Artist, researcher, teacher: a study of profesional identity in art and education 9781841506449, 1841506443

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Artist Researcher Teacher

A study of professional identity in art and education

Alan Thornton

Artist, Researcher, Teacher

Artist, Researcher, Teacher A Study of Professional Identity in Art and Education

Alan Thornton

intellect Bristol, UK / Chicago, USA

First published in the UK in 2013 by Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK First published in the USA in 2013 by Intellect, The University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA Copyright © 2013 Intellect Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Cover designer: Holly Rose Copy-editor: MPS Technologies Production manager: Melanie Marshall Typesetting: Planman Technologies ISBN 978-1-84150-644-9 Printed and bound by Hobbs, UK

Table of Contents

List of Figures Introduction

vii 1

PART I: The Artist Teacher

11

Chapter 1: Historical Impressions

13

Chapter 2: Identity Theory

21

Chapter 3: The Identity of the Teacher

35

Chapter 4: The Identity of the Artist

41

Chapter 5: The Identity of the Artist Teacher

47

Chapter 6: ‘Putting Her Heart into Art’

55

Chapter 7: A Really Good Art Teacher …

65

Chapter 8: An Artist Teacher’s Portrayal

71

Chapter 9: A Conceptual Model

81

PART II: The Researcher Artist

91

Chapter 10: Research and Art

93

Chapter 11: Art Practice as Research

105

Artist, Researcher, Teacher

PART III: The Teacher Researcher

113

Chapter 12: Research and Teaching

115

Chapter 13: Action Research

121

Conclusion

129

References

137

Index

143

vi

List of Figures Figure 5.1: Three concepts of identity. Figure 5.2: Overlapping concepts. Figure 9.1: Common factors.

Introduction

T

his book is aimed at all art practitioners, professionals and students who see their practices and identities embracing many aspects of the cultures of art, research and education. It may also be of interest to those in other fields who are concerned with identity formation and professional roles and practices. I endeavour to challenge some of the preconceptions of specialisation and professional identity, which for many individuals do not reflect their complex, varied and evolving relationship with visual art. The geographical and cultural context of this study is primarily the United Kingdom, with substantial reference and relevance to the United States and beyond. The book considers the interrelationship of the three professional identities of the title. Of course we can understand these as discrete identities/practices/professions adopted by specialists and endorsed by many societies. However, distinctions between them do not always reflect the self-identifications and practices of individuals who work in these areas. Art as a cultural force is, and has been, driven by people who engage with these professional identities individually, or integrate them in various ways. I argue that forms of interaction between these identities are essential for the continuation of art as a field of human creativity and achievement. I identify and evaluate dual identities adopted by professionals in these fields. I then argue that individuals could further integrate their practices as artists, researchers and teachers in order to drive art as a cultural force through personal holistic endeavours. The initial identities of artist, researcher and teacher are based on actual practitioners but are also constructs or categories that represent the differentiation of practices and beliefs. In this understanding people both shape categories and are shaped by them. I utilise a simple concept/phenomenon to represent the three professional identities of the title, which in themselves are presented as important different tendencies of artistic identity and knowledge and skills acquisition that encompass the field of visual art that are, or can be, variously interrelated. In colour theory and the context of pigment mixing, the primary colours, red, yellow and blue can be combined in three different ways to form the secondary colours of purple, orange and green. I propose here that red represents the artist, yellow the researcher and blue the teacher. Hence purple represents the artist teacher, orange the researcher artist and green the teacher researcher. Also it is envisaged that similar to the phenomenon/concept that mixing primary colours creates new secondary colours, I suggest that the acknowledgement or embracing of overlap in these identities, for some practitioners, can result in a synergy in which new identities, thinking and practices can emerge further interrelating or integrating important aspects of the culture of visual art.

Artist, Researcher, Teacher

Three important theoretical perspectives and influences These particular theoretical perspectives are highlighted because of their importance regarding my approach to this book. I begin by briefly engaging with the philosophical notion of ‘human being’ with specific reference to Aristotle, Heidegger and Sartre. This simply locates the generic ‘being’ of artists, researchers and teachers in both a philosophical/ cultural context and within an individual’s all encompassing sense of personal being. This conceptualisation is followed by references to reflective practice and integral theory. I believe these perspectives to be important not only because I wish the reader to be aware of their influences on my thinking and style of writing, but also because they help me counter the constant dualistic influences on thinking and language, which seem to compel us to choose between options that may not necessarily be conflicting, other than through our perception of them. This desire and sometimes possibly futile attempt is born of the remote hope that we may be able to embrace difference in some circumstances in a world in which destructive conflicts appear ever present. Language itself seems often to resist integration and open interpretation, through a constant process of polarisation and dialectical jousting, and our language profoundly influences our thinking. The cultures of art, research and education manifestly have differences that can be problematic for individuals whose professional and sometimes personal lives are closely associated with these cultures. The evocation of ‘being’ regarding identity, which is expanded upon in terms of ontology as the study develops, further embraces the notion of our holistic sense of self existing simultaneously and interdependently with our various roles, identifications and differences as professionals and human beings.

Human being Aristotle (2004) in his Metaphysics was one of the first philosophers to systematically conceptualise and categorise Being and beings. He believed that universals only exist in relationship to particulars. For example, ‘Being’ itself is a general expression that encompasses particular beings in their various manifestations and operates as an overarching concept confirming existence by naming it and identifying various types of existence. In this study the beings in question are the type of human beings understood as artists, researchers and teachers. Of course the idiosyncratic artist, researcher or teacher has some characteristics in common with other artists, researchers and teachers. These characteristics are both abstract and concrete in the sense that ideas and beliefs can be shared by protagonists or understood to overlap, and common characteristics, behaviours or actions can be identified and categorised. Distinctions between the abstract and the concrete are understood here as sometimes unclear, as ideas and actions interrelate. Also identities are believed to shift and reconfigure in accordance with context, time and consensual claims regarding degrees of likeness and difference. For example we identify 4

Introduction

artists, researchers and teachers, or they identify themselves, through references to others in terms of both likeness and difference. Identifications do have both a psychological and professional impact on individuals’ ‘being in the world’. Heidegger in his publication Being and Time (1995) develops a conceptualisation of ‘human being’ that he called ‘Dasein’ in which individuals’ various relationships with the world (and others) are considered critical regarding their sense of existence and impact on the world. Heidegger also maintained that being is historically situated and needs constant conceptual reinterpretation as time passes. To understand being as ‘always becoming’ at a personal as well as at a collective level could be helpful to the individual. Our sense of our own being may need to encompass a sense of our becoming or potential to become if we have a desire for beneficial personal development. Again this relates to transformations such as those that can take place between artist, researcher and teacher. Sartre, who was highly influenced by Heidegger, in his publication Being and Nothingness (1989), emphasises individual existence as preceding all else. Human becoming is central to Sartre’s thesis as he believed we have authentic choices and therefore multiple possibilities of being that can, to a significant extent, be in our control. In this study Sartre’s claim for being from individual existence is valued and embraced although his conceptualisations of being sometimes appear dualistic in the sense that individual existence is contrasted and favoured as foundational in relationship to a determinism where human volition is controlled by universal forces that transcend the individual. Such dualism is viewed critically within this book. Although it is agreed that a being must first exist in order to acknowledge existence, our accumulated knowledge and understanding from consciousness also suggests to us that the universe existed prior to our own existence. This apparent paradox: ‘does human consciousness create the universe or did the universe create human consciousness’ is resolved through an understanding that phenomena are not necessarily ‘either or’. Just as light can be understood and observed to behave as both particles and waves, so can the universe be understood to both create itself and be created by conscious human beings, who exist as part of the universe and its volition. But how does this thinking help us understand the being of artists, researchers and teachers? I argue that an understanding of being as not necessarily dualistic (being one thing or another) may help particular individuals come to terms with all that constitutes their being, and in particular here, their being artists, researchers and teachers. The central question for such individuals in the fields of art and education is ‘how do I reconcile all valued aspects of my professional identity?’. Although there is no easy answer, the question is generic in the sense that it is pertinent to all identities or roles adopted by human beings: ‘how do we reconcile any aspect of our identity with any other?’. The question of being can only be answered by engaging with the question on a day-to-day basis through abstract and concrete interactions with the world. This book seeks to engage with the question of identity and the sense of being an artist, researcher or teacher as a ‘real life question’ in order to help such professionals, and those who wish to understand them, think and act in the world in accordance with valued practices and identifications. The theoretical perspectives outlined here have helped me and I hope could help others as well in this task. 5

Artist, Researcher, Teacher

Reflective practice as conceptualised by Schön (1987), I believe, connects with this understanding of being in that he suggests that professional identity is creatively informed through constant reassessment of thinking and performance. This appears to echo Heidegger’s call to thinking (1993) and his historical reappraisal of being (1995).

Schön’s influence Schön’s vision of the ‘reflective practitioner’ has influenced not only my thinking and writing, but also my conduct and practices in the world. In the following quote, artistry is valued within the context of reflective practice: The artistry of painters, sculptors, musicians, dancers, and designers bears a strong family resemblance to the artistry of extraordinary lawyers, physicians, managers, and teachers. It is no accident that professionals often refer to an ‘art’ of teaching or management and use the term artist to refer to practitioners unusually adept at handling situations of uncertainty, uniqueness, and conflict. (Schön, 1987: 16) His ideas have also been significant generally in the fields of research and education in recent years. His most influential book published in 1983 is called The Reflective Practitioner. It has had a continuing impact on research and practice because it tries to describe a type of reflective problem solving familiar to most professionals that has often been alluded to, but less often explicated as a crucial approach to knowledge and skill acquisition and teaching. Schön began to make explicit a process of continuous responsiveness to the world that is often evidenced in the practice of professionals but is sometimes shrouded in mystery, perhaps because the process has seemed difficult to explain. The following description of a reflective practitioner is one of many in which Schön tries to communicate an elusive ability: When someone reflects in action, he becomes a researcher in the practice context. He is not dependent on the categories of established theory and technique, but constructs a new theory of the unique case. His enquiry is not limited to a deliberation about means, which depends on a prior agreement about ends. He does not keep means and ends separate, but defines them interactively as he frames a problematic situation. (Schön, 1987: 68) He also believed that an approach to knowledge acquisition he called ‘technical rationality’, based on nineteenth-century positivism and scientific method, had dominated the professions to the detriment of good practice and the subtle process of reflection in action. When Schön refers to the reflective practitioner, he is evoking a general type of professional 6

Introduction

and is identifying learning and teaching processes that are, arguably, common to all professions. He uses case studies of individuals involved in particular professions but is in effect presenting these cases as examples of an approach that can be applied universally. This study in contrast refers to individuals involved in the specifi c fields of art, research and education. In this sense it is quite different from Schön’s investigations, although the issue of combining roles effectively could have implications for other professional practices. Schön does appear to be advocating a combining of concepts or learning strategies in his linking of reflection and practice and his ideas have impacted substantially on educational research and practices. This can be detected in the following comments from Jennings: Work-based learning now takes greater precedence in educational settings, and is often interspersed with theoretical input and reflection on practice in a more progressive, developmental way. (Jennings, 1996: 15) Reflective practice has also, understandably, filtered into art and art education. The opening quotation in this section highlights Schön’s interest in artistry as representative of creative thinking in action that is often associated with the arts. When he describes the reflective practitioner, he does so in relation to the types of situations practitioners find themselves in that are unstable or unpredictable and in which previous experience and knowledge may only partially help in managing problems. If one takes, for instance, fine art education, the culture of art has developed in such a way that there is an expectation, based on the role model of artist as innovator, that students demonstrate originality and produce artefacts that derive from unique experiments or divergent thinking. Many of the strategies for educating fine art students in particular and arts students generally are devised to encourage this type of creativity. It is for this reason that Schön evokes artistry as a touchstone for dealing with complex and unique situations. Education in the arts is seized upon as one example of training for reflective practice in action. Schön also identifies teaching as a profession in which reflective practice is important for engendering success in learning. As reflective practice echoes much of what art educationalists have advocated in the arts ? (see for example Dewey (1958)). it is hardly surprising that Schön’s ideas often sit comfortably with teaching strategies in this area. Prentice articulates something of the interrelationship between art, teaching and reflective practice in the following quotation: The act of teaching is a complex and subtle performance that is determined by knowledge and understanding, skills and attitudes. Refl ective teachers acknowledge the problematic nature of teaching and systematically reflect upon their practice in order to improve it. In so doing they simultaneously engage in teaching and learning: a relationship that echoes the quality of creative activity in art and design. Such a view 7

Artist, Researcher, Teacher

of teaching exploits the range of personal experience that teachers as well as pupils bring to each educational enterprise in which they participate. Personal growth and the professional development of teachers are seen as being inextricably entwined. A reflective teacher is valued as a resourceful individual rather than as someone who functions routinely in a predetermined role. (Prentice, 1995: 13) Sustaining practice as an artist, researcher and teacher could well depend on functioning as a reflective practitioner. Schön’s vision of the professional indicates a fluid notion of one’s own identity and practice. Integral theory is critical of dualistic tendencies in which thinking and actions are often reduced to opposing forces. Commentators such as Wilber call for the acknowledgement of commonalities in human thinking and endeavour that could unite human beings without denying difference. Integral theory is considered amenable to an understanding of being as a mediator of a plethora of personal roles and identifications important to the individual but potentially destructive when in constant conflict.

An integral approach To understand the whole, it is necessary to understand the parts. To understand the parts, it is necessary to understand the whole. Such is the circle of understanding. (Wilber, 1997: 1) The reflective practitioner, as previously mentioned, is a term devised and conceptualised by Schön in order to highlight the importance of knowledge acquisition and improved performance through both thinking and acting in an intelligent and creative manner. It could be argued that Schön’s exposition of the reflective practitioner is an attempt to encourage professionals to integrate theory and practice in the interests of good practice (and good theory). References to artists, researchers or teachers are viewed in this book as not just descriptions of roles or practices adopted by individuals, but as identifications that could be ‘more than the sum of their parts’. Symbiosis is an important aspect of the thinking of von Bertalanffy. In his book General System Theory (2001) he identifies research into systems and in particular those that deal with the relationships between wholes and parts. The importance of these relationships in thinking about the world is echoed in the theories of Koestler (1966) and Wilber (1997). Of course in reality, professionals may choose to maintain distinctions, psychologically, spatially and synchronically, in order to sustain different roles and practices. All professionals, as indeed do all human beings, to some extent, divide their time, space and energy to accommodate different activities. However, it is the psychological perception of irreconcilable differences that is called into question in this book. An important conceptual underpinning of the integral approach is that of 8

Introduction

simultaneous presence of parts and wholes. Taking a non-dualistic view of these does allow for the conceptual integrity of the artist, the researcher and the teacher to coexist for the individual. For example, an individual might variously make art in a private studio, teach art in an education institution and engage in research (particularly if it is related to art and education) without seeing these activities as mutually exclusive in terms of a personal identity or outlook. Integral theories could be understood as idealistic but striving for various kinds of integration at all levels also means striving to integrate idealism and materialism. Erikson (1980) coined the term ‘psychosocial’ to represent the holistic idea that we are simultaneously unique individuals while being part of larger social groups, upon which we are dependent for our existence and quality of life. Wilber’s integral vision is influenced by Koestler’s explanations of the relationship between parts and wholes: [T]he individual animal or man is a whole relative to the parts of his body, but a part relative to the social organisation to which he belongs. All advanced forms of social organisation are again hierarchic: the individual is part of the family, which is part of the clan, which is part of the tribe, etc; but instead of ‘part’ we ought in each case to say ‘sub-whole’ to convey the semi-autonomous character and self-assertive tendency of each functioning unit. (Koestler, 1966: 289) Wilber, in his publication The Eye of Spirit, identifies commonalties gleaned from an exhaustive array of histories, cultures and ideologies and refers to numerous authors in order to identify universal values that can be woven into a system of integration: Integral means integrative, inclusive, comprehensive, balanced; the idea is to apply this integral orientation to the various fields of human knowledge and endeavours, including the integration of science and spirituality. This integral approach is important not simply for politics alone: it deeply alters our conceptions of psychology and the human mind; of anthropology and human history; of literature and human meaning; of philosophy and the quest for truth – all of those, I believe, are profoundly altered by an integral approach that seeks to bring together the best of each of these fields in a mutually enriching dialogue. (Wilber, 1997: xvii) He also, in many of his other publications, looks at specific fields in order to advance his project on a micro as well as macro level. Wilber, from an evolutionary perspective, adopts and extends Koestler’s observations/ideas that not only can most phenomena be understood as observable or categorical units also existing as parts of other units, but that there are in nature hierarchical levels that tend to become progressively more complex. In these, each 9

Artist, Researcher, Teacher

new unit transcends but includes the previous. Wilber uses, as does Koestler, the word ‘holon’ to describe the part/whole nature of phenomena: In any developmental or growth sequence, as a more encompassing stage or holon emerges, it includes the capacities and patterns and functions of the previous stage (i.e., of the previous holons), and then adds its own unique (and more encompassing) capacities. (Wilber, 1997: 41) The integration of the artist, researcher and teacher identities has the potential for creating emergent identities in which new skills, theories and practices are formed that could influence the development of art and art education practice and knowledge. Some of the identity constructs that are presented in this book reflect types of art education professionals who exist in society but who may lack integral conceptualisations of identity to relate to. The cultures of art, research and teaching differ in ways that undoubtedly can cause tensions and difficulties for individuals working in these fields. Professions are often defined to reflect differentiated work or discrete occupations such as artist, researcher or teacher. However, professionals working in these fields sometimes find much overlap that in itself may suggest a redefining of professional identities. Indeed in a contemporary world in which flexibility and multiple roles is often a characteristic of many professions, new thinking regarding the fluidity of identities allows professionals to redefine themselves to reflect multifaceted aspects of their work. The integration of roles and practices is envisaged here as a creative approach to some art professionals’ desire to make, research and teach art. In the following chapters the dual identities of artist teacher – researcher artist and teacher researcher – are explored. The artist teacher is a pivotal dual identity with the term used quite widely in the United States from the twentieth century onwards and in the United Kingdom more often in recent years with the development of the Artist Teacher Scheme. However, there is not extensive literature on the subject; although I would argue the phenomenon is common, conceptualisations are less so. Thinking about identity related to practice, I believe, can help motivate individuals through a deepening understanding of important aspects of identity and their interrelationships. In this book a comprehensive conceptual model of the artist teacher is provided based on historical impressions, identity theory and reports and analysis of artist teachers themselves. This also provides a basis for the emerging conceptualisations of the researcher artist and the teacher researcher later in the book.

10

Historical Impressions

PART I The Artist Teacher

11

Chapter 1 Historical Impressions

T

he chapter presents some impressions of the artist teacher as a historical phenomenon through the cross-referencing of historians’ interpretations with a focus on the artist teacher identity. The desire to forge links with the past compels us to try to identify patterns and clues that we can imaginatively convert into narratives that give plausible explanations for past manifestations. Each historian to a greater or lesser extent gives a personal view of the past. The subjective nature of historical data is evoked in the following passage: Suppose it is held – as it was, for instance, by Croce – that historical knowledge essentially involves the ‘re-creation’ of the past by each historian within his own mind; it then becomes difficult to see how any historical account can fail to be to some extent coloured and shaped by the individual interests and personality of its author. (International Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences, 1968: 432) I proceed with this brief historical account aware of the fact that I am searching for, and deliberately interpreting other accounts in order to highlight, conceptualisations of the artist teacher. It is up to the reader to decide how convincing the evidence and the arguments are. A general view of historical developments in art education indicates a paradigm shift around the sixteenth century, which is seen as a ‘pivotal point’ or a ‘benchmark’ for the identity of the artist teacher as a historical phenomenon. The terms pre- and post-sixteenth century are used to convey this shift. The contemporary developments in art education in the United Kingdom that follow are seen in the context of this broader historical sweep. Pre-sixteenth century Some of the earliest human traces that exist are carvings, drawings and paintings from the Palaeolithic era, which according to Pericot-Garcia (1969) could have been made as long ago as 30,000 years. We can recognise animals and humans in these works and we believe our ancestors made them. Edward Luci-Smith, in his book Art and Civilisation (1992), reports on a discovery, from this same period, of stencil prints made from human hands. Sculpting or carving, painting and printmaking are techniques we often associate with the work of some visual artists today. We do not necessarily have to give the word ‘art’ any more

Artist, Researcher, Teacher

meaning, in this context, than that conveyed through the processes and effects of visually representing phenomena using a plastic medium of some kind. Therefore it does not seem unreasonable to call the beings who made prehistoric artefacts artists, mindful of the concerns that compelled the creation of these artefacts. Pericot-Garcia throughout his study speaks of motifs and styles apparent in these artworks, which seem to have transferred through time and space. The assumption is that some of the content of the art and the techniques of early artists were passed on to others through migration and from generation to generation. It is conceivable that prehistoric artists passed on their knowledge and skills in ways related to learning and teaching processes that we are familiar with today. Could it be that there existed at least as long ago as 30,000 years beings who, to all intents and purposes, might be described as artist teachers? Pericot-Garcia deliberates on the idea that some form of art teaching took place: We have to explain how so marvellous an art could have arisen and survived for so many thousands of years at a stage of obvious cultural primitivism, when social organisation was at its infancy and it is hardly conceivable that there might have existed artists with free time and organised schools of art. (Pericot-Garcia, 1969: 29) There is strong evidence that our early ancestors made the artwork that can still be seen today. There is some evidence that suggests the techniques and images of art were passed on in some ways to others. It seems likely that art was important to our early ancestors, possibly as a mode of communication or belief. It is also likely that some form of teaching and learning in art took place. To turn to language development, the term ‘visual language’ is sometimes used today in relationship to art but there is much evidence that some forms of inscribed language derived from visual representations. Indeed relationships between the two are evident and complex. Ancient Egyptian civilisation provides us with much information regarding the development of inscribed language. Master–apprentice learning traditions are likely to have existed before the ancient Egyptians. It is just that they were able to communicate this teaching process through their inscriptions and art. Both consistent, systematic artwork and inscribed language were, according to Gombrich, passed on from generation to generation from approximately 5,000 years ago. [T]here is a direct tradition, handed down from master to pupil, and from pupil to admirer or copyist which links the art of our own days, any house or any poster, with the art of the Nile Valley of some 5,000 years ago. (Gombrich, 1950: 33) Inscribed language is believed to have developed first in Mesopotamia before reaching Egypt through migration. The tombs of the pharaohs like the caves of prehistoric humans are 16

Historical Impressions

examples of environments in which artworks have been preserved that give us valuable insights into past societies. Also, linguistic records of historical phenomena give us detailed knowledge of the roles of artists and teachers and artist teachers through the passage of time. Many early Egyptian artists could be understood as crafts people or trades people, producing artefacts to prescribed designs. The societal expectations for the production of uniform artworks required systems and structures by which discrete skills and knowledge could be passed on to others in order to maintain consistency. Workshops, master–apprentice relationships, family businesses and other institutions we associate with production existed in order to enable Egyptian societies to produce and consume. The arts trades seemed to function in a similar way to other trades, with art or craft works being made by artists who also taught their skills and knowledge to others. Workshops were organised in hierarchies, with major artworks often undertaken by a collaboration of workers with different skills. Aldred describes a typical workshop based on the studies of the ruins of artists’ studios and carvings and paintings of artists at work from the time of the Old Kingdom (4000 years ago). He also describes a type of artist teacher: In the workshops pictured in the Old Kingdom reliefs, or the New Kingdom wall paintings, craftsmen of different trades, from sculptors and metalsmiths to joiners and jewellers, are shown working side by side. It is clear that they are under the direction of an educated supervisor, familiar with the techniques of several crafts, able to recognise an inferior standard of work and correct errors. (Aldred, 1980: 19) These patterns of production, organisation and teaching appear to have continued to develop. In mediaeval Europe between the eighth and sixteenth centuries artist-craftsmen, other than monks, were often expected to be members of a guild. All kinds of artisans and craftsmen including stone carvers and picture makers became members of these groups, which sometimes evolved into powerful institutions that not only protected the professional interests of their members but allowed various forms of dissemination to flourish. The organisation of education and learning in schools, separate from the workplace, appears to have evolved in relationship to developments in thinking and societal needs throughout the later part of the sixteenth century.

