Name: Hansel Grant

FACILITATION SHEET (1-2 pages single spaced)

Full APA Citation for Author(s), Title, Date, Source, Publication Company:

Freedman, K. (2003). The Social Life of Art: The Importance of Connecting the Past with the
Present. In Teaching visual culture: Curriculum, aesthetics and the social life of art (pp. 43-62).
New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Main Idea/Purpose (2-3 Sentences):

In chapter 3 of Teaching Visual Culture by Kerry Freedman the main idea is the evolution of art
education and how that is related to our understanding of Art History. Freedman especially
challenges that view of art history, emphasizing that the ‘facts’ that we know about art history
are largely inaccurate. Freedman then continues to talk about how this has affected how we teach
art education; she then proposes that we create a new curriculum to cater towards more current
issues.

Short Overview (Including at least 2-3 important quotes from the reading):

Freedman in this chapter especially argues for the inaccuracy of art history and the importance of
visual culture in the art education classroom. That is not to say that Freedman does not think
looking at the history of art is not important, as she states: “Studying history helps us to
understand the cultures and societies that provide us with the conceptual locations we now
inhabit and illustrates the limits and possibilities of human behavior.” (P. 42, 43) However, what
is important is to recognize that we must look at depicted history with a critical eye. This is the
idea behind this chapter, Freedman also continues by stating the importance of visual culture in
contrast to art history, while they are both important to know and understand we should not base
our curriculum around art history but instead of the visual world surrounding the students. The
reason for this is as Freedman states; “The importance of visual culture is, in part, influenced by
the central role that visual fine art has played historically in the ways we see and represent our
 Name: Hansel Grant

world, but it has also been influenced by other visual forms that have crossed over and outside of
arts disciplines.” (P.49) This is important because Freedman accentuates that visual culture is
intermingled in what we know of history today along with being intangible in what we consider
our modern day. This is why it is important to teach our students visual culture, as visual culture
has always been a part of the world that we live in, this makes a curriculum surrounding visual
culture strong as, unlike the current art curriculum, it will not get old. Visual Culture will always
be relevant, and it will always be inclusive. As Freedman writes “Less important is the narrow
influence of individual objects and styles on subsequent fine art and more important are the
social influences and dynamics of cultural development.” (P.47).

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?)

I believe inclusivity is one of the most important things a teacher can include in their classroom,
this coupled with the idea of relating your curriculum to something the students find interesting.
Art history often mocks both of these ideals, this is because history has either been rewritten or
has been entirely written by old white men. Despite the importance of knowing history, it is hard
to teach it when we do not know if that history is correct, and when that history has no ounce of
inclusivity. I believe Leonardo is important, I believe Raphael is important, but if you want to get
students interested in art you have to relate your lesson to something they may relate to, you
especially do not want to isolate those students who may not relate well these painters. Visual
culture is perfect for this, this is why I agree with Freedman. Especially as a digital arts teacher it
is difficult for me to educate students on old paintings when that is not something they will be
working with in the digital arts field, my line of art education is already integrated with visual
culture. However, I believe it is important for the rest of the art education program to evolve and
prosper, and this means moving past incorrect history and focusing more on the art around us.
Especially as it gives young artists hope that they can become an artist without being a painter,
every magazine cover needs an artist behind it, every animation needs an animator, and not every
artist is a cookie cutter old white man.