Globalization & Me
As an educator of middle school children I see the need to make my students aware of the shrinking world that exists outside of their neighborhoods. As a world citizen I desire to learn about and experience other cultures authentically. My hope is to deliver cultures authentically to my students. As I learn more about globalization, I see that the need for authenticity not only affects the needs of me and my students, but also the global market place. Our representations of being globally minded are often reflected in our collections of trinkets from the countries stamped in our passports. Yet, how do we really know if these trinkets were made in the country we bought them?
Living in a global world drives the need for multiculturalism to become a norm in schools. Multicultural education developed as an idea to change the pedagogical approach toward changing school curriculums to include a variety of perspectives (Adejumo, 2002). As a country where multiple perspectives are available and relevant, a breakdown in ethnocentrism was believed to result from the use of a more pluralistic curriculum (Shehan, 1985). Desai (2005) argues that the categorization of ethnicities is problematic, because it places cultures outside of the dominant culture as inferior. All people need to see that all cultures are valid and worthy of understanding. Multiculturalism helps us to understand that we share more similarities as humans than differences.
I believe that art creates opportunities to gain an understanding of self through the lens of another’s eye. I gained a deeper understanding of my own faith after reading the Tao Ti Ching in college. Some contemporary artists explore their own multicultural influences that are due to their living in a global world. Two artists who exemplify the way art can be used to explore culture are Jiha Moon and Iona Rozeal Brown. Jiha Moon is a Korean artist who is currently living and working in the United States. She creates multi- media paintings that exemplify her experience of traditional Korean culture and modern American culture. Within her pieces, the viewer may find images evoking Korean landscape paintings, emoticons, and Disney’s Snow White (http://art.unt.edu/print/moon.html, 2014). Moon effectively brings the idea of cultures clashing to her viewers. Iona Rozeal Brown is an American artist. Brown creates images which link hip hop culture to Edo Japan by drawing attention to the similarities of the female experience. She brings attention to the often fetishized black and geisha women. Brown’s work often combines imagery which asks the viewer to think of the place both women hold in their own societies (http://www.newamericanpaintings.com, 2014).
When I look at contemporary art from a global perspective, I have to question how I interact with art and consume art objects. Artists like Moon and Brown remind me that I must reach further toward the aims of multiculturalism. If the aim is to make connections with each other, then what is the appropriate way to interact with other cultures? My primary experience of interacting with other cultures outside of the United States is through travel. Dasai(2005) explains that in the time of globalization, the cultural marketplace should be brought in for questioning. With globalization, our cultures are becoming more homogenous, goods are being shipped into countries for the tourist trade, and dominant countries are losing their place as the center of economic activity. Most notably, due to globalization artists are becoming more mobile and are making art that is site specific (Dasai, 2005). The traditional arts that we expect from a culture are becoming the assumptions which multiculturalism aims to end.
I built my sculpture to create the likeness of an African mask using cardboard. I sought to recreate the mask as much as possible to develop an art object which is as authentic as an imported cultural artifact. I included the “Made In ?” tag to link the object to the global market place. To own cultural artifacts which are available for most tourists is not developing an understanding of the place which it claims to originate from. One only needs to look at the tag to see where the manufacturer keeps his shop. As a teacher looking for more authentic connections to other cultures, I also seek to do the same for my students. This sculpture also represents the ordinary multicultural art project. To not diminish the aims of multiculturalism, I would like to join these kinds of art making opportunities to larger ideas of identity and place. Continuing the practice of replication does not develop cultural connections or work toward us realizing our shared human experience.
Watch my presentation on YouTube!
Resources
Adejumo, C. O. (2002). Considering multicultural art education. Art Education, 55(2) pp. 33-39.
Desai, D. (2005). Places to go: Challenges to multicultural art education in a global economy. Studies in Art Education, 46(4). pp. 293-308.
New American Painting, (2014). Iona Rozeal Brown.New American Paintings [Website]. Retrieved from: http://www.newamericanpaintings.com/artists/iona-rozeal-brown
P.R.I.N.T, (2014). Jiha Moon. Print Research Institute of North Texas [Website]. Retrieved from: http://art.unt.edu/print/moon.html.
Shehan, P. K. (1985). A recommitment to multicultural arts education. Design for Arts in Education, 86(4) pp. 43-44.
