Editorials

May 2012: Neuroscience and Creativity

Nearly 30 years ago I started teaching art lessons in my daughter’s kindergarten class. I can hardly believe that now more than 40,000 students are getting similar art lessons through the Art in Action program. As we approach our 30th anniversary, I understand why art is such a critical part of everyone child’s education: Art develops our creative and critical thinking, skills that not only increase student performance, but also make us happy! Art opens our minds to new ideas, new ideas to seeing the world more clearly, and to thinking about new ways to solve old problems. These are right-brain activities that are sometimes left untapped in today’s classrooms. The Art in Action Program teaches exactly the kind of creativity that engages children in using their right brain. Recent studies in neuroscience show what happens in the brain when we are thinking creatively.

The right hemisphere lights up. The prefrontal cortex and the anterior superior temporal gyrus get active*. We have a spark of insight. We think differently. We understand relationships and significance of all those other things we know. Art awakens the right side of the brain and sends electrical impulses that give us a feeling of happiness. Forty thousand students are experiencing happiness because they are getting a chance to think creatively, to look closely, and to explore questions with many answers. This kind of thinking will help today’s youth to solve problems throughout their lives, whether they discover a cure for cancer, or just help their own family live rich and creative lives.

* Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer

April 2012: Leonardo’s Secrets for Becoming a Genius

Leonardo developed seven principles for thinking like a genius. The first is Curiosita, or curiosity, a universal gift, the human impulse to learn more. Expanding our natural curiosity requires determination – to observe more carefully, to ask hard questions, and to question again and again from different viewpoints. Art in Action discussions stimulate questioning, even in young children. Analyzing a masterpiece elicits questions about what’s happening in the piece of artwork and how it makes you feel.

Try this: Look at Leonardo’s painting, Lady with an Ermine, and think of ten questions about what is happening in the painting. We might be curious about who the lady was, when she lived, and why she was holding an ermine. Curiosity will lead us to wonder whether she really sat holding that ermine, what she was looking at, and what she was thinking.

Share your answers with friends, a class, or your family. Are some questions common to everyone, such as, “What was the world like at the time a painting was created? What did the artist want me to see?” Together can you think of 100 questions about the painting? Be open to unexpected ideas. Follow the themes. Where do the questions lead you? You may wonder whether her hairstyle was unusual, and what fabrics her dress is made of, or whether she was a nice person. What is she thinking about? What did she do all day? Do you think the ermine looks a bit like the lady?

Leonardo also wrote about applying knowledge to enhance his artwork. In an Art in Action lesson, students apply what they have discovered while discussing the “Great Master” as they create their own masterpiece. Using Leonardo’s style of inventions, create something exciting. Draw your invention, then use oil pastels or watercolor to add details. Look back at the Leonardo uses details to make a painting look realistic. Notice the ermine’s fur, the lady’s hair, and the sleeve of her dress and how he used highlights and shading to create texture. Add details to your own artwork.

March 2012: 2011 Diamond Awards Acceptance Speech

This acceptance speech was given by Denise Shackleton, Board Chair, at the Diamond Awards on February 2, 2012:

"On behalf of our founder and Executive Director, Judy Sleeth, our staff, and our Board of Directors, I want to thank the Peninsula Arts Council for honoring Art in Action with the Diamond Award.Everyone at Art in Action appreciates the work you do to recognize the individuals and organizations in our community that work every day to keep Art Alive.

Art in Action is celebrating its 30-year anniversary. In that time we have grown from serving one classroom in one school reaching 25 students, to over 1,400 classrooms in 213 schools reaching 40,000 students. We are very proud of those numbers and we talk about those numbers all the time—the part that is more difficult to articulate is how to describe the impact art has in a classroom or on a child.

How do you measure the light in a child’s eyes when our Art in Action docent walks in the room? Or the gasp we hear when we unveil the masterpiece that we will discuss for that lesson. Is there a way to measure the pride or success that a student feels when they see their artistic creation displayed in an art show? And how will we ever measure experiences that develop creativity and critical thinking? We know that the business world values “creativity” and “out-of-the-box thinkers” but our test scores don’t reflect those skills. It is a constant struggle to show the impact that art has on the overall education of a child.

What I admire about Judy and our staff is their dedication to not only making sure every child gets a quality art education, but their commitment to keeping this discussion alive. They take every opportunity to tout the many benefits of a quality art education and to make our vision a reality.

Our vision is that art becomes an integral part of every student’s education, empowering the next generation to express unique ideas, and expand cultural understanding, and develop the creative confidence to address the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. So while our yearly goals are tied to number of classrooms and number of students that we reach, we will continue to tell our story and do our best to make sure art education is mandatory, not just an enrichment.

