Hitler's Art - Auctioned

On April 16th, Hitler's drawings were auctioned. I remember the first time I heard about Hitler's artwork. Around 2000, when Rudy Giuliani was still mayor of NYC, there was a controversy over the show titled "Sensation" at the Brooklyn Museum. The controversy was centered around a religious painting on display because part of the painting was made with human feces. Giuliani supported and participated in negative commentary about that show. He also had it closed down. I was attending the School of Visual Arts at the time and one of my professors showed us a video that compared Guiliani with Hitler. Hitler prevented artists from doing their work and expressing themselves during the time of the Nazi's. I also learned that Hitler was not accepted into art school. His experience of not being accepted is often contemplated as a factor that was potentially connected to his actions during WWII. Recent articles say that his professor was Jewish and I've also heard that his grandfather, who was unsupportive of his art, was also Jewish.

Now, in 2010, his art is being auctioned. Newspaper articles describe his work as mediocre, the reason for not being accepted to art school after applying twice, and that his work would be considered moderate today. Today he probably would be accepted into art school, possibly based on his potential to improve. It reminds me of a recent class discussion that touched upon the importance of who the artist is in relation to the artist's work and the artist's success. The auction sold Hitler's work for approximately six times the expected value. Collectors may have been interested in adding to their collection of WWII collectibles or might just have wanted to own the work of someone famous. I'm not surprised that his work sold and when I read who the buyers were, it makes sense. Still, I don't feel I missed out on anything and I, personally, would not want art created by Hitler.

Articles

Sensation Closed Down

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/10/nyregion/sensation-closes-as-it-opened-to-cheers-and-criticism.html?pagewanted=1.

The Auction Announced

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/7511134/Hitler-sketches-that-failed-to-secure-his-place-at-art-academy-to-be-auctioned.html

After The Auction

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/04/23/hitler.auction/index.html

NAEA Conference

I was so excited to go to the NAEA conference that I planned a four and half day trip, allowing myself time to leisurely attend the entire conference. I ended up attending 3 to 5 full workshops a day plus a few that I only attended for part of the time. It was interesting to gain insight into current research, art teacher best practices and the differences and similarities within field of art education across the country.

Getting to know some of my classmates and professors a little better was fun, including being able to see our professors in a different context and to see them present their accomplishments. Senior teachers who presented their successes were inspiring; particularly Adrienne Hunter who spoke about her successes in special needs contexts. The number of workshops on new/digital media surprised me. I understand that teachers are interested in gaining digital skills and it’s relevant to our time, but there seemed to be very few workshops focusing on traditional media such as painting and sculpture. There were, however, multiple workshops on photography, Manga and digital technology. I was happy to learn about simple ways to create stop-motion animation and clay-mation videos.

The thread of social justice was interesting, including the art that was highlighted, such as Luba Lukova’s graphic design posters and the work of Mexican printmakers who voiced opinions of social issues through their work. Current trends in education leaning towards social justice and digital media arts engage me. I think it's important for teachers to raise awareness in students about current global issues that the majority of the world is trying to address, such as poverty, racism, classism and environmental issues[1]. Traditional media is important, such as painting and sculpture, but so are more contemporary mediums of visual communication and expression. Due to visual literacy, digital media/commercial arts and the deep communal connection naturally embedded in the arts, I believe that visual art class is a great platform for addressing social issues and incorporating technology. There are plenty of artists in the world who provide art teachers with great examples/resources. I look forward to fine tuning my craft to incorporate all of these things into a curriculum in a successful way.

Overall, it was a good experience and I look forward to going to the conference again after a few years have past. I would like to go as a teacher, when I have a more specific focus on the information I’d like to gather, and benefit from a deeper exchange and networking experience.
[1] I really enjoyed one environmental issues workshop that discussed environmental/outsider art that is created to assist people in poverty, such as architectural structures for shelter and bamboo bicycles for transportation.

AMERICAN VISIONARY MUSEUM - MUSEUM OBSERVATION*

"Visionary art as defined for the purposes of the American Visionary Art Museum refers to art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself." (American Visionary Museum, 2010)

When you visit the MoMA, or even galleries in Chelsea, there is an underlying connotation that the artists who are exhibiting are superior to other artists. Although this perception is being challenged among some people, it still exists. Much of the time there is good reason for it, such as the current Tim Burton show. He is so prolific, talented and widely respected, possibly nobody can compete.

