2019_2020 Literacy

Artistic Literacy, Visual

Literacy, Textual Literacy

Literacy is a complex term with multiple definitions including: a set of skills, the knowledge and understanding of a particular content area, or the act of learning (Burnett, 2005). In the visual arts standards, there are several types of literacy, which can involve some or all of these definitions as students engage in communication, interpreting and constructing meaning, using materials and techniques, and relating personal, historical, or contextual knowledge to artistic endeavors. The three specific areas of literacy that are included within the visual arts standards are artistic, visual, and textual literacy, which have been defined in more detail below.

Artistic literacy is the knowledge and understanding required to participate authentically in the visual arts. Fluency in the language of the visual arts is the ability to Create, Produce, Respond, and Connect through symbolic and metaphoric forms that are unique to the visual arts. It is embodied in specific lifelong goals that enable an artistically literate person to transfer visual arts knowledge, skills, and capacities to othersubjects, settings, and contexts (NCCAS, 2013). Artistic literacy fosters connections among the arts and between the arts and other disciplines, thereby providing opportunities to access, develop, express, and integrate meaning within the visual arts and across a variety of content areas.

Visual literacy is a general term used to describe the ability to engage with visual images. Understanding and analyzing the contextual, cultural, ethical, aesthetic, intellectual, and technical components involved in the production and use of visual materials requires visual literacy skills. Visual literacy is developed as a result of intentional practice in effectively finding, interpreting, evaluating, using, and creating images and visual media. An individual who is visually literate is both a thoughtful consumer of and contributor to visual materials (Hattwig, 2011).

Textual literacy is a term that has traditionally been used to describe reading, writing, and analyzing written text. However, many goals including engagement,understanding, and making meaning are common throughout each of the areas of literacy. When building textual literacy, it is common to ask students to cite evidence within the text to support inferences. This is similar to asking students to cite evidence within visual images to support inferences to meaning, mood, and purpose. Another link between textual, visual, and artistic literacies is the consideration of how context impacts the meaning of the material being studied. The visual arts standards provide a unique opportunity to build textual literacy skills as visual and artistic literacy skills are developed due to the similarities between the areas of literacy.