David Darts

Visual culture jam : art, pedagogy and creative resistance

In this article, the author argues that visual culture is an essential direction for contemporary art educators who are committed to examining social justice issues and fostering democratic principles through their teaching. The study explores how visual culture education can empower students to perceive and meaningfully engage in the ideological and cultural struggles embedded within the everyday visual experience. The author examines the work of resistance theorists and socially engaged artists, including culture jammers, in an effort to support and inform the teaching and learning of visual culture. The study concludes with an investigation of cultural production as a pedagogical strategy within the visual culture classroom for generating and facilitating student awareness, understanding, and active participation in the sociocultural realm.

The Art of Culture War: (Un)Popular Culture, Freedom of Expression, and Art Education

This article examines the culture wars in the United States and considers their impact on the field of art education. Stretching across virtually ever facet of contemporary culture, these ideologically charged battles over opposing moral values and fundamental belief systems are an intrinsic part of the ongoing struggle to define and control U.S. society. In recent years, the culture wars within and around art education have manifest in two interrelated battles—the first, over the adoption of a visual culture paradigm for the field, and the second, over art teachers’ moral responsibilities and academic and expressive freedoms. By examining each set of controversies through a discussion of key arguments and events, this article considers potential implications for the teaching and learning of art. It concludes with a discussion of possible future directions for the field.

Scopic Regime Change: The War of Terror, Visual Culture, and Art Education

This study examines visual dimensions and pedagogical repercussions of the war of terror. Iconographies of threat and prophylaxis are explored through a discussion of the actuarial gaze and the terr(or)itorialization of the visual field. Specific visual culture fallout from the war of terror is examined, including artistic responses and educational (ir)responsibilities and possibilities. Technologies of forgetting and artistic and pedagogical strategies of remembering are also considered. The essay concludes with an examination of implications and possible future directions for contemporary art education in a post-9/11 world.