24. WAYS OF KNOWING IN THE VISUAL ARTS: THE IMPERATIVE OF SENSE PERCEPTION AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS
Victor Eson Ecoma, Ph. D
Department of Fine & Applied Arts, University of Calabar, Calabar.
Email: vicksgallery@yahoo.com
Phone No: 08050970762
Abstract
The visual arts, as ‘ways of knowing’, contribute to knowledge and the development of society by highlighting the importance of arts and humanities in driving the economy in a world where emphasis is on science and technology. It is important to note that knowledge in the 21st century global diversity is visually-driven, through computers, smart phones and the internet. This makes visual arts knowledge imperative. The visual arts, as visual literacy, rely on sense perception and the creative process. Visual arts consist of the studio practice section which includes drawing, painting, sculpture, printing-making, photography, graphic design, textile and fashion design and ceramics, the discourse sections of art history, art appreciation and criticism and art education. The objective of this paper is to examine how visual arts knowledge, as ways of knowing, is integrated into Bloom’s Educational Taxonomy of Learning, comprising of the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains and how these domains equip students with intellectual skills, heightened sensibilities and the motor skills necessary for achieving learning outcomes in the visual arts. The research purpose is to show how art constitutes a way of knowing through sense perception and the creative process in drawing and painting. The methodology derives from students’ drawing and painting exercises with research results showing that the students are equipped with visual literacy competences to process different kinds of information as a catalyst for building skills and capacities to fully participate in the public, community and economic life of society. It is concluded that visual arts training is holistic in terms of cognitive functions and the processing of information; and as ways of knowing, arts appreciation should be more broadly taught in schools and universities as part of visual literacy, which is closely linked to digital literacy.
Keywords: Visual arts, Visual literacy, Ways of knowing, Bloom’s taxonomy, Sense
perception, Creative process, Art appreciation.