Hugh Hayden, Brier Patch, 2022. Installed At Madison Square Park In New York City. Photograph By Yasunori

One of Paul Klee’s teaching notes on pictorial creation, reproduced from ‘Paul Klee: Life and Work,’ the authoritative Klee overview, back in print from @hatjecantzverlag⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ The many books on Paul Klee (1879-1940) published over the years should not obscure the fact that there has been no new, comprehensive Klee overview since Will Grohmann’s oft-reprinted 1954 monograph. With 'Paul Klee: Life and Work,’ the @zentrumpaulklee has set out to fill this gap, drawing on a wealth of new resources including the Klee family’s archives, much of which is published here for the first time.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Life and work are truly integrated in this massive, 344-page volume: Klee’s vast body of work is surveyed chronologically, as the book narrates his life alongside the abundant reproductions of drawings, paintings, watercolors, sculptures, puppets and numerous archival documents and photographs (nearly 500 reproductions in total).⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ The book divides Klee’s career into eight periods: “Childhood and Youth”; “Munich and the Encounter with the Avant Garde”; “World War I and the Breakthrough to Success”; “At the Bauhaus in Weimar”; “Master of Modern Art”; “The Move to Dusseldorf and the Nazi Rise to Power”; “First Years of Emigration in Bern”; and “Final Years.”⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ The result of many years of research and labor, this magisterial publication demonstrates conclusively why Klee numbers among the most influential and best-loved artists of the past 100 years.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Read more via linkinbio.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ #paulklee #klee #bauhhaus #pictorialcreation #pedagogy #teachingnotes #abstraction https://www.instagram.com/p/CNVmXWQppb_/?igshid=1a3e8wtaf3oag

“Art is literacy of the heart.” -Elliot Eisner

As an artist, educator and art historian my concerns are about symbolically visualizing and accurately documenting experiences that prompt us to consider taking steps towards bettering ourselves and our surroundings. Although art is often symbolic and abstract in its function, it can certainly (and already has) led to transformative changes that benefit humanity and ecology alike. The laborious, creative process itself is an act of perpetuation, which is a main tenet of maintenance. Prior to a work of art entering society, the artist develops an idea behind their work and must nurture that concept by fashioning it into a tangible object or experience. Once the artwork leaves their studio it takes on a new purpose. Whether it is intended for public reflection or the white walls of a gallery, the artwork also requires significant care.

Inspired by renowned social reformer Jane Addams' 1907 essay, “Utilization of Women in City Government,” I wrote a piece about the role that art can have in societal and environmental upkeep. You can read it on Artfully Learning: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2022/11/06/utilization-of-artists-in-societal-and-environmental-maintenance/

Set and props from Jayson Musson: His History of Art at the Fabric Museum and Workshop, Philadelphia, PA. Photograph by Esther Welsh

I went to Philly to see "His History of Art" by Jayson Musson at the Fabric Workshop and Museum and wrote about its pedagogical use of satire to challenge art educational conventions on my blog Artfully Learning. Read about it in the post "Whose History of Art?"

Playground art.

Rocks On Wheels, 2022, Mike Hewson                    

Rocks On Wheels is sculpture park playground consisting of 24 large monolithic bluestone boulders on domestic-scale furniture dollies.

88 Southbank Boulevard, Melbourne, VIC

Detail of Mike Kelley’s Educational Complex, 1995, acrylic, latex, foam core, fiberglass, wood. Source: https://mikekelleyfoundation.org/artwork/educational-complex

This might sound shocking coming from an education blogger, but I have been wondering whether compulsory education and traditional schools are leading us astray and even worse, harming our students’ well-being. My post, "Educational Complex" explores topics of unschooling and Youth Rights and uses artist Mike Kelley's Educational Complex as an example of some problems within compulsory education. Read it on Artfully Learning: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2022/08/01/educational-complex/

Painter's Palette Inscribed with the Name of Amenhotep III ca. 1390–1352 B.C.

Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Carved from a single piece of ivory with wells for six different pigments. It is inscribed with the throne name of Amenhotep III, Nebmaatre, and the epithet "beloved of Re."

Harold Cohen coloring the forms produced AARON’s drawing Turtle at the Computer Museum, Boston, MA, ca. 1982. Collection of the Computer History Museum, 102627459. Is it possible to stop worrying and learn to coexist with AI? That's the question I begin to explore in the Artfully Learning post "Living and Learning with AI?" Read here: https://theartsandeducation.wordpress.com/2023/01/17/living-and-learning-with-ai/

Joseph Beuys - Untitled (2)

Playground sculptures. A fun, whimsical and culturally universal way to inspire learning!

Fiastyúk (then Thälmann) street housing estate, Budapest, 1960. From the Budapest Municipal Photography Company archive.