Eighteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

Art practice could be defined through engaging in creative and reciprocal processes which go beyond the traditional conventions of time and space. These processes are never created in a void, they originate in different types of dialogues which serve as a stimuli for artists to discover new things in the world and in their practice. My study focuses on two figures, the philosopher Martin Buber (1878-1965) and the painter and art educator Franz Cižek (1856-1946). Through investigating their practices, I reflect upon historical as well as current artistic and educational processes which still reverberate and effect the everyday existence of many practicing artist-educators. I believe learning (as well as unlearning) from this history could not only open new perspectives (both for the artist and the community) but also serve as a solid base for a dialogue which I see as a form of an artistic action. According to Buber, teaching (and learning) are forms of creation. I propose to juxtapose Buber’s definition of teaching as a reciprocal act with the work of an artist and in particular with the artistic and educational practice of Franz Cižek who was active in Vienna at the end of the 19th beginning of the 20th centuries and was the founder of the Child Art Movement, opening Juvenile Art Classes in 1897, and examine their creation of works of art and (literary) works about art as educational actions that carry in them the foundations for dialogue between an artist/educator and the world.