Archeological Discovery In African Cave Shows that People Have ALWAYS Made Art

Science/AAAS ___This abalone shell was found with ocher and a grinding stone. The iron oxide was used as
a pigment to paint bodies and walls, as well as to thicken glue.
FROM:www.npr.org/2011/10/14/141313283/in-african-cave-an-early-human-paint-shop

This fascinating article on the NPR website sheds light on how basic the impulse to make art is. Whether one is grinding ochre in an abalone shell or making a digital image using the likes of GIMP, ArtRage, and PhotoShop, there are important commonalities in the spirt and processes of the effort. Understanding those commonalities is important for students and teachers, alike. Well worth at least a short, interactive discussion!

"Apparently one of the earliest human instincts was to paint things, including bodies and cave walls. That's the conclusion from scientists who have discovered something remarkable in a South African cave — a tool kit for making paint. It looks to be the oldest evidence of paint-making.

Over in southern Africa 100,000 years ago, Homo sapiens was pretty new on the scene. A favorite hangout was a cave named Blombos near the Southern ocean.

Archaeologists like Christopher Henshilwood have spent decades finding stuff there that our ancestors left behind. Recently, Henshilwood uncovered two abalone shells with ocher ground into the shell. "Above and below each shell and to the side of each shell was a complete kit that was used for producing a pigmented mixture," he says.

In addition to the shells were stone flakes, grinding stones and bits of bone with reddish ocher on them. Ocher is a kind of iron oxide dug from the ground that early humans used as a pigment and to thicken glue..."

Read the full article at its source:
http://www.npr.org/2011/10/14/141313283/in-african-cave-an-early-human-paint-shop

Technology Makes Art Easy for Every Teacher in Every Classroom

ISTE 2011 – the annual conference of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) was held this year in Philadelphia. There was a fair amount of technology oriented Arts Education activity in evidence at the conference.

I gave a workshop/lecture titled
“Technology Makes Art Easy for Every Teacher in Every Classroom“ which was well received. I got some worthwhile, some interesting and eye opening, and some appreciative feedback from participants. For the workshop content and more information and resources on this vital subject, please check out the following links:

General Link - Technology Makes Art Easy for Every Teacher in Every Classroom

Workshop/Lecture Description – “Visual Art has the potential to greatly enrich the educational experience of all students. However, the shortage of trained Art Teachers, the cost and inconvenience of traditional art materials and art classrooms, and fears and confusion about the need for talent have made art something that fewer and fewer students benefit from at school. This session will demonstrate how informed technology use can support and encourage all teachers to make art part of their instructional repertoire, turn every classroom into an art room, and every student an adept maker of art…”

For full description go to > http://www.isteconference.org/ISTE/2011/program/search_results_details.php?sessionid=60644244&selection_id=69577836&rownumber=1&max=1&gopage=

Workshop/Lecture Handout – This is the PowerPoint presentation that guided my oral presentation… http://www.slideshare.net/markgura/tech-makesarteasy4everyteachergura

As a conference offering with high potential impact, the session was recorded as video…

Workshop/Video (scroll down to mid-page) – http://www.isteconference.org/ISTE/2011/program/search_results_details.php?sessionid=60644244&selection_id=69577836&rownumber=1&max=1&gopage=

Alas, while the session was well received, its essential message may have fallen through the cracks. The key idea is that technology has changed the equation and made it possible for all teachers (every subject area) to now make Visual Art part of what they do with their students. However, as was easy to predict, the session drew attendance primarily of “Art Teachers”, a group who find my idea interesting, but who are not the rank and file generalist classroom teachers for whom the message is intended to have greatest impact.

There were also several Poster Sessions given by accomplished art educator colleagues that I want to list recommend here:

1) Craig Roland’s poster session was most interesting and all interested in Art Teaching in the age of near ubiquitous classroom technology should be aware of and visit Craig’s powerful Art Education 2.0 online resource:

Creating Global Connections with Art and Technology
Digital-Age Teaching & Learning: Arts

Craig Roland, Davis Publications with Robb Sandagata
Learn how art teachers are using social media and digital tools combined with the power of image making to build global learning opportunities for their students.

Craig’s very powerful web resource for educators: http://arted20.ning.com/
and

2) Deborah Greh’s poster session offered valuable ideas about approaches and resources for teaching art with classroom technology.

