Spaces:
Students Creating
Meaning Through
Big Ideas
"Hey, he's back, the Life-Giver!"
"All hail, Kay! All hail, Kay!"
Men in Black I
E
very once in a while, stray fragments from art or popular culture spark
our imaginations and trigger aii idea for developing an art curriculum
project. In the above scene from the movie Men in Black II (Spielberg,
2002), Kay and Jay, two government secret agents involved with moni-
toring space aliens living on earth, open a small storage locker in New York's
Grand Central Station while looking for clues to help Kay regain his previously
erased identity and memories as a secret agent. Inside the locker is a world
populated by furry little alien creatures, who enthusiastically greet Kay as their
long absent god. The creatures worship his wristwatch as a sacred relic.
BY KEN SAKATANI AND EDIE PISTOLESI
Obvious humor aside, this scene from Men
in Black U reminded the authors, both
former secondary school art teachers, of the
rows of anonymous school lockers assigned
to middle and high schools students. Much
like the tiny world created in Grand Central
Station's locker in the film, many students
often use the personal spaces of their own
lockers to display meaningful items and
symbols from their lives, such as photographs
of friends and family, magazine images of
movie celebrities, music posters, cartoon
characters, stickers, and souvenirs. The inside
of a school locker is a rare private space for
students to express themselves.
Such musings about the idiosyncratic
nature of spaces created in student lockers
inspired us to develop a thematic curriculum
project based on the big idea, hurtians create
48 ART EDUCATION / January 2009
personal spaces. We are art education
professors at California State University,
Northridge, who teach art to preservice
elementary and secondary students. We also
collaborate periodically with local high
school art teachers and their students in joint
art projects. This article describes a series of
art projects focusing on the theme of
personal spaces, created hy our preservice
college art students and high school art
students over a period of 2 years from 2005
to 2007.
These spaces included matchboxes, student
lockers, miniature 3-D tableaus, and Internet
virtual space. As part of the curriculum
process, students were also engaged in
research and reflective assessment as they
constructed the individualized art spaces.
This curriculum project touches upon the
development of thematic big ideas and the
larger question of how we, as art educators,
create relevant art curricula.
Thematic Big Idea
Walker (2001 ) advocates the use of
artist-inspired big ideas to help develop art
curricula for students. "Big ideasbroad,
important human issuesare characterized
by complexity, ambiguity, contradiction, and
multiplicity ... big ideas do not completely
explicate an idea but represent a host of
concepts that form the idea" (p. 1). According
to Walker, big ideas are broad concepts, such
as family, play or social taboos, which an
artist engages with and expresses through art.
Walker argues that the big idea provides a
conceptual focus, not only for artists, but also
for art instruction.
Big ideas act as broad-based themes or
unifying ideas in developing art curriculum.
Erickson (2001) argues that themes, if
designed broad enough conceptually, can
effectively connect students with art, ideas,
across cultures, and with other subject
matter. Our big idea, humans create personal
spaces, acts as a thematic umbrella to help
unify conceptual and artistic thinking for
both art teachers and students. However, we
discovered it is just as important how a big
idea theme is phrased and worded, to capture
the imagination of both teachers and
students. To our minds, single word or short
phrase themes such as "Identity," "Culture,"
or "Society and Art" have become over-used
as curriculum themes. Panaritis (1995) has
voiced a similar complaint about generalized
themes, such as "Power" or "Truth," which by
being too global in meaning and vacuous in
definition, give curriculum planners little
direction and guidance. Successful thematic
big ideas, on the other hand, reflect basic
human truths and needs, and resonate with
most people.
One ofthe more compelling reasons to
work with big idea themes is the highly
motivated and focused response of students
to classroom art assignments. For example,
art teachers who worked together to develop
integrated art curricula (Ohio State
University TETAC Mentors, 2002) discov-
ered that the use of key ideas, or broad
concepts, stimulated curriculum develop-
ment and excited students because they
could relate to these key or big ideas to their American suburbia and women's roles in
own lives and needs. Buffington (2007) also
noted that her preservice college students
recognized how the big idea curriculum
assisted in the connections between course
content and their students' lives.