Post-sixteenth century Although Goldstein (1996) acknowledges that it is difficult to identify the first academy of art, a number of schools involving artists, based on Plato’s concept of an academy, appeared in Florence in the 1550s. The sculptor Bandinelli presided over one particular academy of the mid-sixteenth century, which, according to custom, ‘could only be used for a group dedicated to the study of humanistic subjects such as literature and philosophy’ (Goldstein, 1996: 15). 17

Artist, Researcher, Teacher

Leonardo Da Vinci, an important Italian artist of this period, played a part in the development of the first art academies. Through Da Vinci’s campaign to have visual art recognised as a liberal art, and with the involvement of other educated artists in intellectual academies, came the eventual birth of the academies of art in which practical art skills, in addition to theoretical studies associated with a liberal education, were taught. An example of this type of academy was the Florentine Accademia del Disegno founded in 1563. Two of the articles of this academy refer to educational procedures. Goldstein explains these as follows: Each year three masters – one painter, one sculptor, and one architect – were to be elected as ‘visitatori’ (supervisors) to teach a select number of boys either in the academy or in their own workshops; they were to visit the shops in which the boys ordinarily worked to call their attention to errors they were falling into. (Goldstein, 1996: 20) The art academies evolved as specialised art schools and became popular across Europe. Here we see the beginnings of the separate professions of artist and teacher of art and changing expectations and identities regarding the artist teacher. The United Kingdom was also subject to these changes and I will now look at particular developments in England regarding art education that have, arguably, impacted on notions of the artist teacher.

Art education in England The 1944 Education Act in England consolidated education by formalising the rights of the majority of citizens to access it. The visual arts were commonly included in the curriculum of most primary and secondary schools. The increasing demand for art teachers at all levels and the expectation that they provide high standards of craft and teaching skills and artistic knowledge resulted in the concept of the artist teacher becoming ever more relevant in general education. The restructuring of art education after the first Coldstream Report in the early 1960s included the development of post-school diagnostic foundation courses for one or two years as a route into the new (largely degree equivalent) Diploma in Art and Design (Dip.AD) courses. Within 20 years of the introduction of this diploma, full degree status through the Bachelor of Arts (BA) award became the norm in art schools and university art departments. Also in the 1960s the first Bachelor of Education (BEd) art degrees were developed. Macdonald speaks with enthusiasm of their potential: This offered a unique opportunity for students to take art together with education and other academic subjects. While the art students at the colleges are encouraged to regard themselves as creative artists, the annual teaching practices, during which they take other subjects, confirm their roles as teachers. (Macdonald, 1970: 359) 18

Historical Impressions

The four-year degrees allowed committed student teachers the possibility of also developing as artists. Teacher education and practical art education, between the 1960s and 1980s, both achieved the prestigious status of subjects that could be taken at degree level. In terms of professional practice art courses reflected particular vocations: graphic art, architecture, industrial design, digital art, etc. Fine art was usually linked to the vocations of artist and art teacher. With the development of modular systems in higher education and the increase of theory and its accompanying modes of assessment in art education, we see a tendency towards the blurring of the boundaries between different subjects or fields and the categories of theory and practice. Increasing numbers of courses were offered in which subjects could be combined. Fine art, for example, could be combined with other disciplines both within and beyond conventional art subject areas. Bretton Hall, for example, offered a BA degree in Fine Art and Arts Education (Art and Design Courses, 2000). Also we see the development of practice-based research doctorates in art, and research processes increasingly adopted in the fields of education and art. The development of the Artist Teacher Scheme (ATS) in recent years by the National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD) is an affirmation of the importance the society attaches to personal artistic development regarding ‘life long learning’ and the professional practice of art teachers. The ATS came into being with its emphasis on the artistic education of the art teacher in the context of contemporary developments in art. Good organisation by NSEAD and financial support from the Arts Council of England (ACE) and later the Arts Council of Scotland, as well as the commitment of artist teachers themselves, has resulted in the ATS expanding across the country from two centres in 1999 to 12 in 2010 (see Adams 2003). The aim of widening access to art education, the teaching of art to children and the growing interest in children’s art, and the acknowledgement of its aesthetic and educational value and vocational possibilities has resulted in a general increase in demand for art teachers over the centuries, particularly in schools. Of course this embedding of art education in general education has taken place erratically in the United Kingdom with the status of the arts in education fluctuating in relationship to trends in society and varying political objectives. Artist teachers as dual practitioners have always been associated with schools of art at the tertiary level, but in the United Kingdom there are also primary and secondary art teachers, often trained to degree level in art and/or education, who see the dual roles of artist and teacher as important aspects of their professional and personal development. Also art is now generally understood not only as specialised knowledge taught as a vocational option but also as a mode of learning important in the general education of all. We have seen the ‘master–apprentice’ teaching and art production system operating in the work environment from prehistoric to the present time, but with some significant changes and additions over the centuries. In sixteenth-century Italy, the first art schools were formed in which practical art skills and related knowledge were taught in special institutions separate from the workplace. With the growth of general education in the United Kingdom 19

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the art teacher emerged as a discrete professional, who was not necessarily dependent on art production as a means to earn a living. Also there came about a change in practice for the artist teacher, who still produced art but no longer taught apprentices in the studio or workshop as a necessity, but taught art in art schools, or schools of general education. The post-sixteenth-century artist teacher generally shares characteristics with the pre-sixteenthcentury artist teacher. The main differences between the two is that post-sixteenth century the teaching did not generally take place in the workplace, but in schools, and artist teachers were not dependent upon selling their art as they now received income through teaching. It could be inferred that, generally speaking, before the sixteenth century many artists were necessarily teachers as well as artists in the workplace as their income and the future of their profession depended upon producing and selling art and teaching the skills and knowledge associated with this practice to apprentices. Post-sixteenth century it was possible for an art-trained teacher to earn a living solely by teaching in a school. To sum up, the term ‘artist teacher’ could refer to a type of professional artist in the past who taught an art trade to an apprentice. It could refer to professional artists who teach students in art schools, or an art teacher in general education who also makes art. Thus the term ‘artist teacher’ could be used to communicate a concept in which personal art making and art teaching are understood to be complementary at every level of art education.

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Chapter 2 Identity Theory

I

f individuals adopt titles or enter professions in which titles and roles are applied to them, then these identifications are likely to affect each person’s sense of self as a whole. Individuals’ personal identities or public roles are often significant in relationship to their philosophies of life, or ways of being and therefore capacities to develop personally and professionally. It is for this reason that an investigation of identity theory is helpful in constructing a conceptual model of the artist teacher. In this context I will look at the way education and art as a subject of that education are presented to students as cultural forces. Teaching is often seen as a process and not a subject in general education. In the International Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences, this view is reported as follows: ‘Teachers cannot claim the separate identity given by control of an esoteric body of knowledge but they do have the esoteric skills of the classroom’ (IESS, 1968: 564). The word ‘teaching’ usually implies the teaching of a body of knowledge and skills other than, or in addition to, that associated with teaching as a process. Although teaching is a prevalent vocation in UK society, its discrete skills and philosophical underpinning are not taught in schools. Children are rarely taught to teach although they may adopt teaching roles, skills and an ambition to teach through exposure to the practices of their schoolteachers. Learning to teach as a formal activity is rarely offered as a choice for children before the tertiary level. However, the identification of art as an autonomous subject is often consolidated through the education system, particularly at the secondary level. Here visual art (or art and design) is usually one of a limited range of subjects privileged in education in the United Kingdom and beyond. Children have the opportunity to experience practices and develop concepts associated with the category of visual art that contribute to their sense of self or being. Individuals who identify significantly with visual art have opportunities, through the education system, to deepen this identification and even find employment in which their knowledge and skills are utilised. As we have seen, knowledge acquisition and vocations associated with art and teaching are encouraged and supported through established structures of social integration. However, what if an individual wishes to make art and teach? Are there conflicts of interest? Do the established structures encourage this dual role? Is this dual role one that should be encouraged? These questions will be addressed in this chapter through various psychological definitions of identity.

Artist, Researcher, Teacher

Definitions of identity It is necessary to clarify how the words associated with identity are being used here in order to avoid terminological confusion. Roles, identities and selves are often given specific meanings in the texts of other authors and this will be respected in the citations. However, the following formula is used in circumstances when direct references to other authors are not being made. Three terms are evoked to represent levels of identity. The word ‘self ’ is used to represent the singular, individual and holistic identity. It relates more specifically to psychology rather than ontology in which ‘ways of being’ are evoked more generally throughout this book. The individual is considered to have one self and not many selves in this usage. However, an individual ‘self ’ is considered to have a number of identities, both personal and professional in nature, which contribute to the deeper sense of self. The word ‘roles’ is used simply to denote more superficial social identifications that are not necessarily deeply personal, but which may impact on deeper personal identities and consequently the self. It would also be helpful to think of these three levels of identity as being more resistant to change sequentially, with ‘self ’ representing the most resistant but also the most stable level of identity. The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology lists four aspects of identity, which give a broad range of definitions. These are helpful as headings under which different aspects of identity are interpreted in the context of the identity of the artist teacher. All four definitions are presented in full here. In addition, the definitions of ‘identity crisis’ and ‘identity formation’ are included and will also be used to focus on aspects of the artist teacher identity: Identity 1. In the study of personality, a person’s essential, continuous self, the internal subjective concept of oneself as an individual. Usage here is often qualified; e.g., sex-role identity, racial or group identity, etc. 2. In logic, a relation between two or more elements such that either may be substituted for the other in a syllogism without altering its truth value. 3. Somewhat more loosely, a ‘deep’ relationship between elements that is assumed to exist despite surface dissimilarities. This meaning is typically qualified to express the level at which the identity is found; e.g., functional identity. 4. Within Piagetian theory, a state of awareness that the relationship described in 3 holds. The classic example here is the case of the child who is aware that a liquid maintains its ‘deep’ identity even though it undergoes various transformations such as being poured from one container to another of different shape. Identity crisis. An acute loss of the sense of one’s identity, a lack of the normal feeling that one has historical continuity, that the person here today is phenomonologically the same as the one here yesterday. Identity formation. Quite literally, the forming of one’s own identity (1) Most theorists hold to the point of view that mature identity formation emerges when various early, more primitive identifications and influences are rejected. (Reber, 1985: 355) 24

Identity Theory

Definition 1 The first definition of identity, ‘the internal subjective concept of oneself as an individual’, corresponds with my holistic use of the word ‘self ’ and is not presented as contra to the qualification of this self in terms of a group identity. For example, a self in which an idiosyncratic artist teacher identity is a part may share aspects of this identity with others and this collective identity may be acknowledged through various supporting structures for artists and teachers in society. One can be, without contradiction, two people simultaneously: an individual and a group member. Erikson explains this, in the context of maturation, as follows: The growing child must derive a vitalising sense of reality from the awareness that his individual way of mastering experience (his ego synthesis) is a successful variant of a group identity and is in accord with its space-time and life plan. (Erikson, 1980: 21) Of course this is not to say that tensions do not exist at times between individual and group identities, as will be noted later in this chapter. In fact the ego synthesis that Erikson refers to is often understood as the ego’s response to conflict between, in Freudian terms, the id and the superego: The superego, so Freud pointed out, is the internalisation of all the restrictions to which the ego must bow. It is forced upon the child by the critical influence of the parents, and later, by that of professional educators and of what to the early Freud was a vague multitude of fellow men. (Erikson, 1980: 19) The id, ego and superego are words used by Freud (1984) to conceptualise what he believed to be forces that shape human thinking and conduct. The id is usually understood as instincts that are present prior to birth and experience of the world, but which impact on the individuals developing behaviour. The superego is a representation of the external world as others construct it. It must be internalised and negotiated by each individual from birth in order for the individual to cope and survive. The ego was coined by Freud to represent the mediator of these forces that strives to prevent these apparently opposing forces from damaging the individual. In identity formation the structures of society that must be negotiated have the power to change identities and subsequently the self. Therefore these structures need to be carefully considered by those who have a hand in modifying or changing them. The developing self of an individual is multifaceted. Identities and roles are only aspects of the self, although they have the power to change or modify it. I will highlight the developing identities of individuals as artist teachers and relate theory of identity to this focus. The 25

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complex relationships between children and family (or surrogate family) members are well documented in psychology (Erikson, 1980; Bee, 2000). What seems to be commonly believed is that individuals need to both identify with and differentiate themselves from other family members, depending on stages of maturation and influences and experiences that contribute to identity formation. This process continues through adulthood in which decisions must sometimes be made regarding identifying or not with various individuals, groups and doctrines. The family is usually the first group to which a young individual relates. Teaching and learning of course take place within family groups and, in the UK, continues through organised education that can begin at the age of four in preschool. Education could be seen as a powerful influence on identities and the self, and represents at least in part the culture and practices society wishes to impose on individuals and thus could be understood as an agent of the superego.

Definition 2 Some art teachers are artists, all art teachers are teachers therefore, some art teachers are artist teachers. (Thornton, 2003: 45, syllogism) The second definition of identity refers to the field of logic. A syllogism as a logical device for establishing ‘truth values’ linguistically has limited value in establishing a conceptual model of the artist teacher. However, it is helpful to examine the term ‘artist teacher’ in order to establish if the conjoined words have a relationship that reasonably reflects the concept that is emerging. Wittgenstein says: 4.026 The meanings of simple signs (words) must be explained to us if we are to understand them. With propositions, however, we make ourselves understood. 4.027 It belongs to the essence of a proposition that it should be able to communicate a new sense to us. 4.028 A proposition must use old expressions to communicate a new sense. A proposition communicates a situation to us, and so it must be essentially connected with the situation. And the connection is precisely that it is its logical picture. (Wittgenstein, 1961: 21) 26

Identity Theory

An attempt is made to provide a logical picture of the artist teacher as a proposition that communicates a new sense of the relationship between making and teaching art. A hyphen is sometimes used as a device for linking two words that may have independent conceptual meanings when used separately. Also it reinforces a link between the two words. A hyphen is often used in the term ‘artist-teacher’. However, I believe the words link automatically in context when used together and therefore the hyphen is unnecessary. The words artist and teacher denote types of practitioners or professionals. There is some ambiguity in the term artist teacher in that the following interpretations are possible. Are we speaking of: an artist who also teaches; an artist who also teaches art; or a teacher of artists? It is the middle meaning that is most usually implied and assumed (see the above syllogism). The possibility of other interpretations does not weaken this meaning because other interpretations still refer to types of practitioners whose roles occasionally overlap and who will be referred to at times in the construction of a conceptual model. For example the ‘teacher artist’ model I believe to be very closely allied to the model emerging from this study. Zwirn (2005: 157–188) refers particularly to the public school system in the United States and although her paper is titled ‘The Teacher Artist Model’, she refers constantly in her text to the ‘artist teacher’. Although she does not explain the reason for her inverted title, I make the assumption based on her general interest in teacher roles that this inversion may reflect teachers who mainly earn their living through teaching although they value their artmaking practices as an aspect of personal identity as an art teacher. The term ‘teacher artist’ is closely related to the term ‘artist teacher’, but signals a subtle shift in identification. The term ‘teacher artist’ is feasible. However, I believe that the first word privileging of ‘artist’ is important here for the following reasons. What is central to the concept of the artist teacher is the subject ‘art’. The term is usually used to imply a relationship between art and teaching of mutual benefit, based on the promotion of art as an aspect of human experience significant enough to be formally identified as a subject worthy of being taught. What is privileged in the subject of art is the practice of making art on which, arguably, the culture and subject of art are fundamentally dependent. Although the word ‘artist’, as a representation of people who make art, is considered privileged through first word positing, art’s worthiness as a subject to be taught gives teaching a necessary and important role as a mode for communicating the practice and culture of art. The privileging of the word ‘artist’ is not considered as hostile to the interrelationship of art and teaching. Art is an important human experience that if not taught would be denied to many. To teach art well is to promote art as a worthy experience both in the making and in the appreciation. The term artist teacher could be understood as implying a mutual relationship that benefits not only the developing artistry of the student but also the developing artistry of the art teacher. This warrants a question: has the term artist teacher any meaning in education that is not conveyed via the term art teacher? The term art teacher tends to emphasise the professional role of the teacher. In this understanding the teachers’ primary function is to teach art. Professionally speaking, all else is subordinate to this role; no other professional role is implied in this term. The term does imply some knowledge of art but it is not unknown in 27

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primary and secondary schools for art to be taught by teachers with minimal experience of art. This is usually because of difficulties regarding the availability and training of staff but sometimes it can be due to perceptions of the subject as low status, not warranting special skills or knowledge and capable of being taught by any experienced teacher. However, at the tertiary level art education has a tradition in which practising artists are encouraged to teach and art teachers are often expected to be art practitioners as a condition of employment. The term artist teacher is occasionally used, in publications, to describe these professionals in the United Kingdom, but the term is used more widely in the United States. It certainly seems a more appropriate term than art teacher when the professional expectation is for the teacher to also be a practising artist. The important point in relationship to identity is that if there are a significant number of people at all levels of education who both teach and make art, should there also be terminology that reasonably describes them and concepts that underpin the terminology? The term artist teacher could operate as an additional term, reflecting and encouraging a potentially important identification, used where it clearly represents individual practice or the educational aims of particular courses. The term art educator is sometimes used, but like the term art teacher, it fails to explicitly identify individuals as makers of art. The word ‘educator’ seems more inclusive than ‘teacher’ because it can incorporate art historians, philosophers, researchers and organisers as well as teachers. The term artist educator could describe a type of professional who is also a maker of art. However, it fails to make explicit the direct practice, knowledge and skills associated with teaching, which as previously suggested are essential for the communication of art practice and appreciation. The term artist educator does not necessarily exclude art teachers or artist teachers and could be a more inclusive term worthy of conceptual development. Interestingly Daichendt (2010: 46) describes Alfred Wallis as the first artist teacher. Wallis himself actually claimed to be an artist-educator. The term artist teacher has been explained in the context of the visual arts but in the fields of music, dance, theatre and literature, the term is also used in some other contexts. A conceptual model of the artist teacher based on visual art could also have resonance in these associated arts. Indeed, there is often much overlap in the arts anyway. This attempt to clarify or justify the use of the term artist teacher has involved the investigation of related terminology. This has opened up the possibility of alternative terms and concepts as well as helped consolidate a definition that will contribute to a conceptual model. Particular terms are used, not only because they reflect identity but also because they can shape it.

Definition 3 and 4 It is postulated in definition 3 that identity could be understood as ‘a “deep” relationship between elements that is assumed to exist despite surface dissimilarities’. The theme of identity, as a concept in which consistency is an important element, is reinforced by 28

Identity Theory

reference to the Piagetian theory in definition 4. This refers to the human awareness that certain elements have consistent characteristics in some contexts of apparent change. The example of liquid is used, which despite various manipulations and conditions remains essentially liquid. Of course this meaning of identity can be applied to patterns that are sensed from an apparent external world, but identity is also used to represent psychological characteristics that persist, are maintained or are adapted in situations of change. The idea of identity as a persistent phenomenon of psychological need has implications for how identity, as a concept, is defined and used in this study in order to inform a concept of the artist teacher. For instance, how does a notion of identity as a persisting phenomenon resistant to change equate with a notion of identity necessarily changing in the interest of a stable psyche? (Goffman, 1974). This is a good moment to look at how identity has been analysed and defined and points of consensus. Breakwell suggests that identity differs in meaning according to the context in which it is used. She gives examples that are worth repeating here as they give an indication of some important variations of theory: For Erikson (1968), in the psychoanalytic tradition, identity is a global self-awareness achieved through crisis and sequential identifications in social relations. For McCall and Simmons (1982) from the symbolic interactionist perspective, identities are negotiated performances of the role prescriptions attached to the occupancy of social positions: as such any one person can have many identities depending upon the number of roles adopted. For Biddle (1979), from a role theory standpoint, any label applied consistently to a person may be considered an identity and it does not necessarily have to refer to a social role; so for instance, a nickname may both create and symbolize an identity, according to him. (Breakwell, 1986: 11) Breakwell in her book Threatened Identities is concerned with coping strategies related to threatened identities, and it is in this context that she highlights aspects of identity theory in which a degree of consensus can be detected, theory that seems applicable to her particular focus. As identity conflicts are pertinent to this thesis, Breakwell’s observations are studied and related to the artist teacher identity. Initially she looks at the structure of identity. ‘The physical being dictates the contents of identity’ (Breakwell, 1986: 12). She suggests that the structure of identity is determined by the biological organism and is normally understood as having ‘two planes: the content and value dimensions’. The content dimension, in terms of the identity of the artist teacher, could be construed in the following way. Identifications associated with the role of artist and identifications associated with the role of teacher are the main constituents of the artist teacher identity and could be understood as the contents of this identity. Regarding the content of identity in a less specific way, Breakwell says that often theory is concerned with the idea of personal and social identity and the relationship between 29

Artist, Researcher, Teacher

the two. Much theory asserts their interdependence to the extent that Erikson, as noted, uses the term ‘pychosocial’ to represent this notion. She argues there are two processes of identity: ‘(a) the process of assimilation and accommodation and (b) the process of evaluation’ (Breakwell, 1986: 23). For the purposes of this study, it is important to understand that identity involves assimilation and accommodation and these depend on evaluation. Breakwell concludes that the processes of identity result in principles that are considered ‘desirable’ end states for identity. She believes that the conclusions of various researchers she identifies seem ‘reasonably congruent’: Three prime principles are evident: the two identity processes work to produce uniqueness or distinctiveness for the person; continuity across time and situation; and a feeling of personal worth or social value. (Breakwell, 1986: 24) Although Breakwell bemoans that little is known of how these principles relate to each other, it does seem as if there are strong connections. Surely understanding the self as unique often compels the continuity of the self. Is not such a sense of uniqueness and continuity likely to impact positively on self-esteem when present, and negatively when absent? This is where social and personal senses of identity can come into conflict. What one’s personal identity is or what one is trying to become can, at times, be in conflict with society’s (or others) expectations from one in terms of identities or roles. The individual who wishes to be an artist teacher may find that the educational establishment does not easily accommodate this identity as a professional role. Equally the educational establishment that wishes to encourage an individual to take on the role of artist teacher may find that the individual’s preconceived identities do not comfortably accommodate this expectation. Distinctiveness, continuity and self-esteem, as concepts appropriate to principles of identity, certainly seem to comply with the various definitions of identity, and have implications for a concept of the artist teacher. The adoption of the artist teacher identity may be problematic because of differences between the two roles within education structures or tensions regarding personal identities at a deeper level. These notions will now be explored as possible conflicts of interest in the context of identity crisis.

