Educators TOOLBOX
Art & Ecology


Art & Ecology:

Curriculum Integration



Perspectives of the Environment
Dublin Scioto High School

by Janet Reger

Introduction

Perspectives of the Environment was a pilot art-centered interdisciplinary class. It was developed by the students, parents, administrators, and teachers of Dublin Scioto High School in order to provide interested students with opportunities to experience an authentic and profound learning adventure. Students were encouraged to respond to different meanings at many levels of understanding The class approached environment from diverse points of view. Five disciplines were involved: art, science, social studies, foreign language, and journalism. During class periods, we explored many issues and concepts connected to student selected subjects. In most instances, the student interest leaned toward ecological issues. Individually, students disclosed individual conclusions as they designed and created works of art. The students collected an impressive amount of pertinent information. Several students commented that the personal involvement in this class surpassed any they had ever encountered.

The course moved beyond the interest of technical manipulation of art materials to developing unique ways of creating art with a message. Students spent as much time interviewing and researching as they did making art. They developed new perceptions and appreciation for real life-centered issues. The research and personal ideas were recorded in sketch notebook/journals involving traditional and up-to-date methods of documentation. The computer was used for research and to create Hyperstack slide shows. Installation artist Ann Hamilton, was a most inspiring visiting artist. She exemplified the thinking process involved in quality art work. Her visit lead to numerous philosophical discussions. A couple of the issues students addressed were, "Why do humans make art?" and "Can art serve to influence?"

Students in the Perspectives of the Environment course did not just produce works of art that could adorn the wall, but art work that stimulated the viewer to think about many environmental and ecological issues. The elements and principles of design and student-driven assessment were embedded in the instructional activities. At the conclusion of the unit, students presented their art work to the community. They presented a body of writings and visual art that supported their informal oral presentations. Time will tell if the students involved will allow this experience to influence future life decisions.

First Lesson: Qualifying Successful Ecological Art

This lesson examined contemporary ecological works of art. Students critically examined the works to decide on the initial criteria for judging "successful" ecological art. The evaluation criteria which they established, through class discussions, debates, group work and research. These criteria were applied in subsequent lessons and served to link all teaching and learning activities.

In order to establish criteria for successful ecological art, the students, with the art teacher acting as a facilitator, examined the following possible criteria:

The students used the criteria they established to assess American Landscape(1930) by Charles Sheeler and Echo of a Scream (1937) by David Alfaro Siqueiros as ecological art forms. In the end, students recorded the agreed upon evaluation criteria in their sketch notebook/journals and provided information about the process used to establish them.

Lesson Two: Examining Ecological Art

This lesson engaged students in critical examination of works of ecological art. Students used art criticism techniques to clarify their aesthetic responses by providing evidence supporting their views. Students explored issues involving ecology within a group process. They examined the different forms of ecological art. They viewed slides of ecological art and assessed the success of the works by using evaluative criteria that they had previously established. The students also recorded in their sketch notebook/journals descriptive information about each work of art they researched and explained what qualified it as a success.

Lesson Three: Investigating Ecological Issues

In this lesson students explored ecological ideas through researching the impact of local ecological issues on their community. Students worked in groups using local newspaper and magazine articles todetermine what ecological issues were confronting their community. They identified officials who have direct knowledge about local ecological issues. Next, students invited an environmentalist to class to discuss the impact of local ecological issues on the community. They also shared with the guest speaker information about their selected ecological issues. This informal conversation provided an opportunity for students to begin their in-depth study about art and life-centered issues in their own community.

Lesson Four: Installation as Ecological Art

The final lesson was a performance organized by students as a formal opening. Students invited viewers and developed an evaluation instrument that allowed them to speculate about the success of their installations as ecological art. Students used the established criteria for successful ecological art to create their own installation. At the opening, they displayed information about the historical significance of ecological art, the ecological issues that spurred the creation of their installation, and the process they used to create the installation. Students also designed a survey to document attendance and their installation's ability to make an impact on participants about the ecological issues represented through their work. Later the survey was distributed to those attending the opening/installation. This installation process involved collaborative planning on the part of the students, teachers, parents and community.







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