Seende och historieämnets betydelse för att få perspektiv på nuet

Den historiedidaktiska konferensen i Köln börjar lida mot sitt slut och det gör mig lite ont att jag missade flera bra seminarier på grund en svår förkylning som bet mig i baken.  

Jag spenderade mestadels av torsdagen och fredagen på hotellrummet med datorn i knät men fick lite uppdatering av goda kollegor om vad som pågick.   

Olika perspektiv gör det möjligt att urskilja nyanser omkring oss, som i sin tur är nödvändiga för att göra mer eftertänksamma val.

Flera av presentationerna handlade just om vad som sker med historieundervisning när bara ett perspektiv tillåts dominera.

Människor som bara får ett perspektiv blir så mycket lättare att styra än de som tillåts ställa olika 'seenden' i samtal med varandra och fundera på deras för- och nackdelar.  

Vi har människor från olika delar av världen med i vårt VR-finansierade nätverk om historiemedvetande/demokratimedvetande och det är lite häftigt att några av oss, under ett kort ögonblick i tiden, lyckades sammanstråla för att fångas på bild.  

Det är bland annat sådana här sammankomster, tillsammans med diskussioner det föder, som gör att mitt arbete känns meningsfullt.  

Utöver väldigt intensiva och långa arbetsdagar hann jag med ett litet besök till 'Museum Ludwig' som är belägen precis bredvid vårt hotell och vägg i vägg med konserthuset. 

En kvinna som heter Irene Ludwig och hennes man Peter är kända för att äga den största konstsamlingen i Tyskland. 

De har över åren antingen donerat eller lånat ut konst till över trettio konstmuseum belägna i Cologne, Budapest, Wien, St. Petersburg, Havanna och Peking. 

Jag fick möjlighet att besöka den i Cologne som öppnade 1976 efter att paret donerat 350 verk. Sedan dess har fler konstverk tillkommit.  

Byggnaden i sig är ritad av arkitekterna Peter Busman och Godfrid Haberer och är i sig ett konstverk.

Jag dras till konstmuseum som en magnet. 

Det är fridfullt att låta blicken vandra över former och färger som andra har skapat utifrån sitt seende.   

Jag läser just Maxine Greens böcker på nytt eftersom jag tycker att hon har något viktigt att bidra med för att förstå fantasins betydelse för vår förmåga att 'flytta blicken'. 

Green: "People look differently, see differently; the requirement is that they look long enough in order to see, that they support the meanings they make by referring to the painting itself in several of its aspects, Frequently, the teaching artist will offer opportunities to explore the medium, to work with line and color, just as the teaching artist in dance offers opportunities to create patterns in time and space, to invent expressive gestures, movement metaphors, mirroring possibilities.  The effort is to move beyond mere 'looking at' or to turn attention away from imposing a story that make invisible the aesthetic qualities of a work. There is an awakening involved, I believe, when we learn to notice what is there to be noticed, when we attend to what cries out to be attended to.  It has been said that the opposite of aesthetic is anesthetic--being numb, passive, blankly indifferent. Wide-awakeness frees us to see more--the grass, the trees, the city streets,  the abandoned ones, the homeless ones, the broken windows, the redesigned museum, what is absent, what is realized. To be enabled to activate the imagination is to discover not only possibility, but to find the gaps, the empty spaces that require filling as we move from the is to the might be, to the should be. To release the imagination too is to release the power of empathy, to become more present to those around, perhaps to care."

Den här installationen av Edward Kienholtz fick mig att stanna till ett tag.  

Medan vi besökare strosade runt och betraktade konsten hörde jag två vakter samtala om oss turister. 

Den lite längre och bredare med skägg, stod lite lutad mot väggen med armarna och benen i kors och nickade förstrött mot en medelålders kvinna som fotograferade en tavla och sa fundersamt till sin kollega något i stil med: 

 "Hon har tagit minst tio foton på varje tavla, att hon inte tröttnar. [Sie hat mindestens zehn Fotos von jedem Gemälde gemacht, ohne dass ihr das langweilig wurde.]"

