For this Instructional Resource, the author interviewed contemporary sculptor Michael Beitz, who uses art to explore the role of designed objects in human communication and emotional experience. This column was written in response to calls for using Enduring Understandings/Big Ideas (National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, 2013; Stewart & Walker, 2005; Wiggins & McTighe, 1998), and contemporary art in k-12 art education practices (Gude, 2000, 2004, 2007; Sullivan, 2002; Weitz & Stevens Suggs, 2000). Michael's work most certainly addresses significant big ideas that cross disciplines, cultures, and time, and he does so using both contemporary and traditional ways of working, making his objects a perfect locus for exploration and inspiration in the high school art room. Like many contemporary artists, Michael works in a wide variety of media, often working on wood sculpture, drawings, mixed media, and printmaking projects simultaneously. Some work is much more contemporary in nature such as his "Body/Brick" series--which reflects practices such as juxtaposition, recontextualization, hybridity, and layering (Gude, 2004). Work like "Knot" and "Dining Table" are traditional in the sense that they involve a high level of technique/craft, are a translation or symbol of the artist's experience, and are not the result of a research project.