I came into Art History thinking that it was going to be one of those straightforward and factual classes; when it’s actually one of the most ambiguous classes that I have because it’s so heavy on interpretation and not at all what I expected, in a good way. My initial idea was the this class would be really heavy on reading and brushing up on facts about artists and paintings, how they came about, and what they mean or symbolize. And although some of it is, I didn’t think it would be focused on the visual aspect of the art and the history combined.

Two things that we have learned about that are actually manifested in the classroom are critical pedagogy and formal analysis:

 

 

Critical pedagogy (also identified as the Banking Method) is a structure in classrooms in which knowledge is “deposited” (Freire 72) into the students and they sit there passively while the teacher serves as the dominant or authoritative figure in the classroom. I appreciate my class because I feel like this isn’t necessarily the case.The class is very inclusive and student-dependent whether that means letting students lead discussions or letting students decide on a due date. We also all actively participate collectively. Yes, we’re all sitting while Professor Shaw teaches standing but sometimes she even sits with us or makes it feel less pressured of a typical school environment.

Another thing we learned about was Formal Analysis, which is a visual examination of a piece of art. From lines, color, scale, dimension- it’s all used to make something of a visual piece. Formal Analysis is used to get at a bigger meaning of the art, what it may tell us, and how it may affect the viewers that see it. We put this method to use in class everyday during lectures, we use formal analysis collectively along with the professor and establish a significance of the piece of art Professor Shaw introduces to us. Using Formal Analysis helps the class be more open to interpretation as it’s never just black and white. There’s never just one simple answer, and that in turn, requires us to think a lot, actively.

After being in Art History for a couple of weeks now, my initial ideas of the class are now reshaped, as I see- and as ironically as it sounds- that this class, focused on the deeper meaning of things requiring open interpretations, is also very open to interpretation itself.

It’s one thing to learn about something just to recite it later on, but to apply it in class makes it more real.