Chapter 4 of Walker is concerns the idea that artmaking does not center solely around technical and stylistic artmaking problems, but that conceptual problems as well. Walker suggests that while big ideas are good umbrellas for starting an artistic investigation, often it is not enough for students to create deeper and more meaningful works. Included must be conceptual problems—strategies and pathways for investigating a big idea—that are constructed by the teacher (or student) in order to prevent superficial, gimmicky work. The chapter presents 5 possible problems that can be combined with a number of big ideas: transformation, concealment, disruption, illogical combination, and opposition. Then, the chapter continues on to provide a variety of examples in how these can be used differently with artists, concluding that successful problems consider: divergent elements, an extension beyond cleverness and novelty, a direction toward meaning, and flexibility toward a variety of responses.
Chapter 5 of Walker then goes on to discuss the role and importance of setting boundaries when proposing art problems to students. Walker suggests that 2 or 3 set boundaries is better than an entire list (which can become too constrictive) or none (which can be overwhelming) and overall can provide students the necessary constraints to work more productively with an idea. However, it is not enough to simply state the constraints without explaining their function for the students. The best way to do this is to show how the constraints have been used by artists working in a similar idea. Through an exploration of artists Scully and Segal, Walker describes that working within boundaries can be intuitive or very analytical, depending on the student, the project, and the boundaries. In all cases, it must be clearly understood that artists’ choices are deliberately made.
After reading both of these chapters, I have begun to think about expanding a bit on my mini lesson 1. As it is now, the big idea is secrecy and the medium is paint. I wanted to discuss how artists use secrecy in their works in at least 2 different ways: with Dali, though symbolism and surrealism, and with graffiti artist Banksy, with process.
I think that in terms of artmaking problems, the incorporation of symbolism and process under the umbrella of secrecy could have potential to be an interesting project. A personal symbolism is very often incorporated in all artists works, and giving students the power to create their own symbols—based on their lives and their cultural icons—could be a good problem to present. In terms of the idea of process, I’m not entirely sure how I would present that to students in relation to a wide variety of artistic ideas. Maybe discussing embedded text/layers, working in isolation, using technical codes (colors, shapes, etc.), etc. could work. I don’t know, I’ll have to think about that one.
In terms of setting boundaries, I have a little more trouble making appropriate choices that relate to the project. I think that in terms of personal symbolism, a limited palette would be a good start (although there are those “rainbow color” kids who seem to embody every hue!). Maybe instructing students to create a symbolic narrative would be a good boundary. Layering, both in meaning and in the actual use of paint, would make sense with this project. However, in my mind things like scale, style, etc. would not make sense to limit due to the very personal nature of symbolism.
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