metaphor and meaning || experiencing art through metaphor

National Art Education Association

Experiencing Art through MetaphorAuthor(s): Carol S. JeffersSource: Art Education, Vol. 49, No. 3, Metaphor and Meaning (May, 1996), pp. 6-11Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3193586 .

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SPE CIAL

BY CAROL S. JEFFERS

Experiencing Art through

etaphor INTRODUCTION

As Dissanayake (1988) and Anderson (1995) suggest, the question, "what is art for?" can be used to frame anthropological approaches to understanding art and its functions in diverse socio-cultural contexts. The question is powerful, indicating lines of inquiry that lead beyond the appreciation of the formal or aesthetic qualities of art.

I

ART EDUCATION / MAY 1996



For Danto (1981), such lines may lead to inquiries into the metaphoric functions of art, where art is said to function as a metaphor for the relationship between viewer, artist, and piece. That art functions as such a metaphor is a compelling answer to the question, "what is art for?"

Together with the preservice and in- service teachers enrolled in my elementary art methods classes, I have followed Danto's lead in exploring the metaphoric functions of art As a group, we began this exploration by choosing and sharing artworks that served metaphorically to capture individual visions of ourselves. For us, it was a matter of comparing our attributes and characteristics with those of various artworks and of transferring those attributes from ourselves to the selected works. Danto (1981) said "the greatest metaphors of art I believe to be those in

which the spectator identifies him [/her] self with the attributes of the represented character and sees his or her life in terms of the life depicted..." (p. 172).

In this paper, I shall describe the preservice and in-service elementary teachers' "greatest metaphors of art" and the ways they were able to use them in gaining or deepening insights into themselves, their lives, and their views of art. Also, I shall take a closer look at the nature and implications of the relationships between these teacher-viewers, the artists, and the chosen works of art.

CHOSEN WORKS OF ART AND THEIR METAPHORIC FUNCTIONS

In identifying with the attributes of various artworks, preservice and in-service elementary teachers chose and

shared works representing a wide range of styles, subject matter, media, genres, and periods. Created by renowned, as well as unknown, artists, the works included: Rivera's mural series History and Perspective ofMexico, Munch's The Scream, Rousseau's The Dream, Kandinsky's Heavy Circles, Van Gogh's Mountainous Landscape and The Mulberry Tree, Modigliani's Gypsy Woman and Baby, Miro's Dog Barking at the Moon, Duvivier'sAn Architect's Table, a piece of Kante cloth, a hand- crocheted afghan, a sculpture of a mother and child, an unknown artist's portrait of Jesus, and paintings and drawings by members of these teachers' families.

In each of the metaphoric artworks, preservice and in-service teachers located certain attributes or referents (visual or symbolic) that tied the works to themselves and their lives. These

Rosa Leon with hand-made

Mexican shawl.

MAY 1996 / ART EDUCATION



ties seemed to situate the teachers' lives in formal, natural, cultural, familial, or religious contexts. The nature of these ties and contexts is described below.

IN A FORMAL CONTEXT Some teachers chose abstract or

semi-abstract artworks, using elements such as color and shape and principles such as balance and harmony as visual and symbolic referents. A large yellow circle in Kandinsky's Heavy Circles, for example, represented one teacher's view of herself as professional educator. Smaller circles represented other aspects of her personal life. In addition, she noted the asymmetrical and infor- mal balance of the composition metaphorically represented her own unbalanced life.

Another teacher looked at Miro's Dog Barking at the Moon and saw its ladder as that which symbolized his climb to educational and professional goals. As Miro tried to harmonize the various elements of the painting, so, too, did this teacher seek harmony in his life, between his new goals and his past experiences.

TIES TO NATURE Several teachers chose landscape

paintings to represent strong or desired ties to the natural environment. Some felt it important to nurture and maintain these ties, while others felt a need to re- establish broken ones. All the teachers found their chosen landscapes, (depicting mountains, trees, a pond, or a sun- set), whether painted by Corot or Van Gogh, to be metaphors for views of serenity. For some, serenity meant peace and tranquillity; it described a need for a natural kind of calm in hectic and urban lives. For another teacher, serenity meant a sense of freedom. She

explained she would retitle Van Gogh's Mountainous Landscape with the title of her metaphor: "Freedom."

