that those experiences that have guided their
knowledge and meaning making are valid when viewing and understanding art.

Response/Critical Reflection (Include applications to future teaching):

Freedman (2003) explains a lot of scientific aspects of cognitive development and

knowledge development when it comes to visual culture. I think it is an important process
to understand as an educator that there is no “right” way for a student to make, view, or
understand the visual culture both in the world and in the classroom. Before a lot of this
research was done, and probably still, I think many of us have experienced teachers that
expect us to see images or visual culture the way they do. While there are facts that can
be discussed about pieces of visual art and visual culture, the most rich discussion comes
from individual perspectives. However, reading all of this information and research, I am
still a bit troubled by methods of assessment that are the standards for schools. It is hard
for me to know that large-scale assessments are enforced when they do not account for
student contexts, yet research shows student social and cultural contexts influence how
they view, understand, and talk about visual culture. It continues to feel backwards to me.
I think Freedman continues to talk about very important issues; I wish schools and
standards reflected her writing.