The privilege of being an artist is one that need not be reserved for a select few. All humans feel the need to create, to express, and to move. The art-making process is one that involves thought and technique, but it also involves emotional connectivity. Students of the visual arts need to be encouraged to find their individual creative voice.
Throughout childhood and adolescence, students are encouraged to learn – but not necessarily to think. Memorization and test-taking skills are emphasized while creative thinking and cognitive skill development is overshadowed. Students gain a spreadsheet of facts and figures, but the ability to actually create these facts and figures is somehow left out of the equation. Art engages parts of the brain that go deeper than memorization, accessing levels beyond the cerebral, delving into the emotive.
Art develops perceptual, abstract, and conceptual thinking. A young person may not excel in areas of linear thinking such as math and science, or athletics, such as gymnastics and football. This student may have one or all of the skills involved that are essential to the art-making process. Developing these skills and modes of thinking in all students allow them to not only find their own creative pathway in the visual arts but to engage their entire brain in ways that will enable them to excel in other disciplines as well. The well-rounded academic mind is better prepared to succeed in all regards of life.
Humans are inclined to want right and wrong answers. In art, as in most parts of life, there is often not an absolute right or an absolute wrong. The ability to analyze, envision, and to weigh possible outcomes are all signs of a person better suited to not only function, but to understand and to move the world.
“The thing that’s important to know is that you never know…
You’re always sort of feeling your way.”
-- Diane Arbus
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