When I was a kid, I thought band-aids could heal most all wounds. Even if it was a bruise, my mom would give me a band-aid and I would feel better instantly (especially if it was scooby-doo themed). As I have gotten older, I have seen people “feel better” by covering up bigger wounds in themselves and their culture with bigger metaphorical band-aids (distractions, productivity, entertainment, etc.) However, feeling better has nothing to do with the health of the wounded.
DECONSTUCTION
When I have talked to therapists about true healing, they have always told me to find the root of the problem. In gardening, if you do not pull out the entire root, the weed will continue to grow back bigger and stronger. When I think about deconstruction on an individual level, I think about self-recognition/reflection. When you look at the root of who you are, and all the weeds that entangle your personality, you begin to do the work of deconstruction. The first step is to recognize how our behaviors stem from our childhood, our experiences, our culture, our race, our gender, the religion we did or did not grow up in, our friendships, the list can go on and on. The hard and slow work of deconstruction is in critical thinking. The first step to true healing in ourselves and our communities, is to take away the band aid, and look at the source of why we do the things we do!
In the art classroom, deconstruction looks like…
Self-Reflective Art Projects
Critical Analysis of Visual Culture
Looking at Contemporary Artists who question the Status Quo
Class discussion about cultural & personal biases
Group Work
RECONSTRUCTION
It is not enough to deconstruct. We have to begin to intentionally reconstruct ourselves and communities. Here, we ask ourselves the questions:“Who do I want to be?” and “What do I want my community to look like?” The hard and hopeful work of reconstruction is in the doing. We have to begin to replace old habits of seeing and reacting to the world with healthier habits.
In the art classroom, reconstruction looks like:
Asking my students every day, “What have you done to make the world a better place?”
Art projects based on reimagining the world around them
Curriculum based on students seeing themselves as Change-makers
Problem-Solving and Problem-Finding
Emphasis on Process > Outcome
Sharing diverse contemporary artists making a difference in their communities
Encouraging personal Agency
Deconstruction and Reconstruction are foundational practices in my personal and professional life and I hope to impart them to my students as tools to make the world a better place. In order to shape the world for the better, we need a whole lot of people willing to take off their band aids, look into themselves, imagine a better way of being, and replacing old habits with new ones on a daily basis. Unfortunately, there is no immediate gratification in this work, it is never-ending, and the failure rate is high. I think this is why I see many people around me stop at deconstruction. People are more passionate about problems than solutions.
If I can begin to ingrain in myself and my students that our purpose on Earth is not about “feeling better,” it is about “making the world better,” I believe real healing can happen. It is slow. It is a choice every day. It can be painful. It costs us something. But, is there any more meaningful work we can do with the short time we have here?