Being an Artist Teacher: A Liberating Identity?

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Abstract

Being an Artist Teacher: A Liberating Identity?Alan Thornton

Education as a liberating and democratic process remains an aim and belief in discourses within the field and beyond. The arts also have a tradi-tion in which ‘artistic freedom’ is valued even if what constitutes artistic freedom is contested. In this article an educational discourse in which dialogue is considered a means to personal and collective liberation through education is high-lighted and related to ‘artistic freedom’ and the dual roles of artist and teacher, in which learners and teachers are encouraged to contribute to and change culture as well as study and absorb it. Conceptualisations of the artist teacher and professional development and practices associ-ated with these are considered to open up crea-tive possibilities for art teachers without under-mining other positive aspects of identity as a teacher and practitioner.

iJADE 30.1 (2011)© 2011 The Author. iJADE © 2011 NSEAD/Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Alan Thornton

IntroductionThe National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD) has, since the conception and introduction of the Artist Teacher Scheme (ATS), not only tirelessly promoted it, but made every effort to justify the scheme in terms of the improved quality of students learning linked to the valuing of teachers continuing practice in art, craft and design. The notion that the teacher is, or should be, a continuing learner is often taken for granted in education but such notions allied to discourses on emancipation are, in some contexts, controversial and critical. Freire, a major protagonist regarding liberation through educa-tion, wrote:

Through dialogue, the teacher-of-the-students and the students-of-the-teacher cease to exist and a new term emerges: teacher-students with students-teachers. The teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-teaches, but one who is himself (or herself) taught in dialogue with the students, who in their turn while being taught also teach. They become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow. (Freire 1970, 53)

Freire adopted the dialogical process as a demo-cratic way of educating people. He aimed to utilise it in order to teach literacy and critical think-ing to oppressed people to enable them to allevi-ate their oppression through the power of language and learning. He emphasised the direct inter-leaning and teaching that can and should take place in learning environments through dialogue. In his introduction to the issue of the A ‘N’ D newsletter celebrating the tenth anniversary of the ATS, Ian Cole says of the scheme: ‘it proposes the teacher as artist working alongside students in joint creative enquiry’. He continues:

The Artist Teacher Scheme posits a professional who operates unselfconsciously and confidently as both artist and as teacher; a person who does not see ‘artist’ and ‘teacher’ as mutually exclusive concepts. That is to say, someone who is her/himself a learner, an experimenter, someone who wants to find out, test, discover, wonder, figure out alongside pupils. (Cole 2010, 6)

His reference to working ‘alongside’ students echoes Freire’s words. Cole’s view, indeed any vision of the artist teacher, I believe, should be seen in the context of Freire’s liberating concept of dialogue in which those to whom the vision is applied should be empowered to contribute to it. Indeed the development of the ATS was a response to many art teachers’ desire to have their creativity as artists acknowledged as an important aspect of their teaching and identity (see Adams 2003). Because of the potential transformational power of dialogue I will first look at some general concepts before referring them to the visual arts and more specifically to the artist teacher identity.

DialogueConceptualisations vary and, of course, each dialogue develops in its own way and has mean-ing and purpose in particular contexts. However, there seem to be some common traits of dialogue that indicate its special value. I outline here those believed to be relevant for two main reasons. Firstly, they are based on an historical and conceptual understanding of the develop-ment of dialogue and its use particularly in west-ern democracies. Secondly, they are presented to make more explicit a process that is believed to have humane, inter-personal 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 (1970, 35) says of these: ‘The conclusion is usually nega-tive: the dialogue ends in aporia (“no way forward”) as Socrates protests his ignorance and his interlocutors’ pretensions to knowledge have been refuted.’ One obvious identifying character-istic 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 the conclusion in these dialogues is usually negative, Plato is still present-ing us with conversations that stimulate us into thinking about the world and our attempts to understand it and act within it. These are impor-tant starting points for conceptualising dialogue.

Bakhtin’s dialogism has been an important influence on dialogical theory. In The Dialogic

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33Imagination (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 deliber-ate or 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 re-describe the world, and 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 and as a source of knowledge.

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 prob-lems 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 influ-enced by the ideas of Freire (1970). He advocated dramatic methods as a means towards personal liberation:

… with 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 discontinu-ity 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)

Bohm (1996) acknowledges the special nature of dialogue and equates it with creativity in terms of synergy. He stresses that dia comes from the

Greek for ‘through’. He says that ‘The picture or image that this derivation suggests is of a stream of meaning flowing among and through us and between us’ (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: ‘I’m suggesting that there is the possibil-ity 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’ (54).

