Introduction

Aaron D. Knochel
The Pennsylvania State University, USA

Kimberly Powell
The Pennsylvania State University, USA

Christopher Schulte
The Pennsylvania State University, USA

Citation: Knochel, A. D., Powell, K., Schulte, C. (2019). Introduction. Transdisciplinary Inquiry, Practice, and Possibilities in Art Education. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Libraries Open Publishing. DOI: 10.26209/arted50-00

In 1965, Penn State hosted a ten-day seminar which has since became a benchmark in academic art education. The 1965 seminar influenced profoundly the study and practice of art education in the United States as it brought together artists, art historians, critics, art educators, curriculum experts, and psychologists. Considered a landmark in the field, the 1965 seminar shifted the focus of art education from psychologically grounded, developmental approaches to teaching and researching to a more self-conscious stance as part of the humanities and interdisciplinary scholarship. In April of 2016, the faculty of the Art Education program in the Penn State School of Visual Arts hosted a conference at the 50-year anniversary of the 1965 Seminar to commemorate and critically reflect on the continuing influence of this historical event to the contemporary scholarship of art education. The conference was made possible through funding from the Institute for the Arts & Humanities at Penn State, The College of Arts & Architecture, the Penn State School of Visual Arts, and the Art Education Program. The conference was also made possible by a generous contribution from Eric D. Brown ’49, in memory of his favorite art educator, his beloved wife Grace Brown.

The Penn State Seminar in Art Education: 50 Years of Transdisciplinary Inquiry, Practice, and Possibilities (April 1-3, 2016) convened a group of prominent and rising scholars who represent the field of art education from other institutions as well as colleagues from across the Penn State campus in related areas, for featured papers, roundtable presentations, and breakout sessions. The conference was positioned among a series of events and projects sponsored by the Art Education Program at Penn State to commemorate the 1965 Seminar in Art Education for Research and Curriculum Development. The conference invited scholars to revisit visions of art education established a half century ago and to consider emerging issues and directions in the field in the contemporary moment in 2016. Presenters were invited to submit to a conference proceedings to help document the range of presentations, posters, panels, and invited talks that occurred at The Penn State Seminar @50: Transdisciplinary Inquiry, Practice, and Possibilities. The Proceedings Editing Committee kindly offers the following articles and transcripts representative of the addresses and events that occurred during the conference but is not comprehensive as to the full offering at the conference. Manuscripts are organized as to their chronological order as it occurred in the conference.

The faculty of the Art Education Program at Penn State would also like to dedicate this collection to the legacy of Edward L. Mattil who passed away December 19, 2017 very near the conclusion of the work of this edited volume. Ed spent a lifetime advocating for the arts and developing innovative arts education scholarship at Penn State and elsewhere not least of which was serving as project director for the 1965 Seminar. We echo Ed’s request that those who wish to honor his memory should do so by performing an act of kindness.