Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

ARTICLES, REVIEWS, ESSAYS, & PRESENTATIONS on TEACHING ENGLISH

Plop! Mashed Potatoes and Gravy: Symbiosis of Words and Images

by Samuel Kramer

Black A, white E, red I, green U, blue O – vowels,
I’ll tell, some day, your secret origins.
- Arthur Rimbaud, translated by Kenneth Koch

Marbles Spilled on the Table
Arthur Rimbaud’s poem “Voyelles”, begins with these two lines influenced by new research in synesthesia, the association of a sensation with another sensation or image. An individual might associate a color with musical notes, or a sound with a color. Leonardo DaVinci extolled the superiority of painting, one reason being that he could listen to music while working, unlike the noisy sculptor. Early American abstract painter Stuart Davis played jazz in his studio and incorporated the music extemporaneously into his work. Bob Ross, television painting instructor, talked his way through paintings, descriptively characterizing strokes and paint effects. German scientist Kekulé von Stradonitz originated early ideas of organic chemistry in 1858 by describing the structure of benzene, an idea generated by a bus ride daydream of an image of a snake swallowing its tail. Many other examples of artists, musicians, and scientists can be found to illustrate the use of words, sounds and images in combination to form a syncretic union resulting in a creative process.

Eubanks (2003) refers to the process of child art making as pluri-medial, where words, movement and drawing combine to form visual ideas. The chatter of children while drawing is called “romancing the drawing” by one researcher (Eubanks, 2003). Richards (2003) postulates that studying line and shape improves reading skill development. In a study of creativity in Hong Kong (Cheung, Tsang, and Tse, 2003), researchers described Eastern concepts of creativity as based on “inner truth and self growth” while Western creativity is “originality and product oriented.”

Il s'agit d'arriver à l'inconnu par le dérèglement de tous les sens.
(It is necessary to arrive at the unknown by the derangement of all the senses.)
- Arthur Rimbaud in a letter to Georges Izambard

Conceptual Space: Artist as Incoherent Babbler
What is the relationship between creativity and art? Radford (2003) describes creativity as a process of working within a “conceptual space” : “In other words, we can think, hypothesize or “play” at the boundaries of sense” (p.53). How is it useful for the instructor to conceptualize the process of creativity, to frame the process, define the boundaries of the space that Radford is describing? Where is the space Radford is referring to?

Rimbaud’s statement describes a similar process to Radford’s concept of creativity: both describe a space, a location - Rimbaud’s unknown and Radford’s conceptual space. Both describe a process of bending sense, or a concept of conventional usage of ideas.

Another French poet, Charles Baudelaire also describes a location, a goal of creative positioning: “N'importe où! n'importe où! pourvu que ce soit hors de ce monde!” (Doesn’t matter where, as long as it is out of this world!). Baudelaire places the location of creativity as displacement from daily existence. He attempts to take the reader to another, alternate space. In this conception, the creative result is an idea of the sublime, a space beyond normal experience.

Is the Eastern approach mutually exclusive to the Western approach to creativity? Can the Western tendency toward originality include spiritual exploration? Perhaps the process of originating ideas and producing works can be a spiritual exploration. Cheung, Tsang, and Tse (2003) describe creativity as ability to innovate ideas, insights, inventions. They conceive artistic talent as useful in science, technology, and of social and aesthetic value (p.79). In their study of Chinese writing teachers, they found effective techniques for teaching creativity to be confidence building, student-devised approaches to learning, and providing less-structured learning environments (p.95). They also concluded that teachers need to encourage students to take chances and model creative thought (p.97-98).

Art Room as Language-History-Science-Math Room of Ferment
The approaches recommended by Cheung, Tsang, and Tse can be applied in the art classroom as well as the creative writing class. The art room can function as Radford’s “conceptual space”, the location where boundaries are flexible, assignments do not apply rigidly to art theoretical concepts but are inclusive of other disciplines. Activities could include science concepts, historical events or people, writing activities, or samples of music. The concept of bells signally the separation between classroom subjects would be diminished. A sense of interconnectedness between subjects and a resulting strengthening of overall world conception would be engendered. Art assignments could serve as experiments, utilizing image and word as tools.

Most communication that occurs is either visual or verbal: web pages, magazines, advertisements, graffiti, road signs, and conversations consist of visual cues and verbal exchange or printed text. A web page coveying information on a science report is composed of a written report and likely illustrations highlighting conceptual details. A billboard advertising a product contains pictures of a product or its use and text. Graphic information is an important element of contemporary culture. The use of words and images are vital skills to develop.

