A practical resource to help educators teach about current art and integrate its philosophy and methods into the K-12 classroom. The authors provide a framework that looks at art through the lens of nine themes, highlighting the conceptual aspects of art and connecting disparate forms of expression.

Contents Acknowledgments viii Introduction 1 Reflections From Anne Thulson 1 Reflections From Connie Stewart 1 Reflections From Julia Marshall 2 About This Book 2 PART I: Overview of Contemporary Art and Links to Education 1 Contemporary Art 7 Julia Marshall Characteristics of Contemporary Art 7 Final Thoughts 12 2 Exploding the Canon 14 Anne Thulson The Canon 14 Enlarging the Canon 15 3 Curating Artists for the Classroom 16 Anne Thulson Researching: A Sustainable Practice 16 Looking at the Criteria Through Eightmile Whisper 17 Editing: Covering Up to Uncover 19 Archiving 20 Combining 20 Sharing 24 PART II: Themes in Contemporary Art 4 We Need to Know About That! 27 Connie Stewart The Purpose of Teaching With Themes 27 Summary of the Themes 27 Conclusion 28 5 Exploring Contemporary Art Through Themes 29 THEME 1: Self and Others 29 Jorge Lucero Emphasizing Relationships 29 Contemporary Art With a Focus on Relationships 30 Guide to Teaching Theme 1 33 THEME 2: Science, Nature, and the Earth 34 Trena Noval Contemporary Art That Spans Art and Science 34 Mutual Processes and Their Value 34 Artists Who Explore Nature and Science 34 Guide to Teaching Theme 2 37 THEME 3: The Everyday 38 Connie Stewart Artists and The Everyday 38 Guide to Teaching Theme 3 41 THEME 4: Space and Place 42 Rachael Delaney Artists, Place, and Space 43 Conclusion 44 Guide to Teaching Theme 4 45 THEME 5: Power 46 Pamela Harris Lawton Recognizing Power 46 Powerful Artists and Artworks 47 Guide to Teaching Theme 5 50 THEME 6: Popular Culture 51 Lisa Hochtritt Using Popular Culture in Art 51 Artists Who Connect to Popular Culture 52 Guide to Teaching Theme 6 54 THEME 7: Work 55 Connie Stewart Artists and Work 55 Guide to Teaching Theme 7 59 THEME 8: Time and Change 60 Paulina Camacho Valencia Embracing Constant Flux 60 Art, Time, and Change 60 Conclusion 62 Guide to Teaching Theme 8 63 THEME 9: Inheritance 64 Julia Marshall Historical Forms and Memes Convey Ideas 64 History Is the Subject 64 Artists and Inheritance 65 Guide to Teaching Theme 9 67 Further Thoughts About Themes 68 Julia Marshall Ways to Think About Themes 68 Mining and Mapping Themes 68 Artworks Harbor Many Themes 69 Mapping the Overlaps 72 Mapping the Development of Knowledge and Thinking About an Image 72 Finding Themes Outside of Art 74 Conclusion 76 PART III: Classroom Applications of Contemporary Art 6 Why Contemporary Art in the Classroom? 79 Julia Marshall Contemporary Art: Opening Up 79 Concluding Thoughts 82 7 Transferring Contemporary Art to the Classroom 86 Anne Thulson and Connie Stewart Strategies for Introducing Students to Contemporary Art 86 The Importance of Teacher Dispositions 90 And Classroom Practices Keep Evolving 91 Ideas for Introducing and Scaffolding Artmaking 92 8 Framing the Invisible 93 Anne Thulson Documentation: A Practice in Contemporary Art 93 Documentation: An Essential Part of Contemporary Art Curriculum 93 How to Use Documentation to Change a School’s Visual Culture 94 Documentation as a Sustainable Practice 95 Meaningful Assessment Through Documentation 96 A Way Forward 98 Contemporary Art and Students With Special Needs, by Liz McAvoy 99 9 Developing Classroom Projects Based on Contemporary Art 100 PROJECT 1: Population Growth Helper Robots (K–1) 100 Jesse Bott, Christine Loehr, and Rachael Delaney Concepts 100 Understanding Goals 101 What Happened 101 Field Trip and Readings 102 Artists and Artwork 103 Conclusion 103 PROJECT 2: Telling Our Stories— Symbolic Self-Portraits (High School) 104 Sara Stillman Overview 104 Concepts 104 Understanding Goals 105 Materials 105 Resources 105 What Happened 105 Strategies for Making Learning Visible and Supporting Artmaking 106 The Power of the Graphic Memoir 106 Reflections 107 Contemporary Art (Middle School) 107 Lindsey Shepard Overview 107 Concepts 107 Understanding Goals 107 Materials 107 What Happened/Teaching and Learning Strategies 108 Making Learning Visible 108 An Example: Danielle’s Artwork 109 Conclusion/Reflections 110 PROJECT 4: Art of Popular Culture (High School) 110 Katherine Giese Overview 110 Concept 111 Understanding Goals 111 Materials and Resources 111 Scaffolding Activities 111 Making and Doing 111 Reflection and Final Scaffolding 114 An Example of Student Work 114 Teacher Reflection 114 PROJECT 5: Building Critical and Creative Thinking Through Investigating Contemporary Art (Middle School) 116 Wendi Oster Beginning the Investigation 117 Making Inferences 117 Researching 118 Making Personal Connections 118 Applying Their Learning 119 Conclusion 121 APPENDIX A: Q and A With Two Contemporary Artists: Kathy Aoki and Yunjin La-Mei Woo 122 APPENDIX B: Artist Resource Bank 125 Credits 127 Index 129 About the Authors and the Contributors 135

“Challenging conventional notions of what should be considered art and how it should be created, Teaching Contemporary Art with Young People offers a sampling of what is out there to inspire educators and students to explore the limitless world of new art. Young people will find the selected artwork accessible and relevant to their lives, diverse and expansive, probing, serious and funny.” —Sir Read A Lot

“This book benefits art educators—art teachers, preservice art teachers, and art education professors—who are interested in teaching contemporary art and artists to their students but do not know where to begin, as well as art educators who question the value of teaching contemporary art and artists. I especially appreciate the concrete contemporary art and artists theme-based unit examples, which guide readers on design and implementation within their unique pedagogical context.” —Jaehan Bae, associate professor of art education, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh