About the book: This volume has been brought together to generate new ideas and provoke discussion about what constitutes arts education in the twenty-first century, both within the institution and beyond. Art, Artists and Pedagogy is intended for educators who teach the arts from early childhood to tertiary level, artists working in the community, or those studying arts in education from undergraduate to Masters or PhD level. From the outset, this book is not only about arts in practice but also about what distinguishes the ‘arts’ in education. Exploring two different philosophies of education, the book asks what the purpose of the arts is in education in the twenty-first century. With specific reference to the work of Gert Biesta, questions are asked as to the relation of the arts to the world and what kind of society we may wish to envisage. The second philosophical set of ideas comes from Deleuze and Guattari, looking in more depth at how we configure art, the artist and the role played by the state and global capital in deciding on what art education has become. This book provides educators with new ways to engage with arts, focusing specifically on art, music, dance, drama and film studies. At a time when many teachers are looking for a means to re-assert the role of the arts in education this text provides many answers with reference to case studies and in-depth arguments from some of the world’s leading academics in the arts, philosophy and education.
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In clinical practice, formal elements of art products are regularly used in art therapy observation to obtain insight into clients’ mental health and provide directions for further treatment. Due to the diversity of formal elements used in existing studies and the inconsistency in the interpretation, it is unclear which formal elements contribute to insight into clients’ mental health. In this qualitative study using Constructivist Grounded Theory, eight art therapists were interviewed in-depth to identify which formal elements they observe, how they describe mental health and how they associate formal elements with mental health. Findings of this study show that art therapists in this study observe the combination of movement, dynamic, contour and repetition (i.e., primary formal elements) with mixture of color, figuration and color saturation (i.e., secondary formal elements). Primary and secondary elements interacting together construct the structure and variation of the art product. Art therapists rarely interpret these formal elements in terms of symptoms or diagnosis. Instead, they use concepts such as balance and adaptability (i.e., self-management, openness, flexibility, and creativity). They associate balance, specifically being out of balance, with the severity of the clients’ problem and adaptability with clients’ strengths and resources. In the conclusion of the article we discuss the findings’ implications for practice and further research.
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Formal elements are often used in art therapy assessment. The assumption is that formal elements are observable aspects of the art product that allow reliable and valid assessment of clients’ mental health. Most of the existing art therapy assessment instruments are based on clinical expertise. Therefore, it is not clear to what degree these instruments are restricted to formal elements. Other aspects might also be included, such as clinical expertise of the therapist. This raises the question of whether and how formal elements as observable aspects of the art product are related to clients’ mental health. To answer this question, four studies are presented that look at: (1) a meta-theoretical description of formal elements; (2) operationalization of these formal elements so they can be analyzed reliably in clients’ art products; (3) establishment of reliable and clinically relevant formal elements; (4) the relationship between formal elements and adult clients’ mental health. Results show that the combination of the formal elements “movement,” “dynamic,” and “contour” are significantly interrelated and related to clients’ mental health, i.e., psychopathology, psychological flexibility, experiential avoidance, and adaptability. These findings give insight in the diagnostic value of art products and how they may add to clients’ verbal expression and indicate their potential to benefit from therapy.
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Background: Art therapy (AT) is frequently offered to children and adolescents with psychosocial problems. AT is an experiential form of treatment in which the use of art materials, the process of creation in the presence and guidance of an art therapist, and the resulting artwork are assumed to contribute to the reduction of psychosocial problems. Although previous research reports positive effects, there is a lack of knowledge on which (combination of) art therapeutic components contribute to the reduction of psychosocial problems in children and adolescents. Method: A systematic narrative review was conducted to give an overview of AT interventions for children and adolescents with psychosocial problems. Fourteen databases and four electronic journals up to January 2020 were systematically searched. The applied means and forms of expression, therapist behavior, supposed mechanisms of change, and effects were extracted and coded. Results: Thirty-seven studies out of 1,299 studies met the inclusion criteria. This concerned 16 randomized controlled trials, eight controlled trials, and 13 single-group pre–post design studies. AT interventions for children and adolescents are characterized by a variety of materials/techniques, forms of structure such as giving topics or assignments, and the use of language. Three forms of therapist behavior were seen: non-directive, directive, and eclectic. All three forms of therapist behavior, in combination with a variety of means and forms of expression, showed significant effects on psychosocial problems. Conclusions: The results showed that the use of means and forms of expression and therapist behavior is applied flexibly. This suggests the responsiveness of AT, in which means and forms of expression and therapist behavior are applied to respond to the client's needs and circumstances, thereby giving positive results for psychosocial outcomes. For future studies, presenting detailed information on the potential beneficial effects of used therapeutic perspectives, means, art techniques, and therapist behavior is recommended to get a better insight into (un)successful art therapeutic elements.
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This introductory article argues why it is both relevant and timely to reflect on ways in which art and ecology can be brought together in educational practices – the theme of this edition of Artizein. It also provides an overview of all written contributions.
