KEY DOCUMENTS

Art as Experience
Written after his retirement in 1934, Art as Experience provides insight into John Dewey's philosophical ideas concerning art. Analyzing both the artist and the viewer, Dewey claims that like life, art is an experience. Dewey's book is considered one of the most prolific texts ever written on the significance of the arts.

The Integrated School Art Program
Leon Winslow's book, The Integrated School Art Program (1939), is published at the height of the Progressive Movement in Education. Combining several approaches being practiced during this period in time, Winslow advocates creative expression and curriculum integration. He also writes in depth about the importance of making education relevant to students’ lives.

Creative Teaching in Art
Victor D'Amico expresses his own methods of teaching in Creative Teaching in Art (1942). He believes that educators should teach children to become more aware of their own experiences and that such experiences should serve as inspiration for works of art. Helping students to become consciously aware of art elements and techniques is important, but such instruction should be delivered in a manner that is interesting and relevant to students' lives.

Art Today: An Introduction to the Fine and Functional
In 1941, Edwin Ziegfield, Ray Faulkner, and Gerald Hill publish the textbook, Art Today: An Introduction to the Fine and Functional. Printed from 1941-1987, Art Today is written in direct response to the Owatonna Art Project.

Creative and Mental Growth
In 1947, Viktor Lowenfeld publishes Creative and Mental Growth, which becomes tremendously influential in the latter half of the twentieth century. Widely adopted by elementary schools throughout the United States, the book describes the developmental stages of the child, explores child art, and assigns appropriate art activities for each stage of development.

The Visual Arts in General Education
In 1940, the Progressive Education Association publishes a study that surveyed the teaching methods of art history classes at 50 colleges and universities around the country. Up to the 1930s, focus had been on art education in the K-12 setting, specifically the primary grades. The Visual Arts in General Education is one of the early attempts to determine the role and significance of the arts in settings outside the K-12 environment.