Art, Media, and the Mind

Thinking and learning in the arts and media

by Kim Sheridan

Learning to Look

police officer looking at art Over the past few years, there has been a flourishing of programs where professional training institutions (ranging from medical schools to police academies) hone students' observational skills by having them look at art.

July 21 New Yorker cover Satirical images challenge us to engage with the truths and falsehoods in an often confrontational way. What does it take in a mind/brain to make sense of such images? Why do so many viewers, even those from roughly the same political perspective, interpret this New Yorker cover in very different ways. Read More

Art, Mind, and Missoula

taxidermied bear

I'm writing this from a town I've never been in before. And I decided that an account of my thought process in my first hour here in Missoula, Montana is as good a way as any to introduce myself and what I will be writing about in this blog on art, media and the mind. Why? I want to suggest that we think about art more often than we might think.

Kimberly Sheridan is an assistant professor in Educational Psychology and Art and Visual Technology at George Mason University. She is co-author of the book, Studio thinking: The real benefits of visual arts education.

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