“Visual Culture and Aesthetics: Everything Old is New Again . . . Or is It?”
 
Arts Education Policy Review 106:1 (September/October 2004), 33-37.

by Julie C. Van Camp

ABSTRACT


The visual culture movement has focused on issues of interdisciplinarity, appreciating everyday objects and experiences, re-examining methodologies and reasoning, and broadening our inquiries to the cultural products of diverse cultures. While these goals are admirable and worthwhile, they are also interests shared with  scholars in the history, theory, criticism, and philosophy of the arts and have been for a long time. Abandoning or ignoring this rich legacy weakens the valuable contributions which visual culture and its adherents can make to scholarly dialogue and the education of students. The challenge with the visual culture movement is to understand the new and worthwhile methodologies it brings to more established approaches to understanding the arts. Such a dialogue is always welcome. Swinging the pendulum so far as to abandon worthy insights, whether old or new, is not.

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Last updated: December 3, 2007