Art exhibition uses talking sticks to explore culture, art and art education
A forthcoming art exhibition draws on the concept of the talking stick to examine issues of cultural and ethnic diversity in art and art education.
In "Talking my way through culture" Dr Jill Smith, Principal Lecturer at the School for Visual & Creative Arts in The University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education, turns her recently completed Doctor of Education dissertation into visual art. Her thesis, Art Education in New Zealand: Issues of culture, diversity and difference investigated how art teachers’ understandings of ethnic diversity and cultural difference are reflected in their year 9-10 art programmes.
In 2005 Dr Smith undertook a fieldwork study with teachers in five schools, ranging from low to high decile and from mono to multicultural. She discovered significant variance in the ways in which art teachers’ pedagogical practices reflected the changing demographics of their classrooms.
In what will be her first exhibition since she was an art student at the University’s Elam School of Fine Arts, Dr Smith has created a sculptural installation of 14 talking sticks, each positioned within a ‘talking stick circle’. The talking sticks explore different interpretations of culture and art and their implications for art education. The names of some talking sticks - "Bottled Godzone" and "Blondes have more fun…yeah, right" - reflect Dr Smith’s probing of cultural and gender stereotypes. Others, such as "I’m not a Chinese Takeaway!" and "Ukulele Lady: A Tourist’s Guide to the South Pacific", expose assumptions often made at the expense of cultural diversity.
The talking stick, "Why am I like I am" is perhaps the most personal for Dr Smith who, as one of identical triplets, has a particularly intriguing perspective on identity issues. She says each stick is a vehicle for questioning hierarchies in culture and art, for raising issues, and for challenging the perceptions of art educators and society at large.
"I have always considered myself an art educator first and foremost," says Dr Smith, who has won numerous national and international awards for her work in teacher education and art education research. "Prior to this I had little desire to be a practicing artist. But I now have plenty to say and this exhibition suits my political agenda for art education. I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of re-presenting academic research and re-interpreting it as artworks."
"Talking my way through culture" will be exhibited from 1-21 October at the Blue Orange Gallery (29 George St, Tuakau, South Auckland). The exhibition will be launched from 3-5pm on Sunday 30 September. Phone (09) 236 9331.
* Photo caption: The University of Auckland’s Dr Jill Smith holds a talking stick from her "Talking my way through culture" art exhibition.
