McGrew 1

Kaley McGrew
Art 133 Section 5
Professor Amber Ward
10 September 2015
Unit Paper 1: Identity
We all have our own identity; it is what defines us as an individual. Identity can
be expressed in many different ways, for instance in this unit we learned how identity can
be communicated through art. In our first studio, the three warm ups allowed me to
understand the meaning of identity and how it can be expressed. Photographs are a great
way to capture identity, whether it is animate or inanimate objects. In one of the
readings, Walker explains that implementing big ideas makes art more meaningful
(Walker, 2001). He goes on to state that art should be meaningful and students should be
able to explain and understand the meaning in order to really gain knowledge (Walker,
2010). This is very important because getting children to think critically is a huge part of
learning. Walker explains that a Big Idea is an artists overall purpose, and that when a
student can take a big idea and apply it to many different concepts, that is when they have
an understanding on a much deeper level (Walker, 2010). When students are applying
themselves, they are gaining a greater sense of their own identity.
After reading the assignments and participating in the class activities, I have
gained a greater understanding of how I want to apply art in my class. Going into this
class I didnt see that having meaning behind each art project in the classroom is
essential. There are many fun and simple ways to get children of all ages to express
identity through art; some that I might implement are self-portraits, or poems about
whom they are. Teaching children about individual artists and having an activity where
they create their own piece based off of the artist can be a great way to express identity as
well.

McGrew 2
Works Cited

1. Walker, S. (2001). Teaching meaning in artmaking. Worchester, MA: Davis.