The notion of entering into dialogue with students and understanding them as co-learners and teachers reflects a central conceptualisation of dialogue as intimate, amicable conversation between two interlocutors striving for trust and mutual respect and an exchange of knowledge and understanding of benefit to both. However, dialogue is not limited to two people. It is the spirit of one-to-one dialogue which is, arguably, impor-tant to maintain in other contexts. This spirit is manifest in many ways. Maintaining such intimacy can obviously be a challenge to an art teacher when working with a large group of students. However, techniques of dialogue can be encour-aged such as allowing inter-student conversations and collaborations focused on creative aims and ensuring personal tuition of an ongoing, mutually informing nature. In addition, the spirit of dialogue can be made manifest in the relationship artists have with their creations. Artists sometimes talk of respecting and responding to the materials or media with which they create, this could be under-stood as a kind of dialogue. The associations with language characteristic of dialogue are also rele-vant to art understood as visual language. Most art teachers will recognise the inter-influencing char-acteristic of dialogue as generally valued and embraced in the arts.

We can also enter into the spirit of dialogue with personal thoughts and ideas. ‘Dialogical Self Theory’ (see Hermans & Hermans-Konopka 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


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34 conversations we have with ourselves or simply our engagement with the choices available to us when communicating or acting in the world. This, I believe, has particular significance regarding an identity that embraces an individual’s desire to be both artist and teacher. Cole (2010, 6) says: ‘The central ambition of the Artist Teacher Scheme is to dismantle the perception of contradiction between the complementary, symbiotic roles of artist and teacher.’ This emphasis on the symbiotic relationship has resonance with the aims of dialogue to resolve or cope with conflict through empathy and respect for difference. But does the desire to embrace dual roles or identities liberate or burden art teachers?

LiberationPrinciples of emancipation can be applied contex-tually, and I will look at the possible implications of applying these principles to the notion of the artist teacher. Sometimes the artist teacher identity can appear or feel conflicted if ‘artistic freedom’ is believed to be in tension with a teacher’s respon-sibility to uphold a system that provides struc-tures to protect and care for learners and intro-duce them to cultures that they need to understand and cope with. However, as seen in the work of Dewey (2008), Freire (1970), Schön (1991), Habermas (1984) and Bohm (1996), for example, notions of emancipation extend beyond art education and are present in general education discourses. The artistic, creative, educational free-dom desired by many art teachers needs to be echoed in the way they teach and strive to create learning environments for students as well as themselves that embrace these values. Matthews’ experimental workshops designed to encourage freedom of speech in art studies demonstrates ways in which this might be real-ised in practice (Matthews 2008, 133).

Art teachers, like all teachers, have guidelines and dictates as to what and how they teach. However, the arts liberal and critical traditions allow for a level of free choice not enjoyed by all subject teachers. As part of their tradition many of the arts embrace the learner’s role in contribut-ing to discourse. It is not unusual to find in litera-ture, drama, music, dance and the visual arts,

learners at all levels of experience being encour-aged to contribute to and change culture as well as to study and absorb it, or in other words, make art and reflect upon it and evaluate it in a cultural context. One example of this is the inter-influenc-ing that has taken place between child art and adult art that is historically documented (Fineberg 1998). In addition, an art teacher can often exer-cise a high degree of autonomy and such is the diversity of art itself that the teacher can legiti-mise a wide range of art work encouraged and produced through references and examples found in the world of art. Also the arts often share a valuing of personal narrative in the creation of art in which the teacher’s and the student’s personal views, feelings, understanding and visualisations of the world are valued as knowl-edge. The acknowledgement and support by parts of the education system of some teachers’ desire to continue as practising artists is a reflec-tion of the valuing of personal creativity through-out the culture of art.

The identity of the art teacherFreedom can be understood as the choices avail-able to us in specific contexts. Art teachers for what ever reasons (there can be complex motiva-tional factors involved) have chosen to teach, but what types of art teacher can they be, given the present structure of art education, particularly in the UK? Although concepts are limited and provi-sional they can help us to focus thinking and actions. I propose two primary concepts of art teachers and then discuss their interrelationship. These concepts are considered positive, profes-sional representations of art teachers. I would suggest that teachers associated with these concepts can be found at all levels of art education.

Concept 1: An artist teacher is an individual who practices making art and teaching art and who is dedicated to both activities as a practitioner.

Concept 2: A teacher of art is an individual dedi-cated to the artistic development of students who does not necessarily practice as an artist. (Thorn-ton 2003, 120)


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35 There is no unequivocal evidence (as far as I am aware) to suggest that ability as an art teacher is dependent on also being a continuing artist, although professional development of all kinds is generally considered of value. For this reason art teachers have a legitimate choice between these identities. However, it is important to understand how such choices relate to ‘real world’ art teach-ers. Art teachers are not simply always teachers of art or artist teachers. These identities are some-times interchanged throughout an art teacher’s career. We may choose to call ourselves artist teachers for many reasons but there is no type, quantity or quality of work which legitimises us as artist teachers other than our personal judgement about ourselves and our practices. However, some providers of in-service education, including the ATS, offer courses leading to recognised qual-ifications for those who want to establish their artist teacher identity and see it acknowledged by the education system as valid.

