Art in schools: The energy of sea rattle and inkblots

Blots of ink like puddles, scribbles in ballpoint pen and neon squiggles. Three empty toy bullets are stuck in the paper in between. “They represent the attacks of recent weeks, the one in Magdeburg and the two in America,” explains a boy. He is in the seventh grade at IGS Lüneburg. He runs his hands over the crumpled sheet of paper: “The world is not perfect,” he says. His classmates have to decide: does the picture have energy or not? The pupils agree: the picture makes them think, they want to talk about it and exchange views on current news. The picture has energy.

“It's crazy how much violence children in the seventh grade are already confronted with,” judges Bennet Schultz. The master's student is one of the prospective teachers attending the seminar ‘Critical Workshop: Energy: Yes! Quality: No!’ and talking to children and young people about their art: ”Usually, something is created in class. Discussions about the results often come up short,” says the student. The basis for the critique is the artistic concept of the internationally renowned installation artist Thomas Hirschhorn, who exhibits in Paris, New York and Vienna, among other places: ‘I use the term ’energy' as a positive term because it includes the other, it is beyond good and bad – even bad energy is energy. I use the term 'quality' as a negative term because it excludes others and because it makes a distinction between good and bad. Quality is exclusive, luxurious and based on tradition, identity and particularism. I need a different criterion today,” explains the artist.

For the first time, the concept is being implemented by prospective teachers: ”Only the rich can participate in the art market. Museums and galleries are not accessible to everyone either. But everyone has to go to school. In our project, art criticism is anti-hierarchical. The school children talk to each other, the adults just listen,” says Prof. Dr. Jordan Troeller, junior professor of contemporary art history, aesthetic practices. Each object is discussed for the same length of time and is thus given the same appreciation as any other of the students' artworks – energetic or not. Another boy has brought his “sea rattle” to school. That's what he calls the cardboard tube that he has filled with rice and wrapped with colorful paper ribbons: blue, yellow and orange represent the colors of the water and the sun. His classmates around him become quiet and listen: “The sound evokes memories of vacations, the sea and rain. That's why the work of art has power,” judges one.

With the next work of art – a plaster head – the boys only feel energy when the seventh-grader throws it on the floor: ‘As an artist, you are allowed to destroy your own work. But no one else,’ explains master's student Bennet Schultz. Honesty and openness are important building blocks of “Energy: Yes! – Quality: No!”: “Criticism is always a positive thing,” argues Thomas Hirschhorn: “I'm an artist, which is nice, but it's not always easy either. You have to confront the world.” He also gives the students feedback on their art and teaching: “He has no didactic filter. That ensures more openness,” says master's student Louisa Haake. For the artist, it is also clear that some students really learned something about art that day. Jorge Ponce Muñoz, an artist himself and head of the art department at IGS, sees the Leuphana seminar's visit to his school as a win: “We often no longer recognize art in student work because we only apply criteria. Today was different.”

”The worst thing art teachers can do is prescribe what art should look like"

Professor Dr. Jordan Troeller invited Swiss artist Thomas Hirschhorn to work closely with student teachers. His presence on campus during the winter semester is part of a broader effort to redesign art education at Leuphana and its relationship to the master's program “Critique of Contemporary Life” (Faculty of Cultural Studies) and the art space. Thomas Hirschhorn, for example, gave a lecture there. For Jordan Troeller, art offers the opportunity to reshape our world. Schools play a crucial role in communicating this message. “The worst thing art teachers can do is prescribe what art should look like. It is a disaster that the Abitur exam in Lower Saxony focuses the curriculum on canonical figures such as Caspar David Friedrich and Van Gogh. This kills creativity. Children and young people need to be freed from these towering figures. They need space to find their own artistic path and to reflect on their evaluation criteria – this will make them not only better thinkers but also better people. By finding ways to implement this approach, Leuphana will influence the art curriculum of the future.”

Leuphana students honored by Federal Minister for Family Affairs

The “Alliance for the Young Generation” received more than 200 applications from across Germany. The Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Lisa Paus, had called on young people to present their projects and initiatives. Leuphana students Clara Borchmann, Luisa Thorwarth, Bennet Schultz and Pia Dittmer from the Art Department scored points with their idea “Zwischenraum – Art between Museum and School.” “We are trying to convey contemporary art to children and to place their personal perceptions at the center,” explained Luisa Thorwarth.