Aesthetic Experience

ays ago, switching channels I stumble upon a show called: "How I Met Your Mother" where the character named Marshall delivers an aesthetic experience description of pizza.

The description was beautiful and funny at the same time; it could be advantageously added to an art lesson perhaps in the form of an attention grabber in which students could successfully learn what aestheticism is all about.

Checking on FB a friend posts information about 12 billboards in NJ that will be showing art pieces by the minimalist artist Felix-Gonzales-Torres.

Once again, technology in this case the “internet” is providing information about current and relevant to the time and place in which we live.

It would be ideal if the students coincidentally were exposed to those billboards during the outdoor exhibition and then share with the class what they saw, and what they thought about it. Reinforcing the connection of life outside the school as well as the nature of inquiring. 

As a future art teacher I want to incorporate knowledge treasures that I find in mainstream media into my lessons plans so that the students relate to.

It is beneficial to stay current with technology and media so we can adapt the lessons to our technological era because the students will truly learn when they make connections with the world that they live in.

Technology is giving educators many more options to be creative, and in regards to art education; art is no longer static.

It is becoming a new vocabulary that expresses itself in many forms.

Moreover considering that a great majority of students is so attached to their phones, ipads, ipods, computers, etc.

There is no question that as teachers we need to embrace technology and be the facilitators that guide the students of what to search, set them goals, and give them suggestions.  

Technology & Pedagogy

The lesson plan I chose consists on the students creating a monochromatic portrait painting based on a printed digital photograph that is altered with Photoshop. (Other software should be available)

Once the students have their own personal portrait altered and printed they are ready to copy the image, (projector to trace should be optional!) and start painting with light values or tints by adding white to the color they choose and shades or dark values by adding black.

I chose this lesson plan because technology and traditional art merge in order to understand principles of art. It is practical and also beneficial to teenagers because to create self-portraits and choosing a color helps construct the sense of self.

The gaps that I found were essentially the lack of some technologies (software and projectors) the technology used is practical but since technology is ever changing some modifications could be suitable.

aramayospreadsheet

I believe that the technologies used to achieve the goal of painting a monochromatic portrait are practical, not necessarily essential although they are indeed very useful when we consider that we have time frames and when we have a clear objective of what the goal for the lesson plan is.

An additional technology that could be useful is a projector or a smart board to show a slide show of monochromatic works of art to inspire the students, but it is not necessary if the teacher provides hard copies.

In my opinion to integrate technology in this lesson plan not only facilitates the understanding that the students attain about color composition and depth but it ensures that all the students in a classroom artistically skilled or not accomplish a successful art piece. 

WHAT WOULD WE THINK ABOUT WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY?

Paper vs Art & Pen Tablet

Traditional art, art that is physically done in surfaces such as paper, canvas, wood, etc. and as technology increases it is progressively being replaced by digital images.

As a future art teacher I believe it is very useful to instruct my students on how to use a graphic art pen tablet so they can become more familiar with graphic design.

Please note that by the word “tablet” I mean a device or medium used to digitally draw, I would consider that a tablet is the evolution of a mouse.

The difference with a tablet and a mouse is that the tablet mimics the shape of your screen so it is not like a mouse where the cursor easily gets lost.  You know that it you place then pen of the center of the tablet you are pointing at the center of the screen.

The pen is cordless and battery free  which gives you a greater control than a mouse, it allows expression permitting free hand drawing or writting, additionally the texture of the tablet against the pen feels like paper so it is easier to handle lines.

 Moreover the tablet is a great medium because it has a pressure sensitivity, meaning that the pressure that we use in the pencil imitates the pressure we can use in a traditional drawing of pencil and paper.

The pen alone cannot do much because it requires the use software.  Usually a graphic art pen tablet is sold along with software.

Software that could be potentially benefited by the use of a tablet and pen are Corel Painter Essentials, Photoshop, Sketchbook pro, Manga Studio, etc.

Brands of tablets are VT PenPad, Wacom, Intuous, Monoprice, Huion in between others.

Digital drawing offers a great flexibility when it comes to create images.  It offers a vast range of choices and tools, it is easy to undo and erase errors. 

Using this medium to create art is one of the most versatile tools because It allows a variety of  finishes, such as the look of a painting, a drawing, etc.

digital drawing changes the technique or strategy of the artist, it teachers the person how to think in layers.  As if thinking about foreground, mid-ground, background and everything in between.

From a practical standpoint the use of digital mediums such as the art tablet allow us to create art in short lapses of time and with a small budget.  I would imagine that tablets could easily be used for minimum three school years and the programs will last maybe even more.

Through digital art the students have the opportunity to produce many more

Visual imagery than traditional art permits in 45 minute class periods. Additionally it enhances their technological literacy.

Digital art It is becoming one of the most widely used mediums in museums and galleries as well as commercial art by professionals such as animator, filmmaker, illustrators, cartoonist, digital artists amongst others.