Invitation to Defense of Rebecca Sprowl

The Defense Committee is made up of: Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Elisabeth Sattler (chair), Univ.-Prof. Mag. Martin Beck (supervisor), and Prof. Dr. Felix Vogel (external appraiser, University of Kassel).

This study combines the fields of art history and art education by looking at the crossovers between artistic practice and teaching philosophy. It identifies and compares the pedagogical concepts and instructional methods developed by a specific chronology of avant-garde artist-teachers from the twentieth century to the present. The research covers artists who taught at institutions such as the Bauhaus, Black Mountain College, and the California Institute of the Arts. Specific consideration is given to the advantages of having an artist as a teacher and mentor, visiting artist programs, and participation in an artist community which allowed for a laboratory or think tank-style of situational learning. The study uses qualitative historical analysis of primary texts written by and interviews with artists, in addition to conducting several interviews with former students and colleagues of Conceptual artist-teachers. The findings reveal that teachers drew substantially from their own artistic behaviors to inform their approaches to pedagogy and brought the concerns of the contemporary art world into the classroom. The artists aimed to guide students in becoming innovators of new art forms, critical thinkers, and perceptive viewers. Specifically, six pedagogical methods were revealed through the examination of the courses and educational programs they established and include testing, rehearsal, play, participation, exposure, and analysis. The study also assesses how these learning methods and other artistic practices either continued, transformed, or were rejected to align with the contemporary ideals of the time. The study seeks to inform current art education practices with examples of practical exercises, inventive approaches to experimentation, and educational philosophies developed by avant-garde artists in the classroom.

Rebecca Sprowl is an artist and secondary school visual arts teacher in Vienna, with a master’s degree in art education from Boston University. She began teaching art in 2005 and has subsequently taught all age levels at both public and private institutions in the United States, Thailand, Australia, Gabon, England, and Austria. Her primary fields of interest and study are Conceptual art, Fluxus, Modernism, interdisciplinary practices in the arts, art education, and experimental and critical pedagogy.

Please join us for the defense at Karl-Schweighofer-Gasse 3, room 4.15.

We are very much looking forward to welcoming you all.