Many of the paintings of 20th-century American artist Philip C. Curtis defy clear classification. Curtis's artworks often show dreamlike and fantastical qualities and are therefore frequently pigeonholed as Surrealistic. While this classification is not completely erroneous, it fails to acknowledge some subtle differences between Curtis's artwork…

"Artist-Teacher" is a powerful and frequently used term in the fields of art, museum studies, art history, and art education. Art educators typically use the term to describe their dual practice or to emphasize the importance of art production in relation to their teaching. In this article, the author reviews historical uses of the term…

When displayed in museums and classrooms, Renaissance-era (1420-1600) painting, architecture, and drawing masterworks are often decontextualized from the social reality of the Academy system under which they were produced. For centuries, the artworks of the Italian Renaissance have seduced viewers with technical mastery, exquisite pigments, and…

Ideas are starting points-for thought, discussion, reading, viewing, writing, and making. The two "brainstorms on paper" presented in this article illustrate how taking an idea and examining it from an artistic point of view can generate thematic starting points to help teachers and students connect the visual arts to ideas that ripple across the…

A result of the industrial age was a short-lived but powerful new American art movement called Precisionism, most evident in painting, but visible also in drawing, photography, and print-making, focusing on industrial and mechanical subjects. Precisionism originated in the 1920s, allied with European Cubism's fascination with shape and geometric…

Last year these authors addressed an issue in these pages that echoed Linda Nochlin 's (1971) haunting question, "Why have there been no great women artists?" (Clark, Folgo, & Pichette, 2005). That essay examined the question, "Have there now been any great women artists?" through a study of art history textbooks primarily written for college…

There is plenty of literature, including exhibition catalogues, journal articles, and books written for those interested in learning and teaching about African art. Information on individual artists from the countries of Africa is also increasing. These sources attempt to highlight the artists' lives, education, working conditions and what they…

While artists and academics have produced a wide range of work trying to understand national and individual identity, very little has been written about the experiences of student artists as they work to make sense of their particular political, social, and artistic identities and put them to work in the world. This article takes up that question,…

In this article, the authors focus on the degree to which women artists have been brought into the mainstream of art history by art historians in their textbooks. They then examine the characteristics of art historians who have been most and least likely to admit women into their versions of art history, and discuss how the definition of art…

In this article, the author takes a look back at several scholars of the 1960s (Vincent Lanier, June King McFee, and Corita Kent) and their contributions to the discussion of visual culture in art education. He asserts that, though these scholars were not successful in implementing changes within their own time, their ideas provide powerful…

If we hope to make history more relevant in art education, it behooves us to re-examine current historiographic techniques and interpretations. In dealing with the historical dimension of environmental design, three areas of concern are considered: 1) the lack of published works integrating design areas, 2) selective interpreting of environmental…

Takes issue with two concepts of teaching art history in elementary and secondary schools, reveals selected resources which are readily available for teaching art history, and makes recommendations for the implementation of art history programs where they do not exist and for the improvement of programs where they are to be already found.…

Offers an art lesson for grades K-3 based on an early 19th century sculpture of the head of a Benin Queen. Presents background on the relevance of Queen Mother's position in Benin culture. Discusses importance of regalia and scarification associated with Benin heads. Includes suggestions for classroom activities. (BR)

Presents an art lesson for grades 4 through 6 based on the wooden sculpture entitled Daruma. Daruma was the founder of religion of Zen Buddhism. The lesson's goals are to introduce student to Buddhist legends and to cultivate respect for a culture different from their own. (BR)

Offers an art lesson designed to introduce junior high school students to a Shiva sculpture and to Hindu symbolism. The lesson is based on a full-color photograph of a 500 year-old bronze sculpture entitled Shiva Nataraja, King of Dancers. (BR)