Joshua C. Taylor, the 1965 Seminar, and the Emergence of Contemporary Creative Looking

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, we provide a brief description of the 1965 Penn State Seminar, consider the ways in which art museums and original works of art were (and were not) positioned at the seminar, and argue that art historian Joshua C. Taylor and art education professor June King McFee elucidated ideas that influenced and changed the trajectory of art museum education, a related field that was concurrently emerging as an area of study and research as well as a profession. In particular, Taylor’s presentation at the Penn State Seminar, “The History of Art in Education,” provides rich ground to cultivate pedagogical implications of creative looking and knowing based on art history as a component of the art curriculum, and also suggests important aspects to consider in relation to current art museum education practices. We also outline Taylor’s subsequent writings that specifically address art museums and art museum education and suggest that his work provides evidence of an evolving understanding of art history and interpretation that opened up a space for contemporary practices of creative looking in the art museum. While education practitioners in art museums and art museum education were not explicitly included in the seminar, Taylor’s presentation suggested multiple points of entry to locate the implications of art museum education within the field. Using Taylor’s presentation as a springboard, we identify the implicit threads that associate ways of creative looking with contemporary educational practices and possibilities in the art museum.