Teaching Visual Culture

Name: Sydney Edmunds
Chapter 1
Full APA Citation for Author(s), Title, Date, Source, Publication Company:
Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics, and the social life of art.
New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Main Idea/Purpose:
In chapter 1 Freedman (2003), introduces us to the visual culture as an interdisciplinary tool that
shifts over time just as art has shifted throughout the years. Visual culture does not stop at fine
arts it is also about the idea of visual art, popular art, and modern art. This chapter looks at the
idea of art education through time and making it relevant and engaging for the time.
Short Overview (Including at least 2-3 important quotes from the reading):
Freedman (2003) begins chapter one by discussing the idea of visual arts in the
“postindustrial, advanced democracies” which has relation to the visual culture built into our
society. Freedman compares this to the visual culture of “mass media, malls and amusement
parks, local sculpture gardens, the internet, fashion and furniture design, and so on.” (p. 1).
Freedman goes on to discuss the idea of education as a tool of identity formation, stating “we
change as we learn; our learning changes our subjective selves.” (p. 2). If our learning changes
us with time, then what we focus on learning about should change with the times.
Freedman (2003) also discusses the importance of art education as it helps us dissever the
visual culture that we digest through out our lives in the world around us. A great example
Freedman brought up about this subject is advertisements and being sold information on product
and why we “need” them. Understanding visual culture can help us investigate these ads or not
be “fooled” by them. Freedman discusses the relationship between “makers and viewer” and the
three types of human interaction, “Face-to-face, mediated, and mediated quasi-interaction” (p. 4).
With-in these three types of human interactions face-to-face is pretty self-explanatory as
something that take place in real time and real life. Mediated would be between 2 people not in
the same location. Mediated quasi-interaction is like a documentation of sort like books, films,
and so on. The idea of human interaction relates back to education as the way the most effective
way you can teach for students to understand what they are looking at whether it is
entertainment, fine art, advertisement, or so on.
Freedman (2003) also discusses the ideas of social theory in visual culture education. It is
important for students to understand the social context in an image and may change across
cultures. In the section titled Challenging the Boundaries of Objects Freedman discusses the
importance of teaching not only about Western “fine arts,” but also the importance of non-
western or artifacts. Approaching teaching as a “humanist or social reconstruction.”
Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational experiences/or

teaching experience (Do you agree/disagree with the reading? Why? How does it relate to
your own experiences in the classroom as a student/teacher?)
As an overview for the book, Freedman (2003) dives into the content of visual culture at all
angles. Freedman set the tone for all the subjects and introducing visual culture as not only fine
arts, but popular art, modern art, artifacts, and advertising. Freedman approaches this chapter as
explanation of the importance of making art relevant for its time and relevant to the different
students that it will be introduced to. When Freedman discusses the three types of human
interaction this is a great set up for learning how to approach visual culture through different
mediums/discussions. I feel that Freedman’s discussion of art in a social context was important
as many social issues are discussed, as this is a very important aspect of making and viewing art
and subject matter. I the idea of what is viewed as fine art and what is viewed as artifacts is an
important discussion I am glad Freedman brings up because Western art is dominantly viewed as
fine art whereas non-Western and non-white countries art are seen as artifacts and acts as an
erasure for the creators of those countries. I had first witnessed the imbalance of cultures in art
history when I took a college course called non-Western arts as it clumped together every other
culture that is not Europe or America this imbalance is very harmful as it implies that art from
non-white cultures are not art but artifacts and does not give each culture a big enough time
frame to go into depth on their art.
Chapter 2
New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 Sentences):
The main idea of chapter 2 was the idea that art is more than formal qualities and aesthetic
theories. This chapter stresses the importance of “contemporary visual culture and aesthetic
theory interpretations.” (Freedman, 2003, pp. 41-43). Freedman also speaks about the
importance of education as visual culture changes with time as well as the importance of
aesthetics and looking at art from the aesthetic perspective.
Freedman (2003) discusses the importance of the aesthetic response because it is what causes us
to react to art and what draws us to visual culture. Aesthetics are also important as they
communicate different feeling and messages. Freedman discusses the idea of aesthetic influences
as “several aesthetic theories should be considered when teaching visual culture and that a
contemporary education in aesthetics must respond to experiences inside and outside of school.”
(p. 25). The understanding of aesthetics is significant, because students experience visual culture
inside and outside of the classroom and when students know how to decode visuals properly to
understand the intended meaning it creates better critical thinkers and better artist. When
discussing modernist aesthetics in curriculum Freedman refers to the model as something that
does not make commentary on sociocultural topics. She states that “this model of aesthetics does
not include an analysis of use, function, underlying assumptions, social impact and so on,
because its application does not tend to take into account sociocultural aspects of visual culture.”
(p. 27) I found this interesting as the modernist model seems different than other models of
aesthetics as it does not aim to make commentary. Under the subtitle “Crossing Cultural
Borders”, Freedman discusses the idea that artist may use shared experiences from a cultural
perspective as “The capacity of form to produce some predictable emotional responses in people
who share common cultures” (p. 36). Overall chapter 2 discussed the importance of
acknowledging the importance of aesthetics as it changes with the times.