On another side of the spectrum, there is the outsider art that we discussed in class. Art made by people with no formal training, just passion, interest and time. I went home after class and watched Calvin Black's Possom Trot again, showing my husband. I loved it because it exhibits raw creativity, not conforming to the realm of academia or the art world.

In Baltimore, there is the American Visionary Museum (http://www.avam.org/), a museum dedicated to outsider art. I visited it twice because it was one of the best shows I've seen in a long time. I had to go back for a second look to make sure I could see a few things I missed the first time. It was great to see artwork that is so unpretentious. It communicates to anyone and everyone, not just a small portion of the population who are well versed in the arts and/or have read the appropriate writings. It's also lots of fun and easily accessible to children. I don't think children would need to be persuaded, or guided through how to appreciate this genre of art as much as a lot of "high art". For me, it inspires a rebelion against critique and just invites viewers to revel in the enjoyment of creation.

There were a few things in the museum that caught my eye, particularly the large sculptures, such as a large ball of bras. It was like a rubber band ball that some people make, layering rubber bands until it gets bigger and bigger, only it was bras. It was funny. There were also these robots made of metal, possibly found objects, that were moving. They were so fun to look at; almost like giant children's toys. There were also wooden sculptures that you could move by pressing a button. There were objects outside, such as a giant egg covered in mirror mosaic and an architectural structure, made of logs of various shapes and sizes, that you could walk into.

The second floor of the main building was curated with the theme of social justice, coinciding with the NAEA conference. There were works from artists in prison, such as an Al Qaeda prisoner who created drawings of flowers. His drawings almost looked like they were derived from stencils and was interesting to see; as if it should be unexpected and we should expect something violent. There was also a series of work created by a man who was schizophrenic. During his life he was in and out of institutions and looked at as nothing more than a crazy person. After he died a relative cleaned out his apartment and found that he was a prolific artist who depicted various social issues including racism. There were many works on this floor relating to the experience of being African-American.

This Film Is Not Yet Rated

When I was doing my BFA at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) I took an art history course called "Women in Film". In the class we watched movies made by women and critiqued movies from a woman's point of view. I was introduced to the movie "Romance" and she told us that it was only playing in a small theater in the West Village and it would never get rated in the US, therefore, it would never become a well-known movie in the United States. According to IMDB it was actually banned in the United States (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0194314/). She explained to us that American Pie is fine because it's from a male point of view, but if a female version of American Pie was ever made, it would never get funded because it would never get rated. Although there is a lot of sexual content, Romance shows the female perspective, unlike other movies which are always showing sex and sexuality from a man's point of view. We briefly learned about the rating system. We learned how ambiguous it is and that it's sexist. I put This Film is Not Yet Rated in my Netflix Queue a while ago because it reminded me of this class.

I watched this documentary about a director hiring an investigator to find out who actually rates American films and how the rating system works. They were able to find out who some of the raters were and the guy who runs the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA - http://www.mpaa.org/), Jack Valenti. Jack Valenti worked in the White House before working in the movie industry. He is connected with leaders of the few major media corporations. These leaders are a part of an appeal board, as the final say when movie makers appeal their ratings.

Ratings are a big deal in the movie industry because if you don't get rated, you can't get funding. The rating system seems to ignore levels of violence, but censors sex. I found it strange that the movie somehow appeared to advocate more sex in movies. I tried to look past that at other criticisms, such as the discrimination against movies depicting gay sex. It can be the same as straight sex scenes, but if the scenes are gay, they wont get rated.

One director commented on the making of war movies and explained that war movies need to be watched by representatives from the military to make sure that they show America in a good light. At one point the movie said that the rating system has gotten worse over the past 20 years, which would explain movies like Platoon and Casualties of War. Still, he brought up a good point. He thinks that having the media always depict the military as being benevolent ahs made the American people more pro-war and warlike. I'm not sure this is true, but it's interesting.

At some points the interviews with directors/movie makers seemed to be them trying to justify why their movies should have been made instead of critiquing the rating system. The most successful part of the critique, I think, was definitely the ambiguous connection to the six corporations that not only own all major media companies, but they are involved in the rating system.