Identity crisis The definition of identity crisis emphasises an extreme state of change in which ‘a lack of the normal feelings that one has historical continuity, that the person here today is phenomenologically the same as the one here yesterday’ prevails. Such changes may be biologically programmed (birth and puberty) or socially triggered (employment and unemployment). We will look specifically at social changes in relationship to employment and career choices for artists and teachers, and how these can be construed as threats to 30

Identity Theory

identity. Breakwell gives a generalised definition of threat derived from its implications for identity: A threat to identity occurs when the process of identity, assimilation-accommodation and evaluation are, for some reason, unable to comply with the principles of continuity, distinctiveness and self-esteem, which habitually guide their operation. (Breakwell, 1986: 46) As noted earlier, secondary-school art teachers often devote many years to their development as artists or as art specialist of one kind or another. After an intensive one-year training, the newly qualified art teacher has usually undergone a rapid and substantial change of direction. Superficially the developing artist has changed into a developing teacher of art. How prepared individuals are for this change is dependent on their psychological coping strategies and the strategies employed in their education to prepare them for changing social roles. If these are not adequate, then the individual could experience crisis. The apparent historical movement to greater autonomy in fine art has tended to result in an expectation that artists exhibit independence of thinking and action and that those in the vanguard produce personal or original objects and ideas. Schools are sometimes understood to function as agents of cultural dissemination. The structures put in place for this purpose are not always amenable to individual creative aspiration, particularly given the problems of socialisation within an institution of compulsory learning. The art teacher, who has been educated to make art in an environment of relative freedom and who may have been encouraged to challenge convention, could find the sometimes-conforming culture of schools difficult to negotiate and contra to valued aspects of the artist identity. Getzels and Csikszentmihalyi (1976) suggested that art students have a tendency to be less interested in economic and social values than aesthetic values. Part of the folklore that surrounds artists suggests that authentic artists should be devoted to the extent that they are prepared to suffer poverty, hardship and alienation in order to be true to their art and by so doing contribute something important to human understanding. It is not my intention to be judgmental about this particular perception. Such views could be motivational and contribute to the production of exceptional art and provide artists and art appreciators with deep and valuable experiences. The reason for highlighting this perception is that if it is an important aspect of an artist’s understanding of the artist identity, then anything short of total commitment to art making can be viewed as failure. Teaching may be seen as an abandonment of artistic ambition for the relative security of a job as an art teacher. Thus, art-trained teachers may feel they have ‘sold out’, which could contribute to a feeling of a crisis of identity. This is not helped by Shaw’s infamous remark that ‘those who can, do and those who can’t, teach’, which arguably undermines one of the most important professions in contemporary societies. Having looked at art-trained students becoming teachers at the secondary level and the potential for identity crisis in this shift of identity, I will now consider students who are 31

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trained as generalist teachers, usually for employment at the primary level. BEd and BA degrees that provide qualified teacher status at the primary level have been developed in the United Kingdom. Some of these courses give students the opportunity to major in art with the possibility of becoming coordinators of art in primary schools. Students who decide to train as teachers, over what is usually a three-year period, generally have a commitment to, and identification with, teaching. However, although having opted for art as a major study, some may still experience a sense of inadequacy regarding their abilities to make art or teach it. The culture and education of art tends to foster an expectation of commitment to practice that is as much personal as professional. Students who are committed to being teachers may find that they are also expected to become artists. This can seem daunting to them. The identity crisis that sometimes manifests itself in this context is often based on students’ lack of confidence in their ability to make art or learn how to. Trainee primary teachers do have the opportunity to resolve any crisis of confidence in their ability to make and teach art over at least a three-year period, assuming time is made available on their courses for a reasonable level of art training. However, the art graduate has just one year’s training as a secondary art teacher to begin identifying with teaching. In the context of identity crisis for artists and teachers, the structures of education can aggravate or alleviate such conditions. Arguably it is important to adapt educational structures in order to ease the rites of passage of artists and teachers who pass through the system. How we educate artists and teachers will to some extent affect identity formation and the potential for creating or alleviating crisis.

Identity formation The definition of ‘identity formation’ will be considered in the context of adulthood and education at the tertiary level. The intimate and complex interplay of identification and differentiation that appear to take place between children and parents or surrogate parents as an aspect of child development are to some extent resolved in childhood. Erikson says: Identity formation begins where the usefulness of multiple identification ends. It arises from the selective repudiation and mutual assimilation of childhood identifications, and their absorption in a new configuration. (Erikson, 1980: 122) Our responses to the world are affected by our accumulated experiences. As we become assimilated into society and adopt roles and identities that reflect the world of adulthood, the established social structures that form a part of this world begin to exert an ever increasing influence on our identities and deeper sense of self (Burkitt, 1991). Individuals and pressure groups can, in some circumstances, influence social structures. However, the deep traditions of many of these structures, which include modifications by individuals and 32

Identity Theory

pressure groups, means they exert a powerful influence on the behaviour of individuals. Compulsory education, the judicial system and the labour market are good examples of structures that forcefully mould the individual but resist being changed by the individual. However, if, for instance, the labour market provides occupations that correspond to valued aspects of individuals identities, such as an inclination to teach, or an inclination to make art, then there are opportunities for personal identities to correlate with social roles. Mature identity formation is dependent upon this synergy. Hoyle gives an indication of this notion in the following passage: Any action performed by an individual in an organisation such as the school is the outcome of his fulfilling his responsibilities to the school and also fulfilling his own personal needs. When both role and personality are fulfilled in the same action, then the individual will experience satisfaction, if they are not then the individual will experience conflict. (Hoyle, 1969: 40) Hoyle goes on to suggest that there are differences in fulfilment of the personality needs of teachers and of artists. The formation of the identities of the teacher and of the artist will be looked at separately before looking at the dual identity of the artist teacher.

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Chapter 3 The Identity of the Teacher

Those who can, teach. (From a teacher recruitment campaign)

P

eople learn from each other in diverse contexts and in many ways. Formal teaching could be seen as having its roots in a fundamental human inclination to teach and learn. Holt’s observations of children compelled him to make the following statement: [C]hildren have a passionate desire to understand as much of the world as they can, even what they cannot see and touch, and as far as possible to acquire some kind of skill, competence, and control in it and over it. Now this desire, this need to understand the world and be able to do things in it, the things the big people do, is so strong that we could properly call it biological. (Holt, 1989: 159) Erikson alludes to informal teaching processes that complement this desire to learn: ‘In preliterate people much is learned from adults who become teachers by acclamation rather than appointment’ (Erikson, 1980: 87). Erikson and Holt are both referring to human learning and teaching instincts and intuitions. The mother’s relationship with the child is usually prior to most other relationships and informal learning and teaching often develops between mother and child in which a bond of trust, according to Erikson, is important to healthy development. Children’s relationships usually extend beyond the mother or surrogate mother as they mature and develop learning relationships with others including teachers. In terms of personal identity, maternal and paternal instincts of nurture could be important factors in the motivation of some people in choosing teaching as an occupation. What motivates an individual to become a teacher is obviously an important question to anyone who values education and to those responsible for recruiting people into the profession, and educating people to teach. Material benefits should not be underestimated and no doubt reasonable pay and conditions contribute to self-value. However, job satisfaction and the motivation to try and teach well could in part depend on a sense of identity in which being a teacher and feeling valued and giving value as a teacher is important to the individual. If we acknowledge that identity, and to a greater extent self, resists change that threatens to disrupt that which has been hard won, that is stability and

Artist, Researcher, Teacher

self-value, then a teacher is more likely to survive psychologically as a teacher if the teacher identity is deeply embedded in the self. This of course can happen with experience, but if the inclination to participate in others’ learning is not acknowledged at some level as being a positive aspect of the self, then even many years of experience as a teacher will not necessarily compensate. Some teachers may simply be acting out a role that they do not really believe in, or which they are unable to integrate with their deep beliefs, with possible consequences for their self-value, relationships with others and performances as teachers. Borich, in the following extract, communicates an aspect of effective teaching via a fictional dialogue, based on research, between a young journalist and a school principal: One thing I discovered is that effective teachers have a purpose for teaching that’s more than simply presenting content. They’ve discovered for themselves who they really are that can make their teaching fresh and exiting every day. You mean they mix duty with pleasure. I mean, they teach but have fun doing it. How? By relating their teaching to something inside themselves – what they really believe in and stand for. You mean they change what they teach to suit themselves? No. They find ways in which the curriculum can be extended, reinforced and made relevant by who they are and what they believe in. For example, Mrs. Beecham asked me to make a list of my own deep convictions, things I believe in and would fight tooth and nail for. And could you? Not at first. It was hard because I kept repeating what I thought everyone else wanted me to believe in. Like coming here, I thought about what you might want me to say. Were you finally able to make a list? Yes, I found lots of things that both make me distinctive and that could be used to make any job more interesting and exciting – more a part of myself. (Borich, 1995: 119) This dialogue is pertinent regarding identity in many ways. Relating teaching to something deep in oneself, beliefs, convictions and purposes corresponds to the self and its powers of 38

The Identity of the Teacher

constancy and motivation. Also the dialogue alludes to a theme of existentialist theory, that of authenticity. The principal experienced an inauthentic impulse to say what, he believed, others expected to hear. This seems to reflect a desire to conform rather than risk rejection by another individual or a group. The insinuation seems to be that effective (and authentic) teachers ensure that the teaching identity is synchronised with the self. As noted teaching is not taught at the primary or secondary levels of education, but students are participant observers in the occupational world of teachers. In theory, children, from the perspective of clients, have the opportunity to experience teaching over a substantial period and evaluate it as a possible career option. Ironically, children learn something about teaching implicitly in institutions, which, largely, organise, categorise and prioritise knowledge and related occupations explicitly. As was mentioned earlier, the formal education and training of teachers from the ‘maintained sector’, usually takes place at the tertiary level. When a decision is made to follow a career in teaching, it is likely to have a profound effect upon a student’s sense of self. The way education is structured in the United Kingdom means that there are, in effect, two main professional routes into teaching. One route is associated with specialist subject teaching at the secondary level. The other is associated with general subject teaching at the primary level. The choice of route, which depends on students’ reflecting on their knowledge, skills and inclinations, will also modify their identities as teachers. However, there are, arguably, aspects of the teaching identity that are more universal and apply to teachers who follow either route. Diamond suggests an overarching structure as follows: Traditional models of primary and secondary teacher education systems leading to a teaching certificate are very similar throughout the world. The basic structure includes three components: academic preparation in the subjects or disciplines that the student is to teach; theoretical foundations of professional education; and the student practicum or teaching in some form of internship. (Diamond, 1991: 8) If we accept this basic structure (and ‘practical’ could be added to ‘academic preparation in the subjects’), then what becomes significant is the proportions of time and resources allocated to each of these three components in teacher education or training. The student who trains as a secondary teacher has usually studied a specific subject for at least three years at the tertiary level before deciding to teach and take a one-year teaching course. The three-year ‘subject studies’ corresponds with component 1. The one-year teacher course corresponds with components 2 and 3. This balance (or imbalance) of components could impact upon the teaching identity both personally and professionally. For instance, secondary teachers could possibly give greater value, initially, to the subjects they teach than to the other components of teaching because they have been able to study and practice their subjects in some depth. Students who train as primary teachers usually commit to this vocation through taking a qualifying initial degree. They study a variety of 39

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subjects relevant to primary schools and engage in educational theory and teaching practice intermittently, for at least a three-year period. Therefore it is likely that students have had a relatively even balance of components 1, 2 and 3 over this period. Likewise this could impact on identity but in a different way. Primary teachers are likely to have good general knowledge with a deeper identification with teaching as a process but a shallower understanding of the subjects studied. Regarding the self-confidence of newly qualified teachers, it could be argued that generally speaking primary teachers are more confident in their roles as teachers but less confident in their roles as subject specialists, the reverse being the case for secondary teachers.

40

Chapter 4 The Identity of the Artist

A

s was noted earlier, there is a deep history of art, which highlights art’s substantial contribution to human development. Visual artists who have been judged by others as exceptional in their field have entered history as famous individuals. The facts and fictions that surround art and artists, the presence of artworks in museums and galleries and the availability of reproductions bring art into the experience of most individuals in the western world and beyond. This public and cultural ownership of art affects how others identify artists and how artists see themselves. Art, of course, impinges on the world of education. General art (Art and Design), as we have seen, is usually taught as a discrete subject in secondary schools in the United Kingdom. A tradition has developed in which the practice of art is considered central to children’s education in art. Also the consensus seems to be that visual understanding and creativity is essential in the cognitive development of young children and art, often in a less differentiated fashion, is an integral aspect of primary education. Therefore art is explicitly taught in formal education and most people have some experience and conceptual understanding of it. This provides the conditions by which some individuals are able to engage in visual language from a young age and develop identities as art makers. The opportunity to choose art as a subject for special study in the final years of secondary education and at the tertiary level can reinforce this identification. Secondary students interested in art may decide to study an art specialism at the degree level after obtaining the necessary preliminary qualifications. Alternatively they could decide to take a one-year diagnostic pre-degree course in art before applying to a specialist art course for a more vocationally orientated education. Art students who decide to teach often come from various specialist/vocational art backgrounds, but I choose to illustrate the artistic identity here through the ‘fine art’ tradition because students who choose to study fine art are usually aware that they are studying to become professional artists or art teachers. Fine art courses, not unsurprisingly, tend to concentrate on developing the attitudes, knowledge and skills associated with fine art. These centre on personal art making complemented by historical and theoretical studies in art. The students are usually encouraged to deepen their identities as artists, but the teaching staff on these courses sometimes ignore, defer, leave implicit or even dissuade identifications with the teaching of art. The implications of this will be addressed later. The important point in relationship to the identity of the artist is that exposure to fine art practice has usually been quite extensive so that by the time students decide to train as teachers of art, their identities as artists have usually been developed. This deep identity is formed as much by exposure to the historical

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culture of fine art as by the psychological inclinations of the individual. Heidegger in his essay ‘The Origin of the Work of Art’ ruminates over the relationships between art, the artist and the work of art: The artist is the origin of the work. The work is the origin of the artist. Neither is without the other. Nevertheless, neither is the sole support of the other. In themselves and in their interrelations artist and work are each of them by virtue of a third thing which is prior to both, namely, that which also gives artists and work of art their names – art. (Heidegger, 1993: 143) He appears to use the word ‘art’ as a universal integrator in which the artist and the artwork are products of art in the sense that historically and conceptually art existed before and is projected beyond specific artists and artworks. This has implications for the identity of the artist. If we understand the identity of the artist as an integral aspect of the self, then the self, itself is formed by the prior and continuing influences that it is exposed to including the culture of art in the case of the artist. Also there exists the potential for the work of art as created through the interaction of the artist and society to contribute to and change the art, and the society, of the future. Developments and trends in art affect the identity of the artist, who is historically situated. Not all artists respond to changes positively but those who do usually accommodate such changes in their identities as artists. One of the most important developments that has impacted on contemporary artists, their work and identities is the concept of the autonomy of art. This autonomy is understood in the context of visual fine art but has repercussions in related areas and beyond. Our society often encourages artists to act as independent thinkers. We have seen in the previous chapter the historical development of this autonomy, and we are aware of the powerful influence the culture of art has upon the individual artist. This has a tendency to result in fine artists in particular being educated to strive for maximum control of the contents and form of the artwork they produce. Getzels gives us an impression of what is expected of the artist in the following statement: Free-lance painters and sculptors are expected to find their own style, their own subject matter: they have to be original to a degree that artists of previous generations could hardly have conceived. (Getzels and Csikszentmihalyi, 1976: 48) Although this was stated in the 1970s, the autonomy of the artist is still an important factor in the expectations of society, education and individual artists today, even if the media of artistic expression and communication have shifted somewhat particularly in response to new technology. Also the distinctions between the fine arts and the applied arts have been challenged or simply ignored by some individuals. This could have implications for the autonomy of fine art in the future. The contemporary context of 44

The Identity of the Artist

autonomy will inevitably have an impact on the identity of the artist, and the reflections of influential contemporary thinkers regarding autonomy will affect the cultural climate in which identities are formed. The philosopher Adorno in his paper ‘The Autonomy of Art’ offers some insights regarding artistic autonomy. Like Heidegger, he subsumes the artist and the work of art into the concept of art. He also refers to autonomy in relationship to a variety of arts including music, poetry and literature as well as the visual arts. In the following quotation he confirms the apparent historical and conceptual shift towards artistic autonomy: There is no doubt that art was in some sense more directly a social thing before its emancipation than after. Autonomy, art’s growing independence from society, is a function of the bourgeois consciousness of freedom, which in turn is tied up with a specific social structure. Before that, art may have been in conflict with the forces and mores dominating society but it was never ‘for itself ’. (Adorno, 2000: 241) The autonomy of art and of the artist echoes the psychological need for individuals to differentiate themselves from others, but conversely can encourage artists to undervalue social interdependence. Arguably positive identity formation depends on the envelopment of dependence and independence in a way that preserves both. Adorno says: ‘[Art’s] social essence calls for a twofold reflection: on the being-for-itself of art, and on its ties with society’ (Adorno, 2000: 243). It could be said that the most pronounced trend, from the Renaissance onwards, has been the identification of the practice of fine art as discrete. Now we have a social context of art in which the autonomy of the artist as much as the autonomy of art has become the norm. The ability to be innovative or original is not necessarily a precondition or a post-condition of autonomy but, as implied in the earlier quotation by Getzels, such qualities associated with creativity are often associated with artistic autonomy as well. Much of the art of the ancient Egyptians, although often exquisite, seems to us now to be prescribed to such a degree that originality or innovation do not appear to be explicit characteristics of many of the paintings and carvings that have survived. Contemporary fine art and in some cases allied arts are noted for their diversity. Artists are chosen for patronage often because they display individualism and originality in their work. Consequently these qualities are looked for and encouraged in fine art education and become an integral aspect of the identities of many aspiring artists. Also the ‘folklore’ that surrounds the personality traits of artists is likely to affect their image and possibly their personal identities. There have been attempts to obtain more reliable information on the tendencies of artists based on personality tests. Getzels in a study of art students in the United States used a standard test ‘The Sixteen Personality Factors Questionnaire’ (16pf) in order to give an impression of the personalities of art students as compared to non-art students. Getzels acknowledges the limitations of the test and 45

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utilises qualitative methods to complement the test results. He sums up the main findings as follows: Young artists, while still students, already tend to be reserved, amoral, introspective, imaginative, radical, and self-sufficient, and tend to possess attitudes usually associated with the opposite sex. They hold aesthetic values in high regard, and neglect economic and social values – a pattern that contradicts the ethos of the culture in which they live. They do not differ substantially from college students in intelligence as measured by conventional tests, but are far superior to them in spatial and aesthetic perception. (Getzels and Csikszentmihalyi, 1976: 45) Getzels suggests these findings do not contradict aspects of the ‘folklore’ that has grown since the Renaissance regarding the personality of artists. He states that art students have high regard for aesthetic values but neglect economic and social values and this ‘contradicts the ethos of the culture in which they live’. However, this fails to acknowledge that the ethos of this culture has developed in a way that would suggest that artists are expected to have these values. Such values become indicators of artists’ roles within society and their potential as makers of the kinds of art amenable to the connoisseurs and patrons within society. In other words, I would argue, western societies often allow the artist to hold an alternative ethos. Generally speaking though, if there is some truth in the personality tendencies attributed to potential artists, as reported by Getzels, then this will have a bearing on the artist’s identity and role in society.

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Chapter 5 The Identity of the Artist Teacher

W

e have looked separately at the identities of the teacher and the artist and will now look at the dual identity of the artist teacher. In the examples of three identity theorists’ views mentioned earlier, identity is understood as a global selfawareness by Erikson (1980), the occupancy of social positions according to McCall and Simmonds (1982) and as labels applied consistently in the view of Biddle (1979). These views indicate two perspectives on identity: 1. How do I identify myself? 2. With what titles, roles, practices, knowledge, values and vocations do others identify me? In presenting ourselves to the world, we are necessarily concerned that the image received by others corresponds with the one we wish them to receive. If we are concerned with authenticity, then we would like this image to reflect our deeper sense of self (Goffman, 1974). In order to do this, we need the labels and concepts that best describe ourselves in various contexts. The ones that are in common use are not always adequate for the task. The identity of the artist teacher is in this respect problematic. Although the phenomenon appears ever present in art education, the actual term has been scarcely used in the United Kingdom until recently and conceptualisations are often suspended in limbo between the notion of the art teacher and the notion of the artist. However, lecturers, tutors or teachers of practical art are sometimes expected to be art practitioners. As I have noted, it is common for fine art lecturers (and for many other art specialists) in higher education in the United Kingdom to be productive artists as a prerequisite of employment. Day, in the following quotation, acknowledges that this is also common in the United States: The most pervasive contemporary manifestation of the teaching artist is found in college and university departments of art where men and women selected for their artistic accomplishments are paid to teach art to students enrolled in the institutions that employs them. (Day, 1986: 38) This notion of dual practice or role could be understood as equivalent to that of the university professor who is expected, as a condition of employment, in addition to teaching, to be engaged in research and the dissemination of that research. Job titles cannot include all aspects of an individual’s professional role, but if it is believed that a particular title or label helps to identify important aspects of the individual’s role, then it should be used, and conceptualised.

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In art education it is not just at the tertiary level that the identification of artist teachers is pertinent. As we have seen, because of the way art education is structured in the United Kingdom, the teaching sector at the secondary level often recruits students who have for many years studied as artists or specialist practitioners in an art-related area. Although secondary schools and education authorities are often privileged to have highly motivated art practitioners as teachers, their needs in terms of personal artistic development and its relationship to teaching are not always acknowledged or provided for in continuing professional development programmes. Prentice highlights the transformational challenge for intending secondary art teachers with specialised experience and education in an art discipline: For an artist or designer the decision to train as a teacher raises fundamental and complex questions about professional integrity, creative energy, belief systems and self-image. Attitudes that influence responses to such questions include those which support a strong personal commitment to creative work. (Prentice, 2000: 9) Although there are critical periods of transition, in which artists develop identities as teachers and teachers develop identities as artists, where the stability of identity may be threatened, for some students the transition is psychologically and socially programmed. Students who study fine art in the United Kingdom are usually aware that the teaching of art is a realistic career option at the conclusion of their full-time education even if this is not always made explicit in art education programmes. Some, in fact, may have had ambitions to be teachers of art from school days. These students are often psychologically prepared for teaching and some do not necessarily have a strong desire to continue their own development as artists. Others will see no psychological conflict in making and teaching art, valuing their work with student artists as stimulating for their own creativity, as well as valuing the teaching for providing them with a relatively stable income and social base. Often primarytrained teachers are aware that in addition to their general subject knowledge and teaching skills, deeper specialist knowledge in art can be a positive aspect of both their teaching identities and their personal identities as makers or appreciators of art. Some of these types of teachers may see advantages in integrating their artist and teacher identities. Others might follow suit if educational structures support and encourage this approach. I have acknowledged historical links between the making and teaching of art, and it appears as if there has been a strong connection between fine art and the concept of the artist. Because secondary-level art teaching was a realistic career option in the United Kingdom at the end of the twentieth century, and earning a living as a professional artist was difficult and highly competitive, many fine art graduates chose to teach in the secondary sector. It is therefore understandable that fine art practices and values have affected the way art has been taught. But do the underlying principles of fine art practice sit comfortably with art education principles? The autonomy of art is particularly associated with fine art developments. Fine 50

The Identity of the Artist Teacher

art is often associated with experimentation, innovation, freethinking, nonconformity and non-conventional practices. Of course many educational institutions have expectations that art will be taught according to conventions associated with contemporary fine art. Artistic licence operates much like poetic licence in that a degree of free creativity is tolerated or encouraged on the grounds that better art results from them. Also general educational debates are often concerned with individual freedom and social adaptation, and these are not confined to the arts or the tertiary level of education. A question arises: are the identities of artist and teacher in conflict? The answer is yes, if we allow them to be. In focusing on the identity of teachers, it was proposed, in a fictional dialogue, that effective teachers relate their teaching to ‘something inside themselves – what they really believe and stand for’. From the teacher’s perspective it might be a concern for the socialisation and employment of students or a belief in the liberating powers of education. From the artist’s perspective it might be a concern for transmitting artistic and visual knowledge, or a belief in the liberating powers of art, and for the artist teacher it might be a combination of these and other beliefs and convictions. In Getzel’s personality tests, one test involved a comparison between four groups of students representing different courses related to art professions. The groups were fine arts, art education, advertising and industrial arts. Getzels interprets the data as follows: Relative to other groups, fine art majors have low economic values and high aesthetic values. Conversely advertising and industrial art majors have high economic values and low aesthetic values. The art education majors have low economic and aesthetic values but high social values. (Getzels and Csikszentmihalyi, 1976: 50) Fine art and art education students both had low economic values in this particular test. This might suggest that the main motivations for these students to make art and teach were other than financial. If art education graduates tend towards high social values and fine art graduates tend towards high aesthetic values, a combination of the two (the artist teacher) could have potential as a model for the teaching of aesthetic and social values in art education. In this chapter theories of identity have contributed to the identification of three concepts of identity particularly relevant to the notion of the artist teacher. Figure 5.1 below is a representation of these:

Artist

Artist Teacher

Figure 5.1: Three concepts of identity.