Eubanks (2003) describes the necessity for an artist to be both artist and critic (p.14). It is important to develop skill in both visual and theoretical understanding. Eubanks describes the process of creating art as both verbal and visual - young children may talk while drawing as Bob Ross talks through a painting. She argues for a connection across media to join art and culture (Eubanks, p.16). The importance of connecting verbal and visual information comes when the artist or student is required to discuss the meaning of the work: in a critique the student must discuss the purpose of the work, its context within art history, and its meaning (Eubanks, p.17). In order to develop these verbal skills, Eubanks proposes the use of artist journals to record ideas and thought processes. This provides an opportunity for the student to develop ideas, practice putting descriptions into words, and to understand more fully the way a visual work functions. According to Eubanks, this is a process of codeswitching - of bouncing back and forth between artist/creator and artist/critic, or visual artist and theorist using words as their medium. It is a matter of being an effective communicator - visual language fluency is augmented by verbal language fluency.

Put the Ears on the Bunny
Aesthetic experience may be described by four primary elements: intellect, communication, perception, and emotion (Lachapelle, Murray, and Neim, 2003). Experiential knowledge works with theoretical knowledge to guide the art viewing process. The viewer’s background influences what they perceive in the work - experiential knowledge, just as their intellectual accretion of knowledge allows them a more complete ability to interpret and understand a work - theoretical knowledge.

If a viewer is shown a drawing of a bald fuzzy animal with a small puff of a tail holding a carrot, it is likely that they will be able to identify it and visualize long floppy ears on its bald head. This may be through experience of seeing rabbits or maybe from reading about them in a book, or from a cartoon. The viewer is able to put the ears on the bunny through accumulated knowledge. Lachapelle, Murray, and Neim confirmed in their study that all participants utilized background knowledge in encounters with art (p.94).
Students making art, therefore will benefit from a broad range of experiences and background knowledge. To be in control of this knowledge and apply it coherently to a work of art, their ability to describe and express the function of the parts of an artwork is paramount. The elements that Lachapelle, Murray, and Neim cite as facilitating the process of aesthetic experience range from the intuitive, nonverbal (perception, emotion) to the theoretical, conceptual (intellect, communication).

A parallel may be drawn between intuitive elements and images. Words exist within the sphere of intellect. Both exist symbiotically, augmenting the other in a work of art. The art process by nature is a combination of both. In some instances, a work may rely more heavily on one aspect over another. A trend or period of art may emphasize intellect, causing a poet like Charles Baudelaire or Arthur Rimbaud to propose an escape from this world or a derangement of sense. Later poets may swing the pendulum back toward intellect and see earlier poetry as too extreme or even a sickness. As Radford expresses, “The creative act reveals the emotionally reflexive dimensions to our intelligent consciousnesses” (p.64, 2004).

Building the Great Wall
China’s Great Wall serves as an example of what swarms of people and mountains of brick and stone can do. Recently, news reports have revised the claim that it can be seen from outer space. Baudelaire would be pleased - to be out of the world and escape from human artifice. More importantly, the Great Wall serves as a metaphor for the process of creating art. Background knowledge is accumulated through experience - the bricks are built up on a foundation. Knowledge is codified into words. The wall extends out over the high geographical spots - knowledge begins to influence the direction and nature of intuition and emotion. The wall stretches out further and further in what appears to be a random arrangement of a snake in an unusual yoga position, unlike any other wall in the world. Image is a representation of knowledge combined with intuition and emotion. Both elements must be developed together to function in a coherent representation.

In this sense, each art student builds their own Great Wall. Each student utilizes background knowledge and experience, putting the ears on the bunny. Children chatter while drawing pictures. The advanced artist switches back and forth between theorist and artist. Words are codified experience - a child knows a “bunny” likes carrots and has big ears. Arthur Rimbaud is able to intentionally derange all the senses because he has acquired knowledge and experience through developing verbal and written skills to articulate how the state of derangement differs from the conventional state of existence.

In this same sense, art students in the classroom need to develop their language skills to enhance understanding of the art making process, to wield control of art concepts and techniques. Writing about art, talking about art, verbalizing the process of making art and understanding the codes of art are as important as choosing colors or materials. Words and images work together.

Strengthening connections between words and images is not simply a matter for the art room. It is a process of visualization applicable to science, math, history, music - any of the disciplines taught in schools. Building visual-verbal ability enables a student to work more effectively in any field. In this sense, both Eastern and Western conceptual definitions of creativity apply: art is an accretive process of self growth and originality that can be applied to any discipline.

References

Cheung, W.M., Tsang, H.W., and Tse, S.K. (2003). Teaching Creative Writing Skills to Primary School Children in Hong Kong: Discordance Between the Views and Practices of Language Teachers. Journal of Creative Behavior, 37(2), 77-98.

Eubanks, P. (2003). Codeswitching: Using Language as a Tool for Clearer Meaning in Art. Art Education, 56(11), 13-18.

Lachapelle, R., Murray, S., and Neim, S. (2003). Aesthetic Understanding as Informed Experience: The Role of Knowledge in Our Art Viewing Experience. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 37(3), 78-98.

Radford, M. (2004). Emotion and Creativity. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 38(1), 53-64.

Richards, A.G. (2003). Arts and Academic Achievement in Reading: Functions and Implications. Art Education, 56(11) 19-23.

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