Multiculturalism in Art

How does learning in, through or about art change when we begin to look at moving beyond a standard, Western European based, middle class curriculum? What to these “special” cases reveal to us about the central issues for our practice as art educators?

I know people say that art in the western culture is mimetic and representational which I guess to me is no problem. Drawing from observation is not a bad thing at all. It is definitely a skill that can benefit people in art and other subjects. Actually if you think about it, the Eastern culture like China, Japan, Persia are just as influential in the western culture. Art nouveau uses organic shapes. This is similar to the abstract patterns found in persian rugs. Manet's Olympia painting was influenced form woodcut block printing in Japan which was probably influenced from China. The abstraction from cubism was influenced from African masks. I guess when it comes to teaching art, it would be helpful for people to acknowledge these kind of facts into their learning so students get a better understanding about the development of art.

I guess I take the position that chagning the curriculum to include other cultures, the educator must be adequate in teaching it. I don't think that researching and learning a culture is the same as being a part of it. By teaching others about a particular culture from an outside perspective, they are moulding the rest of the people who belong to that culture with a stereotype that they are different and their art will fit a certain type of category. I know that there is always ethnocentrism to a degree, but I think that this will promote it even more. Individuals should be accounted for as themselves and their capabilites as opposed to catergorizing them in a culture.

A way that educators can incorporate multiculturalism in their art lesson is either by trying to allow the students to research a particular culture's art that they like and use it in their work or create an art that is a respond to the researched piece, or by having the students create art from their different cultures and standards, and share it with the class.