The Personal Spaces Curriculum
Project
The goal ofthe Personal Spaces curriculum work with the big idea of personal spaces.
project was to design and create art environ-
ments, which symbolize personal spaces
important to students. Over a period of 2
years and at different venues and classrooms,
we used variations of this project at two local
high schools as well as with our college
students. Instead of doing a single, one-shot
art project, we were interested in creating and
refining a thematic art curriculum through a
series of related art projects revolving around
a central big idea, such as humans create
personal spaces. For example, initially
inspired by the Men in Black U locker
sequence, one group of high school students
considered their lockers as potential personal
spaces and redesigned them into an art space
of personal meaning. Some ofthe high
school classes practiced preliminary
composition skills by creating miniature
environments in matchboxes. Other high
school students and Cal State Northridge
students worked together to create miniature
3-D tableaus. In another instance, our college
students explored Internet virtual space by
creating parodies of MySpace and Facebook.
Research
All students were required to research
artists, styles, or information that could assist
them in designing and creating their
personal spaces. Learning about several past
and contemporary artists, such as Jan
Vermeer, Edward Hopper, George Segal,
Roland Reiss, Red Grooms, Liza Lou, and Liz
Hickok, inspired our students in the creation
of their own personal spaces. For example,
Edward Hopper's paintings of human figures
within interior spaces, and George Segal's
figurative plaster cast sculptures placed in
constructed environments both evoke a sense
of loneliness and isolation. Contemporary
artist Roland Reiss creates miniature and life
size tableaus that reflect strange and
mysterious situations. Liza Lou, a California
artist with a sly sense of humor, covers
life-sized interiors of kitchens and trailers
with colored beads. Lou uses humor and
parody to make ironic comments on
American culture, in such installations as
Kitchen, 1991-1995; Backyard, 1995-1999;
and Trailer, 1999-2000. Tliese artists use
representations of environments in their
artwork to explore various social, psycho-
logical and idiosyncratic issues. By viewing
how artists dealt with these issues, our
students became aware ofthe ways artists
After learning about these artists, students
discussed and brainstormed ideas relating to
humans create personal spaces. When most
students thought of personal spaces, they
visualized a bedroom, an art studio, or a spot
in nature. Other choices were a laundry
January 2009 / ART EDUCATION 49
room, a restaurant, a skateboard area, an art
gallery, and a classroom. There was common
agreement that personal spaces could also
represent imaginary spaces or virtual spaces
on the Internet, such as online profiles.
Art Creation
Ihe Personal Spaces curriculum project
revolved around three art projects: Locker
Art Installations, Miniature 3-D Installations,
and Personal Webpage Parodies. Both high
school and college students were involved in
at least two of the three projects. All students
learned about basic visual design concepts,
such as proportion, scale, size, and balance.
Artmaking skills and technical craftsmanship
were encouraged through art exercises, such
as sketching preliminary designs, practicing
with art materials and tools, and building of
prototypes. Historical and cultura! context
was provided for students by having them
research artists and artwork relating to
personal spaces or environments. Students
were required to perceive, describe, and
reflect periodically upon their own and other
students' artwork as part of refining their
ART EDUCATION / January 2009
artistic perception and aesthetic valuing
concepts and skills.
Locker Art Installations
The goal of the Locker Art Installations
was to transform individual student lockers
into art installations, which reflected
interests in family, friends, cultural icons,
and life issues. A group of high school art
students first practiced working with
personal spaces by creating miniature art
environments in small matchboxes. Then,
they designed an art environment for their
own student locker. One locker installation,
for example, symbolized the interests and
concerns of a typical sophomore high school
girl. Yet, it also was an altar to her family and
friends, some of whom were tragic victims of
urban violence. After the students created
these locker art installations, they invited
their fellow students and teachers to view
them as part of a school-wide art exhibit.
Miniature 3-D Tableaus
Both high school and college students
created these three-dimensional tableaus.
Tbe materials for all miniature tableaus were
intentionally uniform and simple. A
three dimensional structure that measured
no more then 3" x 4" x 4" was constructed
from three small pieces of cardboard to make
the floor and two walls held together by
masking tape. Tiny figures, made out of
aluminum foil, and furniture constructed
from lined notebook paper were
required elements of the tableau. Students
were then tree to explore numerous
possibilities within this basic miniature
environment. One group of preservice art
education students, for example, created two
identical spaces: one space constructed only
of the basic materials, while the other space
was "blinged" or surfaces extensively covered
with beads, glitter, and rhinestones.
