Melissa Maccini

Professor A.Ward

ART ED 133

3 November 2016

Structures and Systems

In Sydney Walkers Teaching Meaning in Art Making, Walker suggests that we question

how rules and system affect artistic expression and what happens to the artistic expression when

the rules change (Walker, 2001). Walker used examples of Jennifer Bartletts work to

demonstrate how she used rules and systems to create one subject matter, but change the media

and style. I believe that students must be given the systems and structures in art so that they have

the confidence to begin their artistic expression. In Daniel Pinks book, A Whole New Mind, he

quotes Michael Gerber, who studied entrepreneurs in all areas. Gerber said, All great

entrepreneurs are Systems Thinkers. All who wish to become great entrepreneurs need to learn

how to be become a Systems Thinker to develop their innate passion for seeing things whole.

(Pink, 2006). The correlation is that the entrepreneur, the artmaker, the student, all need

instruction on the systems, structures, and rules and then they can change the system to create or

build at a deeper level.

In an early education classroom, the students need to learn how the materials work and

see how models of how those materials are used. I would create an art lesson linked to another

area like science. For example, we could be learning how the human heart. Part of the lesson

would be learning to take a picture of the heart and draw a human heart. As a teacher, I could

demonstrate the continuous line and shading techniques. Then to show that they can expand on

the rules and systems that were created in the science lesson, they could create a new heart
drawing or even a model using clay. They could change the rules of the heart to demonstrate

what the heart means to them.

References

Pink, D. (2006). A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future. New York, NY: The
Berkeley Group.
Walker, S. (2001). Teaching meaning in artmaking. Worchester, MA: Davis.