Fine Arts

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Browsing Fine Arts by Author "Allen-Spies, Janine"

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    The design and implementation of an in-service training programme for art and crafts teachers in Lesotho
    (University of the Free State, 2002-11) Ofori-Asara, Samuel Kwasi; Allen-Spies, Janine; Botma, Ben
    The central focus of the study was to investigate the problems of teaching Art and Crafts in the Lesotho primary schools. Furthermore, the study seeks to investigate the extent that in-service training could be utilised to enhance the knowledge, appreciation, skill and attitude of teachers in the subject (Art and Crafts) In conducting the study, the following objectives were set and achieved: • To investigate the mode of in-service Art and Crafts training programme which can serve as a catalyst to improve the ability and morale of teachers in the teaching of Art and Crafts. • To find out the type of approach towards lesson plans, art materials and teaching methods as well as reference materials which will improve the quality of teachers' knowledge. • To find out the impact of follow up workshop on the teachers' teaching performance in the districts. • To design an in-service Art and Crafts curriculum for a Distance Teacher Education Programme (DTEP) for the NTTC (a programme to be implemented to replace the existing general in-service training programme in 2002). • To make recommendations which can improve the teaching and learning of Art and Crafts in the Lesotho primary schools. The action originated when the research became aware that Art and Crafts is now a core subject in the Lesotho primary schools and that the subject was going to be assessed at standard seven level (Grade 8) by the end of2001 but teachers lacked the qualifications. To this time, the MOE has still not implemented it. The researcher adopted the action research design for the study. An incidental sampling approach was utilised for selecting the sample. Invitation for the in-service training workshop was sent out to 520 unqualified teachers across the 10 districts of the Kingdom ofLesotho. However, only 498 teachers responded to the first call. A workshop was organised for the purpose of introducing teachers to the basics of Art and Crafts in the primary schools. The first workshop was followed by a Follow-up workshop after one month, where teachers exhibited their pupils' art works brought with them from their schools (Evaluation forms discussed and informal assessment of pupils' works displayed, indicated that teachers understood what was learnt in the first workshop and they had disseminated the information and skills gained to their pupils). 384 teachers responded for the second workshop. Finally, the researcher designed a proposed Art Curriculum for Distance Teacher Education Programme (DTEP) for the in-service division at NTIC. The focus was to provide unqualified teachers in other districts as well as remote areas with the opportunity to obtain a Diploma Certificate while still working as teachers (Refer to Appendix L). The researcher recommends, among others that: • The NCDC should supply syllabi to all primary schools in order to assist teachers in teaching Art and Crafts. • The initial in-service training course that has started by the NTIC is not satisfactory enough. Several types of in-service programmes must be evolved to increase teachers' knowledge and to boost their motivation. The researcher believes that teachers will be capable of teaching Art and Crafts in the primary schools after completion of the inservice training workshop. • Workshops could also be held in the district centres for pupils and the community at large where they could become active producers and share ideas on visual and cultural aspects of the environment. • Inspectors from the MOE should make follow-up workshops to schools in order to check if teachers are performing up to standard in art teaching. It was concluded that practical experience in primary school art gained during the first and the second workshops have increased confidence of the teachers. Also the quality of knowledge, appreciation, skills and attitude for teachers in Art and Crafts was boosted. Finally, the proposed Art curriculum for in-service training by Distance Learning for primary teachers will help all teachers who are interested to gain guidance and support on school art.
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    Representing the sublime: interactions between spatial representation in new media and idyllic and mystic traditions in painting
    (University of the Free State, 2005) Raubenheimer, Landi; Van den Berg, D. J.; Allen-Spies, Janine; Human, E. S.
    English: The major image investigated in this study, is a cibachrome print entitled Pureland by Japanese artist Mariko Mori. The print is a still image from one of her 3D installations titled Nirvana. Throughout the text I refer to Pureland not as a pure image but as one appearing in different media, since the varied visual manifestations and reproductions of the image contribute to diverse aspects of the argument. The image is found in calendars and books, is exhibited as a large print and certain of Mori’s prints are even exhibited on lightboxes. This renders the prints a glowing computer or television screen quality, and suggests the notion of an advertising billboard. The “screen” qualities of the image are investigated throughout. The appearance of the image is pleasant, pink, even pretty, and this “eye-candy” could allude to the affirmative character of mass media images describing beautiful natural scenery. Sentimental images appear in Japanese manga and anime, but also in Western popular media such as Hollywood films. Furthermore Pureland seems reminiscent of landscape traditions that relate to idyllic yearning or nostalgia. This leads to the following question: is the pastoral tradition in its established conventions pertinent to the idyllic tendencies in mass media? What seems problematic in my view is that it appears as if something is omitted from the image on account of its pleasing character. This may indicate that what is not depicted (something extremely un-pleasant?) may also be relevant. This “un-pleasant” is investigated as a possible allusion to the digital sublime lurking beneath the smooth appearance of the image, only to manifest in brief moments of “suddenness”. The sublime is discussed in the context of the mystic landscape tradition and especially the work of artists such as Caspar David Friedrich in the mystic tradition, and, as it develops into the Abstract Expressionist movement in the work of Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman and even the avant-garde art of Yves Klein. The mystic tradition is based on a negative stance grounded in the notion of kenosis, which is an emptying out resulting in transcendence. This tradition is fundamentally opposed to affirmative (idyllic) tendencies in both art and popular culture. The co-existence of the conflicting idyllic and mystic strands in the image is investigated throughout as an uneasy relationship which may result in a rupturing of the smooth pleasant appearance of the image, revealing the digital sublime. The “digital sublime” is derived from Jean-Francois Lyotard’s understanding of the sublime. It may manifest in cyberspace, virtual reality and other digital media that evoke virtual space, through seeming vastness and threatening character. Understanding the operations of viewing and representation implied by the computer and television screen is thus important in grasping the dynamic of the digital sublime. Do representations of space on the screen differ from perspectival representations of space and landscape in the fixed images of Western painting traditions? On the screen overlay and geometric principles are combined, urging the observer to penetrate and explore the layers, virtually or imaginatively entering the layered virtual environment. The notion of virtual depth as non-illusory depth may be comparable to Japanese viewing traditions and the diverse concepts of śūnyatā and “superflat”. The application of overlay and śūnyatā to contemporary painting is investigated in chapter three. I suspect that Pureland is a hybrid image, not only digitally composited from existing visual material, but also comprised of traces of disparate visual traditions and conventions. This is dicussed in conclusion.