I found this reading hard to follow because it felt like a repeat of chapter 1 in the since that it just
spoke about the importance of adjusting the way art educators teach as time and art changes, but
this time from the point of view of aesthetics. I think of aesthetics as purely the physical image
or categorizing images by similarities and it was interesting to follow Freedman (2003) through
the different models she explores in aesthetics. It is relatable in the regard that the way we
present ourselves or the fashion aesthetics we choose are testaments to what we want people to
know about us. Overall, I had a hard time following this reading and I am not quite sure I got the
point.
Chapter 3
Freedman, K. (2003). Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics and the social life of art.
New York, NY:
Teachers College Press.
Chapter 3 discusses issues of what art is represented in art history (mainly Western art) and how
this is harmful to the true history of art from a more global perspective. The idea of social visual
culture is also discussed, as an artwork can only mean so much to a person based on the social
context, they can apply to it.
In Chapter 3 Freedman (2003) discusses the riches of visual culture and that to understand them,
you first must critically examine art history. Freedman emphasizes the importance of critically
analyzing art history “Because the past is mad up of people and events to which we no longer
have access, history involves interpretations of remnants of those events and the objects created
by those people.” (p. 44). This seems to say that we cannot know for sure how things really were
in the past, but we can fit some pieces together to understand somethings. The problem with not
critically thinking about the past and only considering remnants of what we have is it often
caused by erasure of specific oppressed groups and their contribution to that time in history.
Academic art history has a bias in Western art so there is a large gap where everything that is not
Europe, or the USA is either forgotten about or lumped together in a big group.
This chapter also reflects on the idea of art within contexts, Freedman (2003) discusses the idea
of art within cultural context and how that matters when you are making judgments on an
artwork. She states that “Contexts are defined by social groups and cultures that each have an
internal logic and complex system of checks and balances for determining quality within the
group.” (p. 54). It is important to understand how art should be looked at because without its
social or cultural context the entire point/statement may be missed all together. Understanding
and respecting the culture behind an artwork is the best way to be able to critically reflect.

I think it is so important to talk about the issues with the bias in art history. Academic art history
has just started to emphasize the importance of non-Western art but still too often are many
major countries group into the subject of being non- Western. It is insulting to group countries
and their contributions to the art world so broadly. Often Art from countries that do not seem as
developed as Europe or the US artworks are labelled as artifacts and relics when they are just as
important to art as European painting that are labelled as fine art. I believe that understanding
social and cultural contexts is absolutely important in the sense that without it the true meaning is
lost and we apply our own cultural knowledge. When students understand the social/cultural
knowledge of an artist/artwork they can critically reflect on the work accurately and respectfully.
This reminds me of a meeting I attended with Dr. Sakidis, she had talked about her research with
artists from other countries and how to ensure that she had translated the artist message correctly
it was translated from and approved by the artist so that their word would not be misinterpreted.
Chapter 4
New York, NY:
In chapter 4, Freedman (2003) discusses the cognitive development of students and how that best
relates to art education. The chapter also discusses the idea of how art knowledge is built upon
through the ideas of stage-by-age and expert-novice method development, and their pros and
cons to both ways of thinking. This chapter also details the importance of sociological and
psychological perspectives of art development.
The chapter opens by discussing the refocus of the cognitive developmental relationship in art
rather than the behavioral relationship. Understanding the why and how of viewing art to
understand the developmental. Our first experiences of art and cognitive development comes
from our visual culture. In visual culture we experience both sociocultural and psychobiological
influences. Freedman (2003) gives the example of “the way that we react o color is dependent
upon the construction of the human eye and it relation to the brain, but it is also dependent on the
social conditions that result in our personal and cultural response based on the relationship
between form, feeling, and knowing.” (p.64). It is important to make the relationship between
how colors make us feel personally and what colors mean in a personal context. Certain colors
share different significance in different cultures and understanding this will only help elevate our
understanding of these paintings. Different symbols hold different significance too and may vary
in different regions. From a psychobiological standpoint it is important to look at how the brain
develops an understanding for art related content. Stage-by-Age states that by certain ages
children will be able to achieve certain art skills and concepts. The issue with this method is that
if a child has no outlet or education of art then they will not align with the timeline of skills in
this method. This method is only effective if a student continuously practices artmaking and
understanding. Expert-Novice Method look at certain steps or achievements that need to be made
before graduating from novice to expert. This would mean at any age if you are starting a new
material you would be starting as a novice and then growing to an expert as you learn to handle
the material. It is essential to take into consideration the students background before making
assessments on were they should be specific to art developmentally. The chapter ends on a
thought about the misconceptions of art. Freedman labels this as “because they learn (students)
so much about the arts in informal settings, students of all ages have misconceptions about the
arts.” (p. 84). This is important to note and relates back to the different developmental methods
as it enforces the idea that depending a student’s background their development will vary.

