TOK: The 12 concepts
You may not have noticed but TOK has changed it's framework... The main difference is that the new TOK curriculum is focused on "big ideas " through 12 concepts that that are transdisciplinary in nature and help us to understand why we are learning the content.
This page looks at these 12 concepts on which the TOK course is built. Some of the concepts link more directly to visual arts than others, but helping students to see how these concepts are relevant in art will help to support the transfer of their understandings and make TOK a more relevant and integrated part of their DP learning. For those concepts most relevant to our subject I have included links to activities and resources to explore in greater depth. Thanks to John Crane, author of the Psychology site, for the outline and the inspiration!
TOK: The 12 concepts
Certainty Culture Evidence Explanation Interpretation Justification
Objectivity Perspective Power Responsibility Truth Values
How do these 12 concepts relate to Art?
Unlike other areas of knowledge, certainty is certainly not what artists explore, but rather the opposite, uncertainty! I read somewhere that scientists are seeking answers, whereas artists are seeking more questions.
Related content -Viewer Exhibition Response
TOK is interested in how culture affects our knowledge of the world around us. The sociocultural approach is one of the lenses through which we can analyze art works- so in this sense, we have a great link here to TOK. Cultural Significance (C) is one of the criterion for the Comparative Study and an integral part of the visual arts syllabus.
You will find many relevant pages and activities in the Culture and Context section, such as
and
Evidence is an important part of any kind of research, perhaps not the most relevant to art, but students do need to use research and find evidence to support their analysis in the CS and to investigate artists in the PP, and both require empirical evidence, documentation and citation.
Related content:
Art tends to infer rather than explain, we are not looking for explanations but rather to be invited into an unknown territory, otherwise why make art? Documentary photography bears witness, journalism explains,, but art? Explanation however can be our attempt to understand why an art work is made in a certain way, how it is made, and what it communicates. Students offer a sort of explanation ( more of a justification-see below ) of their exhibition in the Curatorial Rationale
related pages:????
The way we interpret art and meaning is essential to our understanding of art. Interpretation is highly subjective in the arts.
Interpretation is influenced by culture- Cultural Assumptions
Interpretation is influenced by knowledge- Art and Knowledge
Interpretation is influenced by the value we assign to art- Art and Values
Interpretation is even influenced by how we title our work- Titling Work
Try this fun activity for looking at how we view and understand art from different Interpretive Frameworks
The resource 4 Ways of Looking at Art is useful for guided looking
Art making involves complex decision making, in the choice of materials, of subject matter, of scale, you name it, everything is a decision that impacts the art that evolves from it. Curatorial practice is decision making, where and how to display work, how meaning is impacted, and all of these considerations must be justified by the student in their final exhibition, giving reasons for their choices and decisions in their Curatorial Rationale
Does objectivity in art exist? Is there not fundamentally a personal response? There are of course certain guidelines the examiner must follow when assessing work. Technical skill, for example, is supposedly an objective quality that we can quantify and agree upon....hmmm.
Under objectivity we might also explore our personal biases, our preferences, our aesthetic inclinations, and how this influences our response to a given art work.
Who decides what is good art? - Art and Values
Try this look and respond slideshow Intuitive Response
Perspective is related to objectivity, or rather, the opposite of it, and of course to interpretation and from what viewpoint we approach an art work.
We can consider point of view in visual art in a literal way: every composition has a viewpoint, creating the illusion of space requires understanding of linear perspective, and we can explore Perspective and Drawing Aides to achieve this.
We can also consider perspective as a cultural lens through which we view art and make art.
In TOK the idea of power is how knowledge can be power. We can think about this concept in terms of how art can challenge society to change and develop in positive ways, for example Art that Challenges and Confronts, but also how Art and Money get mixed up and the power that is assigned to Celebrity Artists
What are the ethical responsibilities of artists? This is a tricky one, with very different parameters for students (see Ethical Expression ) and those professional artists who seem to have no concern for ethics, or maybe wish to challenge us.
Responsibility is a rich topic to explore in visual arts, try these questions:
• What moral responsibilities does the artist have or not have? Are they different from any other knower?
• To what extent does the artist have a moral obligation to avoid or confront issues that might shock or be contrary to most people?
• Do you think controversy is important for an artwork to have a strong impact? Why do artists often rely on the shock factor?
• What do we expect from art? Truth? Seduction? Provocation? Beauty
Relevant pages
The function and purpose of art is not necessarily to tell the truth, although art may address truths about human nature in a way other disciplines cannot. Aristotle wrote that poetry is more true than history because it presents universal truths whereas history gives only particular truths and that poetry shows how a person might behave (or think, or feel).
Truth (even truth to human nature) is not a prerequisite in works of art, entire genres of art, such as music, and much visual art exist without it. Thus, the view that the purpose or function of art is to provide truth does not hold; perhaps the person who wants absolute truths had better turn to science or philosophy rather than to the arts.[1]
“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies.”- Pablo Picasso
How do we assign value to art?
What are the standards for judging whether art is good or bad?
Do we need education or knowledge in order to enjoy a work of art?
Is an art form legitimate if it can be enjoyed only by those trained in its appreciation?
Can a critical assessment of an art form be made by someone with no relevant education or cultural familiarity?
Does art need to be justified outside of its' own cultural context?
Do we apply these same rules (or exceptions to the rules) to science?
Art has power to change how people think, does this mean it should be controlled? Isn't art the ultimate freedom of expression? Should art serve a higher cause, a greater good or should it just be an expression of the individual?
Try the quiz in Interpretive Frameworks
Explore Vasari's Five Criteria and come up with your own
Footnotes
- ^ https://www.britannica.om/topic/philosophy-of-art/Art-as-a-means-to-truth-or-knowledge