CULTURAL CONNECTIONS Many teachers chose works of art

they felt reflected their "ethnic identity" and cultural or ancestral heritage. For example, a Mexican-American teacher chose the painting, CocinaJaiteca (Old Kitchen), by Lawrence Yanez, because of the Mexican icons and religious sym- bols in the Chicano kitchen, itself a metaphor for the "nucleus of Mexican family values" and traditional role of women in these families. For another teacher, the pattern and colors of her Kante cloth reminded her to take pride in her ethnicity and African heritage.

Two teachers chose artworks that reminded them of childhood, of grow- ing up in small villages in El Salvador and Guatemala, respectively. Reflecting on the 150-year old painting, Twenty- two Houses and a Church, (artist unknown), one teacher said it reminded him of the village where he was born, to which he can never return and served as a metaphor for a longed-for "simple, peaceful, and friendly" way of life.

A stark, yet poignant black and white photograph of a young Guatemalan girl selling homemade tor- tillas on the street reminded another teacher of the hardship and poverty she left behind in her former country. In a metaphorical sense, the photograph depicted this teacher's hopes for a brighter future and her firm belief in education as the means by which a poor child working the streets can be lifted out of poverty.

In some of the metaphoric artworks, teachers located visual and symbolic references to their cultural heritage, which also led to specific family members. For example, the teacher who

chose Rivera's mural series depicting Mexico's colonial history and struggle for independence was reminded of his grandmother. She had been involved in the 1910 revolution and taught her grandson "you must fight for what you believe." The murals are a metaphor for the wisdom and guiding principles passed on by grandparent to grand- child in a Mexican context.

FAMILY BONDS Through a variety of different art-

works, several teachers situated themselves and their lives in family contexts. One preservice teacher, for example, chose a small sculpture of a mother and child from her own mother's collection of such sculptures. As the sculpture is a metaphor for the bonds of love and car- ing between the mother and child, so too, is the sculpture a metaphor for the bonds between this teacher and her own mother.

Another preservice teacher chose a painting depicting a woman and two small children waving good-bye to a ship sailing from a harbor because she also had stood on the shore with her mother and little brother waving good- bye to her father's ship. For her, the painting was a metaphor for her feelings of sadness, separation, or loss, mixed with a sense of adventure and anticipation of her father's return with stories and gifts from exotic places.

Other teachers chose artworks created by members of their families. As living references to family bonds, these artists-a grandmother, sister, and other family members-served to enhance and enrich the preservice and in-service teachers' metaphors. These teachers created vivid images of a grandmother crocheting and a sister on the floor surrounded by pencils and paper. It was as if these family artists




had joined with the teachers in present- ing the metaphors.

The teacher who chose her grandmother's brightly-colored afghan as her metaphor saw in the crocheted stitches her grandmother's longevity, legacy, and perseverance-a quality the teacher hoped to find in herself. Moreover, this teacher hoped she would hold together her own family in the way her grandmother had-a "holding together" now symbolized by the interlocking stitches of the afghan.

Proudly choosing as her metaphor, a portrait of her family done in pencil by her sister, one preservice teacher explained the portrait was hung in the front hall in memory of her mother. The portrait not only depicted her family as it was before the mother's untime- ly death; it also represented the teacher's life and that of her sister, guided by their mother's wisdom and strength from afar.

RELIGIOUS REFERENTS Preservice teachers who chose art-

works depicting religious subject matter relied on religious referents to tie the works to their lives. For example, a painting (reproduction) of a guardian angel watching over a young boy and girl was chosen to represent the teacher's "strong faith in God." She identified herself with the little girl in the painting, knowing "God was watching over her." Similarly, another teacher chose a portrait of Jesus to por- tray her "life with Christ and the Catholic Church." These teachers seemed comforted by their religious convictions and by their metaphoric depictions of their religious faith.