I thought it was so important to reflect on the ideas of Stage-by-Age development and Expert-
Novice development as they both have flaws but understanding them together can be a helpful
guide in understanding your students growth. If you are aware that your student have
continuously practiced art in each stage of their life the Stage-by-Age model can be very helpful
in guiding your students to what is next and what they are capable of. As for understanding
sociocultural context, this is so important in teaching student how to analyze works of art from
other cultures. As the art education world progresses, we move away from teaching only about
white male American/European artist. Students need to understand that what may hold a certain
symbolism in their culture, holds a different meaning in another culture. Students understanding
sociocultural difference will help them evaluate art better and appreciate it more as well.
Chapter 5
New York, NY:
In chapter 5, Freedman (2003) discusses the importance of understanding global visual culture
and how students are taught to interpret artworks. Students often taught more about the
production side of art and less about the interpretation side. The idea of fine arts in the media is
discussed, as they way we are taught to interpret art effects the way we later process our visual
culture.
For understanding how to interpret art it is very important that students understand the context in
which an artist creates artwork. For students to broaden their knowledge and critical thinking
skills. Freedman (2003) states-
“Rather than seeking the best, expert interpretation of a work of art, students can broaden their
understanding of interpretation and their interpretive skills by finding their own personal and
cultural meanings, comparing, combining, and challenging these with the interpretations of
others to increase associations and build complexity.” (p. 93).
It is important to talk about differences within cultures when students learn to interpret artworks,
it is important that they are provided with some context in which the art was created. Broadening
the student’s horizons in which they understand how the meaning of things can be very different
given the context. In the media there is a much more superficial interpretation of art as things
sold in the media are supposed to be sexual and trendy. Freedman (2003) describes an artist in
the media eye as, “Representations enslave and glorify artists, are reproduced by artists, and
serve broad culture purposes. “The artist” in popular media is a mythological character created,
in part, to symbolize public and private ideals of western culture.” (p. 102). With a saturation of
public interest sometimes influences can help or harm an artist’s true intentions. The difference
between high art interpretation and popular art interpretation are so different due to the different
goals and influences trying to be achieved.

I think that it is important to look at the differences in high art and popular art because as an art
educator not ever student you have is going to be interested in or engage with high art. It is
important for students to be able to interpret all different types of art and critically think about
cultural context. Interpretation often takes a back seat to art production which is so backwards
because students should first understand how to read an artwork before creating one. In many
ways this would be like have a student write a book before knowing how to properly understand
a reading.
Chapter 6
New York, NY:
Art education can be a transformative change in the way culture is represented. Approaching
education as a democracy can make these changes much smoother. It is important as art
educators that you are versed in cultural representation as all students are different and
curriculum should reflect that.
In Chapter 6 Freedman (2003) discusses curriculum theory and the idea of curriculum as a
process. Freedman discusses the idea of hidden curriculum stating that “Conceptualized as a
process, curriculum can refer to the ways in which students learn outside, as well as inside of
classrooms or institutions” and she goes on to say “the hidden curriculum (Jackson 1968)--- that
which is learned outside of the intentions of the teacher, such as stereotypes is also an important
part of the learning experience.” (p. 108-109). This aspect of art education is so important,
because when students are faced with digesting visual culture this is applied all around them. It is
a tool they will use their entire life and seeing that your students are applying information outside
of the classroom is a good indicator that the teaching is effective. Another type of curriculum
that is brought up in chapter 6 is sequential curriculum. this is described in the text as “A
program that is sequenced builds on previous knowledge from the educational program.” (p.
113). This type of curriculum is helpful in the regard that it is interconnected and as it builds it
will only reinforce the information the students have already learned while backing the new
information being presented to them. Students will be able to build their knowledge with what is
learned each week rather than having multiple non-related lesson.

