Finding the Tradition in Folk Art: An Art Educator's Perspective

Abstract

In 1981, when I started to formulate a theoretical model for teaching art in art education settings, I began with the difficult task of defining the term folk art. After weeding through many of the unclear, demeaning, or discriminatory descriptors so often used-such as inferior, unsophisticated, or copied art-I began to focus on the term tradition, which I felt was the most important identifier for art educators to note. The problem then became where to look for the tradition. Coming from a discipline other than folklore, I found that it became increasingly difficult to use the existing research in the classrom, considering the many different ways others have dealt with this complicated phenomenon. In reviewing the literature on art and education and in taking note of programs now being funded for communities across the country, I often saw short-term projects which asked large populations of children to define, research, and in some way present the traditions of their area. During the summer of 1983, I worked with a group of thirteen children from the ages of seven to ten for eight hours over four days at the Maude Kerns Art Center in Eugene, Oregon. I attempted to teach them the concept of tradition in art as it relates to the broader concepts of culture, ethnicity, heritage, and groups, as well as the more general arena of folklore. Although I believed that this was the first step for these children toward recognizing and appreciating art, even as a seasoned teacher I found teaching these concepts difficult. Before beginning this pilot teaching study, I extensively reviewed literature by folklorists and other scholars who use tradition as a prominent definer of art in an effort to help clarify aspects of tradition in