51

Teacher

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The arrows in the above figure indicate a transition of identities within professional parameters of training and education. For example, Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) students already educated as artists are also educated to become qualified teachers. Also students educated as generalist primary teachers can sometimes also opt to be educated as artists in order to offer art skills and knowledge at the primary level. Because artist teachers in this model have discrete skills and knowledge associated with both practices, the above concepts could be envisaged as overlapping as illustrated in Figure 5.2 below:

Artist Teacher

Figure 5.2: Overlapping concepts.

The significance of this overlap for a conceptual identity of the artist teacher is that characteristics, attitudes, knowledge and skills associated with both artists and teachers are combined in a single identity without necessarily abandoning some in favour of others. The identity of the artist teacher could be seen as simply the sum of factors associated with the separate identities of artist and teacher or as a synergy in which new characteristics, attitudes, knowledge and skills are developed or created.

Conclusion It has been argued that effective artists and teachers usually have commitment based on deep convictions and beliefs that form a part of the self. Fundamental to the artist teacher identity are intrinsic beliefs and convictions regarding both art and education. Autonomy is considered an important aspect of the contemporary artist’s identity. It is noted that this seems to relate to a function of identity regarding psychological stability and consistency. In this sense autonomy can be understood as strong differentiation. However, a concern is noted that the artist identity, in relationship to artistic autonomy and creative freedom, might not sit comfortably with the socialising functions of schools and other educational institutions. It is acknowledged that society, and consequently educational institutions in which art is taught, tolerates and sometimes encourages creative freedom in art education because it has come to be associated with quality art. The artist teacher could 52

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be understood as an individual who values artistic autonomy and creative freedom and sees them as social assets and therefore important to promote within the education system. The integration of the roles of artist and teacher, manifest as a deeper identity, could be construed as reflecting a move towards the integration of art and education. One aspect of this is the valuing of art as a mode of learning important and even essential as an aspect of the general development of individuals regardless of their vocational orientations. Students who adopt the artist teacher identity could find this identification helps to counter the sense of identity crisis experienced by some students who feel confronted by a conversion from artist into teacher or from teacher into artist, as one identity does not have to be abandoned in favour of another. Also perceptions of commitment in which individuals feel that they must choose between making art and teaching art, both in terms of a vocation and personal practice, are challenged through the dual identity of the artist teacher. The reported activities and beliefs of contemporary artist teachers inform, arguably, in a more concrete way, a conceptual model. In the following three chapters reports and case studies on artist teachers are explored.

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Chapter 6 ‘Putting Her Heart into Art’

T

he chapter begins with an article from a National Union of Teachers (NUT) publication The Teacher in which Beverley Scott, an artist teacher in England, is interviewed. The article is short and therefore is included in full. In a simple direct way it communicates aspects of her beliefs and activities and touches upon many issues pertinent to this study. The term ‘artist teacher’ is not used in the article, but the reader can decide if it is an appropriate term for describing this particular individual: Putting her heart into art … and that’s certainly Beverley Scott, whose acrylic painting ‘Utah 111’ adorns The Teacher front cover. She teaches 13–19 year olds and one or two mature students at Westwood High School in Leek, Staffordshire. Beverley didn’t drift into teaching; it was something she really wanted to do. Now in her fifth year, she told The Teacher: ‘I was warned that if I chose to teach art I would probably not paint again. Quite a few people were negative about it’, she laughed, ‘but I’ve proved them wrong. I’d like to tell artists out there you could do both. It’s not easy, you have to be dedicated – but it can be done.’ Beverley said she feels very positive about the future of art education because the government has at last recognised that it is crucial not only for students’ learning but their way of life – how they live and how they look at life. ‘I feel positive, but then I’m very lucky in the school I teach in. The status of art is high. I’ve been in institutions where it has been much more restricted but here it is nurtured, not only in the art department but also throughout the whole school. We decide what colour of paint goes on the walls, design the posters of contemporary artwork – quite challenging work. You don’t normally get naked men and women portrayed in schools but at Westwood High we have female and male art models who come into class.’ Beverley has won several awards for her paintings. Her latest exhibition was a culmination of her ‘Australian’, ‘American’ and ‘European’ periods. Her next exhibition will be with her father and sister, both of who are successful painters who either have been or are currently teaching art. (The Teacher, 2001)

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Interpretations The magazine targets teachers and it appears as if Beverley has been chosen for interview because of her positive attitude towards art and art teaching. Her words have evidently been used, but the reporter or editor may have interpreted or selected statements to convey a particular view. The reporter speaks for Beverley on a number of occasions in a manner that suggests the paraphrasing of her words, for example: ‘Beverley didn’t drift into teaching, it was something she really wanted to do’ and ‘Beverley said she feels very positive about the future of art education.’ The article gives the impression of being a ‘feel good’ article, encouraging and optimistic. It is titled ‘Putting Her Heart into Art’ and apart from the eye-catching word play, the use of the word ‘heart’ in this context seems to convey an involvement that is emotional or deep. We are told immediately that Beverley is an artist (painter) and that she invests much of her emotional self in her art. Beverley personifies the notion of the dedicated artist, who deeply identifies with art. We then quickly discover that this dedicated artist also teaches a wide age range of students, ‘13–19 year olds’ including ‘one or two mature students’. We are not told at this stage if Beverley also puts her heart into teaching. We do learn that Beverley chose teaching; she really wanted to do it. We are also told that she did not drift into teaching. This seems to imply there are people who do drift into teaching. We cannot be certain if Beverley or the reporter chose the word ‘drift’. The word seems to imply a negative or neutral approach to teaching. Two kinds of teachers are evoked: those who choose teaching (committed) and those who drift into teaching (uncommitted). Beverley tells us that she was warned that if she chose to teach art, she would probably not paint again. We are not told who gave her this warning. She then states that ‘Quite a few people were negative about it.’ Beverley had been confronted with not just one or two peoples’ negative views but ‘quite a few’. It had been suggested that teaching was likely to take something very precious away from Beverley, her art practice. Beverley’s response to this view was to prove them wrong. She decides to give her own advice to artists via the article: ‘I’d like to tell artists out there you could do both. It’s not easy, you have to be dedicated – but it can be done.’ We are not told why it is not easy. We have to use our imaginations or call on our own related experiences to understand the possible difficulties. We are told it is necessary to be dedicated. We are not told if it is necessary to be dedicated to teaching or to art making or both although it could be assumed she means both in the context of the article. Beverley’s positive feeling about the future of art education is based on her impression that the government values art as a way of life for students as well as a way of learning. This seems to suggest that Beverley herself value’s art in this way. Her positive feelings regarding making and teaching art, and the future of art education, are at least in part associated with the school she is in. The supportive nature of the school is described in some length relative to other issues raised in the article. She also compares the school with unspecified other institutions she has had experience of, which she describes as ‘much more restrictive’. It 58

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seems as if she particularly values a high degree of creative freedom in her teaching, as well as sympathetic whole school support. The general impression given is that Beverley’s positive attitude to her dual role is to some extent due to the supportive climate of the school. The reporter says that she has ‘won several awards for her paintings’, further affirming Beverley’s credentials as an artist. It is also reported that she is presently exhibiting and has another exhibition planned. The reporter describes her exhibition as a ‘culmination of her “Australian”, “American” and “European” periods’. It is not clear if these are the themes of her work or periods of artistic activity in these countries or continents. What is clear is that Beverley’s artwork has an international dimension. We are finally told that Beverley will be exhibiting with her father and sister, who are both successful painters. Beverley’s artistic kudos is further enhanced through her family associations, suggesting an artistic pedigree. It is also made clear that her father and sister have taught, or are currently teaching. This might suggest they have a commitment to teaching although this cannot be assumed. Although Beverley’s students are referred to briefly in the text, there are photographs of some of them working. They appear involved and there seems to be some quality artwork on display. It is likely that Beverley is an enthusiastic and able artist teacher, and this is probably why she was chosen for this ‘upbeat’ article. We will now look a little more closely at the particular issues alluded to in the article. There is no suggestion that Beverley, the reporter or the editor would necessarily agree with the lines of enquiry or my interpretations of the article, which simply provides points of departure for addressing issues relevant to a conceptual model of the artist teacher. However, some of the views represented are, in my experience, commonly found in art education.

Putting her heart into art The article begins with a reference to Beverley’s commitment as an artist. This strong identification with art is ever present in the article. It could be assumed that Beverley sees herself, and would like others to see her as foremost an artist, an artist who teaches. Her appeal to ‘artists out there’, concerning the difficulty, but possibility, of maintaining personal practice as an artist, appears to indicate that Beverley identifies with people who are motivated to make art. This seems to equate with notions of subject-centred education, which is a feature of secondary and tertiary education in England. It is not my intention to enter a debate regarding the relative merits of person- and subject-centred education other than to keep the question open and suggest that to aim for a contextual integration of approaches seems reasonable. However, it cannot be ignored that the structures of education, which to a large extent reflect structures in society, differentiate and compartmentalise activities and knowledge into discrete subjects. Consequently, individuals are often educated as specialists, some of whom in turn educate others as specialists. Prentice says of undergraduate courses in art: 59

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Their main focus is on making and their main aims are to develop students’ creative capacities and technical skills within a context of professional practice as artists, craftspersons or designers. (Prentice, 1995: 11) Students who specialise in art and decide to teach it have usually invested much of themselves into their subject. It is this commitment that is often the prime motivating force in their decision to teach art. Prentice continues: It is significant that the vast majority of intending teachers of art and design are motivated by a strong subject allegiance and by an equally strong sense of personal identity. (Prentice, 1995: 11) It appears as if this is the case with Beverley although we must remember that not only do people often have complex and varied motivations for the choices they make, but also experience and knowledge can change motivations. Beverley empathises with other committed artists but tells them, via the article, that it is possible for them to continue their development as artists and teach. Presumably she is appealing to a latent desire some may have to teach or a need common to many artists to supplement their income in some way. Getzels (Getzels and Csikszentmihalyi, 1976) in a survey of a group of elite male graduate artists from the United States, who were chosen because they were considered to have the best opportunities to succeed, explains that The first thing to keep in mind is that none of the young artists could support himself exclusively on the income he gets from his vocation. Even the most successful one, who has had gallery contracts for years, whose work has been bought by a museum and favourably reviewed by critics, hopes to earn only half of his moderate income from the sale of his work. (Getzels and Csikszentmihalyi, 1976: 202) The implication seems to be that if our society needs motivated teachers, such motivation can be a ‘spin off ’ of the motivation towards a subject, in this case art. The claim in this article is that a committed successful artist can also be a committed successful art teacher. Drifting into teaching Beverley didn’t drift into teaching, it was something she really wanted to do. We are immediately told that Beverley wanted to teach. In other words she is a committed art teacher, and this commitment is contrasted with the type of teacher who ‘drifts’ into the profession. The Concise Oxford Dictionary (2000) defines a drifter as a ‘person without aim 60

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in life’. In this article the person who drifts into teaching is presented as being without commitment to teaching. The implication seems to be that the aimless drifter lacks commitment and as a result is an inadequate teacher. However, it is quite possible for individuals to drift into teaching but develop commitment. Some artists, for instance, might find it difficult to make a living through their art and decide to try teaching. They may discover it gives them financial security, a working environment supportive of their valued identities as artists and an opportunity to help, and interact with, students. We sometimes encourage young people to try different things, travel and gain varied experiences before committing to a career. Indeed young people sometimes find it necessary to change careers throughout their lives in response to our rapidly changing society. Teachers who have experiences other than teaching can productively bring these to their work with students. The drifter sometimes appears in our culture as a romantic individual, a gypsy, philosopher, poet, musician, actor, mystic, freethinker, even guru or artist. The merits of commitment can be discussed without evoking a type of person who apparently represents a lack of commitment, in this case the mythical, indeterminate drifter. The evocation of the drifter in this article is not necessarily Beverley’s but it does present a type, as a negative in order to accentuate an individual’s positive approach to art and teaching.

Is the birth of the art teacher the death of the artist? I was warned that if I chose to teach art I would probably not paint again. This notion of displacement as communicated by Beverley is critical to a concept of the artist teacher for the following reasons. First, as a piece of advice, it conveys an attitude that quite clearly is the antithesis of the artist teacher. The use of the word ‘probably’ softens the statement but not the belief that underpins it. The belief is that it is detrimental to the practice of artists if they try to combine this practice with teaching. Second, the notion is critical because there is an element of truth it. The types of artists referred to in this article appear to be those who might be associated with the gallery or sponsorship systems and with fine art practice. The difficulties of ‘making a living’ in this highly competitive market are well documented (see Getzels and Csikszentmihalyi, 1976: 202). Not only must artists produce the type of work that is valued by others, but also they have to find venues by which to exhibit, present, promote, sell or gain sponsorship for their work. In other words, to function as an artist is often quite demanding and can extend beyond just the production of art. Teaching is, equally, a very demanding profession in which responsibilities seem to be ever increasing in the United Kingdom. Expectations regarding the levels of commitment of both artists and teachers are usually such that the idea that one can do both may seem fanciful. Beverley acknowledges that it is a difficult undertaking that depends on dedication, presumably to both practices. Most strategies for this dual practice will necessarily involve some form of compromise relating 61

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to the time and energy dedicated to each practice. However, although teaching usually involves the scheduling of students’ learning to meet targets within time constraints, artists do not necessarily have to schedule their creativity in the same way. If they are employed as teachers, they are free to develop at their own pace and in their own way without having to depend on their art making to provide them with an income. Of course there are artist teachers who teach part-time and therefore can ensure time for each activity. Others do what we all do, that is make time for all the activities, responsibilities and interests that we regard as important in our lives. Distinctions between work and leisure, art and teaching, can in some circumstances be irrelevant. For example, visiting an art gallery at the weekend could inform art practice, appreciation and teaching. It is not uncommon to find musicians, poets, actors, dancers, writers, philosophers and researchers, as well as visual artists, teaching. For many this is a support for their creative work that is not just financial. Some artists who are able to make a living without teaching still teach because they believe in its value and wish to encourage and support others in their artistic ambitions. The advice that Beverley was given presumably was given in the interests of her artistic development. However, Beverley sees her artistic development in a wider context that includes the teaching of others directly.

The future of art education and art as a way of life Beverley states that she feels positive about the future of art education because the government recognises it is crucial for students life experiences as well as for their learning. The issue date of the magazine is 1 January 2001. This is significant as government policy and educational philosophies can sometimes change quite rapidly. The National Curriculum Guidelines on Art and Design (NCGAD) were first published in 1999 in the United Kingdom so it is likely that Beverley was interviewed post National Curriculum (NC) and that her statement was made in the context of literature pertaining to it. One general aim from the guidelines refers to ‘Promoting pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development through art and design’ (DfEE, 1999: 8). A theme running through this and other subjectrelated documents seems to be the promoting of the integration of taught subjects into life experience. Fostering creativity is a documented aim of the government and similar themes appear throughout the art and design guidelines. Documented commitments to art education based on articulated values can at least provide a platform for actual commitments and negotiations regarding resources. Beverley apparently identifies with art as a way of life, hence her affirmation of the government view. Sikes in her paper ‘A Kind of Oasis’ notes some views of art teachers similar to those of Beverley: ‘I don’t just like art, it’s part of my life’ [and] ‘A lot of what I do out of school is wrapped up around art, because in a sense, that’s part of my life’. (Sikes, 1987: 144) 62

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NC documents consistently stress the contribution all subjects make to holistic learning and living. The NCGAD contains a quote from Quentin Blake that expresses an encompassing view of art and design: ‘Art and design is not just a subject to learn, but an activity that you can practice: with your hands, your eyes, your whole personality’ (DfEE, 1999: 14).

The importance of whole school support I feel positive, but then I’m very lucky in the school I teach in. Beverley says that she has ‘been in institutions where it (art) has been much more restricted’ than it is in her present school, where it has been ‘nurtured, not only in the art department but throughout the whole school’. She seems to value a reasonable degree of creative freedom in order to teach and gives some examples of the school’s liberal approach to art. ‘We decide what colour of paint goes on the walls’ and ‘You don’t normally get naked men and women portrayed in schools.’ Drawing from the nude is an art school tradition associated with the development of drawing skills (and possibly covertly erotic pleasure), but it is not usually practised in the primary and secondary sectors. Artistic freedom can be compared with poetic licence in which artists often expect their personal choices regarding the content and form of their work to be tolerated and even supported. Radar and Jessup suggest that Art has a free choice of subject and theme. It may choose as its matter error as well as truth, vice as well as virtue, distortion as well as faithful depiction, and invention as well as fact. (Radar and Jessup, 1976: 143) Even visual art is subject to some constraints, legal or otherwise, but creative freedom and art practice are often closely allied. Artistic freedom often extends into general art education. It appears as if the tolerance by Beverley’s school is understood as support for her style of teaching and possibly her artistic identity. Also we are told that the school is not just supportive of Beverley’s practice as an artist teacher but is supportive of art as a valued activity throughout the school. Art teachers often work hard to help their students’ progress, but it is the support of senior managers that is usually critical in gaining whole school support for art. Robinson maintains that There are many schools where the arts flourish. In every case the headteacher and other staff appreciate and support them. In those schools where the head teacher thinks the arts are marginal, they suffer, whatever the economic circumstances. (Robinson, 1982: 48) 63

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Artistic status The making of art has been a profession for as long as people have desired art objects and experiences, and reputation has been an important factor in the professional success of artists. Beverley’s status as an artist is stressed in this article. Awards are deemed to be indicators that individuals have met particular criteria of achievement usually assessed by peers, experts or sponsors. Beverley’s awards legitimise her as an artist in a general sense. References to her exhibitions further consolidate her credentials. Family traditions of artistry suggest that Beverley was nurtured in an environment of artistic endeavour and therefore is likely to have experience and commitment. With the contemporary bias towards the autonomy of art, it is not surprising that artists often define their own roles, and are expected or encouraged to do so. Sometimes the only criteria we have to judge if an individual is an artist is that they make art, bearing in mind that the words ‘make’ and ‘art’ are continually problematised by critics, educators, art historians and artists. We are reassured that Beverley is an artist because she works in a traditional art medium, has won awards, exhibited her work and comes from a family of artists. Not least of all, we are told that she is an artist and one of her colourful patchwork creations adorns the cover of The Teacher.

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Chapter 7 A Really Good Art Teacher …

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he following references are made to the PhD thesis by Wolfe of Purdue University, United States, dated May 1995. It is titled ‘A Really Good Art Teacher Would Be Like You, Mrs. C’ and is described as a ‘Qualitative Study of an Artist-Teacher and Her Artistically Gifted Middle School Students’. The abstract below describes the aims and context of Wolfe’s study: Employing Erikson’s (1968) definition of teaching effectiveness as the social organisation of classroom life, this study examines the year long teaching and learning experiences of a veteran artist-teacher and her artistically gifted middle school students. Two main themes emerge from this qualitative study: The teacher acts as a translator between the art world and her students’ world; the teacher translates via a five stage curricular rhythm. The phases of this rhythm are: Image flood; reflection; artwork; critique; exhibition. Although her content theme changes each semester, the teacher’s curriculum rhythm remains constant. The teacher’s gifted/talented training is reflected in her curriculum rhythm. An outcome of translation process is the students’ increased self-identification as artists. Implications for continued research include study of other ethnic, age group, and subject matter teaching and learning rhythms. The translation process may be of interest to the gifted/talented field. (Wolfe, 1995: xiii) Although the thesis refers to art education in the United States, some of the issues that emerge can be related to notions of the artist teacher in the United Kingdom also. Wolfe refers to the artist teacher, who is central to this study, as KC, this abbreviation continues to be used in this analysis.

A veteran artist teacher KC is described as a veteran artist teacher presumably because she was an experienced practitioner. The term ‘artist-teacher’ is used explicitly in the study and KC’s ability to teach art successfully to gifted students in her ‘challenge’ class is linked to this dual role. Wolfe writes that ‘an important personal characteristic of a teacher of artistically gifted students is that of being an artist’ (Wolfe, 1995: 78). She provides a profile of KC in order to give us an

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insight into the qualities and activities that help to define her practice. The point is made that KC was absorbed in art-related activities in her non-teaching time. These included her involvement in a ‘local artists’ alliance’ supporting exhibitions etc. It is mentioned that her husband was a painter (artist) and together they visited ‘several Midwestern cities, gallery hopping’ and taking photographic slides of artwork ‘for her students and for herself ’. The couple had also travelled to artists’ communities and had considered becoming full-time artists. KC is said to read art magazines in order to keep up with developments in the art world. Wolfe quotes KC as saying: ‘as we struggle, through solving problems in our own work, we can relate to the problem solving they (students) are going through in their work’ (Wolfe, 1995: 79). She reported that some of KC’s artwork developed from class demonstrations and her students sometimes influenced her artwork, but she expressed a reluctance to show some work because of its personal nature. An example of influence was that the playfulness of some of her students provoked a playful element in her most recent work. Wolfe says KC’s living spaces were filled with art and craft works both her own and her husband’s as well as work by other artists and craftspeople found objects, stones driftwood etc. were also displayed in her home. Wolfe says: ‘Art is not something “out there” to KC, it is part of her work, her recreation, her home’ (Wolfe, 1995: 80).

Gifted students One of Wolf ’s aims was to identify the ‘characteristics of an effective teacher of artistically gifted pupils’. KC evidently received training in working with artistically gifted students and had experience teaching them. The important issues that relate to a conceptual model of the artist teacher seem to be as follows. To what extent did KC’s own practice as an artist contribute to the art education of her students, and to what extent did the commitment of her students help to sustain KC’s role as an artist teacher? Wolfe suggests that KC’s practice as an artist was important regarding her ability to communicate the world of artists to her students. KC in her own words said that her students had influenced the direction of her artwork. Of course such inter-influencing can take place in any art class, but it appears to be implied here that the mutual strong commitment to art making by the students and the teacher was beneficial regarding the artistic development of all.

Translator Wolfe says that KC had a role as a translator in her challenge class: ‘the teacher translates the art world “language” to her challenge art students’ (Wolfe, 1995: 78). A distinction is made between the students’ world and the art world. Wolfe continues: 68

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Similar to a cultural Broker, who attempts to bridge two cultures, a translator’s position in this study is that of one who clearly understands both worlds (the student world, the art world), and eases the transition from one world to the other by increasing the common vocabulary, while skilfully interpreting as the two worlds intersect. (Wolfe, 1995: 78) Translating could be understood as an aspect of the role of every teacher, but its importance is emphasised here in relationship to KC’s evident success with her gifted students. Wolfe claims that KC translates well because she participates in both worlds. The world of art and the world of children can sometimes seem worlds apart. However, Lansing suggests that any person is an artist if and when he produces a work of art … If all human beings are potential artists and if any one of them can fulfil his potential by making a single work of art, it seems apparent that the artist must have certain characteristics in common with the average man. (Lansing, 1976: 88) One of KC’s aims was to encourage her students to see themselves as artists rather than see art and artists as remote from their own concerns and experiences. Wolfe outlines how KC straddled both worlds, which in essence consisted of her involvement in the art world as an artist, her experience and pedagogic training in the education of gifted students, and her informal art room strategy in which students’ day to day interests and banter were accepted and understood as sometimes conducive to learning and creativity. KC is not only perceived as understanding both worlds but as being familiar with the language of each and thus ideally situated to translate between them.