I agree with the ideas of chapter 6 as I believe that in most subject areas but especially in the
visual arts, it is so important that students experience the hidden curriculum outside of the
classroom and I think with effective teaching they will as we are taught to relate our lesson plans
to the visual culture of students and they can apply what they have learned and apply it to the
outside world. I believe that the sequential curriculum is also important as it shows students why
they are learning something while reinforcing the information they have already learned. I am
thinking that jumping from one topic to the next helps students stay engaged. I would use both
styles of curriculum in my own teaching because I think it would help the student stay engaged
in their learning as well as show them the relevance of their teaching. This style of curriculum
also helps promotes critical thinking skills in students, which is important and helpful in all
subjects of life.
Chapter 7
New York, NY:
Chapter 7 dives deep into the visual culture students experience from technology like video
games, television, and graphic design. This chapter discusses how these specific providers of
visual culture influence students and how students also influence visual culture.
In this chapter Freedman (2003) discussing technology and its impact on visual culture. She
wrote about one example, the Blair Witch Project’s inventiveness about how they shot they film
and how they advertised for it. Freedman states that, “They plastered college campuses with
flyers about the “missing students” just prior to the end of the school before the summer release
of the film, so that the students would go off to their homes… and start talking about the story.”
(p. 134). This is an example of students being provided visual culture through creating hype so
something like the Blair Witch Project takes off the way that it did and is a household topic for
that generation.
Students and technology are discussed next as Freedman (2003) points out how visual culture
become so important to use and how it impacts us. Freedman talks about film to toy market and
how corporations are not always fully equipped for what their post film market will look like,
Freedman says that the Star Wars franchise was overly prepared with the merchandise for their
films intentionally and Pokémon was under prepared for the volume of demand they would
receive. There are two sides to the give and take of visual culture, if it is presented to use in an
intriguing way, we will bite but students also choose which of the newest shows or games are
good.
Freedman (2003) also discusses the use of computers in the classroom and how they can elevate
a student learning by providing them with tools they would not have otherwise. She notes that,
“One of the uses of computer technology in the art classrooms is the generation of interactive
graphics with paint programs, video capture, animation software, multimedia systems, etc.” (p.
138). Students are able to achieve learning they would not have with out the access of computers
overall enhancing their learning experience.

I think that it is very interesting to look at what visual culture can captivate the student
population almost instantly, and what students will decide is the next cool visual culture on their
own. I think this comes down to marketing skills and the actual quality of the visual culture
trying to be sold to students. Discussing the benefits, a computer can provide a classroom made
me reflect on the SAMR Model. The SAMR model refers to substitution, augmentation,
modification, and redefinition, they are ways of assessing how technology either enhances or
transforms a lesson. The SAMR model also makes teachers think about why technology is being
used in the classroom. Is the technology adding any extra layers to the pre-existing lesson or
simply providing a newer way of doing the same thing, and how can this be assessed? and if it is
not then maybe technology is not being used properly.
Chapter 8
New York, NY:
In chapter 8, Freedman (2003) discusses the importance of what is contributed to visual culture
as an art educator. She explains how important it is that we build our imagic storage so that we
can contribute to student growth in a conductive way. The chapter also discusses knowing how
to communicate assessment to students as art is not traditionally assessed as truths or untruths,
but more often through portfolio.
Freedman (2003) discusses the idea of contributing to visual culture by first talking about
assessment. An art educator must first know how to assess student art by knowing what type of
standards their students should be hitting. These standards or targets can be assessed by knowing
what you are looking for, as “Art educators are experts who have developed imagic stores that
they rely on to formatively assess student work.” (p. 151). Through the experiences of looking at
student artwork and better understanding what goals are trying to be met it will only create
stronger art educators who can contribute to the visual culture understanding of their students. A
way to promote stronger diversity in visual culture for your students is to tie in aspects of group
learning. This may be in the shape of concept discussion in small pairs or groups, class
discussions, or class critiques. When students can understand they way that their art may read
differently to someone with different lived experience they more they can refine their art to the
message the intended or vice versa. Freedman notes that, “Art curriculum has been shaped by
such a conception of individualism through the interests of national agendas and beliefs about
what is just in several ways.” (p.158). Freedman discusses the diversity within what may vary
school to school or, even student to student.

I enjoyed this chapter as I feel it had set clear guidelines for some of the responsibilities of being
an art educator. It is so important to know how to discuss work with students as they may being
working on something very meaningful to them and criticism can be discouraging. Students
being able to work in a group setting allows for peer feedback which can be less intimidating and
can also allow for the input of a similar demographic with different lived experiences.

Teaching Visual Culture

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Name: Sydney Edmunds

Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational experiences/or

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 Sentences):

Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational experiences/or

Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 Sentences):

Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational experiences/or

Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 Sentences):

Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational experiences/or

Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 Sentences):

Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational experiences/or

Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 Sentences):

Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational experiences/or

Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 Sentences):

Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational experiences/or

Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 Sentences):

Critical Response: Reflections and/or relevance to personal art educational experiences/or

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