Personal Webpage Parodies
University preservice students created
parodies of personal web pages, based on
social networking Internet sites, such as
MySpace. These virtual personal spaces are
frequently updated with images and
information, which might or might not be
accurate, slightly exaggerated, or fictional.
Students were encouraged to use humor in
their parodies, after studying how artists use
irony, satire and parody in art. In her book.
Art & Laughter (2007). Sheri Klein notes, "An
encounter with visual humour offers artistic,
aesthetic, intellectual and psychological
benefits" {p. 5). Collaged facial and body
features from magazines created the
characters for the personal web pages.
Students then combined these collaged
characters with humorous or satirical text,
mimicking a real web page space.
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Reflective Assessment tin foil people and the room was very
creative and kept me entertained." "Because
With all of the projectsthe locker art
we got to use our minds and imagination."
installations, miniature 3-D tableaus, and
"Working small and creating something
the Internet personal webpage parodies-
'Big"' {Anonymous high school student
students responded enthusiastically. It was
surveys, 2006).
gratifying to see not only the range and
high level of imaginative student artwork, In reflecting upon their own experiences
but also how the students understood the from the Personal Spaces project, our
connection between what they were doing university students understood that the big
and what they had learned. For example, idea theme o personal spaces helped them
high school students wrote the following connect different strands of the curriculum
typical comments: "I learned about how process in a series of related, but individual
proportion is important in art and how it art activities, exercises and projects.
makes the product better." "I learned about Conceptual knowledge and art skills could
and reviewed proportion in art. I also ail be developed and reinforced through a
learned about different artists and their continual process of student research,
art-style." "I thought the idea with the little studio practice, and reflective assessment.

January 2009 / ART EDUCATION 51

 Thematic big ideas encouraged studetits to
look at the historical and cultural cotitext of
art in relation to the issues generated by
other artists and their own artwork. Students
discovered that they had many of the same
concerns and issues as other artists they
studied, such as Liza Lou's ideas about
women's work and place in our society.
In addition, students exposure to other
artists opened up possibilities for using
different art materials and techniques. A
number of students were inspired to use
beads, glitter, and other decorative items,
after seeing the artwork of Liz Lou. We noted
the quality of student artwork overall was
very strong, both conceptually and visually.
The outcomes of this Personal Spaces
curriculum project demonstrated how a big
idea theme can be a driving force to inspire
students.
Concluding Thoughts
In outlining principles for a 21st-century
art and visual culture curriculum, Gude
(2007) cautions art educators against creating
art projects focused on pre-conceived,
limited, and often cliched notions of
self-identity. Rather, Gude encourages
multiple ways to ask students to reflect and
recall their experiences through art.
"Through a repertoire of projects in which
students use diverse styles of representation
and various symbol systems to explore
various aspects of experience, students
become aware of the self as shaped in
multiple discourses, giving students more
choices about constantly shaping self" (p. 8).
The big idea, humans create personal
spaces, represents our need as humans to
create spaces that we can call our own and
have meaning for us. These personal spaces,
whether they are real, imagined or virtual,
have special meaning and bring some order
and coherence to the lives of our students.
Students "go there" because they provide
shelter for their self-identities. Through art,
these individualized spaces symbolize and
reflect the evolving multiple identities
individual, social, and culturalwho
students are, and who they are becoming.
According to Gude (2007), there is no one
unified, real self, but a self that is made up of
performative, constructed, multiple and
shifting identities. There have been commu-
nity-based art projects that incorporated
personal artifacts and narratives to document
cultural identities and community issues
(Bickel, Triggs, Springgay, Irwin, Grauer,
Xiong et al., 2007). In a related manner, the
Personal Spaces art project allowed students
to explore, customize and individualize their
own environments, which represent aspects
of identity.
We began this article with the interior
world of extraterrestrial aliens within the
Grand Gentral Station locker from Men in
Black II, and led eventually to our students
creating their own artful personal spaces.
Each students personal space reflected the
ftlm's metaphor of a place filled with
imagined possibilities.
Ken Sakatani is Associate Professor of Art
Education, and Edie Pistolesi is Professor of
Art Education, Art Department, California
State University, Northridge. E-mails:
kenneth.sakatani@csun.edu; edie.pistoiesi@
csun.edu

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52
 REFERENCES
Teachers College,
Bickei, B., Triggs, V.. Springgay. S., irwin, R., Grauer, K.,
Xiong, G., et al. (207), Richgate: Transforming
public spaces through community-engaged art.
