Children spend a third of their lives in school related activities. It is to no surprise that they are highly influenced by their school environment while developing. While children are developing they are creating their own identity and a social identity. The art classroom plays a large role in the way students harness ideas about themselves when alone as well as when they are affiliated with a group. Groups allow students to feel accepted and in some instances separated from others. Some groups extend outside of the classroom, such as cultural belonging and identity, which influences their ideas in the classroom. It is important to consider the communities and cultures of students when conducting critiques in the classroom because assessing their concepts and ideas about their artwork is also an evaluation of their identity.
In some cultural practices, individual creations are not admired for individuality. Some cultures view artistic creations as collectivist and ageless from the culture's values that have been passed down by word of mouth for many years. Some students in the art classroom may face conflict with creating ownership for their work and as a teacher it is important to encourage their ideas and production with respect to their cultural identity. The assumption that we take ownership of our artwork in western cultures may not be the same in other cultures. Teachers need to educate themselves about other cultures in the classroom in order to avoid stereotyping cultures and to let students embrace their culture as much as school policies allow in the classroom. Cultural identities are not limited and students must understand the similarities and differences among these different cultures to better understand visual culture whether they associate with a culture or not. Freedman best summarizes these concepts by stating that “An intercultural approach to education also recognizes the fact that individuals grow and change as a consequence of their interactions with others, and that a single person may hold membership in multiple groups as a normal part of seeking and expressing their own identity”.
Visual communities are defined by their dependence on visual culture to become established and sustained in a social context. There are two types of visual communities: heritage and interest. Heritage communities have long established histories and strong cultural roots such as tribal. In heritage communities, “visual culture is an iconic representation of the culture”. On the other hand, interest communities are formed because of visual culture. People in these communities may drift in and out of them throughout their daily lives. An interest community I am a part of is derived from the American television show called “The Office”. I wear shirts that reflect my knowledge and enjoyment of the show embracing my role in the community. However, I do not dress up wearing characters clothes like some do which is referred to as cosplay. Some children in class may find it helpful to dress up in costumes from interest communities they are a part of to reflect their values of the community. For example,a student named Jessica may want to dress up as Wonder Woman because she wants to be as strong as Wonder Woman and values her gender identity of being a female. These opportunities allow students to create a more solid construction of their identity.
These cultural and social communities have rich ties to visual culture. Critiques help students understand the point of view of artists and objects roles within these communities. The benefit to teaching with a visual culture approach is that students are interested in the topics and willing to share their opinions and thoughts. It is the teacher’s role to understand the best way to conduct a critique. Art teachers are the conductors of the classroom and need to figure out the best path for the train to take based on how much coal they have (energy from students) while considering the type of train they are driving (personal characteristics of students and the ways they work together), and how many carts there are (number of students in the class). Teachers manage all of these conditions in order to guide students while using the best method for critique. They especially focus on the way that vulnerability changes when selecting a critique method that alters the number of students that are involved. Art helps students form identity as previously stated and their level of vulnerability influences the contribution students will put in. Teachers can reduce the large differences in vulnerability among critique size by creating a safe and comfortable environment for children to share and explain their thoughts. When students share their thoughts they are able to process artwork and develop a stronger sense of identity both individually and socially. Once students make a habit of analyzing the art in their classroom, it will transfer outside of the classroom walls. Students will eventually become so invested in the way the view artwork in the classroom that they will make meaning of everything around them.
Art educators help guide students thoughts as they make sense of their personal and social identity through visual culture. Student’s ideas will constantly be reshaped by the world around them and art educators can help students make sense of the constant input they receive from visual culture as well as how visual culture can be an establishment for a sense of community.