Week 3 - Kevin Tavin

1. What are the three (3) most interesting facts you learned from the lecture? and why are they interesting to you?

Kevin Tavin mentioned the "gaming gaze", which I've never heard of or thought of before, the idea of looking ahead of where you are and imagining the next steps while moving through the current steps. I feel like this idea applies to art making as well, thinking forward and imagining where something will go before it does. I've heard the story about the Guernica painting at the U.N/ meeting before and am always curious to know what PR person or event organizer looked past that when deciding on the space for Colin Powells press conference. Does the world of politics just see it as art and not think about the piece enough to consider that maybe it has some meaning they might want to be mindful of before broadcasting it as a backdrop during pro-war meeting? Tavin spoke a lot about different types of technology, asking the question "How do these devices change our relationship with the world?", and I feel like thats something we've all thought of a lot more lately, as we become more aware of our dependence on technology, our phones and apps and the easy accessibility of the internet.

2. Discuss the role of an art educator in regards to visual culture. Is it important? Why or why not? 

Visual culture should be important to any educator. Whether it wants to be considered and acknowledged or not, visual culture is something we interact with every day and is something that has and will continue to influence art and education.

3. What do you think can you take away from this lecture and apply in your future classroom as an art educator?

Tavin speaks about teaching students "how to see" and "where to see", aware of the idea that theres more to looking at a painting or piece of art than simply opening your eyes and looking forward. Where does your eye carry you? Whats the focal point of the piece? What does this mean? Big, open-ended questions to create a conversation around a piece of art and help students stay engaged and interested in art and their creative abilities.