Curricular rhythm KC’s role as translator was executed via a strategy described as a five-stage, curricular rhythm. These stages are image flood, reflection, artwork, critique and exhibition. The nature of this developmental strategy is described in more detail as follows: For the students, the image flood built up their imagic store, through inundation of slides, books, photos and museum art works. The reflection phase had them using knowledge gained from the image flood in sketches, journals, and further research. The artwork phase demonstrated their idea generation process, problem solving techniques, solid technique instruction, and the use of more visual references. In the critique phase, the students experienced one-on-one in-process assessment, and a whole class critique, which solidified both art history and technique concepts introduced earlier. Finally, during the 69

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exhibition phase, the students saw their artwork displayed in public places. Th ey received affirmation from their peers, their families and the community. (Wolfe, 1995: 133) KC’s clear strategy for encouraging artistic development appears as an important aspect of her success as a teacher of artistically gifted students.

The students’ self-identification as artists Wolfe states that ‘An outcome of the translation process is the students’ increased selfidentification as artists’ (Wolfe, 1995: 134). One of KC’s aims was to encourage this identification. She saw herself as an artist, encouraging others to see themselves in this way. She showed the students examples of the work of visual artists particularly in the image flood phase of her curricular rhythm. A distinction was made between the students’ world and the art world. It seems as if KC’s success as a translator involved bringing these two worlds together for her students, so that they were able to see themselves as makers of art in a personal progressive continuum related to the history and culture of art making, and the work of other artists. It seems quite clear here that KC sees her role, linked to tradition, as an artist teaching others to be artists. However, in addition to this she appears open to the educational mutuality in which learners influence, as well as are influenced by, the culture of art. It is interesting that Wolf takes on the role of a traditional researcher investigating the practice of another. Her presence in the research is minimal in the sense that she does not draw attention to her own place in the research. In the next example, Bennett does not only investigate the practice of a colleague but also his own practice as an artist teacher.

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Chapter 8 An Artist Teacher’s Portrayal

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n the following analysis of Bennett’s thesis ‘An Artist Teacher’s Portrayal’, themes are identified that relate to the concept of the artist teacher. His abstract is presented below in full as it communicates his main intentions. The research is based in the United Kingdom and primarily refers to the education system at the secondary level: ABSTRACT AN ARTIST TEACHER’S PORTRAYAL – GARY BENNETT – 1994 The conception of this art teacher research report connects research to painting. Constituent layers and elements of the processes and the products of a painting episode are disclosed and linked to the constituent layers and elements of the processes and products of the research. The motivation for carrying out the research rests on a complex interplay of autobiographical factors concerning the relationship between the author’s experiences as an artist and as an art teacher and school art examiner. The report is seen as a reply to the problem of how to develop understanding and reflect on developing understanding of art, art teaching and the relationship between them to enhance art teaching. Artist teachers’ work (in the school art classroom and the artist’s studio) is understood to provide a context within which to develop understanding. Concern with the work of an artist teacher, other than the author, provided a means to examine ‘insider’ prejudice and also enable the author to become an ‘outsider’ to another teacher’s case in order to benefit from a case-study context against which to appreciate better his own case. As part of the interactions studied, the author’s views, inclinations and actions are disclosed and scrutinised as a prerequisite for developing understanding. The medium of the words of classroom conversations, research diary notes and interview records fashion the elements of literature, discussion, autobiography, classroom observation and interview data which combine to make up the layers of the whole report. Within that whole, two layers join together to portray the central case-study image of Eve (a practising artist teacher). The first descriptive layer portrays Eve becoming and

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being an artist teacher. The second analytical layer takes further the struggle to advance understanding by returning a more elaborate impression of the relationship between art and art teaching. The question of how it might be possible to open up the argument over what counts as art in teaching and judging is considered. A provisional sketch of transformed teaching is offered, that explores the potential of advancing the essential instability of creativity and judgement of quality in art, to face up to the complementarity between a teacher’s authority and pupils’ authority over their individual responses. (Bennett, 1994: Abstract) Bennett attempts a complex task in which multiple practices and roles and the relationships between them are studied. He not only relates his own roles as artist, art teacher and art examiner to the research but, as is common in a qualitative investigation, he reflects upon his role and influence as a researcher as part of his quest for understanding. In effect he takes both himself and Eve as case studies or portraits of artist teachers whilst acknowledging the intricate intersubjective nature of this approach.

Bennett’s biography and practice Bennett’s autobiography gives insights into his practice as an artist, teacher and art examiner and the relationship between these three roles. It also gives an indication of the influences that have, to some extent, shaped his views and beliefs regarding the nature of art and art education. Bennett enrolled at Doncaster College of Art as a full-time student on the pre-diploma course in 1967. In 1968 he began diploma studies in fine art at Leeds College of Art. He records the following aims of the course from the prospectus for fine art studies: a liberal education in art, and the development of the individual. The object is to encourage insight and awareness with creative expression. The course will explore the social relationships of art and will be the basis for future activity of artists, artist teachers and designers, for all of whom Fine Art is vital. (Bennett, 1994: 89) Is it a coincidence that the term ‘artist teacher’ is used here to describe a type of practitioner, and that Bennett later sees himself as an artist teacher and has undertaken substantial research into the portrayal of the artist teacher? After completing his diploma, he enrolled at Brighton Polytechnic for a one-year course for intending teachers, which he completed in 1972 and that he claims saw the start of his career: 74

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as a full-time art teacher in secondary education and the continuation, although on a smaller scale of activity, of my work as a practising artist that has continued up to the time of writing this report. (Bennett, 1994: 93) He mentions how quickly he became socialised into the world of his first comprehensive school through the support of teaching colleagues and how he used his own art education as a basis for his teaching of art. His head of department provided art staff with worksheets to use with the students, which also helped Bennett in the development of his teaching methods. He reports that standards were high in the art department as evidenced by the exam results. There was an expectation that he maintain these high standards in his own teaching. Bennett states that his later acceptance of a head of department post at his present secondary school in Suffolk enabled him to apply his experience and resource collection to a new situation and achieve a similarly high standard of art education in his new school. It was at this time that he became an examiner of secondary level art qualifications. He says of this: My experience as a GCE examiner exerted a powerful influence on my view of my own practice as an art teacher. The prescribed standards provided by the examination board, against which I judged work submitted for assessment, served undeniably as an indicator of what counted as quality in GCE art. (Bennett, 1994: 101) In 1985 Bennett studied for an MA at the University of East Anglia (UEA). He states that this provided him with an induction into teacher research and marked the beginning of a commitment to the extension of his role as a teacher to include critical reflection on teaching with the aim of improving it. He ends his autobiography by summarising his development as a practitioner and communicating his thinking regarding his doctoral research project. He highlights a particular area of concern that will be looked at in more depth: The contention that school art room procedures, in GCSE art and design, legitimate a particular view of what counts as art and artistic process and form a developing orthodoxy that not only does not appear to regard art teaching as problematic but also provokes a tension between art activity in school and art activity in a wider social context of the real artist’s studio. (Bennett, 1994: 110) Bennett’s perception of a gap between school art and the work of contemporary artists will be looked at next. His experience as an artist teacher and an examiner positions him well for commenting on the nature of the relationship between what he calls ‘school art’ and ‘real art’. 75

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School art and real art This title to chapter 5 of Bennett’s thesis ‘School Art and Real Art’ suggests that he is making a distinction between two kinds of art. He begins the chapter under the subheading ‘Real art’ by discussing various concepts of art. He appears to be highlighting a number of claims to identifying what art is, or what real art is. He maintains that the analyses of school art and real art reveal his understanding of the concept of art. Bennett seems to be saying that his concept of art is shaped by his experience of the art making that takes place in secondary schools and his experience of the art world in general and the art making of artists including him and Eve. Although he appears to use the word ‘real’ simply to distinguish art practice beyond schools from art practice within schools, unfortunately such a use can imply that art made in schools is not real. Secondary school art may be considered different from adult or professional art but is it less real? Could it be that what is being discussed is different kinds of reality? His suspicion that a culture has developed in secondary schools that is, in many ways, alien to the culture of art beyond schools may have credence. Cox seems to suggest that it is inevitable that taught art consolidates the status quo and, is often perceived (presumably by some professional artists or connoisseurs) as being amateurish: The ‘impossibility’ inherent in all art education is that the value of the information supplied as well as the artistic competence it encourages is always discredited in advance. It might be simply reiterated that art education only serves to underwrite established values and expertise and that the art produced within educational situations is always discredited as necessarily amateur practice. (Cox, Hollands and de Rijke, 1999: 27) Cox, Hollands and de Rijke’s theme of the limitations of art education is echoed by Rosenberg in the context of art education in universities in the United States, where he sees knowledge acquisition and naive creativity as both important in the generation of art but suggests that universities are generally geared to imparting established knowledge: The function of the University is to impart knowledge, but art is not solely knowledge and the problems proposed by knowledge; art is also ignorance and the eager consciousness of the unknown that compels creation. (Rosenberg, 1972: 47) If there are aspects of artistry that cannot be taught, or are difficult to teach, as inferred by Cox and Rosenberg, then this in itself may constitute an educational problem. Bennett appears to believe that the way secondary art is taught in the United Kingdom is not only different from the culture of art practice beyond schools but can legitimately be considered less real. He closes the chapter by clarifying the distinction he makes between school art and real art and by highlighting the need to understand these differences, presumably in order 76

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to narrow the gap between these two types of art in the interest of improved art education. He says: I take the stance that the working practices of artist teachers in the related, although different, work settings of the art classroom and the artist’s studio exemplify what counts as real art and school art in those settings. Those settings provide the contexts within which to explore and understand the relationship between real art and school art. (Bennett, 1994: 136) Bennett believes that there are substantial differences between the art made in secondary schools and the art made in artists’ studios. He gives the impression that greater understanding of these differences could inform art teaching. Cox seems to suggest that much school art is a response to established canons of art practice and theory, which become outmoded as contemporary developments unfold within the world of art beyond the education system. Rosenberg maintains that there are aspects of artistic sensibility that cannot easily be accommodated within formal education, but he goes on to assert that Since it cannot teach all the elements of creation, art education must concentrate on what can be taught. This teachable matter is far more extensive than is generally supposed. An enormous volume of significant information about works of art and their mode of generation has been accumulated in this century, and the failure to open this to the student deprives him of the only currently available equivalent of the atelier. (Rosenberg, 1972: 47) Although art education may not be able to ‘teach all the elements of creation’, Schön, in his publications The Reflective Practitioner (1983) and Educating the Reflective Practitioner (1987), suggests that some apparently illusive practices do not necessarily defy transmission. Understanding that takes place through experiential learning and reflection in action may be described and taught in such a way as to enable others to create the conditions by which such understanding can take place. Also if art teachers are encouraged through staff training, to develop their artwork and reassess it in the light of contemporary developments in art, then possibly they may become more able to create the conditions by which their students can embrace the world of art beyond formal education. In a sense there will always be slippage between art education and contemporary developments in art. However, people within art education can lobby for exam criteria, curriculum practices and staff development to be made relevant to the world of art beyond the school. It may be possible for art teachers or artist teachers to close the perceived gap between school art and contemporary art beyond the school. However, the environments in which school art and art beyond the school are created may necessarily be different, and consequently the art produced may also differ. But contemporary art is created in a cultural context in which some artists express artistic freedom by following conventions of art and studying the history of art 77

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for inspiration and methods of practice. Just as art education consolidates artistic knowledge, so do individual artists, and there is undoubtedly a necessary tension between consolidation and innovation. This tension exists beyond formal education as well as within it.

Eve’s biography and practice Bennett reports that Eve studied art to ‘A level’ and although she wanted to continue her studies at art school, financial and family constraints prevented this. Instead she gained employment as a cartographical draughtswoman, in which she believed her interest in art and geography could be combined. This job enabled her to continue to study art as it involved developing art skills related to her work two evenings a week. She reports she never lost her desire to go to art school. When her financial situation became more stable, she enrolled in a foundation course at Ipswich School of Art. After this Loughborough College of Art offered her a place on the BA in Fine Art. She studied printmaking, painting and sculpture at Loughborough before deciding to specialise in sculpture. Bennett says of Eve’s desire to become an artist: Eve’s biography, in relationship to her journey to becoming an artist, reveals a complex interplay of the satisfaction of a deferred personal need to study art full-time in an educational setting and a commitment to the view of art as a way of making personal sense of human experience. (Bennett, 1994: 197) Bennett reports that Eve’s experience at art school changed her outlook. She acquired craft skills and became increasingly able to make personal choices regarding the focus of her work. She describes the nature of her practice as an artist as ‘a developmental journey that goes beyond the here and now to the breaking through of a barrier’ (Bennett, 1994: 199). Eve began to value risk taking through experimentation and openness to new possibilities in art, which she identified with the role of an artist and valued as an aspect of her personal journey. After graduating from Loughborough she enrolled as a full-time student at Leicester Polytechnic for the one-year ‘Post Graduate Certificate in Education’ (PGCE). On completing the course she taught art to adults in evening classes and parttime to secondary children during the day. Her desire to gain experience in teaching adults stemmed from an interest in art therapy, in which she had plans for future career. However, her career plans began to change as she became more involved in teaching children. Eve eventually took up a full-time teaching post at the school in which Bennett was head of the art department. Regarding her activities as a teacher, Bennett reports that Eve held the view that The acquisition of craft skills and technical knowledge are precursors and preconditions for the primary purpose of classroom activity. Craft skills and technical knowledge are 78

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inextricably wedded to that primary intention of the making of individual and personal work by pupils. (Bennett, 1994: 214) Eve’s view of the possibility of children working in a self-motivated fashion on artwork is dependent on her perception of their artistic maturity. This is summed up in the following passage: Eve’s intention is that pupils’ experience in her art classroom will not be a changeless one. Eve’s goal that her pupils will develop technical and craft skills persists but her longerterm aim is that they will move forward to evolve individual and personal work. When she might reasonably expect that future aspirations to be achieved by virtue of changes she might bring about in her pupils’ art classroom experience is influenced by her view of pupils having reached the appropriate level of maturity. Eve’s judgement of individuals’ maturity and, therefore, the realism of the expectation to go beyond craft skills and technical knowledge to individual and personal work, is underpinned by a notion of intellectual and emotional readiness. (Bennett, 1994: 215) Bennett suggests that a conflict is exposed regarding Eve’s valuing of her personal autonomy as an artist and the constraints she imposes on her pupils as an art teacher. He acknowledges that artists, as well as students of art, are subject to constraints of a cultural or social nature. Although these may differ according to context, he emphasises the imbalance of power between teacher and taught and institution and individual, which impact on levels of autonomy. However, Eve’s belief in autonomy, through maturation, does not appear to conflict with her aspirations as an artist and her desire to support the development of artistic independence in her pupils. In fact her biography suggests that her artistic autonomy was of a developmental nature and was nurtured through her own art education. Bennett does concede that In a hopeful vision of constraint there might be an expectation of some degree of autonomy in which, for example, pupils are constrained to develop novel ideas. (Bennett, 1994: 340) It could also be argued that artistic autonomy is simply a case of the extent to which others, or society, allow artists to make their own choices, or impose constraints upon themselves.

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Chapter 9 A Conceptual Model

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here are four artist teachers highlighted in the previous chapters. These empirical accounts are important regarding a conceptual model of the artist teacher. Beverley Scott, from the United Kingdom, worked with secondary children and two mature students and was interviewed by a reporter from the magazine The Teacher. KC of the United States worked with artistically gifted children and was studied by Wolfe for her PhD thesis. Bennett, also from the United Kingdom, not only reflected upon his own practices as an artist teacher and art examiner, but studied the practice of his colleague Eve, who was also an artist teacher and worked with Bennett in a secondary school. All four artist teachers were involved in teaching art to children in the secondary age range (11–16), a level that, arguably, exemplifies the challenge of practising as an artist teacher. However, Scott, Bennett and Eve taught art in the maintained sector and were involved with students with a range of abilities and experience in art, while KC was studied whilst working with a group of students identified as gifted in art. The four artist teachers appear to have at least one thing in common, a commitment to both roles. This is not surprising because all were chosen as examples because of their abilities or desire to practice as artists and teachers of art. What is significant regarding this conceptual model is how they managed to maintain both roles and what factors helped or caused them difficulties. Scott’s involvement in the art world through exhibiting her work appears to have been an important aspect of her identity as an artist. KC also exhibited and was involved with artist collectives. Bennett and Eve speak more of their personal involvement with their artwork and their development as artists than they do of exhibiting. However, what they all seemed to have in common was the support of other artists or artist teachers. Scott exhibited with her father and sister, who were both artists with teaching experience. KC’s husband was an artist and they went on art trips together. Bennett and Eve were both artist teachers working in the same school and were mutually supportive. It could be extrapolated from this sample that sustaining this dual role is more likely if artist teachers have support from other artists or artist teachers. Scott also makes it clear that the support of her school was an important factor in her art teaching and she valued a ‘free hand’ regarding how she taught art. KC was involved in a scheme designed specifically for artistically gifted children and she had training and experience in this area. The scheme was officially supported and she was apparently trusted to develop the curriculum rhythm technique of teaching in her own way. Bennett felt constrained to some degree, as an art teacher, by the examination system and ‘school

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art’ culture. Eve appears to have been supported by her head of art (Bennett) both in her personal ideas regarding the teaching of art and in her practice as an artist teacher. In a publication on research into art in secondary schools in England, it is stated that In schools where arts lessons were observed, based on their perceived effectiveness, a commonly identified thread was the high level of support for the arts, as well as high levels of encouragement and acclaim directed towards individual teachers of the arts. (Harland, 2000: 558) Scott felt positive regarding the future of art education because she said the government believed it was important for children as a way of life. Certainly the rhetoric of national curriculum documents and government policy statements at that time emphasised the value of art. The other artist teachers did not cite government policy (be it at a different time or place) as a major factor in their abilities or desire to teach art or maintain their artist teacher identities, although, as mentioned, KC’s artist teacher identity appears to have been valued and supported in relationship to her working on an officially approved scheme for ‘artistically gifted’ children. Scott expressed a strong identification with making art and teaching, although the term ‘artist teacher’ was not used in the article. KC is identified as an artist teacher and this identification appears to have been an important ‘touch stone’ for her ability to maintain and at times integrate both roles. Bennett and Eve also identified themselves explicitly as artist teachers. What appears to be the case with these individuals is that a concept of themselves as both artists and teachers helped them to focus their activities and beliefs. KC, Bennett and Eve mention clear structures and aims in their art teaching and KC and Eve, in particular, spoke of their developmental programmes of work designed to respect student maturation processes and encourage their emerging artistic independence. Both KC and Bennett distinguished between the art made by children in schools and the art made by artists outside educational settings. KC believed it to be an aspect of her role to translate the culture of the art world beyond school, and make it accessible to her students. Also she endeavoured to respect the culture and language of her students and create a relaxed environment to encourage responsiveness, communication and creativity. Bennett believed there were important differences between the studio art of artists and the artwork of children in schools and endeavoured to gain understanding of these differences in order to inform the teaching of art. Scott stated that it was not easy to be an artist and teach, but it could be done. Bennett said that he was not as prolific in his art making since he started teaching. He highlighted cultural and environmental differences between school art and art beyond the school that he believed created tensions. KC and Eve emphasised the interdependence of their art teaching and art making, a view that to some extent appears to have enabled them to offset such tensions. 84

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Figure 9.1: Common factors.

Figure 9.1 represents some of the most commonly shared factors that appear to have contributed to the four artist teachers’, featured in the previous chapters, maintaining their dual practice. These factors are considered important contributions to the emerging model. Artist teachers appear to have a long pedigree, although the term itself only begins to be seen more often in the literature, as a representation of a type of practitioner, in the late twentieth century. It is used as shorthand for ‘the artist who is also a teacher of art’. It appears initially in publications from the United States. Daichendt (2010) traces the roots of the identity back to nineteenthcentury England and suggests that Alfred Wallis, a major figure in art education at the time, could be seen as the first artist teacher. Certainly his reforming approach to art and teaching would support this view. One of the most famous artist teachers of the twentieth century was Paul Klee, who taught alongside other artist teachers in the Weimar Bauhaus of 1919. Klee was highly productive as an artist throughout his years teaching at the Bauhaus. In the following quotation he refers to the course he was teaching as bound up with his art practice: Here in the studio I work at half a dozen paintings and I am drawing and thinking about my course, everything together. For it has to go together, otherwise it wouldn’t work at all. (Klee, 2002) 85

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It would seem as if Klee created an environment conducive to making his art and planning his teaching because he believed in the importance of both activities. Of course he was a famous artist working in a famous art school. As noted it is at this higher level of art education that the term ‘artist teacher’ has particular resonance in the United Kingdom and the United States because practice as an artist is often a requirement of employment. However, the secondary sector provides the majority of students for the Artist Teacher Scheme (ATS) in the United Kingdom. I will now describe some preliminary parameters for the model that is emerging. Artist teachers are individuals who produce artwork (art, craft or design work) and also teach art to students usually within the formal education system and, as the term implies, value both roles. However, the time and energy they devote to each practice may vary according to personal desire or circumstances. For example, full-time art teachers sometimes make art in their spare time; full-time artists sometimes teach in their spare time; and some artist teachers work part-time at both activities. Many artist teachers have art or art-related qualifications and teaching qualifications, and are involved in teaching students at all levels of art education but predominately practice at the tertiary and secondary levels.

