Eighteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

The main objective of our study is to consider the pedagogical potential of the aesthetic experience in school visitors to contemporary art museums. Art contemplation is an opportunity to develop sensory, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual dimensions of human perception. To this end, museum educators must design their programs considering art contemplation as a practice that goes beyond artwork information, referring also to visitor personal and social context, shared with others, including the artists themselves. Through art experience, they can learn to find meaning in certain issues of their immediate environment. Furthermore, although most young audiences participate in museum proposals captively during school hours, these are an opportunity for a wide variety of adolescents -regardless of their family cultural background- to experience art contemplation, since many are unlikely to visit art museums by choice. Research methodology is based on descriptive analysis of specific aesthetic experience in school visitors while contemplating contemporary artworks. A previously validated instrument for this type of young public is used for data collection. Results demonstrate the need to develop this type of practice with young audiences, regardless of their previous cultural background, to promote involvement with contemporary art in the search for meaning and significance of life experience. Pedagogical implications are derived for museum aesthetic education with a focus on the engagement in contemporary art contemplation.

Presenters

Carmen Urpí
Associate Professor, Department of Theory and Research Methods in Education and Psychology, Universidad de Navarra, Navarra, Spain

Concha Iriarte
Associate Professor, Department of Learning and Curriculum, Universidad de Navarra, Spain

Charo Reparaz Abaitua
Associate Professor, Department of Theory and Research Methods in Education and Psychology, Universidad de Navarra, Navarra, Spain

Fernando Echarri
Head, Educational Area, University of Navarra, Navarra, Spain