Complete Engagement: Embodied Response in Art Museum Education

I began last night's readings with the Dewey articles, which I found to be difficult to absorb and comprehend, due in part to to the complex language as well as the context of subject matter. I was happily surprised with my interest in the article regarding embodied response in art. As I was reading it I was relating it to my experience at the museum earlier that day and the connection that I as an educator had made to many of the pieces of art. I shared my enthusiasm with my husband later that evening when he had come home and told him of what I had learned. Imagine what a child can bring away from the same experience!

The premise of embodied learning as written in Complete Engagement: Embodied Response in Art Museum Education ( Hubard, 2007) is that there is a connection of the body and mind and that learners can make sense of the world through feelings and sensations ( Anttila, 2004; Bresler, 2004; Brodky & Fine, 1998; Johnson, 1983; Kerka, 2002; McLaren, 1991; Stinson, 1995). In this sense art can spark the viewer's emotions or bodily reaction but can also allow them to form interpretations of what they view. These interpretations can be based on prior knowledge or based on the logical reasoning made by the viewer. Teachers who want their students to appreciate and work outside the environment of their world, will recognize that " art pedagogy has its greatest power and meaning in its inherent possibility to combine different modes of knowing" ( Anttila, 2004, p. 7).

There are two approaches to embodied response. The first one is known as discursive approach. It is the physical and emotional responses to art. Discursive language can also be used to describe the types of feelings that are existing in the artwork. The teacher might ask how something might feel, smell, taste, sound. The second approach is known as non-discursive. In this approach viewers are provided with opportunities to link art with movement, sound, drawing and poetry ( Durant, 1996; Rice, 1995; Zeller, 1987). Within a non-discursive approach there are 5 five strategies that can be implemented in the classroom. 1. Responding with poetry. Allow the students to look at a piece of art and write a poem in response to what they see and feel. 2. Becoming a work. When studying a particular style of art, allow the students to use their bodies to duplicate or create a model of that art. 3. Creating a soundtrack. The students envision the sounds that could be heard if they could become one with the art. They are given the choice of objects to choose and create various musical sounds. Musical sounds can even be created using their own voices. 4. Drawing details. The students are provided with sketch pads in which they can reproduce what they see as pertinent representations of the artist's work. 5. Transforming paper. Students are provided with the opportunities to experiment and artistically create with paper.
My first grade classes have been frequent visitors of the Newark Museum. It has always been an educational experience but these past two days have enabled me to see the museum through different eyes. I would like to incorporate art into journal writing and as social studies extension activities. I was thinking about doing my tabletop exhibit on the Native Americans. The artwork that depicted the Native Americans could be a wonderful starting point for that unit. The students could be asked to write what the feelings of the Native Americans were in the paintings. What were their clothes made out of? What season was it? What sounds did they hear? After the students have completed their journal writing they will pair with another student and share what they have written.
Around Halloween I do this creative art activity called "Bogus Boo." I read the students a poem called " Bogus Boo" about a monster named Bogus Boo. The poem describes what the monster looks like but the students are not afforded the opportunity to see a picture of the creature. They must rely on their listening skills and their imagination. Using the information provided they must draw and color what they think the Bogus Boo looks like. I hang all of the pictures on the blackboard so that it looks like an art gallery. Then I read the clues a second time while the students try to determine which drawing(s) might closely resemble the actual monster. Then I show them the real Bogus Boo and we picked out the drawings the most closely matched its likeness. As a culminating activity the students create their own Bogus Boo and must define its describing characteristics. We play a " Which Bogus Boo Am I?" game to match the clues to the drawing. It is a wonderful learning experience because they are utilizing their skills in language and art as well as communication skills. I look forward to incorporating art into the teaching and learning of my students this year.