Digital Age Tools for Art Teachers

Digital-Age Teaching & Learning: Arts

Deborah Greh, St Johns University with Susan Bivona.
Find out about the 21st Century Skills Map for the arts as well as Web resources specifically for art specialists.

Deborah was kind enough to email me the following link which leads to numerous, valuable resources: http://sites.google.com/site/artatiste/

The many vendor displays and ‘digital playground’ hands-on exhibits for Visual , related resources and approaches throughout the conference – as well the 2 poster sessions and the follow-up links provided by Craig, Deborah, and other colleagues show they very impressive amount of available items for Visual Arts Educators. However, beyond the inspiration they inspire in me, I also see the need for a serious conversation about What’s Meaningful in Visual Arts Instruction CURRENTLY. Alas, there seems to be so much effort and interest in getting kids doing things in the area of visual arts, that the guiding questions of why Visual Art do and What in Visual Art is truly worth doing? Have largely fallen by the wayside. For all the good stuff out there, there persists a stream of what I see as meaningless “visual effect oriented, superficial activities”… think of digital coloring books and “Instant Art” of every conceivable variety. I hope to get a broad-based conversation going about this sometime soon!!! We really need it…

A Met Velázquez Is Vindicated - Brilliant Use of Tech to Demonstrate Restoration!

---------------------------------From NY TIMES online 12/120/10

Below is a story from the NY TIMES / ARTS sections 12/20/10. It's an interesting story about the restoration of a great old master painting. However, it is accompanied by 2 REMARKABLE interactive media items embedded in the online version of the paper: they are photographic simulations of the restoration, allowing the viewer to manipulate the image to see the progress of the restoration process from 'before' to 'after' - There is also an embedded podcast player of a very worthwhile (short) interview with the people behind the restoration.:
1) Main story @ http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/12/18/arts/20101218-velazquez.html , and
2) follow the links at the top of the story for more... # 4 leads to another interactive simulation of the restauration

The Restoration of a Velázquez
After technical studies and a yearlong restoration, curators and conservators at the Metropolitan Museum of Art now believe that a full-length portrait of Philip IV that has been in the Met's collection since 1914 is by Velázquez and not his workshop. The attribution reverses a finding made in 1973 when museum officials downgraded this portrait, along with 299 other old master paintings, saying they were either by the artist's workshop or a follower... for the full story, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/12/18/arts/20101218-velazquez.html

iPhone / iPad for Visual Art? Ask David Hockney

From: http://www.ipadshouse.com/ipad-%E2%80%93-the-new-digital-canvas/

I'd be interested in how the iPhone or iPad could be used to make worthwhile art no matter who weighed in on the challenge. That David Hockney, one of the world's most established artists, (and one who has made such good sense in his work by exploring traditional representation as well as pushing its boundaries) has made an important splash with it is especially thought provoking and inspiring.

Here's a short NPR Interview with Mr. Hockney about his current Paris exhibit of a body of work done exclusively on these devices. Also, here's one of many worthwhile articles recently written about the exhibit and Hockney's "iART" titled Digital Art Evangelist David Hockney's iPad Flowers Bloom in Paris.

As iPhones and iPads continue to be eyed by schools as viable supports for learning, Hockney's lead looms as having more and more importance for educators who want to include art in the student expereince. It behooves those of us who are adept at making Visual Art, teaching it, and using technology in this context to familiarize ourselves with it and support our colleagues as they consider it, too.

James McMullin Drawing Series

.....................................New York Time - October 2010

A Gazillion years ago, I studied illustration at the School for Visual Art (SVA) in Manhattan. I was fortunate to have James McMullan, one of the world's foremost illustrators, as one of my instructors. Mr. McMullan was a good teacher and provided inspiration by dint of his excellence as an artist.

I just came across this good series he did for the NY Times on how to draw. There are a gazillion (there's that number again) books and video series on how to draw, and they all include the same concepts more or less. However, it is great to see a talented artist and teacher put his own personal spin, his own thumbprint on what otherwise could be cliched. Here are the links to the first 11 of the 12 installments of this series (below).

I add this to the blog because it reminds me of the way I used to teach the very same concepts to middle school students (a gazillion years ago:) when I taught in New York City public schools like The East Harlem Performing Arts School. I was not willing to skirt the very thorny issue of teaching kids to draw "for real." Although anyone can learn to draw, the process requires so much time and patience, so much tolerance and self discipline in handling the frustration, that teaching young students the classical approach to drawing is simply not done! That, and perhaps, that many public school art teachers are not all that masterful in their drawing abilities, themselves :) I chose to walk this perilous minefield for a good few years before I moved on to become the city's Director of Intructional Technology (it's a long story :)...