SOME FUNCTIONS OF METAPHORIC WORKS OF ART

In the rich and extensive body of lit-

Through a paradoxical process that condenses and expands meaning, metaphor enables us to generate vivid associations and develop insightful, deeper, and more personal understandings. erature on metaphor, there are numer- ous references to the ways in which metaphor functions in furthering our understanding of the meaning of experience (Feinstein, 1982; Lakoff& Johnson, 1980; Langer, 1976; Ortony, 1975). Through a paradoxical process that condenses and expands meaning, metaphor enables us to generate vivid associations and develop insightful, deeper, and more personal understandings (Feinstein, 1982; Ortony, 1975). In the experiences of the preservice and in-service teachers, the metaphoric works of art have functioned in these ways and more.

For one teacher, metaphor functioned not only in generating deep,

insightful, and personal understandings, but also in healing some deep wounds. This teacher, who happened to be Mexican-American, shared a traumatic experience as he re-lived it through the surrealistic work of art he chose. Speaking in Tongues, painted by Carlos Almaraz in 1982, seems to use icons such as low-rider cars, pit bull- dogs, palm trees, and housing projects in weaving together the dreams, reali- ties, and exploding "fireworks" in the Latino community known as Echo Park (Los Angeles). To the teacher, the icons and surrealistic fireworks seemed to speak clearly, revealing




much about himself and a critical moment in his life. These are his words:

[This painting] is a metaphor for my life because it brought me a little closer to accepting and understanding... a traumatic experience in my life. In 1983, I was the victim of a drive-by shooting. That moment was both a horrifying and an enlighten- ing experience. This enlighten- ment... occurred while I was lying on the ground in incredible pain. I thought I will just close my eyes and let go. All the pain and this horrific experience will be over. Some voice in my head said, "Don't fall asleep. Stay awake." I stayed awake and endured hours of pain.

Physically, I must have recov- ered fully in about three months. A gigantic scar is the only physical reminder. Psychologically, the healing has not yet been realized. For the longest time, I was full of self pity. I asked myself why did this happen to me? ... Art is what began the emotional healing process...

This is where the Almaraz piece reveals a little more of the "why" and of the enlightened state. The art piece seems to show a moment in time. An incredibly violent moment. One in which an explosion has vio- lently affected people, animals, and the environment. The environment is electrically charged. I am electrically charged. I am in pain. Why not me? Yes, this is happening to me and I have to accept it...This piece of art has shown me that it did happen but that it was only one moment in my life, one moment out of billions and billions.

For the first time in my life, I have been able to talk freely about being

shot.... This art piece has given me some insight on how to deal with the emotional and psychological scars.

Less dramatic, but no less important, was a preservice teacher's new insight into and changed view of what art is and how it functions. Before choosing her metaphoric artwork, this teacher confessed she did not appreci- ate art, believing pictures to be "dead and lifeless." Through her metaphor, this teacher came to realize "a piece of art not only represents what [she is], but lets [her] feelings and emotions come out as well." In enabling her to develop a living relationship with this

piece of art, metaphor performed yet another important function.

As the metaphoric works of art functioned to heal and generate deep insights and new meanings, they also functioned to build close relationships with the teachers. Several teachers became "very attached" to their chosen works of art. One preservice teacher said, "I feel a close relationship between myself and the little girl on the shore because she metaphors me vivid- ly." In using metaphor as a verb, this teacher appears to "see her life in terms of the life depicted," much in the way Danto has described. For the teacher, this painting, with its little girl, appears

to be one of "the greatest metaphors of art" because it is indeed based on this close and personal relationship.

Similarly, other teachers seemed to develop close relationships with their metaphoric artworks. In these relationships, the teachers reflected on the meaning of their lives and their future goals. One preservice teacher put it this way:

When I look at the painting in this [metaphoric] way, it gives me joy and hope for my future. Children Leaving School is the perfect metaphor for me and my life. [It relates] to my past, present, and future. I can stare at it and see much

more than the artist has painted... I feel connected to this artwork, something I've never done before. About her relationship with her

metaphor, another preservice teacher said:

This painting of AnArchitect's Table has my vision of teaching [drawing, sculpting, and painting] in my lesson plans...In the painting there are several art tools and art pieces laid out. It shows that I will do a lot of planning and preparing for my classes. I also see the table as my own when I am a teacher. This painting gives me a great feeling that I can accomplish my dreams. I am going to frame it in my room for encouragement.


