FROM MODERNISM TO POSTMODERNISM IN ARTS EDUCATION Essay

FROM MODERNISM TO POSTMODERNISM IN ARTS EDUCATION - Essay Example Many modernist artists have mentioned that since 1980 they have been taught, with huge compromising problems and acute tensions, more and more inside a new paradigm based on a different set of premises, practices and expectations, related to but different from the parallel shift into postmodernism. Abbs (2003) has referred this paradigm to the shift that is related to thinking in the Education Institutes of British universities and is not to be identified with the atomistic and politically constructed National Curriculum, though many of the elements dislocated from their original meaning are reflected there (Abbs, 2003, p. 46). Modernist arts provides us reasons to believe that while something of value has been achieved under the shaping energies of the new paradigm, the literal and mechanical way it was instituted betrayed the broad sweep of the philosophy, ignored vital principles of creative pedagogy and maimed the holistic perception which lay at the heart of the thinking (Abbs, 2003, p. 46). Among major modernists names like Theodor Adorno, a major figure in the Frankfurt School of Critical Theorists, tells us that art and literature, and particularly Modernist art, could function as a kind of negative or contradictory criticism of society, in thought-provoking experimental texts. Adorno argued that difficult texts provoked new, unfamiliar, estranged conceptions of life that the dissonances and fractures of Modernist art expressed the individual's loss of control, centeredness and harmony in the contemporary world. For Walter Benjamin, modernist education has created a world of printing, duplication and photography, where artistic works have lost the 'aura' that their uniqueness once gave (Childs, 2000, p. 34). The rising technologies of artistic reproduction dispensed with the idea of a work's authenticity; for example, the idea of an authentic photographic or film print makes no sense. Benjamin thought this moved art's function from the realm of ritual, where it is magical and revered, into that of politics, where it is mass produced for purposes of marketing and propaganda, with dire consequences for a politically polarised Europe after World War I. To understand the paradigm which defines art in context with postmodernist education, it is first necessary to know what formalist modernism was not. It was not connective, inclusive, transactional, associative, referential, interactive, changeable, discontinuous, multilayered, impure, and ambiguous ignoring the autobiographical data and questions of personality. Postmodernist art, when encompass these qualities, presents a connective paradigm, which in turn demands a connective criticism to which we call "postmodern" recognizes time and periodicity, but, rather than being tied to one-way time series, it can move back and forth in time and can be associated in its reversibility with the new physics (Ascott & Shanken, 2003, p. 178). Walling (2001) while criticising postmodernism suggests that the way postmodernist education have abused and altered art curriculum is absurd. It does not make any sense for the national standards to be imaginative with reference to some particular standard. Postmodernist reforms in education at every level and field of interest has damped the curriculum rather than reform (Walling, 2001). Postmodern art when merged with the capabilities of visual art presents before us natural art, which

Writing Assignment 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Writing Assignment 8 - Essay Example During all my research I failed to locate any negative reports that indicated abuse of the system or felt it was unworkable. I took the further step of contacting maintenance to get an estimate of plans, expense and materials. These are included in the report. They have assured me that it will be a simple task to transform an existing office into a Quiet Room. I have also contacted Human Resources and they are evaluating the project to assure it has proper oversight. Interviews with employees and the questionnaires that were returned indicate a highly favorable reaction to a Quiet Room. Though there was a healthy amount of skepticism, I think the report will alleviate any lasting concerns when the value of the program is understood. The construction of a Quiet Room will certainly aid in creating a more dedicated and productive workforce. Again, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to explore this very valuable project. I feel the time was well spent and I look forward to getting the reaction of senior management. I would be glad to follow up any further issues or questions that may arise in the future with regards to this project. This report outlines the risk to health and well being we expose our employees to by creating a culture of sleepiness and perpetuating the fear of proper rest. It points out the benefits that are gained when workers feel free to get the necessary rest and relaxation they need while at the job. It proposes the construction of a Quiet Room where employees can take a quiet break away from their duties in the course of their workday. Health and psychologists have pointed out the need for proper rest and adequate sleep. The cost to companies in absenteeism, accidents, and lost productivity is enormous. Researchers have also found a correlation between short naps and marked improvement in alertness and mental ability. Resting quietly during the day can aid our physical health as well as our mental