In our world of art education, awards and recognitions like this are very valuable and in a way a measurement of our success. It validates the work we do and we greatly appreciate this honor."

January 2012: Art Teaches Children to See

We think we know what we see. Yet learning how to look carefully at art helps us see in new ways. When children learn to look closely at the way an artist has painted a tree, they notice more details in all trees: shapes, textures, and color variations. In Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell tells us that we must practice something 10,000 hours to become an expert. We spend hours looking at objects, but to see better, we must have some instruction along the way. A talented eye notices the subtleties. Examining a masterpiece, noticing details, comparing theories, and predicting outcomes are skills young adults learn through literature analysis.

Our brains respond to subtle visual messages, such as body language. In Primavera, Botticelli painted his contemporaries in classical costumes, posing in positions that convey authority, contentment, and love. In our Program 8 lesson inspired by Botticelli, students arrange wooden manikins to express emotions. They think about their own body language and begin to notice similar poses in others. They create expressive figures. Once a student becomes aware of subtle body language, they begin to notice their own movements and how others react to them.

Art tells stories that we read quickly and subconsciously, yet often the artist has spent considerable time weaving colors, textures, and design to create a specific message. As students learn the terms and elements of art, they exercise the skills learned to create stronger messages. Stories evoke visual images that carry us into other times and places and help us see from a different viewpoint. Learning to look at art and create art enriches our visual literacy, and inspires our thinking.

The lesson on Matisse’s Fauve painting Interior with Aubergines (Program 4) illustrates how learning to look at the basic building blocks of color and shape can shape a student’s ability to see differently. Matisse contrasts complementary colors to make them “pop”, or visually reverberate. He repeats colors and organic shapes in patterns that create a rhythm. Students consider how the shapes and colors are balanced, what mood is set by the secondary colors, and how space creates tensions and excitement.

Today’s technology depends increasingly on images for both entertainment and information. Books, magazines, even online newspapers supplement their articles with images. I know people who won’t even bother to read an article without pictures. Apple’s iPod billboards make a visual impact that was designed for creative people. Using a silhouette simplifies the image for more effective contrast, focusing our gaze on the action. Simplicity intensifies impact. The colors create a mood of excitement that we connect with, creating compelling advertising. Students who have learned how to look at art will be able to add these lessons to their own visual language. Instead of saying “I want one of those", an informed viewer will say, “I’m going to use those techniques in my next ad."

Research shows that true proficiency or higher-order visual literacy does not develop unless these skills are identified and taught.* When students share their observations, inferences, and interpretations, they discover what they missed, and with it, the importance of carefully examining visual images. They begin to see that images are composed with intention and design. By empowering students to see, we give them tools to create. Students who see critically will be able to express their ideas with visual forms that are appropriate for our image-based world. Visual language is the language of the 21st century.

* Ausburn & Ausburn, Cognitive Styles

How Art Nurtures Critical Thinking

Examining a masterpiece, noticing details, comparing theories, and predicting outcomes are skills young adults learn through literature analysis. But even kindergarten children grasp these sophisticated ideas and build their thinking capacity through the Art in Action Program. In the lesson inspired by Rousseau’s Virgin Forest with Setting Sun, children imagine entering a mysterious jungle. They contrast the beauty of the jungle with the impending danger of the lurking tiger. They imagine themselves in the painting and predict what will happen. They articulate their thoughts, consider ideas of others, and reflect on possibilities. A quality art education encourages curiosity and imagination, nurturing innovative, visionary thinking for the next generation. Through art, we exercise the right side of the brain. To learn more about why this is important, watch this fun video, The Divided Brain, in which renowned psychiatrist and writer Iain McGilchrist explains how our 'divided brain' has profoundly altered human behavior, culture, and society.

Research shows that building critical thinking skills is the most powerful factor in improving student performance. “For 21st century success, now more than ever, students will need a skill set far beyond the current mandated standards that are evaluated on standardized tests. The qualifications for success in today's ever-changing world will demand the ability to think critically, communicate clearly, use continually changing technology, be culturally aware and adaptive, and possess the judgment and open-mindedness to make complex decisions based on accurate analysis of information. The most rewarding jobs of this century will be those that cannot be done by computers.” 1)

Beyond the intrinsic values of art education, there is growing evidence that learning in the arts improves learning in all areas. “Certain forms of arts instruction enhance and complement basic reading skills, language development and writing skills.” The arts nurture a motivation to learn by emphasizing active engagement, disciplined and sustained attention, persistence and risk taking, among other competencies. 2)

Multiple independent studies have shown increased years of enrollment in arts courses are positively correlated with higher SAT verbal and math scores. Data from The College Board shows that students who take four years of arts classes score 103 points better on their SATs than non-arts students. 3)