The emerging model The model presented is considered to be an encompassing construct, which emerges from a number of observations based on historical and psychological impressions and the reported practices and beliefs of individual artist teachers as presented in the previous chapters. It is not my intention to evoke an idealised artist teacher, but some characteristics are identified and some tensions highlighted. It is important to keep in mind that concepts relevant to the model are often considered to overlap as well as interrelate. It is believed that there is no contradiction in envisaging a concept as having defined parameters, or a holistic integrity whilst simultaneously being part of other concepts both influencing them and being influenced by them according to proximity of definitions and purposes. The concept of the artist teacher as we have seen could be understood as being formed from two concepts, a concept of the artist and a concept of the teacher. Wittgenstein’s notion of family resemblance is also helpful in illustrating complex conceptual relationships. The concept of games may be given parameters that distinguish it from other concepts but it is also a general concept, which incorporates other concepts – for instance, there are different types of games that vary substantially from each other or interrelate and overlap: 66. Consider for example the proceedings that we call ‘games’. I mean board-games, card games, ball-games, Olympic games and so on … For if you look at them you will not see something common to all, but similarities, relationships, and a whole series of them at that … Look for example at board games, with their multifarious relationships. Now 86

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pass to card games; here you find many correspondences with the first group, but many common features drop out and others appear. When we pass next to ball games, much that is common is retained, but much is lost. Are they all ‘amusing’? Compare chess with noughts and crosses. Or is there always winning and losing, or competition between players? Think of patience. In ball games there is winning and losing; but when a child throws a ball against a wall and catches it again, this feature has disappeared. Look at the parts played by skill and luck; and at the difference between skill in chess and in tennis. Think now of games like ring-a-ring-of-roses; here is the element of amusement but how many other characteristic features have disappeared! … And the result of this examination is: we see a complicated network of similarities overlapping and criss-crossing: sometimes overall similarities, sometimes similarities of details. 67. I think of no better expression to characterise these similarities than ‘family resemblances’. (Wittgenstein, 2000: 31e–32e) A concept of the artist teacher could be understood as encompassing differences and similarities in the same way. On the one hand, there are artists and teachers of art, who are different practitioners. On the other hand, there are individuals whose professional and personal identities and roles straddle these vocations in different ways and to varying degrees at different times in their lives. Individuals have idiosyncratic conceptions of their roles and identities that sometimes, in some ways, coincide with those of others as seen in the studies of artist teachers in the previous chapter. It is such relationships that help to generate a conceptual model of the artist teacher. The following descriptions are presented as a summary list of characteristics, notions, practices, beliefs, observations and interpretations of who is, or what it means to be, an artist teacher. Artist teachers: • have characteristics not dissimilar from those of artists, who have historically taught their skills and knowledge to apprentices through education and employment systems derived from master–apprentice relationships, which are still present in the world and appear to have a lineage that stretches back into prehistory; • have motivations and convictions based upon their art practice and exposure to the culture of art. They may also have maternal or paternal drives that make them amenable to supporting the nurturing of children or other needful individuals and/or a philosophical belief in the value of education; • are often influenced by notions of artistic autonomy derived from a historical trend considered to have come to prominence in sixteenth-century Europe, developing in disparate ways to the present time. Although now society and the education system, to 87

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•

•

• •

•

•

some extent, tolerate and even encourage artistic autonomy as an important factor in the production of quality art, some artist teachers are still aware of a tension that can exist between the socialising aspects of education and the autonomy of art and artists. The following quotation highlights this tension: ‘Groups can rob members of autonomy but can also provide identity and security’ (Gillette and McCollom, 1990: 42); illustrate that deep identification with art and teaching could be indicative of a function of identity regarding psychological stability and consistency or, philosophically, a reflection of the desire to be authentic in the world; reflect an interdependence of art and education. Some artists could be seen as highly dependent upon the patronage and support of education in contemporary societies. ‘[T]he teaching of a vast range of courses provides work for thousands of artists’ (Creedy, 1970: 93). In England not only does education employ artist teachers but artists are also employed to work with teachers and students in residencies. Also public galleries with educational aims promote, sponsor and display artists’ work; highlight that self identification as such could help to alleviate any sense of identity crisis by asserting the positive relationship between personal art making and teaching; are subject to the ‘folklore’ that colours perceptions of artistic personality and professionalism. In particular the perception that the artist necessarily must display an exclusive commitment to art making in order to be worthy of the identification. Also some perceptions of teaching can undermine the artist teacher identity. For instance the perception that teaching is no more than a safety net for those who cannot find employment in other fields or professions; often have a strong historical and cultural identification or link with fine art practice. The choice of the word ‘artist’ is reflective of this. However, in the spirit of conceptual overlap as representative of contemporary practice, this relationship is not considered exclusive. Artists in present day society often have diverse experiences and education. Also postgraduate courses in education in the United Kingdom recruit students who have a variety of art-related experience and education, to train as art teachers; practice at all levels of education. However, this practice can vary according to the cultural context of the sector in question. The secondary sector seems to exemplify the challenge of practising as an artist teacher. It is a major employer of fine art graduates in the United Kingdom but is also a demanding profession in which teachers have responsibilities regarding the education of children who are compelled to attend school and engage in the subjects taught. At the tertiary level – particularly regarding fine art courses – teachers (tutors or lectures) are often expected by their employers to be art practitioners as well as teachers. This does give professional substance to an identification of these practitioners as artist teachers. Also their students are usually motivated to make art through personal choice. These different contexts exert different pressures regarding maintaining dual practice. In addition to these, two main provider groups in the United Kingdom are artist teachers in the primary, private and adult education sectors;

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• are better able to sustain this dual practice or identity if they: exhibit their art work; are regularly involved in producing art; are involved in the world of art beyond the education system and are supported by others artists or artist teachers; • are better able to sustain this dual practice or identity if they are supported by teaching colleagues and senior management in the education institutions in which they work and the education system and society in general; • need to develop strong self-identifications in order to focus activities and beliefs; • develop appropriate teaching strategies in order that their convictions, knowledge and art skills are effectively conveyed to others; • value art as an important subject to teach as an aspect of students’ general education as well as for a vocation; • translate the world of art for students in order to help them understand its methods, philosophies, history and language, and also respect students’ personal languages, cultures and interests and consider how these connect with the world of art; • see their practice as a ‘way of life’ as well as a professional practice; • see their practice as artists as an important aspect of their art teaching. Some may also see their teaching as an important aspect of their art practice; • acknowledge differences between art made within educational institutions and art made outside them, but strive to interconnect these in various ways. The following simplified definition of the artist teacher is presented as an indicator of the emerging model. An artist teacher is an individual who practices making art and teaching art and is dedicated to both activities as a practitioner. The conceptual model presented in this chapter is a representation of a human type. Aspects of the model are based on the practices, identities, roles and beliefs of actual artist teachers. Therefore it generally meets the following criteria of a model according to Nadler: Empirically validated Testing of it shows that presumed networked relationships do indeed represent what is being observed in actual settings. i.e. Does it really work like that? Face validity The model makes sense in the real world of organisational life. i.e. It tells it as it is. (Nadler, 1980: 125–127)

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This model has stated parameters. There are artist teachers whose practices, identities, roles or self concepts locate within these parameters. Also the model is designed not just to reflect present practitioners, but to provide art teachers and art educators with an example of a professional practice they may be able to relate to, or adapt their practice to reflect, in the interests of positive change. Although this model is derived from and refers specifically to the artist teacher identity, I argue that there are generic aspects of this model that are, or can be made, applicable to the following two dual identities presented in this study. In particular Chapter 2 ‘Identity Theory’ looks at identity formation, much of which is applicable in Parts II and III as are other conceptual representations. The formulation in Part I will not be repeated, but where this model of the artist teacher is relevant to the following identities of the researcher artist and the teacher researcher, it will be acknowledged and referred to, as will conceptual and cultural differences. Also the dual identities that follow will provide information and insights that I hope develop the overall theme of this book and show important links with the conceptual model of the artist teacher presented here. Daichendt, in his book Artist Teacher referring to the education system in the United States, redefines the term in a way I believe acknowledges the fluidity of identities in the field of art education: Despite the all-encompassing categories of art educator and art teacher, professionals in the field of art education continue to propagate the use of the term artist-teacher in journals and graduate programmes. However, the artist-teacher also extends beyond the typical borders of art education (or perhaps the boarders of art education are wider). College professors teaching a range of media, visiting artist, museum educators, and artists who see their work as educational also adapt and use the term to their liking. The broad use and multiple meanings in these instances leads one to rethink the meaning of the term ‘artist-teacher’. Artist-teacher is a common ground in these diverse professions and is the central core to the very large field of art education. (Daichendt, 2010: 144) The dual identities that are highlighted in this book overlap and interrelate in ways that blur the boundaries of art, education and research. This destabilising of roles/identities/ practices that is emerging will be addressed more closely in the concluding chapter. However, for now I will continue to engage with the notion of dual identities as conceived in the introduction, fully aware of their inadequacy, in some contexts, to frame mercurial roles and practices.

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PART II The Researcher Artist

Chapter 10 Research and Art

The research culture

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n the previous accounts of artist teachers, the spectre of the researcher can be seen to manifest itself through research into the phenomenon of the artist teacher. This is particularly evident in the doctoral thesis of Bennett, where he acknowledges the critical influence of his identity as a researcher upon his self-identification as an artist teacher. The researcher artist is another such identity, which I believe has grown in significance and potential particularly with an expanding research culture in England and by all accounts many other countries. Through the development of a model of the artist teacher, an understanding of the artist has emerged that itself was informed by general conceptualisations prevalent throughout the culture and history of art. There is much in the literature regarding what constitutes art and artists in society, some of which is presented in Part I of this book so I will not add to this significantly here. However, I would like to look at general developments in research and then, more specifically, at the notion of the researcher artist. The ancient Greek philosophers are of course renowned for their contribution to our research culture. In particular Aristotle is a major figure regarding the promotion of systematic enquiry. Although research has developed variously across the globe, and anthropology, ethnology and other humanistic approaches associated with the social sciences and qualitative research have been influential, scientific methods have often driven research cultures in recent history. This is particularly the case in the West, where secular political organisation has often embraced technological development and the procedural methods that favour innovation, invention and the type of progress associated with it. It should also be acknowledged that these are often linked with the desire for military, monetary and ideological power as, arguably, the mainstays of dominance and influence. There are too many contextual areas of research development and controversies that surround methodology and ethics to list them here, but the procedural methods based on systematic enquiry associated with science, which are often substantially financed, are without doubt a major influence on the research culture of the West. However, scientific methods, particularly through contemporary postmodern and post-structural discourses (see Denzin and Lincoln, 1998), have been challenged not only through discourses outside those of science but also from within. The so-called scientific method has itself evolved

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in response to new knowledge. Science (or some science professionals, see Popper, 1963) through various theories and observations increasingly acknowledges its own privileges regarding claims to resources, knowledge and efficacy. Research methodology understandably reflects the various tensions regarding knowledge validity, and without doubt science, although challenged, still exerts a major influence over research theory and practice. There is much in the research literature that refers to the different ‘paradigms’ of qualitative and quantitative research, with science often being associated with the latter. However, these paradigmatic distinctions have a historical legacy that is not always helpful to the researcher. A term increasingly used now in research is ‘mixed methods’ and some (see Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004) refer to this as a new paradigm in which the hypothesis or the research question or questions largely influence the methods used. ‘Mixed methods’ does appear to favour a less dualistic initial stance and signals a respect for the value of triangulation in research. Johnson and Onwuegbuzie say that We hope the field will move beyond quantitative versus qualitative research arguments because, as recognised by mixed methods research, both quantitative and qualitative research are important and useful. (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004: 14) One of the problems is, I think, that the words and concepts they represent (quality and quantity) are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Therefore if researchers feel obliged to ground their work in one of these two paradigms, they may feel an implicit discomfort that at some level they have to commit to a choice that closes off a particular area of knowledge or cluster of research methods. Of course paradigms may be helpful in that they can provide a general context (a limitation that may be practical and aid comprehension) for the research but they can also inhibit. Researchers may choose to locate their work within a particular paradigm because it is predominantly either qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. However, such paradigms may confuse rather than explicate. It could be argued that they are unnecessary and are no more than intimidating meta-narratives compelling allegiance. Of course there can be consensus on world views such as seems to be an aim of the ‘scientific method’ but such consensus is sometimes presented by the elites as irresistible or unchallengeable. I would suggest that in our present day a pluralist view of the world and an acknowledgement of cultural and cross-cultural influences is opening up many cultures including the culture of research. This ‘opening up’ includes not only a more liberal attitude towards research but also an expansion of the research culture and the use of methods associated with it. In England in 1994 the government proposed ‘that all graduates who wish to study for doctorates should first take a one-year master’s course in research methods’ (Greenfield, 1996: intro). Many universities responded to this proposal, and methods of enquiry associated with research have since blossomed, through both public and private sponsorship, because of the validity attached to systematic enquiry in all its guises. 96

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Greenfield presents a list and suggests that research in our society may be a combination of some of the following: • • • • • • • • •

a quest for knowledge and understanding an interesting, and perhaps, useful experience a course for qualification a career a style of life an essential process for commercial success a way to improve human quality of life an ego boost for you (the researcher) a justification for funds for your department and its continued existence.

Whether there is a degree of cynicism or simply pragmatism in some of Greenfield’s words, he is suggesting that research, like any other field of knowledge or activity, is undertaken for many reasons. Foucault (1969), for example, reminds us that power and knowledge are inseparable. There are vested interests in all knowledge. Without doubt research increasingly drives our culture because it is believed that it has the power of persuasion. The more convincing the research, the more powerful the knowledge it produces, which in turn drives the direction of societies who value the research culture. This is shown in a concrete way through scientific methods that demonstratively, for better or worse, enable human beings to manipulate nature profoundly. In the struggle for voice, people involved in many fields of knowledge must engage with research that justifies existence, not least of all the existence of their very own fields of knowledge. The traditional PhD was imported from Germany into England in 1917. It was considered to provide high quality research and was examined through a substantial piece of predominantly written work that we know as a thesis or dissertation. Students were required to defend their work through a discussion with examiners that included an external examiner. The discussion was known as the viva voce. However, by the 1980s there were growing concerns that the PhD was not meeting the needs of society. In 1991 the ‘Parnaby Report’, which largely based its findings on the failure of the PhD to meet the need for able research professionals in engineering, claimed it was too academic and lacking in industrial relevance. Practical skills associated with relevant professions needed to be valued alongside traditional academic skills. A plethora of recommendations and regulations have since been introduced in order to make PhDs relevant and accountable. In the ‘Framework for Higher Educational Qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland’ (FHEQ), it is stated that doctoral award holders will have (to paraphrase) the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring the exercise of personal responsibility and largely autonomous initiative in complex and unpredictable situations, in professional or equivalent environments. Such statements are of course open to interpretation. However, they do give a general idea of the expectations of particular 97

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policymakers. I would argue that professional flexibility aligned to changing needs and expectations is at the heart of such statements. Regarding contribution to knowledge, the FHEQ maintains one of the traditional values of doctoral degrees as being awarded for the creation and interpretation, construction and/or exposition of knowledge that extends the forefront of a discipline, usually through original research. There are now many diverse routes to the doctorate, but it is the ‘Professional Doctorate’ I believe that has particular significance here. According to the Quality Assurance Association (QAA) professional and practice-based doctorates are characterised in the following way: they often involve a supervised research project in addition to significant lecture and seminar elements; meet the needs of various professions; research projects are normally located within the candidate’s profession. Practice-based doctorate output involve: ‘practice-related materials. For example, in the performing arts, the output of written commentary and one or more other artefacts, or clinical work involving patients, clinical trials, etc’ (QAA, 2011). According to Hoddle: A Professional Doctorate is a programme of advanced study and research which, whilst satisfying the University criteria for the award of a doctorate is designed to meet the specific needs of a professional group external to the University, and which develops the capability of individuals to work within a professional context. (Hoddell, 2002) With the development of professional doctorates in recent years, PhDs no longer monopolise the field. In the context of research and education, for example, the Ed.D. (Education Doctorate) has become more prevalent in the United Kingdom. Also the Research Assessment Exercise (RSE) of 2008 and the forthcoming, 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) are further embedding, expanding and redefining research and research qualifications in higher education in the United Kingdom. Interestingly, PhDs are being developed that have a professional emphasis or content and methods of delivery much like the professional doctorate.

Research and art education Thus research values and procedures seem to be increasingly infiltrating the world of education, including the world of art education. The desire for information and understanding in order to attract resources for the purposes of improving teaching and learning has led to an expectation that education institutions at all levels develop a research culture. Initial degree and master’s degree programmes often expect students to demonstrate understanding of research processes and methodology. Even young children are sometimes encouraged to use research methods to obtain and present information. Robinson in her publication Sketch-books: Explore and Store argues that it is not unreasonable, or detrimental 98

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to children, if they are encouraged to see themselves as researchers in certain circumstances. She suggests that the practice of using a sketchbook as a resource for art making has characteristics akin to those associated with research. She says: Research is not an unreasonable word to use in the context of children’s learning. In particular it accommodates notions of cross-curricular links. But how do sketchbooks fit in? This chapter embodies a belief that children’s involvement with sketch-books fosters an attitude to learning which is creative and process-oriented and encourages them from an early age to function as researchers. (Robinson, 1995: 95) Encouraging young children to function as researchers could have implications for education generally as will be discussed later. In higher education in England one development, as we have seen, relevant to the relationship between art, education and research is the growth of practice-based research degrees in art. Wimbledon School of Art exemplifies this trend and claimed in one of its prospectuses to have been ‘instrumental in developing practice-based research degrees in the UK’ (Wimbledon School of Art, 2001/2002). The following quotation from the prospectus gives an indication of the openness allowed regarding the form in which research material is presented for assessment. Examination. At the end of the programme of research, students will submit either a thesis or a body of original work in an appropriate medium (such as Painting, Print, Sculpture, Expanded Media, Scenography, Costume, Technical arts, or another subject) supported by appropriate written material, as necessary. There is no formula for the number of words students should write in support of practical work and they may make their own proposals for this in their application. On successful completion of the examination a student will be awarded either the M.Phil. or PhD degree of the University of Surrey. (Wimbledon School of Art, 2001/2002: 27) Candin, in her paper on ‘Practice-based Doctorates’ in the United Kingdom reported back in 2000 that Over the last six years there has been a massive increase in the number of students studying for practice based doctorates in Art and Design. It is now possible to do a practice-based PhD in over forty departments. (Candin, 2000: 96) Practice-based doctorates are established now in the United Kingdom and in other parts of Europe and the United States. Also in Australia in 2011, 29 universities offered practicebased doctorates in the visual and performing arts. However, they can still be controversial, 99

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particularly in relation to assessment criteria. The combination of text and other forms of presentation leading to qualification varies from course to course, country to country, and is dependent on educational structures and local agreements. Frayling’s (1993/1994) work on research through artistic practice, Madoff ’s book Artschool (2009) and the many publications on practice-based research by Biggs (2006) have influenced thinking and practice in this area. Research methods have infiltrated most areas of knowledge creation and acquisition including the world of art. Also as we have seen, it is not just doctoral students who are expected to be familiar with and utilise research methods and approaches but students at all levels of education. So how has this burgeoning culture of research affected or influenced the world of professional art practice generally?

Research in the art world Although the literature regarding ‘researcher artists’ is not extensive, this was also true of the literature on artist teachers in the United Kingdom before the introduction of the Artist Teacher Scheme (ATS) in 1999 (although the term had been widely used in the United States). With research becoming ever more prevalent, and in the spirit of synergy, could we see such professionals as ‘researcher artists’ emerging in the future? The term ‘researcher artist’ could be used to describe: • artists who use research methods to enquire into their own art practice; • researchers who also make art or who use research practices to produce data/information presented as artworks; • researchers who go about their work artistically. All these meanings can be subsumed into a general notion of the researcher artist. I will now outline the impact of research on the art world generally, and in particular, within art education, and identify artists and educational initiatives that appear to engage in different ways with research. In the previous part of this study, one of the artist teachers identified was Bennett. Not only was his doctoral thesis, ‘An Artist Teacher Portrayal’, in part an investigation into his own dual practice as an artist teacher, but within the investigation he reflects upon his identity as a researcher.

Art as a metaphor for research ‘Art as a metaphor for research is a theme which recurs in this report’ (Bennett, 1994: 6). Initially Bennett takes us through the stages of development of one of his paintings ‘Reclining Nude’ and relates this to his process of research. He often connects his making of art with his 100

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making of a thesis by using language associated with art in describing research processes, such as sketching, layering, framing etc. His reference to portraiture in his thesis title is illustrative in this respect. He also makes connections regarding process, comprehension and structure. He brings his language and experience as an artist or artist teacher to the research activity and makes explicit his intention to connect art and research in various ways. I empathise with Bennett’s desire to incorporate the language of art into his writing and interrelate his identities or roles as artist and researcher. When working on my doctoral thesis on ‘The Education of the Artist Teacher’, I made a vow. I would visualise my thesis as an artwork beginning with tentative sketches, continuingly re-crafting it and finally making subtle adjustments. Wolcott is also interested in accentuating a connection between art and research as evidenced in this quote from his book The Art of Fieldwork: I do look at ‘artists’ and how they go about their work, but I do so for the sake of analogy, to gain a perspective on what field workers do that is like what artists do. My purpose is to encourage fieldworkers … to reflect on how fieldwork, as contrasted with simply ‘collecting data’, is an artistic undertaking as well as a scientific one. (Wolcott, 1995: 11) This particular view relates closely to the above suggestion that one possible interpretation or identification of researcher artists could be that of ‘researchers who go about their work artistically’. As noted earlier Schön, in relation to notions of reflective practice, also speaks of professionals performing in an artistic way. What exactly this way is or how it differs from other ways of doing things is a moot point. However, I hope that within this book and in particular the chapters on the artist teacher information is provided that helps to give an indication of what artistry could be. Also Wolcott’s book mentioned above engages with the notion, accepting that it is a complex and possibly necessarily ambiguous notion. Necessary ambiguity could be understood as related to a way of being that is responsive to shifting moments in which the response itself shifts intuitively to accommodate the moment. Illusive or not, I will offer a view of artistry here, based on how it often seems to be used. On the first page in the introduction to Atkinson and Claxton’s educationally focused book The Intuitive Practitioner, they say: ‘It is self-evident that much of what teachers and others do in the heat of the moment is not premeditated; it is intuitive. A situation arises; the teacher responds, and only later, if at all, will he or she pause to ‘figure out’ what was going on and why they did what they did’. This is what Schön calls ‘reflection-in-action’, which can be followed by ‘reflection-on-action’ with an obvious relationship to research. Intuition and reflection would seem to connect with artistry. Intuition is not artistry in itself, but it does seem to indicate a way of being that allows things to happen in an unpredictable but satisfying way. Certainly I believe artistry is usually understood as positive and celebratory. I would also suggest that words such as imagination and creativity and the various interpretations that accompany them also loom large in conceptualisations of artistry. To notice the artistry in something usually means you think it ‘works’ even if why it works 101

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eludes understanding. Indeed sometimes something that should not work for you does, and artistry takes on a magical meaning – achieving the impossible. The aesthetic is also often evoked in artistry. When something works, it could be said to possess a kind of beauty derived from all the parts coming together to make a whole that is more than the sum of the parts. We are familiar with this notion from integral theory discussed in the introduction to this book. The idea of ‘wholeness’ I propose also has resonance with artistry. This wholeness can also be seen when practitioners who display artistry appear to possess a vision that enables them to bring all elements together in a way that is comprehensible and or satisfying. What we have been looking at here is artistry as it might apply beyond the fields normally associated with the arts. I continue with a reflection by Bennett, who, as we have seen, researched his own identity and practice as an artist teacher, in which he raised the question of the nature of research in relationship to the artist and artistry: The notion that ‘the researcher is an artist’ might be read here as a general proposition and therefore become the focus of argument about the nature of research. (Bennett, 1994: 7) Just as strategies and conceptualisations are important in the integration of the artist and teacher identities, so are they important when an artist teacher simultaneously engages in research with a substantial textual content. However, as we have seen just as the culture of research has enabled artists, teachers and artist teachers to reflect upon their practices through educational courses and qualifications that can culminate in doctoral studies of a largely text-based nature, so has the culture of the visual arts infiltrated the culture of textbased research. This is reflected above in Wimbledon School of Art’s doctoral programme in which ‘[t]here is no formula for the number of words students should write in support of practical work and they may make their own proposals for this in their application’. For art students resistant to text presentations (possibly related to a perceived dominance of text, or the student feels more able to communicate visually, or simply because the individual prefers visual representations), research can appear more attractive if visual options/methods are available.

Artists utilising research Suffice to say research, in its various forms, appears to be becoming more prevalent in the world of visual art. Artists, in common with other professionals, will often carry out preparatory work regarding the projects they engage with. The university in which I am employed has recently commissioned an artist to produce work related to a new campus development. She has engaged in preparatory investigations, which she calls ‘research’ that indeed involves systematic enquiry, and must adhere to the ethics policy of the university 102

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including sensitivity to the environment and the people who are affected by the research/ artworks. She has consulted widely and involved others in decision-making including decisions regarding the nature of the artworks themselves. Her meetings with a university committee overseeing the project have appeared to me similar to the consultations a researcher or research team might engage in with their clients or paymasters. Within the art world some artists use methods reminiscent of those used in research as an integral aspect of their art. The artists Cummings and Lewandowska, who consider their work to be conceptually based (Stangos, 1974: 256), have engaged in a number of projects that have a research orientation. One of their declared aims was to raise awareness regarding value systems. A project of theirs called ‘Capital’ took two years to complete and involved the collecting and analysis of data culminating in presentations, exhibitions and an accompanying book. The work involved a comparison of the value systems of the Tate Modern and the Bank of England. Their sponsors or clients were the Tate Modern. The artists, in one of their presentations, made little distinction, regarding the form and content of their work, between art practice and research. Ole Pihl, an artist who uses a broad range of media, also describes himself as a researcher and teacher. In a co-authored book, which is explicitly a combination of art and research, he says of a project associated with the book: ‘Play Your City 2 tells the story of the researcheras-artist, and artist-as-researcher, and the reflective, reflexive, and interpretive strategies for authentic, first-person research’ (Pihl and Armitage, 2011: 11). Such projects seem to be becoming more frequent in the art world and, arguably, illustrate the breaching of the boundaries between art and research. I will now look more closely at the notion of art practice as research.