I distilled the best of my drawing lessons and adapted them to take advantage of the power of technology so that literally, any kid could learn to draw and draw without pain. A few of these appear in the book Visual Arts Units / All Levels published by ISTE (international Society for Technology in Education).

McMullan links:
1)Getting Back to the Phantom Skill
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/16/getting-back-to-the-phantom-skill/
2) The Frisbee of Art
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/the-frisbee-of-art/
3) Hatching the Pot
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/hatching-the-pot/
4) The Beagle Vanishes
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/the-beagle-vanishes/
5) Mother Nature Decoded
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/mother-nature-decoded/
6) The Shadow Knows
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/21/the-shadow-knows/
7) The Three Amigos
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/the-three-amigos/
8) Plumbing the Head
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/plumbing-the-head/
9) Drawing Funny
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/drawing-funny/
10) The Chain of Energy
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/18/the-chain-of-energy/
11) Strategies to Get You There
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/25/strategies-to-get-you-there/

From 2 Dimensions to 3D with Google SketchUp

I’m off today to Sicily for a while. With a few hours to spare until plane time, I thought I’d handle the post that follows – something I’ve been meaning to do for at least 6 months…

From 2 Dimensions to 3D
I taught Fine Arts in middle schools in East Harlem, NYC for close to 2 decades. I think one of the most important challenges I tackled during that part of my career as an educator was teaching kids to draw – I mean REALLY DRAW. Over the years I developed my own curriculum. As I did this I discovered there are half a dozen, perhaps 8 or 9 basic, essential concepts that elude almost everyone, but that anyone can learn if properly taught. Among this is the representation of depth or 3D. You can support learners in this by showing them how to construct 3D images out of flat 2D shapes and connecting lines. The figure below was done in MS Word.

Actually, MS Word has 3D shapes that are already drawn that may be inserted into a composition (example below).
Watch a student who has been struggling perceptually with depicting basic shapes in 3D accomplish this easily using technology and you’ll see big light bulbs illuminate over his head! However, in the strictest sense, these drawings are not accurate because the planes (rectangles) are fully frontal. This sets up an impossible situation because if the rectangle facing the viewer were absolutely frontal, then the sides would not be visible. These drawings are inelegant in other ways, but we are talking about the training of perception here. And in that sense walking a learner through this exercise is invaluable.
Moving on, though, Google’s SketchUp (free downloadable) software will take students and artists infinitely further (example below).

I hope to return to SketchUp again and again to experiment with it and its educational potential. For now, here are some worthwhile links to explore:

Google SketchUp – 3D for Everyone
http://sketchup.google.com/index.html Student Work

Google’s Gallery of Student Workhttp://picasaweb.google.com/gallery.sketchup/EducationK12#5242246332382961586
http://www.slideshare.net/tverdegreen/6th-grade-sketch-up-projects
Google SketchUp Math ProjectsStudent Built Homes Using SketchUphttp://www.sanjuan.edu/webpages/pribadeneira/view.cfm?subpage=77265

SketchUp Video Tutorials
http://www.youtube.com/user/SketchUpVideo
also
http://download.sketchup.com/downloads/training/tutorials50/Sketchup%20Video%20Tutorials.html
and
http://www.sketchucation.com/
Lesson Plans Involving Sketchup
http://www.sd53.bc.ca/gifted/strategies/sketchup/sketchuplesson%20plans.pdf

and Misc. Resources
http://www.sharphue.com/edu
Edutopia blog post - http://www.edutopia.org/have-you-seen-sketchup
3DVinci Teacher Guide - http://www.edutopia.org/have-you-seen-sketchup

The Art of Vocabulary

Wordle (a free web-based resource) is an easy to use engine that generates powerful images from the words you enter. Many refer to the images produced with Wordle as 'Word Clouds'. I believe the thinkingstudents put into planning a producing a Wordle image on a theme would make a wonderful activity that offers the potential for great art learning as well as foster literacy skills.

Images can be manipulated in many ways and users can develop intuitive techniques for producing images, just as one would using any other medium to make art. It requires no registration. Once an image is created it can be submitted to the Wordle website gallery and/or a screen capture can be taken of it for use elsewhere (i.e. a Picasa Web Gallery). Here's a sample I created in roughly 10 minutes. Find Wordle @ http://www.wordle.net/