As an educator of middle school children I see the need to make my students aware of the shrinking world that exists outside of their neighborhoods. As a world citizen I desire to learn about and experience other cultures authentically. My hope is to deliver cultures authentically to my students. As I learn more about globalization, I see that the need for authenticity not only affects the needs of me and my students, but also the global market place. Our representations of being globally minded are often reflected in our collections of trinkets from the countries stamped in our passports. Yet, how do we really know if these trinkets were made in the country we bought them?
Living in a global world drives the need for multiculturalism to become a norm in schools. Multicultural education developed as an idea to change the pedagogical approach toward changing school curriculums to include a variety of perspectives (Adejumo, 2002). As a country where multiple perspectives are available and relevant, a breakdown in ethnocentrism was believed to result from the use of a more pluralistic curriculum (Shehan, 1985). Desai (2005) argues that the categorization of ethnicities is problematic, because it places cultures outside of the dominant culture as inferior. All people need to see that all cultures are valid and worthy of understanding. Multiculturalism helps us to understand that we share more similarities as humans than differences.
I believe that art creates opportunities to gain an understanding of self through the lens of another’s eye. I gained a deeper understanding of my own faith after reading the Tao Ti Ching in college. Some contemporary artists explore their own multicultural influences that are due to their living in a global world. Two artists who exemplify the way art can be used to explore culture are Jiha Moon and Iona Rozeal Brown. Jiha Moon is a Korean artist who is currently living and working in the United States. She creates multi- media paintings that exemplify her experience of traditional Korean culture and modern American culture. Within her pieces, the viewer may find images evoking Korean landscape paintings, emoticons, and Disney’s Snow White (http://art.unt.edu/print/moon.html, 2014). Moon effectively brings the idea of cultures clashing to her viewers. Iona Rozeal Brown is an American artist. Brown creates images which link hip hop culture to Edo Japan by drawing attention to the similarities of the female experience. She brings attention to the often fetishized black and geisha women. Brown’s work often combines imagery which asks the viewer to think of the place both women hold in their own societies (http://www.newamericanpaintings.com, 2014).
When I look at contemporary art from a global perspective, I have to question how I interact with art and consume art objects. Artists like Moon and Brown remind me that I must reach further toward the aims of multiculturalism. If the aim is to make connections with each other, then what is the appropriate way to interact with other cultures? My primary experience of interacting with other cultures outside of the United States is through travel. Dasai(2005) explains that in the time of globalization, the cultural marketplace should be brought in for questioning. With globalization, our cultures are becoming more homogenous, goods are being shipped into countries for the tourist trade, and dominant countries are losing their place as the center of economic activity. Most notably, due to globalization artists are becoming more mobile and are making art that is site specific (Dasai, 2005). The traditional arts that we expect from a culture are becoming the assumptions which multiculturalism aims to end.
I built my sculpture to create the likeness of an African mask using cardboard. I sought to recreate the mask as much as possible to develop an art object which is as authentic as an imported cultural artifact. I included the “Made In ?” tag to link the object to the global market place. To own cultural artifacts which are available for most tourists is not developing an understanding of the place which it claims to originate from. One only needs to look at the tag to see where the manufacturer keeps his shop. As a teacher looking for more authentic connections to other cultures, I also seek to do the same for my students. This sculpture also represents the ordinary multicultural art project. To not diminish the aims of multiculturalism, I would like to join these kinds of art making opportunities to larger ideas of identity and place. Continuing the practice of replication does not develop cultural connections or work toward us realizing our shared human experience.
Watch my presentation on YouTube!
Resources
Adejumo, C. O. (2002). Considering multicultural art education. Art Education, 55(2) pp. 33-39.
Desai, D. (2005). Places to go: Challenges to multicultural art education in a global economy. Studies in Art Education, 46(4). pp. 293-308.
New American Painting, (2014). Iona Rozeal Brown.New American Paintings [Website]. Retrieved from: http://www.newamericanpaintings.com/artists/iona-rozeal-brown
P.R.I.N.T, (2014). Jiha Moon. Print Research Institute of North Texas [Website]. Retrieved from: http://art.unt.edu/print/moon.html.
Shehan, P. K. (1985). A recommitment to multicultural arts education. Design for Arts in Education, 86(4) pp. 43-44.