As a group, we were touched by and connected to each metaphoric work and the teacher who shared it.



In addition to these deep, insightful, and more personal understandings, one teacher gained insight into her world view and into herself becoming a professional educator in a multicultural society. Because of her painting, this teacher said she developed a "deep appreciation for multicultural awareness and respect for one's own culture." Thus, metaphor seems to function in increasing awareness of a multicultural world and one's place in it. In this case, metaphor functioned in helping this teacher develop a relationship with the world as she now sees it.

METAPHORIC RELATIONSHIPS In looking closely at the relation-

ships that developed between the teachers and their metaphors, it became apparent these teachers not only transferred their attributes to their chosen artworks, they also transferred attributes from the works to themselves. That is, the teachers entered into reciprocal, reflexive relationships with their metaphors through which they gained more insightful understandings both of themselves and of their artworks.

These reciprocal relationships pro- vide evidence in support of Ortony's claim that metaphor functions as a "communications device" that allows coher- ent "chunks" of perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and experiential characteristics to be "transferred from the known to the less well-known" (1975, p. 51).

Based on my experiences with the teachers, I found what was "known" and "less well-known" could change with each newly-gained insight. At times, it appeared the works of art were the known and the teachers were the less well-known; at other times, works of art became the less well-known and the teachers the known.

SOME IMPLICATIONS With their metaphors functioning as

communications devices that allowed a series of transfers, these teachers entered into close, reciprocal and dynamic relationships with their works of art. Rather than Danto's "spectator" identifying himself or herself with the artwork, these teachers became partici- pants in living relationships with the works. In several cases, this relationship included the artist-family member.

Moreover, the act of sharing the metaphors in a group context brought the teachers and me closer to one another. Thus, the close personal relationships with the artworks also functioned in a shared social context. As a metaphor, then, a work of art can be contextually understood as a personally and "socially-functional product" (Anderson, 1995, p. 200). Metaphor may represent an anthropological approach to understanding and talking about art.

In searching for a cross-cultural approach to art criticism framed by the question, "what is art for," Anderson (1995) calls for "contextual understanding" of art as a "socially-functional product" (p. 200). He claims a "work of art should be understood not only for what it is, but more fundamentally, for what it does in a social context" (p. 200). As a group, the preservice and in-service teachers shared their chosen works of art and came to understand this art in a group context, as well as in personal, cultural, familial, and religious contexts. Indeed, the teachers understood and valued the works for what they did in these various contexts. Several times, the art, used as metaphor, made us cry; sometimes we laughed. As a group, we were touched by and connected to each metaphoric work and the teacher who shared it. In our experience, this is what art is for.

Leading beyond the aesthetic functions of art and into the metaphoric, this exploration contains the seed of an alternative approach to art criticism- one based upon the close, dynamic relationship between participant-viewer, artist, and work of art. In such an approach, teachers and students, as participant-viewers, would choose and share different artworks on several occasions throughout a term. As indi- viduals and as a group, students and teachers would discuss the changing works of art and their metaphoric functions, noting differences and similari- ties in emerging themes. Thus students would begin to distill essential meanings and understand the function of art in capturing the essence of human experience.

Carol S. Jeffers is Associate Professor of Art Education in the Department ofArt, California State University, Los Angeles, andfounding editor of Cat's Cradle, a journal on collaborative inquiry in a postmodern era.

REFERENCES Anderson, T. (1995). Toward a cross-cultural

approach to art criticism. Studies in Art Education, 36(4), 198-208.

Danto, A (1981). The transfiguration of the commonplace: A philosophy of art. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Dissanayake, E. (1988). What is artfor? Seattle, WA: University of Washington.

Feinstein, H. (1982). Meaning and visual metaphor. Studies in Art Education, 23(2), 45-55.

Lakoff & Johnson. (1980). Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago.

Langer, S. (1976). Philosophy in a new key. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Ortony, A. (1975). Why metaphors are neces- sary and not just nice. Educational Theory, 25(1), 45-53.




metaphor and meaning || experiencing art through metaphor

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