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Chapter 11 Art Practice as Research

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n the publication Art Practice as Research: Inquiry in the Visual Arts, it is argued that ‘the imaginative and intellectual work undertaken by artists is a form of research’ (Sullivan, 2005: xi). This stance is pertinent given the ongoing debate regarding what can legitimately be classified as research. Of course, as previously acknowledged, the word ‘research’ is used in many professions and indeed in a plethora of circumstances to identify that enquiry of some form or other is taking place. Also, as previously mentioned, ‘research’ is understood as a way of learning involving distinct methods, within a historical and conceptual research culture, in which standards regarding validity are often reflected in educational programmes that qualify people to undertake research projects. Such programmes often culminate in the PhD or other equivalent doctoral qualifications. Inclusion and crossfertilisation of various methods have resulted in conceptualisations of ‘research’ encompassing all the above. Sullivan begins from a standpoint, or historical debate, in which artists and other art professionals have claimed that art has been undervalued as knowledge. The controversies surrounding art as knowledge have been with us at least since the ancient Greeks and are famously played out through sections of Plato’s Republic with art being associated with replication or illusion. Also in Renaissance Italy, the low status of art as knowledge in society was challenged by artists and their patrons. Leonardo Da Vinci, for example (whose sketchbooks undoubtedly display characteristics associated with research), championed visual art as worthy of being taught in prestigious academies in sixteenth-century Italy. I have conflated research and knowledge here simply because research is considered to generate knowledge and therefore confers status on particular categories of knowledge that can be legitimised through argument based on systematic enquiry and validation. In promoting art as research, Sullivan suggests that what art has in common with research is: the attention given to rigor and systematic inquiry, yet in a way that privileges the role imagination and intellect plays in constructing knowledge that is not only new but has the capacity to transform human understanding. (Sullivan, 2005: xi) Art history and criticism have long been associated with academic disciplines including systematic research, but the making of visual art has a tradition more closely aligned with workshops and studios and societal demands for various art products and art-trained professionals with particular art-making skills. However, with the contemporary

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reorganisations of education generally, the visual arts are becoming integrated into educational structures that favour progressive qualifications and the development of academic skills. Many practice-based visual art courses in the United Kingdom and the United States are attached to universities. They are being assimilated into an academic tradition in which research processes are encouraged, but which are often imported from disciplines with different traditions of knowledge acquisition and use from those of art making. As noted, scientific processes in particular have exerted a powerful influence on research practices generally. University courses, including those involving visual art, have been expected to respond to these influences accordingly. Sullivan makes the point thus: [T]here is an increasing expectation that visual arts and art education faculty and students are able to undertake research that has credibility within the academy and the art world. Consequently, approaches to visual arts research need to be positioned within existing frameworks but not be a slave to them. (Sullivan, 2005: xiii) Sullivan argues that the visual arts need to exert their own influence on research by making the case for procedures and philosophical and educational orientations in which ‘research methods can be grounded within the practices of the studio and that these are robust enough to satisfy rigorous institutional demands’ (Sullivan, 2005: xii). Whilst he makes the case for the special nature of visual arts research, I would argue that in the spirit of synergy the development of the culture of art can, and arguably should, not only influence the general research culture but expect to be influenced by it. Sullivan asserts the value of idiosyncratic visual arts research, in order to try and redress what he believes is an imbalance. The research must assure not only visual art practitioners that their ways of working can be valued in research as well as the world of art practice, but also apprise researchers from other disciplines that visual art processes, methods and understanding could inform their own disciplines and evolving research practices. Having mentioned Wimbledon School of Art’s pioneering Art PhD in 2001/2, I will now look at my own university’s Fine Art PhD programme (2011/12) as illustrative of contemporary developments in art education. It is stated in the programme overview that there exists a vibrant and growing community of researchers at PhD level. In the area of fine art the topics for these research degrees are linked to staff expertise together with student interests, and reflect the increasing potential of practice-based PhD studies. Informed by your particular discipline, you will be asked to critically contextualise your work at a high level, clarify both the theoretical and practical research-based enquires, and produce distinctive contributions to the research field. (Anglia Ruskin University, 2011/12: 216) Also there is an article in my university magazine, regarding an art exhibition ‘which featured three Fine Art PhD student’ (Anglia Ruskin University 2011/12: 35). It is interesting that 108

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the university draws attention to the fact that the artists exhibiting are PhD students and although their doctorates are ‘art practice’-based, they are also researchers familiar with research traditions. It is quite clear from the university literature that both practice-based research and traditional research methods of a text-based nature are used or integrated in various ways. In a student profile from the programme information, Andrea Medjest-Jones says: I gained insight into my working processes and wanted to expand further, incorporating theory and writing as part of my work … The programme covers both practical and theoretical aspects of my research and provides professional support and a research culture critical to my academic and professional development. (Anglia Ruskin University, 2011/12: 216) Even if students (in theory) can limit text-based work on practically orientated doctoral programmes, it seems that (in practice) many use text in a substantial way particularly to explain practical processes and engage with theory and critical analysis. What becomes possible are cross-interpretations between visual and text presentations. But what distinguishes visual art research from other forms of research, particularly of a text-based nature? Or possibly more pertinently, what options are opened up for art and research through the understanding and acknowledgement of human value in inquisitive, creative and challenging visual art?

Art, words, concepts and research I would like to enter the world of visual art and take a brief look at the way images and words have sometimes been used together. I will then look at the development of ‘conceptual art’ in relation to Dada and Surrealism in order to emphasise an interrelationship between art making, words, ideas and research. This book, although concerned with visual art, communicates with you predominantly with words (some diagrams are included). I make no apologies for this. It is my chosen medium in this instance. In fact the relationship between images, words and thoughts is historically and conceptually fascinating. In Part I, it was acknowledged that prehistoric images in caves, apparently made by our distant ancestors, give us insights regarding past groups and societies. In this sense images can speak to us. We are also aware of the overlap between words and images regarding the development of some inscribed languages. The hieroglyphics from ancient Egyptian tombs, for example, use images, many of which we can recognise directly (animals, people, tools, etc.) and images and marks of a more abstract nature, but both have to be translated into meanings and purposes through consistent, symbolic, coded representations that can be shared by those educated to use and understand them. Words, images and thoughts are often (possibly always in essence or in some way) entwined. Are we not constantly translating 109

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and interpreting, in a variety of ways, sensual experiences and thoughts as we encounter the world? So a picture or text can prompt us to think and write in certain ways. What we write or draw, for instance, involves some form of focused thinking, for ourselves and others with whom we are endeavouring to communicate in this way. Of course there are many diverse forms of performance and presentation where this happens but inscriptions of images and words has a long history. Although technology has changed, representations in images and words seem to persist. In fact words and images are commonly combined. This has always been the case in book illustration and advertising. Visual artworks have often been given titles, but in the so-called fine arts at the beginning of the twentieth century a number of artists were experimenting with art in which words and images featured together in somewhat new ways. For example, in ‘synthetic cubism’ Braque and Picasso began to use letters, words and collage, including printed texts, as pictorial devices. The stencilled letters which appear for the first time in Braque’s work of 1911 … become a distinct feature of cubist painting … the name of a musician or the title of a song is used only in conjunction with musical subject matter: the word ‘BAR’ can conjure up the atmospheric setting for an arrangement of a bottle, a glass and a playing card. (Golding, 1974: 62) Later with the ‘pop art’ movement, originating in the United Kingdom and the United States from the 1950s, reaching its climax in the 1960s and still to some extent persisting today, letters and words were sometimes combined with other images, drawn, painted, sculpted, collaged or printed. Text and images lost their separate identities in the way they were handled by some artists. However, the opening up of art, in which words and images largely served concepts, has its contemporary roots in the anarchic ‘Dada’ movement, which began in Zurich in 1916 and spread across Europe and to America. The movement was founded by Hugo Ball, a German actor and playwright, who ran the music hall ‘The Cabaret Voltaire’, which attracted many artists who wished to subvert the art establishment and who presented shows that we might associate now with performance art, installations and other activities and experiments broadly understood as having a conceptual orientation. In 1924 the ‘surrealist’ art movement began in earnest in France. It developed to a large extent out of Dada and comprised predominantly artists and poets, representing in itself an important interaction between people who use images and words. In fact the ‘Surrealist Manifesto’ (1924) produced by Andre Breton, a Freudian, poet and dominant founder of surrealism, ‘announced Surrealism as a literary movement, mentioning painting only in a footnote’ (Golding, 1978: 124). The surrealists’ main artistic claims related to representing the unconscious and automatic processes through words and experiments with images. However, what so often compels, or interacts with, the use of any form of communication are ideas. Ades says of surrealism that ‘[t]he plastic arts are in a sense auxiliary to surrealism, whose main interests were poetry, philosophy and politics, although it was really through them (the plastic or visual arts) that surrealism became known to a wider public’ 110

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(Ades, 1981: 127). Here we see ideas, words and images supporting each other in such a way as to communicate surrealism, and the concepts that gave it its name, to a wider public. I think it is clear that the opening up of the visual arts in terms of the unlimited possibilities of form and content was an important strand of first, Dadaism and then, surrealism. This strand then connects with conceptual art particularly through the work of Duchamp. Duchamp straddled Dada, surrealism and conceptual art. In fact he engaged in an intellectual and artistic freedom that transcended categories and boundaries. At the same time he was aware of their power and influence. In speaking of Dada in an interview with James Johnson in 1946, he reveals something of his own approach to art: Dada was an extreme protest against the physical side of painting. It was a metaphysical attitude. It was intimately and consciously involved with ‘literature’. It was a sort of nihilism to which I am still very sympathetic. It was a way to get out of a state of mind – to avoid being influenced by one’s immediate environment, or by the past: to get away from clichés – to get free. (Chip, 1968: 394) Duchamp is often seen as ‘the father of conceptual art’. Indeed many of his activities defied classification but had a cerebral quality long before the term ‘conceptual art’ was coined. The expansion to the present-day forms of conceptual art involves displays and presentations that often include texts of various kinds, but in particularly ideas have been given primary status. Smith says: [I]n the mid-sixties … there arose an unprecedented emphasis on ideas: ideas in, around and about art and everything else. A vast and unruly range of information, subjects and concerns not easily contained within a single object, but more appropriately conveyed by written proposals, photographs, documents, charts, maps, film and video, by the artists’ use of their own bodies and above all by language itself. (Smith, 1974: 256)

But what does all this have to do with research? I speculate that diverse conceptual art is ascendant and that the same can be said of research. Also traditional research has not only largely involved the use of words but often included illustrations, diagrams and sometimes photographs and other visual representations as data. Some conceptual art resembles research not least because of the inter-influencing of art and research as shown here. However, no matter how many of these ‘other’ visual representations have been acceptable, the doctoral research qualification, for example, was traditionally quantified through a word count. As seen earlier Wimbledon School of Art did not adhere 111

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to this practice in awarding doctorates, which illustrates a change in which, in some contexts, visual art practices and procedural methods have been able to influence research theory and practice and consequently the rules/guidelines that often dictate formal research training and qualifications. I vividly recall in higher education in England in the 1970s and 1980s heated debates in which various art presentations were being defended as worthy of being assessed and valued as research. Also it must be said that resources for projects were available under research budgets, a pragmatic reason for projects to be understood as research. What I believe we are seeing taking place in and between the worlds of art and research is a synergy in which not only words and visual images interact in diverse ways but a variety of performances and presentations can be legitimised as knowledge. These are not only becoming available within the research culture generally but are also influencing it through methods born of art practice. This can develop as an integrating process through a time spiral in which some boundaries formed in the past dissolve and new boundaries or new conceptualisations of overlapping or flexible boundaries arise in response to universal change and human developments and interventions. It is interesting that Mills (1959: 139) in his publication The Sociological Imagination speaks of openness to such shifts of boundaries in the context of the social sciences. ‘Intellectually, the central fact today is an increasing fluidity of boundary lines; conceptions move with increasing ease from one discipline to another.’ Fears regarding the loss of in-depth study in discrete subjects may well be important to address in particular contexts, but equally boundaries are sometimes unhelpfully maintained when time and circumstances have moved on. Again this is related to the judgements that have to be made regarding consolidation and innovation. One way of trying to accommodate this tension is through an integral theory in which problems are approached through a conceptualisation where the new transcends but also includes that which is valued in the old. The new in its turn must be critically evaluated. Of course with ‘real world’ problems, this is a tricky task involving quality dialogue and dissemination with no guarantee of agreement or success in an unpredictable and indeterminate world in which no theory or action provides a finite solution amenable to all the people and situations affected. Suffice to say, art making and research are not so strange bedfellows and the researcher artist could be understood as a contemporary representation of a dual identity not uncommon in the past. For example, not only could Leonardo Da Vinci be seen as a scientist as well as an artist, but also much of his work quite clearly embraced practices and methods we associate with research. He is of course a famous example, but it is highly likely that artists at all levels of practice have engaged in activities we now associate with research.

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PART III The Teacher Researcher

Chapter 12 Research and Teaching

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he pattern and logic of the dual identities presented in this book means we have arrived at a combination where the subject of art drops away. Not completely though because a teacher researcher could of course be a teacher of art or an artist teacher. Also many of my references are still art related. However, this ‘dropping away’ of art does feel strange because art is central to my own experience and interests. Also in presenting models of the ‘artist teacher’ and ‘researcher artist’, what has become apparent is the extent of the overlap and interrelationship between these models with teaching and learning tending to be ever present explicitly and implicitly in both. This continues to be the case, most explicitly, with the identification of the ‘teacher researcher’. Also what is being discussed centres on processes of learning or professional orientation as teacher or researcher without necessarily evoking another field of knowledge. The teacher researcher could be a generalist or specialist teacher. Again, like the notion of the researcher artist, the term is not extensively found in the literature but with the expansion of research generally, the teacher researcher has become a genuine phenomenon of identification and practice in the United Kingdom and the United States and also in many other countries where there are similarities in educational structures and policies. The expansion of the research culture in the United Kingdom impacts on professional development or job promotion in the education sector, where appropriate qualifications as well as experience are highly valued. Senior educators are more often, than was previously the case, required to have studied or be studying at the doctoral level. In other words teachers and educators who wish to advance in their institutions or career paths are now expected to be highly qualified researchers. The question asked here is: what kind of professionals are emerging in education in which skills and knowledge regarding both teaching and research are a major feature of their development? The ‘dropping away’ of subject could be important here. The generic skills of research and teaching are emphasised whereas subject skills and knowledge maybe considered secondary. Writing and thinking skills and practical teaching skills could predominate for the teacher researcher. The re-forming of one’s identity, which can happen over time through individual choice, personal development, maturation and societal changes, is now quite commonly expected in professional life. I would argue that although professionals have choices, tendencies or trends in their chosen professions often encourage them to adapt their identities accordingly. Responding to change whilst maintaining important personal values is a challenge for us all. The expanding culture of research, like any other culture, may have important benefits but

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must also be subject to critical examination in order that benefits can be contextually discerned. The teacher researcher who adopts this title or who is expected by the employer to engage with both roles will need to create a working balance between these roles and practices or integrate them in ways that are amenable to themselves and the employer. They must also evaluate the place of their subject knowledge regarding the identity of teacher researcher. This is not just a question of compromise, for both teaching and research have, as an aspect of their cultures, critical discourses in which it is expected that the status quo, or the dictate, is challenged. This challenge seems irresistible in a rapidly changing world in which individuals and institutions must find creative ways to adapt and ultimately survive. Making your professional life work for you as well as for others, with whom you are expected to interact educationally in the interests of propriety and value, is essential. As with the other dual identities highlighted here, models and conceptualisations regarding what this identity consists of can be important in relation to one’s own being and becoming professionally. Of course it must not be forgotten that what is taught as well as how it is taught affects students’ experiences. Earlier I referred to even young children understanding some of their activities in school to be research. If, as is highly likely, the research culture retains a power base relating to systematic enquiry and validity, then this will be reflected in the orientation of teachers and students. Also, in speaking of children as researchers, we are acknowledging an educational continuum in which research is ever present. Most public education, in the cultures highlighted here, evaluate learning, at least in part, through systems of examination. As noted earlier, lifelong learning may involve passing tests as a child and could culminate for some, in terms of qualifications, with the award of a doctorate as an adult. Progressive qualifications usually have significance for the teacher researcher, and teaching and research, through this educational imperative. If ultimate qualifications often involve research, then it is not surprising if children are sometimes encouraged to see their educational work as research and preparation for future examinations in which research is an important feature. Will it be long before research methodology (including the jargon of research) is taught in schools to children as a requirement? The fear that the natural maturation of children might be compromised by research is offset by the possibility of pedagogical understanding that is respectful of maturation, for example, by using language and teaching methods appropriate to comprehension in respect of age and readiness. I would now like to look at the literature available that relates to the identity of the teacher researcher. Although this is not extensive, there are some interesting developments out there. In particular the actual term ‘teacher researcher’ appears most frequently in relation to action research. Of course when a term of this kind is used in a specific context, the definition quite appropriately refers to that context. My emerging conceptualisation of this particular dual identity both differs from and overlaps with conceptualisations of action research.

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Action research and the teacher researcher Maclean and Mohr (1999) explain in their paper ‘Teacher-Researchers at Work’ that many of the teachers involved in research into their practice valued the term ‘teacher researcher’ because it redefined their roles as teachers. They say that when teachers become teacher researchers, the [t]raditional descriptions of both teachers and researchers change. Teacher-researchers raise questions about what they think and observe about their teaching and their students’ learning. They collect students work in order to evaluate performance, but they also see students work as data to analyze in order to examine the teaching and learning that produced it. (Maclean and Mohr, 1999: x) This form of practitioner research is sometimes referred to as action research. Johnson says that The concept of teacher-as-researcher is included in recent literature on educational reform, which encourages teachers to be collaborators in revising curriculum, improving their work environment, professionalising teaching, and developing policy. Teacher research has its roots in action research. (ERIC, 1993) Kemmis and McTaggart define action research as: deliberate, solution oriented investigation that is group or personally owned and conducted. It is characterised by spiraling cycles of problem identifi cation, systematic data collection, reflection, analysis, data driven action taken, and, finally, problem re-definition. (1982) It is easy to see how this process has value in work environments, and in the context of this book, teaching and learning environments. Action research in education can be traced back to Dewey in the 1920s and Lewin in the 1940s but Corey (1953) introduced the term ‘action research’ to the educational community in 1949. Both of the previous conceptualisations of dual practice presented in this book not only share educational aspects but involve cycles of reflection and action closely associated with problem identification and solutions that have echoes in the action research approach. Th e closely acknowledged relationship that the teacher researcher is believed to have with action research as reflected in the literature and related course provisions for teachers is so

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explicit as to indicate a conceptualisation that should not ignore this strong alliance. However, the term itself does not necessarily exclude any other research methodology or methods that a teacher might engage with. Therefore although I will acknowledge the ‘strong alliance’, I will also develop a more inclusive notion of this dual identity in keeping with my intention of opening up possibilities of identity that reflect individual and professional idiosyncrasies. In an article on the teacher researcher, action research is seen as able to be complimented by other forms of research: Of course, formal research occupies an important place in the field of education; yet, it can be difficult to translate its findings into new practices. Action research allows teachers to pursue critical inquiry to activate change, on their own terms. Teachers may want to take formal research findings and translate them into their own action research question. (ERIC, 2012) What I believe to be most important and is acknowledged above is that principles of action research can be strongly present in teacher research without excluding other research philosophies or approaches. Inclusive possibilities are of course central to one of the theoretical positions of this book. The model presented of the artist teacher and the conceptualisation of the researcher artist do seem to have in common a valuing of progressive inter-reflection on action and thought, in the interests of personal and professional development. This particular aspect of practice is shared by the teacher researcher as noted above, and articulated in terms of action research. As we have seen, artists, researchers and teachers tend to engage in action research to some degree, or in some form, as a normal aspect of personal and professional being. I will look closely at action research as a more generic category of research as it seems so relevant to all the dual identities that are the focus of this book.

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hese appear to be some important characteristics of action research:

1. Practitioners who engage in action research strive to improve their practice as a direct result of the research. 2. It tends to be autonomous and is evaluated from the practitioner’s/client’s perspective. 3. Although tending to be autonomous, it may be undertaken by peers in collaboration in a specific workplace or environment. 4. Improvement in the immediate context is a major driver of the research. The Artist Teacher Scheme (ATS) mentioned in the first part of this book came about because many art teachers asked the National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD) to provide courses in which they could develop their personal artwork and develop as artists and explore the relationship between their own work and the work of other artists and the students they taught. Self-improvement and student improvement and various forms of collaboration with peers are usually central to these courses. Also researcher artists as previously described, particularly those who conduct research in order to inform their work and negotiate projects with individuals and organisations, usually have to operate as reflective practitioners and engage in reflection-in-practice as well as reflection-onpractice to succeed as professional artists. This again seems close to notions of action research. In addition, although the emphasis here is on professional practice, the overlap with personal practice is ever present. It is quite common for artists and artist teachers, as reported previously, to see these practices as a ‘way of life’ as much as a profession. In looking at ‘being’, one thing appears particularly important: many people value the striving for personal being, which in some way embraces their various roles, beliefs and actions in the world both personal and professional. Reason and Bradbury say: Action research activities are usually driven by personal commitments to contribute to human flourishing, and these commitments are informed by intellectual orientation that is systematic or aware of interdependencies, emancipatory, critical and participatory. There is a wholeness about action research practice so that knowledge is always gained

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in and through action. As Marja Liisa Swantz expressed it to us. ‘I do not separate my scientific inquiry from my life’. (Reason and Bradbury, 2008: 11) Reason and Bradbury look at action research in an open way, acknowledging the complexity and conceptual fluidity of the methodology whilst also highlighting important identifications such as its political applications in the world.

Political context Action research generally involves the doer having a say in what is done and justifying or validating decisions taken regarding actions through focused analysis using research processes considered to maximise reliability. In other words professionals who implement practice contribute to or drive policy that relates to their areas of professional practice or expertise. This can mean challenge to the status quo or the larger organisation. Bottom-up contributions to reform is obviously political. It usually involves a redistribution of power. Lykes and Mallona in the publication Action Research say: Movements for liberation and struggles for transformation have deeply informed participatory and action research throughout their history, which has, in turn, imbued discourses generated in a wide range of social and revolutionary movements with multiple meanings. (Lykes and Mallona, 2008: 107) These authors go on to say that Freire’s praxis of critical consciousness (a process of critical selfenquiry and self-learning) has been very influential in action research. Freire’s conceptualisation of dialogue, I believe, is central to his notion of liberation. For Freire dialogue necessarily challenges power bases continually. It did not escape his attention that the oppressed can become the oppressors. Therefore dialogue (arguably compatible with democracy) must always keep the possibility open that one’s own position of power can be challenged and changed.

