I believe that students need to actively construct their own work
in Theory of Knowledge, especially in areas where they have little experience.
Art is one of these areas. Photography is something all students can
do, as opposed to drawing or composing music. Students typically have
little knowledge of art at this point in their education, and tend not
to share common aesthetic experiences. Aesthetics is a topic which weaves
itself through discussions of all disciplines, and receives focus in
The Arts unit, which in my course is discussed right after Natural Sciences
and Mathematics.
Students have a tendency to view the concept of "artistic"
with relativism. They are much more willing to apply criteria for knowing
to disciplines such as math and science. This project brings students
face to face with the process of examining artistic judgments.
Students are primed for the photography experience through a simple
boundary setting exercise. I have each student bring something to class
which they can defend as being artistic. Students sit in small groups
and share their reasons. (Small groups is a good format to have students
challenge relativism in thinking, without me asserting my opinion as
an authority. I find it difficult to challenge relativistic ideas abstractly
through discussion and readings alone.) Students explore the concept
of relativism on their own in this format. It seems students almost
have to go through this initial stage in their thinking, before they
are willing and able to think more critically about the topic.
Here are the specifics of the assignment. Students find a 35mm camera
and a roll of black and white film. Students without cameras share with
a classmate. Students spend a class period photographing anything they
want, on the football field. The only restriction is on the use of people:
people can only be used to create shadows. After the film is developed,
students select 8 to 10 photos and present them to the class. The presentation
can be anything, as long as it can be defended as artistic. We then
have an art show in the classroom.
To discuss the photographs, we use a 4-step procedure described by
Edmund Feldman in Becoming Human Through Art:
1. Describe the artwork without mentioning the subject matter and
without making judgments. Focus only on the visual elements.
2. Analyze the relationships between the elements discussed previously.
Terms such as contrast, tension, balance, movement, and proportion
might be used.
3. Interpret the artwork. What is the artist trying to say or do?
What is the theme? How would you explain this work of art? Does this
artwork tell a story? What is the center of interest and how does
the artist draw you to it? Why do you think the artist created this
piece of art work?
4. Judge the artwork. Form an opinion based on the careful examination
and interpretation that has taken place, based on the personal philosophies
of the viewer. Whether the judgment is positive or negative, it should
be supported by clearly stated reasons.
After reviewing Feldman's procedure, we discuss the extent to which
it is appropriate to make aesthetic judgments. Students then do a critique
of their own work giving good reasons for their judgments.
Other topics in the TOK programme naturally arise from this photography
assignment. Examples include whether art is a language, the relationships
between math and art (as many of the photographs have mathematical titles
and symmetry), artists and their intentions, cultural interpretations
of art, the role of the audience, and whether or not clear criteria
can be set on what is artistic. It is amazing how many of these topics
are brought up by students without prior knowledge that these are topics
I want them to consider!
[re-edited in 2004]
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