There is a link between critical thinking skills and increased student achievement in the classroom. In one study conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, assessments were given to a cross range of students in the 4th, 8th, and 12th grades throughout the United States. In his study of these test scores, Harold Wenglinsky, of the U.S. Department of Education, notes that teaching critical thinking is associated with higher test scores: “Instruction emphasizing advanced reasoning skills promotes high student performance”. 4)

Thinking, or cognitive skills, is a broad term that refers to the operation of various thought processes. Reasoning ability, intuition, perception, imagination, inventiveness, creativity, problem-solving skills and expression are among the thought processes associated with study of the arts. “A group of 162 children, ages 9 and 10, were trained to look closely at works of art and reason about what they saw. The results showed that children’s ability to draw inferences about artwork transferred to their reasoning about images in science. In both cases, the critical skill is that of looking closely and reasoning about what is seen.” 5)

Despite convincing research and strong public support, the arts remain on the margins of education, often the last to be added and the first to be dropped in times of strained budgets and shifting priorities.

Contact me at Art in Action for more ideas about how to advocate for a better art program in your school.

1. Judy Willis, Understanding How the Brain Works, 2011
2. R. Deasy (Ed.), Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Achievement and Social Development, Washington, DC: AEP, 2002
3. The College Board SAT, 2006 College-Bound Seniors: Total Group Profile Report
4. Harold Wenglinsky, Educational Testing Service, U.S. Department of Education, 2004
5. Tishman, Shari, Dorothy MacGillivray, and Patricia Palmer, Investigating the Educational Impact and Potential of the Museum of Modern Art’s Visual Thinking Curriculum: Final Report, 2002

Pissarro's Modern Ideas

Pissarro would be an environmentalist if he were alive today. His love of nature is evident in his keen observations and detailed images of the rural scenes and common people, and he believed that in rural life and nature was the hope of a better world. Through art he communicated his philosophy and ideas. A founding member of the Impressionists, Pissarro wasn’t even French. He was born on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands in 1830, but lived most of his life in France. He loved to paint the French countryside and his rural scenes balance the rich green tapestry of the farms with the figures of peasants working the land. Like environmentalists today, Pissarro sought a better balance between nature and humanity.
A leader of the Impressionists, Pissarro painted with short, broken brush strokes instead of the smooth, invisible layers of earlier styles. In the 1870s in Paris, Pissarro and the Impressionists defied the styles of the French Academy by painting common people and ordinary places instead of heroic or mythological narratives. Always an outsider, Pissarro became a teacher and organizer of these independent artists including Monet, Renoir, and Degas, and of the next generation, Cezanne and Gauguin. Painting outdoors, en plein air, to capture the effect of light, Pissarro’s bright colors and rough brush strokes captured rural life with peasants working close to the earth.
Pissarro was sent to boarding school in France at the age of 12, and there he learned drawing and painting and discovered great masters of art at the Louvre. He returned to St. Thomas to work in the family business, but he preferred to draw and paint. At the age of 21 he moved to Venezuela where he painted landscapes and village scenes. Returning to Paris in 1855, he studied with Corot and painted landscapes in the Academic style. He was influenced by Millet’s sentimental views of rural life. Pissarro began to paint outdoors, capturing realistic scenes that included piles of dirt and broken bushes, the garbage of the countryside. This realism resulted in his break with the academics.
Pissarro believed in a Utopian society in which the hardships of the cities would disappear if the people could live again in peace with the land. He was the most politically radical of the Impressionists and he supported the anarchist movement in France. He disliked government and believed people could solve problems locally by communal sharing and a classless society. This concern with class distinction is evident in a scene of two well-dressed children riding donkeys, while two children in rags watch them.
Pissarro's painting was influenced by the compositions of photography. He painted views of Paris, inspired by a photo by Hippolyte Jouvin, which showed Paris streets from a high viewpoint. The people appear as small silhouettes, part of a crowd, showing the bustle of Paris city life.
Pissarro lived in a rented room overlooking Boulevard Montmartre and captured the boulevard as a canyon bordered by trees and imposing buildings, decorated by curving branches, crowds of people, and dots of windows and chimneys.
Pissarro left France for London during the Franco-Prussian War, but his new Impressionistic style was not liked there. He saw the landscapes of Joseph Mallord William Turner and began to use impasto, thick, loose paint that gives depth. On his return to France he experimented with pointillism but his impressionist style was more popular, and he continued to paint scenes of sunshine and light. Pissarro produced many quiet rural landscapes and river scenes as well as street scenes and peasants.
A kind, warmhearted man, Pissarro had seven children. He lived outside of Paris in the countryside where he found many scenes to paint. His great-grandson, Joachim Pissarro, was the Head Curator of Drawing and Painting at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. His great-granddaughter, Lelia, is a successful painter and resides in London.