ETERNAL ARTE
ARTWORK OF LUIS GENARO GARCIA
Artwork of Luis Genaro Garcia
RECLAIMING INNER-CITY EDUCATION:
PUBLIC ART, PUBLIC EDUCATION, AND CRITICAL PEDAGOGY FOR SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL CHANGE

THESIS:UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA/ Public Art 2009
ART & CRITICAL PEDAGOGY

Jefferson Student protesting on May Day
(Show this in the news)

Influenced by what has come to be known as the "critical tradition" in education, including Marxist, neo-Marxist, and Freirian currents in the field of critical pedagogy, as well as the social realism of Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros, this art-based approach presents a classroom application of Freire's concept of Praxis: Theory and Action 1 into an art-based curriculum of civic engagement.  It also responds to what Jonathan Kozol calls the "educational apartheid 2" of U.S. public education and introduces the use of public art and critical pedagogy as a contemporary form of critical learning and student empowerment within the broader ambit of social justice education. These frameworks are brought together to meet the socio-economic demands of economically disadvantaged students and to challenge the unequal access and outcomes affecting mainly students of color.
                       May Day Service Learning Project (5/2010)


This service learning project began with the discussion of the current immigration topic of SB1070. While discussing the possibilities of art projects for the upcoming May Day march, one student asked if they can do something similar to the "Education" sign i had previously worked on. Since they wanted to use that idea, i first introduced them to the original "Caution" sign on the interstate 5 in San Diego &  I also required them  to research the history of propositions and political actions against undocumented citizens. After having an in depth discussion about the sign and its meaning to immigrants, i asked the students to interpret and find a way to reclaim the meaning of  the "caution" sign. This is what students interpretation of  the immigrants crossing sign looked like at the May Day March in Downtown Los Angeles.(ABOVE)

Documentation of May Day Project
http://www.youtube.com/user/EternalArte1#p/a/u/0/G2i_eMKXXf0

Cesar Chavez Walk 3/28/09


  Bullying through Our Educational System shows how the government puts more money into prisons instead of our schools.     Jefferson Students (2009) 

       This Project originated from a partnership between the Cesar Chavez foundation, The Museum of Tolerance, and Jefferson High school. While being introduced to the non-violence philosophies of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and Cesar E. Chavez, students where also introduced to the unjust conditions in different parts of the world. They toured exhibits that reflected child labor, spousal abuse, bullying, civil rights, prejudice, and bullying. The purpose of this 4 month program is for students to develop a strategy or plan of action to address  an issue affecting them or their community. When students decided to address the topic of bullying, i wanted to challenge them. After introducing them to the realities of education and gentrification in socially deprived areas, they came up with the idea of a walking mural.

          Documentation of Walking Mural Project
http://www.youtube.com/user/EternalArte1#p/a/u/1/LuBxl364Ft0

Jefferson Students and Walking Mural @ Cesar Chavez Walk
in Downtown Los Angeles 3/29/09


Content copyright . Luis Genaro Garcia. All rights reserved.

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