ARTISTIC RESEARCH

'Decoding Education' [Educational Turn. 2016.]

How do we trade knowledge? If you look around, I am sure you will have a sense of being part of a culture where images have a very important role in our lives. Our eyes consume a lot of visual information, and images are elements that artists use to encode messages to tell stories about the world in which we live.

As an artist, I like dissecting the sources I have available to create a free exchange in my head that nourishes my creativity. I am now a teacher of art and my “dissection” process is oriented toward decoding the field of art education. How can I help students use art to generate new stories about culture, community, and citizenship? How can we use the world and its visual resources to nurture creative thinking?

I am also interested in mapping the hidden curriculum—what is learned but not openly intended such as the transmission of norms, values, and beliefs conveyed in the classroom and social environments.

In this work, I experimented with the shapes of QR codes, which are used to track most of the products and services bought and sold in stores today. A QR code opens an immediate connection to information online, whereas RFID codes (Radio frequency identification) identify and track tags attached to objects. I invite you to explore these paths—to experience connection and disconnection—in relation to questions about art, creativity, and knowledge.

Exhibition:

(2016). Decoding Education [Installation]. Commons Gallery. New York University, New York, May 23 - June 4.