Interpretations of Aesthetic Experience and Its Enactment in High School Visual Arts Education

• In Event: Art, Creativity, and Democracy

Abstract

This study sought to identify interpretations of Aesthetic Experience (AE) of high school visual arts teachers and purposes of its facilitation in their classrooms. Five teachers within a large school district in West Texas were interviewed. A qualitative Hybrid Phenomenological Method was utilized to analyze the data consisting of both a descriptive and an interpretive approach. This analytical approach yielded five themes: (1) Individualistic Pursuits; (2) Minimal Consideration for Postmodern/Contextualism Views; (3) A Disconnect of Self from Classroom Experience; (4) Challenges Facilitating AE; and (5) Novel Views of AE. Analysis showed that although teachers’ interpretation of aesthetic experience pointed toward transcendence—the development described was more of a transformation of self for personal gain, rather than a transcendence toward others. These results indicate a diversion from current literature on aesthetic experience that encourages the use of imagination and creativity toward alternate views of self and society to influence positive change.

Author

• Kenneth Albert Dore, University of Texas at El Paso