Grant will allow Spencer Museum of Art to expand teaching, researching capabilities

By Joe Preiner

Monday, December 8, 2008

The works in Spencer Museum of Art aren’t just for looking at. They’re also for learning.

Or at least that’s the idea behind a grant totaling $1.2 million from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that will help expand the use of the museum’s art for research and teaching.

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Shaymarie Genosky/KANSAN

Jordan Wurth, Wichita senior, studies a photograph on view in the 20/21 gallery of the Spencer Art Museum. Wurth needed to view the photograph in person at the museum for the final paper in his "History of Photography" class.

Bill Woodard, director of communications for the museum, said the award was a major achievement for the University and the art museum. He said the award placed the University’s museum in the company of institutions such as Yale University and Duke University as leaders in incorporating their art collections in teaching and research.

Sarah Crawford-Parker, associate director of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and art historian, said she used art to supplement her teaching often. She said being in the museum helped students understand the scale of individual works of art. The size of each work made a different impression on students, Crawford-Parker said.

“Works of art were created to be interacted with in a meaningful way,” Crawford-Parker said. “One of the benefits of using the Spencer Museum collection in teaching is that it encourages students of all majors to practice careful looking.”

Crawford-Parker said the ability to engage in careful observation was essential to all aspects of people’s lives.

Ariel Tazkargy, Wellington sophomore, enrolled in one of Crawford-Parker’s courses last year. Tazkargy said the use of art in the class helped her understand some of the class’s more complex issues. She said the class, which emphasized foreign cultures, used art to help bring the focus back to the people instead of the country itself.

“Art often represents a person’s deep connection to the issues of the time,” Tazkargy said. “Having the opportunity in class to view collections allowed me to place a physical object with our readings.”

Tazkargy said the class discussions that stemmed from using art were also better for the class as a whole. She said art often highlighted differing student opinions, which helped students engage in more meaningful discussion.

“I feel that art enriches the classroom experience,” Tazkargy said. “Everyone in the class benefits.”

Crawford-Parker said she placed great value on students being able to experience works of art firsthand. She said it allowed students to get a different view of the issues the class addressed. Crawford-Parker said she had never had a student complain about spending time in the museum.

Woodard said during the last academic year, more than 30 departments on campus used the museum in their teaching and research.

Tazkargy said along with many other benefits of teaching using art, she found there was one aspect of the method she really noticed.

“If anything, it makes me pay attention more,” Tazkargy said. “It’s always helpful in engaging me.”

— — Edited by Rachel Burchfield

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