POST NO BULL - GALLERY OBSERVATION*

I went to see the show of that my former professor put together in the lobby of the School of Visual Arts (SVA), my alma mater. She used her current students and also reached out to previous students to ask them to design posters. The installation was based on advertising posters pasted in public space throughout the city, such as on a wall of a building under construction. Instead, the posters are anti-advertisements, advocating for social change. She is the professor for Graphic Design for Social Change at the SVA, a course she created.

Graphic Design for Social Change was one of my favorite classes at SVA. During my BFA, I was always admiring graphic design that was socially aware, such as the work of Tibor Kalman (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibor_Kalman) in Colors magazine or Barbara Kruger (http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/Literary_Criticism/feminism/kruger/kruger.htm). I always wished I could do work like them even though I knew that I do not have that kind of talent. I was really looking forward to seeing this show.

There were a few pieces of work in the show that exhibited talent in illustration and a few pieces of graphic design that were inspiring. There were logos redesigned to be anti-ads instead of advertising (above right). This idea is not innovative and I was surprised how big they stuck out and how much they were on display. In the entrance there were two canvases displayed that I liked. One with a B and one with an E and below the E, in small lettering, it say "be open". I liked the corner of the exhibit, shown below.

She made a facebook post to recruit people to make posters. Although I'm sure she doesn't remember me after these 10 years have passed, she somehow friended me on facebook a few months before posting this, so I emailed her and she welcomed me to participate. The assignment was to do a poster for an issue you are passionate about and she gave a list of suggestions. I have always enjoyed reading about social issues, so getting ideas was easy for me. I decided to look into women's issues. I came across mass amounts of research trying to investigate women's trafficking, which brought back memories of rumors, facts and images I saw from living and traveling in Asia. I sent her a poster and she said she would definitely use it (below left) and she wanted me to do at least one more. I worked on a few posters and sent them to her, but they didn't really fit what she wanted. She wanted me to revise them, including the original. I think they were too editorial. I got caught up in all the information I found and was more interested in communicating that information than making a poster to communicate a message to the viewer quickly, as poster design is meant to do.

I couldn't revise them again because the semester started and I also had minor stomach surgery during the semester that interrupted schoolwork that needed to be done at home. At least she gave me credit for participation.

I think that this was the first time she did a group show in the lobby. She said that she'll never know when she'd get the opportunity to do this again. I wonder if the opportunity arose because of the increased awareness of the need for change to address global issues. I think that more and more people are becoming aware of global issues that need be addressed, such as global warming, food production, and the not-so-new desire to end war.

THE ARTIST IS PRESENT - MUSEUM OBSERVATION*

Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present is the first performance art show held at the Museum of Modern Art and it is going on now, until May 31st. After studying various art forms for years, I feel that I can usually understand what I see, even if I have to read the artist statement. She uses naked bodies, her own body, interactive performance and re-enacting previous performances. This I get and I appreciate her innovation. I was surprised to hear she has been doing her work since the 1950's. She is also known for pushing boundaries and peoples' comfort zones. I had to walk around a few times and I still did not get the appeal of her content. Perhaps because it challenged my comfort zone, rather than giving me an enjoyable experience.

There were naked women in the show. One was attached to the middle of a wall, half way to the ceiling. There were two in doorways where you could choose to walk through them. There were people with clothes on. Two were facing each other, pointing, almost, but not touching pointer fingers. On the other side of the wall behind them, there were two people, also with clothes on, sitting back to back with their hair tied together. This all seemed to be communicating something about human relationships and, possibly, sexuality.

There was a room where there was a woman massaging her breasts on video along with a few other video screens that I did not fully understand. This was behind a wall that displayed Abromavic with a pile of animal bones, some depictions of them are clean and some are bloody. There was photography and video throughout the exhibition.

After I walked through it, without being moved by much and not understanding much, I went to read a book about her work to gain more insight. What stood out for me is that the Balkans have a very different view of sexuality than most cultures and that is where she is from. "For example, if it rained too much, the women of the village would run into the field and lift their skirts in an attempt to scare gods and end the rain" as it says in the description to a previous show - http://www.likeyou.com/en/node/2923. I keep thinking I remember it wrong, but that book I read at the MoMA said that if an animal was sick a man would rub his penis and then rub the animal for good luck... or something like that. Are these traditions the inspiration for pushing people's comfort zones in regards to sexuality?

I guess she was a pioneer of shock art, since she's been doing this since the 1950's. I guess her work challenges peoples' notions of sexuality. I guess it's just not my favorite art, but I can definitely respect all her accomplishments.

