Art to educate: A history of public art in the New York City public schools, 1890--1976.
Item
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Title
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Art to educate: A history of public art in the New York City public schools, 1890--1976.
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Identifier
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AAI3047205
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identifier
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3047205
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Creator
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Cohen, Michele.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Marlene Park
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Date
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2002
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Art History | Education, Art | American Studies
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Abstract
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"Art to Educate" chronicles a history of public art in the New York City public schools from the beginning until the passage of the City's Percent-for-Art Law in 1982. Its purpose is twofold: to bring to light public artworks in school buildings that are typically ignored in discussions of public art and to create a historical framework for understanding this collection.;To contextualize this collection, "Art to Educate" links public art in schools to school architecture and the Board of Education's school construction programs over the last century; to a consideration of educational theory and viewpoints in art education; and to the concerns of audience, site, and patron. From this matrix several major themes emerge: public art as educator, public art as architectural enhancement, public art as commemoration, the tension between public art and abstraction, and public art and the politics of identity.;"Art to Educate" covers the period 1890 through 1976. Arranged chronologically, each chapter provides an overview of roughly a decade, illustrated by case studies. Chapter 1, the 1890s, focuses on the motives for placing art in schools with an examination of the practice of placing art reproductions in school-rooms, largely inspired by John Ruskin's writings. Chapter 2 discusses the little known Board of Education architect, Charles B. J. Snyder and early stained glass windows. Chapter 3 expands on Snyder's contributions, focusing on several major murals by second-generation American Renaissance artists. Chapter 4 considers the commemorative function of public art in schools, particularly World War I memorials. Chapter 5 covers the New Deal period, and its emphasis on murals, focusing on those that tackle the ambitious history of civilization theme. Chapter 6 shows how modernist architecture ushered in the transformation of public school art, evidenced in abstract mosaics and sculptures by Hans Hofmann, Ben Shahn, and Mary Callery. And Chapter 7 establishes the roots of multiculturalism in public school art by examining a body of work by African-American artists.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