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Over the past fifteen to twenty years we have witnessed Dutch and European higher art education become increasingly more international, a development that is reflecting globalisation in the art world in general. The artists we work with in many of our institutes and (master) programmes come from a diversity of cultural backgrounds, sometimes covering almost all continents.My doctoral research Global Encounters at a Dutch MFA focuses on the manifestation of cultural differences within and the conditions for an intercultural dialogue about art and artistic concepts within higher art education. The question is whether these cultural differences are made explicit within the dialogues conducted in educational settings and if and how students profit from this diversity in the development of their individual practice.In higher art education students and tutors exchange views on art and artistic concepts through regular conversations. Verbalizing what they see, experience and think is therefore an important ingredient of all the encounters happening at MFA programs: a Western master program focused on art always requires room for and installs a culture of conversation. But within this conversation, cultural confusion can arise. A South-Korean student at our institute recently described her experience of how coming from another, non-Western country, being raised in a different art context, confronted her with many underlying concepts in art she did not necessarily share or even could recognize and describe as such: “I was more like an estranged Babylonian that did not understand the exchanged language of ‘ways of seeing’ […] How can I say what I see, what can I see, or more likely what should I see and after all, what do I see? If I cannot say it, don’t I see it?” This experience is not a merely individual one. Hosting a wider range of cultural backgrounds increases the diversity in concepts and constructions that are implicitly underlying the discussions and conversations within the program. As much as we would like to think that every conversation at an art program leaves room for cultural differences to be made explicit, openly discussed and fruitfully addressed, it might be the case that in the daily educational practice many of them still remain rather under the surface.
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Research showed that more than 30% of patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) do not benefit from evidence- based treatments: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). These are patients with prolonged and multiple traumatization, with poor verbal memory, and patients with emotional over-modulation. Retelling traumatic experiences in detail is poorly tolerated by these patients and might be a reason for not starting or not completing the recommended treatments. Due to lack of evidence, no alternative treatments are recommended yet. Art therapy may offer an alternative and suitable treatment, because the nonverbal and experiential character of art therapy appears to be an appropriate approach to the often wordless and visual nature of traumatic memories. The objective of this pilot study was to test the acceptability, feasibility, and applicability of trauma-focused art therapy for adults with PTSD due to multiple and prolonged traumatization (patients with early childhood traumatization and refugees from different cultures). Another objective was to identify the preliminary effectiveness of art therapy. Results showed willingness to participate and adherence to treatment of patients. Therapists considered trauma-focused art therapy feasible and applicable and patients reported beneficial effects, such as more relaxation, externalization of memories and emotions into artwork, less intrusive thoughts of traumatic experiences and more confidence in the future. The preliminary findings on PTSD symptom severity showed a decrease of symptoms in some participants, and an increase of symptoms in other participants. Further research into the effectiveness of art therapy and PTSD is needed.
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In today’s technological world, human intertwinement with the rest of nature hasbeen severely diminished. In our digital culture, many people hardly have any direct experience of and sense of connection with “the real” of the natural world. The author assumes that when we want to find ways to mend this gap, arts-based environmental education (AEE) can play a meaningful role. In AEE, artmaking is regarded as itself a way of potentially gaining new understandings about our natural environment. As a reflective practitioner, the author facilitated three different AEE activities, at several times and at diverse locations. On basis of his observations, memories, written notes, audio-visual recordings and interviews with participants, teachers and informed outsiders, he interpreted the experiences both of participants and himself. To this end he employed interpretative phenomenological analysis paired with autoethnography.The artmaking activities researched here aimed to bring about a shift in focus. Participants were encouraged to approach natural phenomena not head-on, but in an indirect way. Moreover, the artmaking process aspired to heighten their awareness to the presence of their embodied self at a certain place. The research questions that the author poses in this study are: (1) What is distinctive in the process of the AEE activities that I facilitate?; (2) Which specific competencies can be identified for a facilitator of AEE activities?; and (3) Does participating in the AEE activities that I facilitate enhance the ability of participants to have a direct experience of feeling connected to the natural world?In this explorative study, the author identifies facilitated estrangement through participating in AEE as an important catalyst when aiming to evoke such instances of transformative learning. In undergoing such moments, participants grope their way in a new liminal space. Artmaking can create favorable conditions for this to happen through its defamiliarizing effect which takes participants away from merely acting according to habit (on “autopilot”). The open-ended structure of the artmaking activities contributed to the creation of a learning arena in which emergent properties could become manifest. Thus, participants could potentially experience a sense of wonder and begin to acquire new understandings – a form of knowing that the author calls “rudimentary cognition.” The research further suggests that a facilitator should be able to bear witness to and hold the space for whatever enfolds in this encounter with artistic process in AEE. He or she must walk the tightrope between control and non-interfering.The analysis of the impacts of the AEE activities that were facilitated leads the author to conclude that it is doubtful whether these in and of themselves caused participants to experience the natural environment in demonstrable new and deep ways. He asserts that most of their awareness was focused on the internal level of their own embodied presence; engagement with place, the location where the AEE activity was performed, seemed secondary. The findings show that AEE activities first and foremost help bring about the ignition and augmentation of the participants’ fascination and curiosity, centered in an increased awareness of their own body and its interactions with the natural world. The present study can be seen as a contribution to efforts of envisaging innovative forms of sustainable education that challenge the way we have distanced ourselves from the more-than-human world.
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To what extent do art students profit from cultural diversity within their group?
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Biomimicry is an emerging discipline that seeks nature’s advice and brings diverse stakeholders together to create designs that emulate the way nature functions, not just the way it looks. The field itself is a multidisciplinary endeavor, yet biomimicry educators frequently work alone. Pedagogical methods based on trial and error may waste precious time. In this study, a set of four biomimicry experts from diverse disciplines and different areas around the globe collaborated to compare pedagogy and analyze student work to illuminate best principles for teaching students to translate biology into design solutions, a key step in the biomimicry design process. A total of 313 assignments created by 179 different students were evaluated. The results showed that the inclusion of art in the learning of science, namely the hand drawing of the biological mechanism can lead to higher quality of abstracted design principles. Stevens, L., Bidwell, D., Fehler, M., Singhal, A. (2022). The Art and Science of Biomimicry—Abstracting Design Principles from Nature. In: Rezaei, N. (eds) Transdisciplinarity. Integrated Science, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi-org.ezproxy.hhs.nl/10.1007/978-3-030-94651-7_29
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