Critical Studies and Modern Art: Teachers, Artists, Galleries and Exhibitions Book

This text addresses some of the issues and debates around working with modern art in schools and galleries. In particular it focuses on critical studies, an approach to the analysis of artworks that has developed in recent years from within educational institutions. This collection of essays raises issues of real concern for those wishing to engage in critical practice that is positive about working with visual culture at the end of the 20th century. It provides a selection of previously published work and newly-commissioned articles which are designed to support the professional development of teachers in primary and secondary schools as well as education officers in galleries and museums. The book should also be of interest to others involved in art education, providing the opportunity to reflect on the multiplicity of theories, approaches and practices that exist. The book is divided into three sections. The first section debates the development of critical studies in the UK as well as in the USA and its role as part of the National Curriculum Art in the UK. The next section, "Teaching and Learning in Art" moves from the philosophical debate around aesthetic education to the socio-political contexts of feminist and new internationalist analyses of modern art to practice in schools and galleries. In the final section, "Teachers, Artists, Galleries and Exhibitions", the debate is taken a step further by looking at the important role of galleries, exhibitions and curators in setting agendas for the representation or misrepresentation of modern art and artists, with particular emphasis on non-western art.Read More