Listening to Artists: MMR Study of Material Responsiveness as a Compound Pathway to Creative Thinking

• In Event: AERA Research in Progress Roundtable Session Four
  In Invited Roundtable: Research-in-Progress RT006 (Saturday)

Abstract

Material is central to art education. Art education literature increasingly recommends students learn to “hear” materials. The absence of research on the phenomenon of artists listening to materials leaves educators unable to facilitate this practice, widening the gap between who benefits from art class and who does not. This exploratory sequential mixed methods study recruits contradicting paradigms, enacting a multiplicity of viewpoints to probe how fiber artists experience ideas emerging from their material engagement. Phase one findings propose material may serve as a multi-pronged conduit artists use to access embodied knowledge, mental associations, and affective responses. This work supports a pedagogy to activate materials so students can attend to their own responses, reinforcing unrestricted access to artistic thinking for students.

Author

• Jennifer Ruth Hoyden, Teachers College, Columbia University