In my studies of artists and teachers there seem to be a variety of difficulties some experi-ence regarding identity. There are teachers of art who feel uncomfortable because they are not making art. There are artist teachers who feel uncomfortable for not devoting themselves more to teaching. There are artist teachers who believe they can only function in both roles if they keep them separate. There are artist teachers who are concerned not to impose their own ideas as artists on their students. There are artists who work in residencies who are not sure whether to act as teachers or artists when working with students. There are artists who are determined never to teach for fear of loosing their identities as artists. One way to view the two concepts presented above is as follows. No art teacher need feel inadequate if they are trying to teach art well. However there could be added value for teachers to engage in professional development in which they are offered opportunities to make art and engage with concepts of art and consider the value in this for them as artists, teachers or learners. When Cole (2010, 6) writes of ‘a profes-sional who operates unselfconsciously and confi-dently as both artist and as teacher’, I think he is suggesting that self-belief is vital to becoming an

effective artist or teacher. I believe he is also going further and saying that a self-identification, and indeed an identification acknowledged as valid by the education system, can help art teachers prac-tise reflectively and fluidly and counter disabling conflicts of identity. The concepts outlined above offer art teachers legitimate choices of practice that straddle these identities in various ways. I focus here on the artist teacher identity not in any way to undervalue the concept of the teacher of art or any other valued identity or self-conceptual-isation, but only to acknowledge the legitimacy of the artist teacher identity that I believe has a tradi-tional, implicit value that should be made more explicit and subject to critical reflection.

ConclusionI have chosen to emphasise here a conflation of three notions: The identity of the artist teacher; the interrelationship of teaching and learning; and the process of dialogue in assimilating differ-ence. Dialogue can help us to understand and embrace difference and the spirit of dialogue can be evoked at many levels of thought and action. Discourses on liberation through education, found in the literature and focused on the dialogi-cal process, can be echoed in the pursuit of artis-tic freedom in which teachers and students learn from and teach each other in all learning environ-ments. Indeed, the real problems associated with adopting the dual roles of artist and teacher might be approached through discourses and practices of liberation that overlap in the worlds of art and education.

So an art teacher has some choices regarding what to be and do in terms of identity and prac-tice, and the education system supports art teachers to varying degrees, by providing staff development that acknowledges positive concepts of identity such as those outlined above. My personal experience of the ATS courses is: a strong emphasis on participation and dialogue; a respect for individual narratives and creativity; encouragement to engage with new and difficult ideas with sensitive support; indeed the kind of environment conducive to all learning. It is the engagement with the pleasure of making and learning and acknowledgment by


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36 others of the individual’s creative needs which seems to generate a sense of freedom for the artist and teacher.

Wanting to be an artist teacher, and having support by peers and the art and education system to engage with this identity, I would argue, can be liberating. Important individual values formed in dialogue and discourse through processes of creative production, reflection and critical thinking increase confidence. This, in turn, can enable the art teacher to promote learning, values and practices that may help to give others a sense of liberation and voice in which individu-als’ narratives are valued as knowledge. I leave the final words with Freire:

When we live our lives with the authenticity demanded by the practice of teaching that is also learning and learning that is also teaching, we are participating in a total experience that is simultane-ously directive, political, ideological, Gnostic, peda-gogical, aesthetic, and ethical. (Freire 2001, 31)

References Adams, J. (2003) The Artist-Teacher Scheme as Postgraduate Professional Development in Higher Education, International Journal of Art & Design Education, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 183–94

Bakhtin, M. M. (1981) The Dialogical Imagination. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press

Boal, A. (1974) Theatre of the Oppressed. London: Pluto Press

Bohm, D. (1996) On Dialogue. London: Routledge

Cole, I. (2010) Introduction: Artist Teacher Scheme, A ‘N’ D (NSEAD newsletter), No. 35

Dewey, J. (2008) Democracy and Education. Radford, VA: Wilder Publications

Ferguson, J. (1970) Socrates. London: Macmillan

Fineberg, J. (1998) Discovering Child Art. Princeton: Princeton University Press

Freire, P. (1970) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Harmondsworth: Penguin

Freire, P. (2001) Pedagogy of Freedom. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield

Habermas, J. (1984) The Theory of Communicative Action. Cambridge: Polity Press

Hermans, H. J. M. and Hermans-Konopka, A. (2009) Dialogical Self Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Kristeva, J. (1980) Desire in Language. New York: Columbia University Press

Mathews, M. (2008) How can we Create the Conditions for Students’ Freedom of Speech within Studies in Art? International Journal of Art & Design Education, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 133–43

Schön, D. (1991) The Reflective Practitioner. London: Arena

Thornton, A. (2003) Educating the Artist Teacher. Unpublished thesis, Chelmsford Anglia Ruskin University


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Being an Artist Teacher: A Liberating Identity?