Aurora Macek

Introduction to Art Education

Although I have been able to identify with works considered “fine art”, and many works have been able
to elicit strong emotion within me, I am not blind to the impact that images and objects presented to me
in everyday life hold, and either should our approach to Art Education. Images presented to us in our
everyday life form and mold our ideas and conceptions of the world, and to confine our art education to
the perceptions created by a limited number of individuals would be closed minded. In order to create
an understanding of how visual imagery truly affects our development as human beings in a democratic
society, we need to incorporate all elements of visual culture into the foundations of how we study art.

Not only through fine art, but through visual culture, we can better understand human expression. Art is
a way to convey ideas, it is a form of communication that can be used to convey deeper meaning that
cannot be properly expressed verbally or through text. Art provides us a sole opportunity to connect
with members of our community on the deepest levels. With the potential that art has to not only mold
the minds of individuals, but also to draw connections with others around us, it truly has the power to
change the world. That is why it is so important to learn and expose ourselves and our children to the
visual images and ideas seen and represented by everyone in our society, as to become more
empathetic and wholistic individuals.

Interculturalism is truly beautiful in art because it is an indicator that we cannot ignore the influence
that others have on our own human experience. Even before the widespread, mass production in of art,
interculturalism was apparent in the clothing, textiles, furniture, and various other forms of visual
imagery in many countries. With interculturalism being inevitable in our world and our depictions of it,
we must implement imagery found in all cultures into our philosophy of how we treat art. With our
vastly evolving world, with advancements in technology, people all over the world are exposed to more
imagery than ever before. This fast intake of information is offering us tools we have never had before
to be used for creative expression, free thinking, and critical analysis. Will we live in ignorance or rewrite
history with our teaching in art? Will we use it as a tool to create critical thinkers in a diminishing
society? Or will we continue to revert to old habits and keep young minds idle during a time that is so
desperate for change?