The one part of her show that was separate from the rest, her latest work, The Artist is Present. The other live people are representing her past work, in which she was the live person in the performance (sometimes her husband). For this new piece, she sits in an open space in the MoMA in a chair facing an empty chair at a table. There is not much else there for visual stimulation. Her dress is simple and the table and chairs are plain wood. The space around her is closed off, but people are allowed to sit opposite her in the empty chair and interact with her. She sits quietly and stares and everyone who goes to sit opposite her mirrors her tableau. It's interesting to see the artist actually present and interacting with their audience regardless of how it's done. I guess she is a living still life that can be interacted with by individual viewers.

I guess I can say that her work is interesting.

Why should the arts increase student achievement?

There has been so much writing published about education and recently there is so much being published on the crisis in education. There are numerous vantage points and a lot of sub topics. For this blog entry, I'm going to focus on the buzz around academic achievement and how it affects arts education.

According to Rupert (2006), the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is driving the data craze. Since Bush enforced NCLB, accountability is a new buzz word and data, another new buzz word, must justify what educators are being held accountable for. This is a very scientific way of thinking and scientifically-based research is expected to be the driving force of education reform. I work in education evaluation research and our company never did as well as during the Bush years. Politicians say that the United States will not leave any children behind. We must work harder to improve student achievement so that they will be prepared to compete in the global economy. People in other countries are developing their skills and competing for our jobs. Even worse, other countries will compete with America to be the most powerful, and richest, country in the world.

Teachers are being criticized like no other professionals and student achievement is discussed as though the fall of the United States is dependent upon its outcome. Assessments are test based and quantitative. People are criticizing the movement towards testing and the push for student achievement. Much of it is unclear. Have education programs been compared across countries? What factors are included in standardized test results for each country? What are the differences in preparation for these tests across countries? How sure are we that tests tell us so much? How much have we questioned and dissected empirical research in education? Nobody questions using scientific research, developed by psychologists who wanted to make their field more scientific, for something that's questionably science.

How does this affect arts education? The No Child Left Behind Act recognizes the importance of the arts by naming them a core subject. However, there is not enough time or money to provide children with visual arts, music, theater and dance instruction. There are already 4 other core subjects (ELA, math, science and social studies) that will remain intact, as well as other subjects such as foreign language and physical education. Many schools, districts and states cannot adhere to the arts requirements and they often seem as though they do not exist. However there are still pockets of successful public school arts programs, such as CAPE in Chicago - http://www.capeweb.org/

Arts education is feeling the pressure of accountability. School administrators must justify their programs as they are held accountable for students' academic achievement. With the lack of money invested in schools, and the current financial crisis, allocating money for the arts can be a risky decision. NCLB has inspired numerous research studies that "scientifically" prove that the arts offer intangible benefits such as self-esteem, engagement, etc. We can even say that the arts enhance 21st Century Skills such as problem-solving skills, persistence, and creativity. Yet, there is no scientific evidence that it directly enhances academic achievement. Researchers are still trying. However, more and more, support is shifting to arts-integration. If the arts are infused into other content areas then students can have the benefit of the arts, while still focusing on academic achievement. The arts can indirectly enhance academic achievement and arts-integration seems like a great way to do this. Teaching artists and arts organizations are being hired to temporarily go into public schools to offer coaching that will transfer their arts skills to classroom teachers and arts instruction to public school children. Some administrators say that quality arts teachers are hard to find, and teaching artists can offer more art forms (they can hire more than 1). Will arts integration take the place of arts classes taught by art teachers? I'm not sure what this will mean for arts teachers. Hopefully when the economy gets better, arts teachers will benefit. For now, it seems as though the arts are still being eliminated due to budget cuts.

Currently the NYC DOE is trying to mandate that all children have access to all art forms. They must first figure out what arts are in all of the schools throughout NYC, which is not an easy task for them. They are currently attempting to measure the quality of the arts with a survey that investigates quantity. A qualitative investigation is just too much money. Can they really measure quantity and quality in the same way? With the same survey? Surprisingly, they, people with arts education backgrounds, seem to think so. Is it just that they are pressured for time and money? I don't know. It seems as though it all comes down to time and money.

Rupert. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.keepartsinschools.org/Research/Materials/CriticalEvidence.pdf