PUSHING THE LIMITS
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Schedule
Overview:
Thurs., Mar, 6, 2008:
Arrival, dinner, introductions, sleep.
Fri., Mar. 7 , 2008:
Morning sessions, afternoon sessions evening of Shake-speare.
Sat., Mar. 8, 2008:
Morning sessions, afternoon sessions, evening music concert.
Sun., Mar. 9, 2008:
Goodbyes and departure.
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STANDARDS & EXPECTATIONS
Standards & Expectations |
Fine Arts Conference '08
Learning Standards
Language
Language is a system of symbols which makes meaning, a system by which one talks and writes about the world. Language gives shape to perception, and allows communication, self-knowledge, and understanding of the world. Language reflects larger philosophical considerations having to do with the meaning of experience and of ideas. As the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein has said, “The limits of our language mean the limits of our world.”
Instruction in the uses of language includes the development of an understanding of precision and ambiguity, as well as consideration of form. It involves learning the difference between reading for information and reading for enjoyment. By lingering over a text long enough to discover its meanings and richness, long enough to see the connections between the text and one's personal life, an individual moves beyond simplistic, either-or thinking. Instruction in the uses of language means learning how to ask defining questions; and finding and using evidence to support argument. These language processes all contribute to cognitive development and must be integrated into all art related activities in and out of the classroom, including convention workshops and clinics.
Vision
The concept of vision includes observation, perspective, interpretation, and insight. Close observation (looking and looking again) is necessary in order to form hypotheses. Observation and hypothesis formation play critical roles in the humanities, particularily the arts. By developing a sense of perspective, one learns to consider the ways in which previous experience and personality shape what one sees. This sense of self as observer allows one to become more aware of the process of seeing. It leads one to consider the idea that in all art forms, the observer changes the thing observed. Awareness of vision includes training in interpretation and insight; and, it is through interpretation and insight that one learns not only what constitutes a problem of meaning, but also how to recognize and define questions that pursue problems of meaning, be it back stage, on stage or on the canvas.
Identity
Identity is the concept of the self. In order to understand identity, one must consider the ways in which the self is formed by moral and ethical choices, and the ways in which habits of mind structure an individual's thoughts. To paraphrase Ernst Cassirer, in An Essay on Man, human beings live in a symbolic universe...They have so enveloped themselves in linguistic forms, in artistic images, in mythical symbols or religious rites that they cannot see or know anything, except by the interposition of this artificial medium.
In the process of considering their own identities, students tell their stories in their creations of art be it character, melody or sculpture; they imagine themselves as the interpret-or an artist addresses, trying those identities on for size. They become more conscious of their own processes of creativity, perceiving, and thinking. They come to know themselves in those endeavors and to take responsibility for their own learning, thereby identifying themselves as members in a community of interpretation: as sharers of inquiry, as communicators of discovery, as collaborators in investigation, as one who shapes and molds society's perception of itself.
Tradition
Tradition is a coherent system of shared perceptions, ideas, and symbols of reality in all art forms. Traditions mediate both individual and societal beliefs about the nature of the world. Tradition includes conscious and unconscious elements--what Alfred Lord Whitehead calls "the secretive, imaginative background of thought." Individuals within given cultures share traditions that make the communication of perceptions, ideas, and understandings both possible and significant.
The study of tradition enlarges the frame in which identity and myth are considered. It encourages the exploration of alternative traditions and alternative human experiences; of the driving forces of generating and sharing art. In such an exploration, debate is inevitable. Debates include issues of gender, and ethnic and racial diversity, and in our various art forms, debate spawns growth, progression, evolution.
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