Dialogue Conceptualisations vary and of course each dialogue develops in its own way and has meaning and purpose in particular contexts. However, there seem to be some common traits of dialogue that indicate its special value. I outline here those that are believed to be relevant for two main reasons. Firstly, they are based on an historical and conceptual understanding of the development of dialogue and its use particularly in western democracies. Secondly, they are presented to make more explicit a process that is believed 124

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to have humane, interpersonal utility as a mode of communication generally. Some of the earliest forms of dialogue to shape our understanding of it are the ‘Socratic dialogues’ created by Plato. In his source book on Socrates, Ferguson says of these: The conclusion is usually negative: the dialogue ends in aporia (‘no way forward’) as Socrates protests his ignorance and his interlocutors’ pretensions to knowledge have been refuted. (Ferguson, 1970: 35) One obvious identifying characteristic of this form of dialogue is that we are witnessing a drama, possibly but not necessarily, a re-creation of actual conversations. Although Ferguson suggests that the conclusion in these dialogues is usually negative, Plato is still presenting us with conversations that stimulate us into thinking about the world and our attempts to understand it and act within it. These are important starting points for conceptualising dialogue. Bakhtin’s dialogism has been an important influence on dialogical theory. In The Dialogic Imagination (1981), he brings to our attention the inter-influences of literature. Contemporary notions of ‘intertextuality’ (Kristeva, 1980) have much in common with Bakhtin’s dialogism. Often notions of intertextuality do not only concern themselves with inter-influences but also deliberate on explicit use/citing of other texts, sometimes locating them in new contexts. Such notions suggest that influence does not have to be denied or veiled and can be seen as inevitable or desirable, and therefore acknowledged and embraced. Generally speaking, language can be understood as dynamic, relational and able to constantly redescribe the world. Bakhtin believed that language and thought are dialogic, influencing and being influenced. If we observe this process in human discourse and consider it to have value, we can also make it more explicit and applicable to human conduct as a mode of communication, a source of knowledge and a means towards liberation. The word ‘dialogical’ suggests conversations between actors in a drama directed towards exploration of subject or resolution of problems. Exploration is considered open ended and problems that involve others and need to be resolved are approached through conversations that aim to be amicable and respect and include individual voice. Boal (1974), a dramatist who developed ‘The theatre of the oppressed’ in which ordinary people were encouraged to both enter the drama and affect its content and direction, was influenced by the ideas of Freire (1970). He advocated dramatic methods as a means towards personal liberation: [W]ith the invention of dialogue, ideas were juxtaposed, and nothing guaranteed that the ideas of the authorities would prevail. Dialogue is always dangerous, because it creates discontinuity between one thought and another, between two opinions, or two possibilities – and between them infinity installs itself; so that all opinions are possible, all thoughts permitted. … Dialogue is Democracy. (Boal, 1974: xvi) 125

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Bohm (1996) a major figure in the conceptualisation of dialogue acknowledges its special nature and equates it with creativity in terms of synergy. He stresses that dia comes from the Greek for ‘through’. He says that ‘[t]he picture or image that this derivation suggests is of a stream of meaning flowing among and through us and between us’ (Bohm, 1996: 7). He emphasises a respect for each other’s views and a willingness to come to agreement and in so doing open up possibilities of creating something new and important. For Bohm, dialogue has the potential for profound change, he says: I’m suggesting that there is the possibility for the transformation of the nature of consciousness, both individually and collectively, and that whether this can be achieved culturally and socially depends on dialogue. (Bohm, 1996: 54) We can also enter into the spirit of dialogue with personal thoughts and ideas. Dialogical Self Theory (Hermans, 2009) suggests that the dialogical process can also be an internal process. Self-reflection and self-criticism are characteristic of this and an essential aspect of the dialogical process. This notion relates to the conversations we have with ourselves or simply our engagement with the choices available to us when communicating or acting in the world. Armatage deliberates on dialogue as a process necessary in our times: Dialogue is the true nature of the new age of sensibility that allows us to explore our various standpoints from different positions to test, and understand the essence of each other’s cultures, ways of thinking, and to see how we perhaps can benefit and develop inspiration, insight, and reverie. (Pihl and Armitage 2011: 10)

Social change Action research influenced by Freirean dialogue has a history of challenging oppression. However, the acknowledgement that intimacy gives power to dialogue begs the question of how this might be extended to group and organisational power relationships. Reason and Bradbury say: Although participatory and action research emphasises micro-level, community based change strategies, many early theorists argued, on the one hand, that micro-level change needed to be situated within an analysis of macro-level social inequalities. (2008: 110) Although a modicum of caution might be reasonable here, as meta-theories can alienate individuals and impose systems on them that can bypass the dialogical process, such 126

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meta-theories are not only active in the world but are arguably necessary for human organisation. Indeed the dialogical process itself could be seen as a meta-theory, or a generic process that includes but also transcends the individual situation or voice. However, as we are talking of a process that constantly revisits, reaffirms or reconsiders no matter how difficult this may be to realise in a world of competing and collaborating individuals, then on balance such theorising that welcomes challenges and questions dogma seems acceptable. It would be hard to deny that Marxism, for example, as a philosophical overview, has a constant presence in action research and Freirean dialogue. I do not intend an interpretation or analysis of Marxism here, as it is a well visited subject, other than to say that the communist manifesto, for instance, does not, as Freire does, in so many of his publications, emphasise the dialogical process as a constant source of restraint on meta-theories of political dominance. Freire appears to be influenced by Marx in terms of the need for the oppressed to gain some power in the world, but the means to this for Freire is through dialogue that professes no unchallengeable political stance. I believe one of the most plausible philosophical propositions regarding how the dialogical process might be realised at the macro-political level is Habermas’s Theory of Communicative Action (1984). Reason and Bradbury say Habermas describes communicative action as action orientated towards intersubjective agreement, mutual understanding and unforced consensus about what to do. It is the kind of communication that occurs when people turn aside from strategic action (getting something done) to ask ‘what are we doing’. (2008: 127) This is noticeably close to notions of dialogue but Reason and Bradbury suggest, and I would concur with this view, that Habermas goes beyond intimate dialogue and its microconsequences: Placing the notion of ‘opening communicative space’ at the heart of a view of critical participatory action research is to emphasise the inclusive, collective, transformative nature of its aims – aims which serve and transcend the self-interests of individual participants. (2008: 127) If an aspect of dialogue is self-criticism and consequently self-reconceptualisation where appropriate, then collective, collaborative or negotiated decision-making seems to be a reasonable extension of intimate dialogue. Action research may favour individual or small group endeavour, but all research that is disseminated rarely confines itself locally, and arguable cannot do so. Even if a piece of research aims only at providing understanding for the researcher, research, by its nature, strains beyond the particular situation. In other words even localised action research builds theory for consideration beyond the particular case. Also anyone who publishes research puts it in a public domain of multiple interpretation 127

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and potential generalisation. Therefore bearing in mind the proposed theoretical preconception regarding integral theory and concerns regarding dualistic tendencies outlined in the introduction to this book, action research, although tending towards political theory and praxis, does not advocate a particular political stance other than that which arises in the context of the research. However, addressing social concerns and perceived imbalances of power are often central. The various theories aimed at creating social cohesion are themselves subject to the dialogical process and communicative action. Action research, similar to reflective practice, often aims to develop theory from the specific case in order to inform the practitioner in a way that improves action that then cyclically improves the value of the theory regarding action in other situations. This process of constant critical and selfcritical volition may embrace particular political stances in context and time but should not deny itself by being a slave to any political stance or ideology. I believe that action research, a mode of research in which individuals or intimate groups of professionals aim to directly improve their practice and consequentially the service or value they offer to others, is ever present in the practices of the dual professionals identified in this book. In the literature on the teacher researcher, this is explicit in the aims and research outlook of such teachers and the courses and staff development provided for them. So although action research should not exclude other methodologies or research methods, we should acknowledge and embrace its importance regarding the identity of the teacher researcher and indeed the other dual identities presented in this book. The notion of the teacher researcher has a strong identification with action research. However, teacher researchers will often engage with any research methods that illuminate the problems they are interested in. Also the identity of the teacher researcher is underdeveloped in the literature, although I would argue the phenomenon is becoming ever more in need of understanding and conceptualisation with the expansion of the research culture in education. I have only touched upon the subject here but I believe the research and literature will grow in this area.

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T

he comprehensive model of the artist teacher presented in the early chapters, although specific, includes some generic aspects and information that has relevance to, and resonance with, the dual identities presented in the later chapters. This is not surprising as it has become evident that not only is there much conceptual overlap, but I would argue that actual professionals who practice within the fields of art and education, often are engaged with, or are confronted with, overlapping practices that standard professional labels do not always fully reflect. But why is this important? The world and consequentially the professional world is in a constant state of flux and in order for us to cope with this and adjust, we need to gain some understanding of ourselves and the social conditions in which our professional identities are formed. To go further, I would say that in the spirit of action research and reflective practice, we should take some control over this, and the reformulating of our identities, to reflect our values and changing values as we respond to personal needs, the needs of others and professional developments. Models, conceptualisations, identifications and reviewed identifications can all help us with this. Also in the spirit of synergy, this reformulation of professional identity can manifest as a creative desire to participate in the shaping of the future, or the construction of our being in relationship to the changing world. I will now map out what I believe to be the main themes of this book. Professional development, regarding teachers making art in the United Kingdom and represented by the ‘Artist Teacher Scheme’ (ATS), began because many art teachers felt an important aspect of their personal and professional development was being neglected by policymakers and continuing professional development programmers. The scheme has slowly but surely expanded over recent years and revised conceptualisations of the artist teacher have resulted. This has given insights to practitioners who make art and teach, and educationalists who develop courses for art teachers. My model of the artist teacher includes practitioners at all levels of education and although, for example, the majority of the ATS courses are attended by secondary art teachers, the scheme is also open to the primary and tertiary sectors. In my experience, mixed cohorts were encouraged and were common. Art itself as a cultural force has developed, to a large extent, as a subject in which inclusivity is valued much as are creativity, imagination and innovation. Also intersubjectivity, inter-influencing, multiple identifications are not only a focus of much thinking and art practices now, but these trends or cultural volitions have also influenced or been influenced by, education and research. Therefore in the landscape I have sketched out for this book,

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artists, researchers and teachers are not only sometimes the same people but professional tendencies, even if the labels still often lag behind, have changed, and are changing to the extent that more individuals may see themselves or be encouraged to see themselves as all three. One of the changes I believe to be particularly significant in contemporary society in the United Kingdom and the United States and beyond is the expansion of the research culture in which research developments are substantially impacting upon artists and teachers amongst other professionals. This heralds the possibility of profound changes in professional identities and the very nature of the relationships between art, education and research. Below are some indicators that there are growing numbers of artists and artist teachers who engage with the research culture in a significant way. • It is becoming as the norm for all higher education academics/practitioners in the United Kingdom to have studied, or be studying, for a doctorate. • Research methods are now being acknowledged and used at many levels of education. • In the past ten years there have been increasing numbers of courses in which practical artwork can be submitted and accepted as fulfilling or contributing to the requirements of doctoral level qualifications. • Artists involved in commissions for organisations are increasingly evoking research methods to secure and implement successfully these commissions. • The ATS, amongst other practice-based courses in the United Kingdom, and beyond, allows students to develop their work at the doctoral level. • In my own department of education in a UK university, art staff have been encouraged in recent years to study for doctorates and three of the five employed became doctors as well as artist teachers and have engaged with the research culture in various ways. As mentioned earlier Bennett’s thesis, back in 1994 ‘An Artist Teacher Portrayal’, engages with the realisation that his developing identification as a researcher as well as an artist teacher could have profound implications for his sense of self and indeed the way he perceived the world, made art and taught others. A colleague of mine was encouraged to, and decided to, take on the responsibility of a large doctoral programme, whilst continuing with both her international practice as an artist and her art educational research. I believe that the more fluid nature of identities in the fields of art and education means that values, beliefs and loyalties can be reassessed and possibly altered to reflect personal shifts in identity and professional expectations. In my own case I realised at an early stage of my doctoral studies that commitment to the research culture would profoundly affect my understanding of the world of art and education. Also I felt it important to allow my identities as artist, researcher and teacher to flow back and forth as I worked and engaged with each as intuition and circumstances indicated. I have also found my ideas and concerns expanding and being influenced by other areas of knowledge and I am collaborating with colleagues in other fields. There are of course problems, difficulties, obstacles and constant changes to cope with 132

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as ever, but the notion of adopting discrete identities or specialisations as the norm appears now more a choice than a necessary way of being. I hope the fairly simple triadic structure of this book helps in understanding the ways we, or others, categorise practices and identities and the ways it is possible to categorise them that reflect our changing professional identities. However, it has been my intention to construct these dual identities in response to the activities of real practitioners and evolving educational trends. Although artist teachers, researcher artists and teacher researchers exist as real people, so do artists, researchers and teachers. It is not my intention to suggest that professionals necessarily should supplant one identity with another. It is in the spirit of integral theory that I am proposing that these identities can and do coexist and overlap, and awareness of this, and openness to the possibilities in practice, selfidentification and organisational opportunities over time, may help individuals’ sense of renewal and becoming practitioners. Also those people who influence educational policy and professional development programmes could do well to consider the complex, diverse and rapidly evolving needs of art and educational professionals. Art itself, for better or worse, has been influenced by the development of formal education. I believe it is also changing its nature partly in response to a burgeoning research culture. Yes, people will still be employed as discrete artists, researchers or teachers and many will desire this. Possibly a growing number will be identified as artist teachers, researcher artists or teacher researchers. But we may also see individual professionals operating as all three and the worlds of art, education and research influencing each other in ways that will change their nature. Of course the blurring of boundaries can be as much a psychological perspective as a professional one, or maybe I should say that there can be a ‘blurring of boundaries’ of all identifications and experiences. But this is not to say no identification is valid. It simply means that more are possible and their validity will depend on how reasonably they refl ect evolving practices and ways of being.

Openness I have mentioned ‘openness’ a few times. It is used positively. But what does it mean and could it have negative consequences sometimes? Of course. As Boal says about dialogue, which involves a kind of openness, ‘dialogue is always dangerous’. The context in which we use words or expressions communicates to others how we evaluate aspects of our world. Any opening up tends to allow access to something but that something may be difficult or dangerous, hence the expressions, ‘you’ve opened a can of worms’ or ‘I’ve opened Pandora’s box’. Regarding identity, as Breakwell suggests in Chapter 2, people can feel their identities are threatened. The paradox is that although our identities may need to shift to meet life changes, we also need the security of a stable self and indeed the security of our most cherished values. Identity is so important in psychology because we are acutely aware of the damage traumatic change can cause to individuals. Loss of a loved one, unemployment, 133

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homelessness, illness and conflict can all destroy people’s lives. The consequences of changes in professional identity can of course be traumatic in extreme circumstances. However, what I am advocating here is individuals’, where possible, recognising changes in themselves and the world that may signal a reevaluation of their identities with the awareness of change being, to some extent, within their control. Given support by others and the organisations in which we work, it may, in some circumstances, be possible for us to engage with all valued aspects of our professional identities and see them as mutually supporting rather than in constant conflict. This is the kind of openness that I am advocating. It is about engaging with the freedom possible if we maximise our choices in life and of course this ‘opening up’ must, in respect of the theoretical consistency of the arguments presented here, extend beyond professional identity. The parameters of this book are professional identity. But this is for pragmatic reasons regarding focus, management and comprehension. As we have seen, artist teachers often speak of their involvement with art as ‘a way of life’ and in the chapter on action research, related to the teacher researcher, the notion of holistic and personal endeavour seems to be an important aspect of this methodology. So embracing one’s multifaceted roles and identities is about professionalism, but it is also about changing our professionalism and, where appropriate, ourselves and all that constitutes our being and becoming in the world.

Being Being, becoming or, with a philosophical emphasis, ontology can seem like esoteric subjects, inaccessible or unrelated to the majority of people and their professional and personal lives. Trying to understand and communicate complex notions can lead to a kind of specialised language that alienates many. However, sometimes we have to learn new languages in order to understand and communicate important concerns and sometimes languages need to be challenged and changed and made clear in order to offer understanding to more people. I have tried here to make roles, identities, being and becoming relevant to all, but in particular artists, researchers and teachers. I hope that ‘being’ makes more ‘concrete sense’ to readers as ‘concrete sense’ has informed my conceptualisation of being. The artist, researcher and teacher roles, practices and identities in all their variations and combinations could be understood as contributing to an individual, inclusive sense of being or self.

Ethics To suggest a blurring of boundaries, as I have done here, between the professional and the personal is not to ignore that in ‘real world’ practices, individuals should not simply indulge in undifferentiated professional and personal practices and relationships without consideration of the possible implications of all actions for others as well as themselves. 134

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I believe this is where the dialogical process can come into play to minimise problems and maximise inclusive solutions. The dialogical process, by its very nature, must engage with complex ethical issues, which means ensuring that one thinks and acts with respect and sensitivity to the needs and desires of others but also, where appropriate, challenges the thinking and actions of others as well as challenging one’s own. Regarding personal and professional identity, it is not a question of simply ensuring that they are kept separate and supposing that this is either possible or desirable in all situations. Nor is it a question of making no distinctions between them and ignoring the consequences of personal involvement with others that can compromise professional behaviour and personal relationships. Professionals may feel their work and personal life are interconnected, but this does not necessarily mean that personal and professional life always work together naturally. Context is important. Ethics, as everything else, is subject to reflection and revision.

Threatened identities and dialogue Earlier in this book, Breakwell (1986) highlights difficulties for individuals who feel aspects of their identities are in some way threatened. I have suggested here that the powerful cultures of art, education and research sometimes lead to individuals feeling compelled to choose between them or understand them as constantly in conflict. The process of dialogue is considered to tackle such problems through an evaluation of these cultures that can sometimes assert difference rather than interrelationships, and also through a constant evaluation of one’s own concerns and interests and developing or changing understanding of the world and one’s place in it personally and professionally. An artist may remain an artist, or become an artist teacher, or a researcher artist, or a teacher researcher, or all three. There are choices regarding identity that are not necessarily hostile to each other and professional adaptations, biases, preferences and strengths can be acknowledged.

The future And what of the future? Well, a continuum between past, present and future seems a good place to start. In using the terms artist, researcher and teacher, I am in one sense simply reiterating what has already been said, if tinted by different contexts of language, time and space. The historic evocation of the artist teacher in Chapter 1, and what we know of the sophistication of many past cultures, and indeed our understanding of the terms used in this book, all are derived from the past. There is nothing completely new regarding the professions featured here or indeed the various ways they interact even if the descriptions, language and conceptualisations change over the passage of time. It is hard to believe that the pyramids, for instance, could have been conceived and built without systematic enquiry 135

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(research), or craft skills (art), or instruction (teaching). Or, that there were not some individuals skilled in all three. What evidence we do have seems to signal that this could well have been the case. To use another common example, in Renaissance Italy we see the kinds of blurring of boundaries evoked here, taking place as an aspect of the philosophical stance of Renaissance intellectuals and cultural practitioners. ‘Renaissance man’ has become synonymous with eclectic thinking and practices, and polymaths. In our own times, an era sometimes conceptualised as postmodern, inter-influences and crossreferencing and the questioning of boundaries, categorisations and identity have become acceptable or incorrigible trends in western societies in particular. Such challenges to the status quo are not new. However, we do see surges at different times and in different places and in different ways with new knowledge informing traditional thinking and practices. I believe research has an ever tightening grip now on the development of many professions including those highlighted here. Just as major shifts in the past have helped to create the world of today, so do present shifts of emphasis possibly signal future trends. Evolving inclusive research, I think, will influence all walks of life in the western world and beyond. The shape it will take will depend on the influence of individuals and collectives and the conviction of their arguments in a highly competitive world. Those who value art and education will need to ‘fight their corner’ (as they always have) in the procurement of resources and it is likely that convincing research will be required to do this.

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Index

A Action research, 119–128 Adams, J., 19 Ades, D., 110–111 Adorno, T., 45 Aldred, C., 17 Anglia Ruskin University, 108–109 Aristotle, 4 Art as a metaphor for research, 100 Arts Council of England (ACE), 19 Artist educator, 28 Artist Teacher Scheme (ATS), 19, 86, 100, 123, 131 Atkinson, T. and Claxton, G., 101 Autonomy of art, 44–45 B Bakhtin, M., 125 Bee, H., 26 Being, 4–6, 134 Bennett, G., 73–79, 95, 100–102, 132 Beverley, 57–64 Biddle, B. J., 29, 49 Biggs, I., 100 Boal, A., 125–126 Bohm, D., 126 Breakwell, G., 29–31, 38, 133, 135 Breton, A., 110 Breton Hall, 19 C Candin, F., 99 Children’s art, 19 Chip, H. B., 111 Communicative action, 127

Conceptual art, 111 Concise Oxford Dictionary, 60–61 Corey, S. M., 119 Cox, G., Hollands, H. and de Rijke, V., 76 Creedy, J., 88 D Denzin, N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S., 95 Daichendt, J. G., 28, 85, 90 Dada, 109–111 Dasein, 5 Day, M., 49 Dewey, J., 119 Department for Education and Employment (DfEE), 62–63 Dialogue, 124–126, 135 Diamond, P., 39 Duchamp, M., 111 E Ego, id, superego, 25–26, Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC) 119–120 Ethics, 134 Eve, 73–79 Erikson, E. H., 25–26, 29, 32, 37, 49, 67 F Ferguson, J., 125 Florentine Accademia del Disegno, 18 Foucault, M., 97 Frayling, C., 100 Freire, P., 124–127 Freud, S., 25

Artist, Researcher, Teacher

G Getzels J. W. and Csikszentmihalyi M., 31, 44–46, 51, 60–61 Gillette, J. and McCollom, M., 88 Goffman, E., 29 Golding, J., 110 Goldstein, C., 17–18 Gombrich, E., 16 Greenfield, T., 96–97

M McCall, J and Simmonds, L., 29, 49 Macdonald, S., 18 Maclean, M. and Mohr, M., 119 Madoff, S. H., 100 Master apprentice, 19 Marxism, 127 Meta–theories, 127 Mills, C. W., 112

H Habermas, J., 127 Harland, J., 84 Heidegger, M., 5–6, 44 Hermans, J., 126 Holt, J., 37 Hoyle, E., 33

N Nadler, D. A., 89 National Curriculum Guidelines Art and Design (NCGAD), 62–63 National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD), 19, 123 O Ontology, 4–6, 134 Openness, 133 Overlapping concepts, 52

I International Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences (IESS), 23 Identity theory, 21–33, 90 Integral theory, 8–10

P Palaeolithic era, 15 Pericot–Garcia, L., 15–16 Piagetian theory, 29 Pihl, O. and Armitage, A., 103, 126 Plato, 107 Pop art, 110 Prentice, R., 8, 50, 60

J Jennings, C. & Kennedy, E., 7 Johnson, R. B. and Onwuegbuzie, A. J., 96 K K. C., 67–70 Kemmis, S. and McTaggart, R., 119 Klee, P., 85–86 Koestler, A., 8–9 Kristeva, J., 125

R Reason, P. and Bradbury, H., 123–124, 126–127 Reber, A. S., 24 Renaissance, 107 Robinson, G. D., 98–99 Robinson K., 63 Reflective practice, 6–8 Rosenberg, H., 76–77

L Lansing, K. M., 69 Leeds College of Art, 74 Leonardo da Vinci, 18, 107, 112 Lewin, K., 119 Life long learning, 19 Luci–Smith, E., 15 Lykes, M. and Mallona, A., 124

S Sartre, J-P., 5 Schön, D., 6–8, 77, 101 146

Index

Smith, R., 111 Sullivan, G., 107–108 Surrealism, 110–112 Synthetic cubism, 110

V von Bertalanffy, L., 8 W Wilber, K., 8–10 Wimbledon School of Art, 99, 102, 108, 111 Wittgenstein, L., 26, 86–87 Wolcott, F. H., 101 Wolfe, M. S., 67–70

T Teacher artist, 28 The Teacher, 57, 64, 83 Thornton, A., 26

147

Artist Researcher Teacher Challenging conventional wisdom about specialization and professional identity, Alan Thornton shows that many individuals have complex, varied, and evolving relationships with visual art – relationships that do not fit into any single category. Against the backdrop of an expanding research culture and current employment models in the United States and the United Kingdom – where many artists also work as teachers – he argues for the necessity of a theory that both reflects and influences practice in the realm of art and art-related work. By elucidating our current situation, Artist, Researcher, Teacher opens the door to much-needed new approaches, and provides fresh insights for those interested in identity formation and professional roles and practices. Alan Thornton is a technician, teacher of general art and printmaking, and research supervisor at Anglia Ruskin University.

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