Jodi Kushins

The Ohio State University (PhD Candidate)

Pratt Institute (MS – Art and Deign Education)

Clark University (BA – Studio Art and Art History)

email: kushins.1@osu.edu

AREA(S) OF INTEREST Postsecondary art(ist) education, Curriculum Integration, Art and Elementary Generalist Teachers, Contemporary art and theory, Cultural studies

INFLUENCES: Note: I hate these kind of ‘favorite” questions. I refuse to stress over an attempt to be exhaustive... Scholars: John Dewey, Maxine Greene, Suzi Gablik, Carol Becker, Paulo Freire, Neil Postman, David Trend, Kalle Lasn, David Trend, David Orr… Artists and Projects: Adbusters, The Guerrilla Girls, Beuys “7,000 Oaks”, Laderman Ukeles “Touch Sanitation”, Julia Butterfly Hill’s tree sit, Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park), Eve Ensler, Barbara Kruger, Martha Rosler, Maude (From the film Harold and Maude)…

PUBLICATIONS : “Learning from our Learning Spaces” in Art Education, January 2005 “Making the B.E.S.T. of it” in CAEA Visions Magazine, Spring 2002

“Making meaning from murals” in CAEA Visions Magazine, Fall 2002

"Recognizing Artists as Public Intellectuals: A Pedagogical Imperative" [http://aad.uoregon.edu/index.cfm?mode=culturework&page=current]

Columnist – Caucus on Social Theory and Art Education

PERSONAL AND/OR STUDENT WORK “This is What Tolland High School Looks Like. This is What Democracy Looks Like. This is What Contemporary Collaborative Community Art Looks Like.” Tolland High School, Spring 2003

In the spring of 2003, as the U.S. prepared to invade Iraq I found myself embroiled in daily conversations with a student whose father was a military reserve pilot. She was simultaneously proud and scared of the fact that he would soon be deployed to the Middle East. My initial response was to encourage her to protest the war in order to keep her father safe at home. However, I soon realized that I would not be able to convince her to take this position which she perceived as an opposition to her father’s commitment to his country. We agreed to disagree. Out of our disagreement emerged an idea of a community conversation, focused around a collaboratively created image.

Together, the student and I composed and posed a series of questions to students and staff throughout the school: “Do you think we should go to war in Iraq? Why do you think we are going to war in Iraq? Do you know anyone who has gone or may be going to the Middle East to fight in the potential war against Iraq?” Participants could choose to remain anonymous, include their name and/or have their photograph displayed with their thoughts. We selected a range of responses and posted them in the cafeteria against the backdrop of the Stars and Stripes which has become so pervasive in our post-9/11 visual culture. I brought my classes to the cafeteria to discuss the piece as did other, non-art teachers in the building.

Viewers were invited to add their thoughts and responses to the piece. As with other collaborative school-wide projects, like murals, I led during my time as a high school art education, I invited the local newspaper to visit the school and speak with students about the project. This created an additional public pedagogical window through which I advocated for progressive, socially relevant art education.