Theory and practice between art and pedagogy in the art school

ABSTRACT

Constructing a Reflective Site was a fine art practice-based Ph.D. project, which considered the relationship between art practice and teaching. The project set out to explore what the critical potential could be for a practice and teaching interrelationship, through a Ph.D. research project within the art school undertaken from a dual position on practice: art practice and teaching as practice. This article outlines how this dual Ph.D. research employed a transdisciplinary approach towards an exploration of subject specificity in Fine Art education, by drawing on constructions of sites, towards an artistic position as well as a theoretical framework. Within these sites, notions of reflection, as found in philosophy, art and pedagogy, were used to elucidate and question this relationship between forms of knowledge as found between them. By mapping reflection across art practice, teaching practice and theory, historically, cognitively and in epistemology, reflection was found to not necessarily constitute the same experience across pedagogy and art practice. Correlating theory and practice needs to be critically productive, not just for the process of undertaking a Ph.D., but also within broader fields of art and art pedagogy. This article discusses a coupling of critical and productive in relation to a dual or expanded practice relating to the field of art.

KEYWORDS:

• Site
• practice
• praxis
• reflection
• reflexion
• art pedagogy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on the contributor

Katrine Hjelde (Ph.D.) is an artist, lecturer and researcher working as Course Leader for the Graduate Diploma Fine Art and as Senior Theory Lecturer, B.A. (Hons) Fine Art, Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London. As an artist, she exhibits in Great Britain and Europe, collaborates with the architects practice b + r and works with the collective FLΔG, a group formed at Chelsea College of Arts in 2010, comprising of artists, students, former students, staff and researchers. FLΔG explores the relationship between art practices, art education, and pedagogy, looking at forms of knowledge production and dissemination in the art school and beyond.

Notes

1. This article draws on my Ph.D. Constructing a Reflective Site: Practice between art and pedagogy in the art school. 2012. http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/5890/1/KatrineHjeldePhD.pdf.