Amerasia oiirnal, 33(2), 115-124. Retrieved
Columbia University
September 2, 2008, from Academic Search Elite Department of Arts and Humanities
(EbscoHost) database.
Buffingtun, M. (2007). The big idea: Service-learning
and art education. Art Education, 60 (6), 40-45.
Erickson, M. (2001 ). Images of me: Why broad themes?
ART AND ART EDUCATION
Why focus on inquiry? Why use the Internet? Art Position: The Program in Arc and Art Education in the Department of"
Education, 54 (I), 33-40.
the Arts and Humanities, is seeking an experienced artist/teacher/scholar
Gude, O. (2007). Principles of possibility:
Considerations for a 21st-century art & culture with research commitments in the aesthetic development of children and
curriculum. Art Education. 60(1), 6-15. adolescents as these provide insights into museum and school based
Klein. S. (2007). Art and laughter. London: I.B. Taiiris.
education. The individual chosen for this position will be expected to work
Panaritis, P. (1995). Beyond brainstorming. Phi Delta
Kappan, 76 (8), 623, Retrieved March 6, 2008, from at both the masters and doctoral levels in the Program and work cross-
Academic Search Elite (EbscoHost) database. Departmentally with colleagues in other ans and humanities disciplines.
Spielberg, S. (Producer), & Sonnenfeld, B. (Director). Responsibilities: Teach graduate level courses in Museum Education
(2002). Men in Black U (Motion picture]. United
States: Columbia Pictures. and Cultural Diversity; supervise the Master's Seminar, thesis writing and
The Ohio State University TETAC Mentors (2002). Secondary School Student Teaching; conduct research into the cultural
Integrated curriculum: Possibilities for the arts. An conditions shaping the aesthetic sensibilities of young people in schools
Education, 55(5). 12-22.
Walker, S. (2001). Teaching meaning in artmaking. with special reference to urban and minority concerns; provide leadership
Worcester MA: Davis Publications. in outreach development (local and overseas) at both Program and
RESOURCE LINKS Departmental levels.
Liza Lou: http://www.deitch.com/artists/sub.
php?artistld=14
Qualifications: Earned doctorate; evidence of superior scholarly
and artistic accomplishment; record of successful teaching experience
LIZA LOU, SELECTED WORKS in K-12 and College settings, wich emphasis on aesthetic development.
http://www.dei[ch.com/artists/selected_works.php?selec
tedWorksld=30&artistId=14
Demonstrated understanding of the teaching challenges unique to
museum settings and broad conceptions of art history. Evidence of
AUTHORS' NOTE
a broad concern with teaching and learning in the arts as these are
All ludent artwork shown are examples of the Personal
Spaces curriculum art project. shaped by socio-cultural, technological, and diversity issues.
Rank: Assistant Professor, Tenure Track.
Please s e n d a letter of application indicating how you would anticipate
fulfilling the responsibilities above. Include a CV, copies of relevant publica-
tions, a slide portfolio of personal/student work, and names of references to
Ringling Museum of Art
Professor Judith M. Burton, Chair, Search Committee, Box 78, Teachers
Education Interns (2 positions)
College, Columbia University, 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027.
Interns will be involved in dll aspects of planning,
implementing and evaluating the summer
museum camp program. This is a 10-week Review of applications will begin upon receipt of materials
internship that runs May 22-July 30,2009, and and continue until the search is successfully concluded.
pays$11.25anhour. Appointment begins September 2009.
Duties will indude: Developing the curriculum
for the Circus Culture week; Assisting vi/ith the l e c h e r s Co4l6ge as an institution is iommitted ro a policy of equal opportunity in employment. In
training of volunteers; Co-teaching daily lessons; offering ei/ucation, psychology, and health studies, liic College is committed to providing expanding employment
opportunities to persons of color, women, and persons with disabilities in its own activities and in society.
Preparing materials ; Working with community
organizations; Completing an evaluation report
of the camps. TEACHERS COLLEGE
An art education or museum education major is
preferred. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Go to www.ringling.org for more information or
to apply. I 525 West 120rh St., New York, NY 10027 http://www.tc.edu/

January 2009 / ART EDUCATION 53