Seven Principles

I would hate to be stuck in an elevator at the NAEA conference with Michelle Kamhi and Paul Duncum.  Then again, it might be fun.  They would certainly have a lot to talk about.  I think she would see his “Seven Principles for Visual Culture Education” as an instigator of the “attitude of suspicion” that she objects to in visual culture studies and art education today.

Paul Duncum, like Olivia Gude before him, has reconceptualized the principles and elements of art to better serve art education in our changing and evolving world.  As Pink, Gude and many others have said, technology has changed reality and educators need to recognize the changes and prepare students better for their futures.  These ideas tie into the Delacruz article about Art Education Aims, especially in the idea of tying technology and art education together with Global Civil Society and Participatory Culture, where people are adaptive, mobile and working together for the common public good.   

Paul Duncum’s seven principles can be applied to any artwork, from cave paintings to video installations, from “fine art” to outsider art.  They apply much more to the relationship between a piece of art and the viewer of the artwork than the traditional elements and principles.  I think they are much more interesting. 

Like Gude’s Postmodern Principles, Duncum’s look at more than the lines, textures and values that make up an artwork: 

Power is the top of the food chain for Duncum, and he is right when he says that all of the other principles intersect with Power.

Ideology- the ideas, beliefs and values of the maker and the audience.

Representation (and Unrepresentation) – How the ideology is presented in visual form.

Seduction- Sensory enticements or confirmation of our ideologies.  I can’t imagine talking to either of my student-teacher host-teachers about the seductive qualities of an artwork.  Awkward.

Gaze- How we look at images and the circumstances under which we look.  This is my favorite, as it depends so much on the viewer and how the viewer perceives themselves and their world.

Intertextuality- Everything is related.  This reminds me of Gude’s statement about how “making meaning involves borrowing from previous meanings.”

Multimodality- Words, music and sounds that enhance or “anchor” the meaning of images.  I think this should include smells too.  Smell has a lot to do with experiences.

These principles could be used to generate wonderful discussions about art.  They could also be used to invest layers of meaning into the making and viewing of all kinds of art.  I appreciate that Mr. Duncum says of his principles, “They are not offered as fundamental truths, as the modernist elements and principles usually were, but sources from which to create curriculum commensurate with the extent and complexity of today’s visually mediated world.”  He leaves plenty of room for evolution and changing technologies.

 

For my two images, I chose:

 

an etruscan vase which I found while working on a lesson for a 6th grade class on Greek vases.  At first I didn't think it fit with the 7 principles, but then realized they can work for art from any period.

 

The next image is from Petah Coyne, it was an installation at Kemper museum in KC last year.