Den andra vakten som stod med rak rygg nickade eftertänksamt och sa något som jag inte riktigt lyckades snappa upp, men fick den långa skäggiga vakten att frusta till.

Samtalet varade några minuter innan deras färd fortsatte i motsatt riktning från varandra. 

Betraktaren blir betraktad. 

Kvinnan som tog många bilder kunde lika väl ha varit jag... 

I morgon bär det av hem till Sverige. 

Det ska bli skönt att landa ett tag på ett ställe efter en längre tids flackande.

 

https://silviaedling.com/

The history education conference...

... in Cologne is drawing to a close, and I am a little disappointed that I missed several good seminars due to a nasty cold that got the better of me.

I spent most of Thursday and Friday in my hotel room with my laptop on my lap, but my colleagues kindly kept me updated on what was going on.

Different perspectives enable us to discern nuances around us, which in turn is necessary for making more thoughtful choices.

Several of the presentations dealt precisely with what happens to history teaching when only one perspective is allowed to dominate.

People who are only given one perspective are so much easier to control than those who are allowed to discuss different “views” with each other and consider their pros and cons.

We have people from different parts of the world in our VR-funded network on historical awareness/democratic awareness, and it's pretty cool that some of us, for a brief moment in time, managed to come together to be captured on camera.

It is gatherings like this, together with the discussions they generate, that make my work feel meaningful.

In addition to very intense and long working days, I managed to squeeze in a quick visit to the Museum Ludwig, which is located right next to our hotel and next door to the concert hall.

A woman named Irene Ludwig and her husband Peter are known for owning the largest art collection in Germany.

Over the years, they have either donated or loaned art to over thirty art museums located in Cologne, Budapest, Vienna, St. Petersburg, Havana and Beijing.

I had the opportunity to visit the museum in Cologne, which opened in 1976 and housed 350 works donated by the couple. Since then, more works of art have been added.

The building itself was designed by architects Peter Busman and Godfrid Haberer and is a work of art in its own right.

I am drawn to art museums like a magnet.

It is peaceful to let your gaze wander over shapes and colours that others have created based on their vision.

I am currently rereading Maxine Green's books because I see that she has something important to contribute to understanding the importance of imagination for the ability to “shift your gaze”.

Green: "People look differently, see differently; the requirement is that they look long enough in order to see, that they support the meanings they make by referring to the painting itself in several of its aspects. Frequently, the teaching artist will offer opportunities to explore the medium, to work with line and colour, just as the teaching artist in dance offers opportunities to create patterns in time and space, to invent expressive gestures, movement metaphors, mirroring possibilities. The effort is to move beyond mere “looking at” or to turn attention away from imposing a story that makes invisible the aesthetic qualities of a work. There is an awakening involved, I believe, when we learn to notice what is there to be noticed, when we attend to what cries out to be attended to. It has been said that the opposite of aesthetic is anaesthetic—being numb, passive, blankly indifferent. Wide-awakeness frees us to see more—the grass, the trees, the city streets, the abandoned ones, the homeless ones, the broken windows, the redesigned museum, what is absent, what is realised. To be enabled to activate the imagination is to discover not only possibility, but to find the gaps, the empty spaces that require filling as we move from the is to the might be, to the should be. To release the imagination too is to release the power of empathy, to become more present to those around, perhaps to care."

This installation by Edward Kienholtz made me pause for a moment.

While we visitors were strolling around and looking at the art, I heard two guards talking about us tourists.

The slightly taller and broader one with a beard leaned against the wall with his arms and legs crossed and nodded absently at a middle-aged woman who was photographing a painting and said thoughtfully to his colleague something like:

"She's taken at least ten photos of each painting, she never gets tired of it. [Sie hat mindestens zehn Fotos von jedem Gemälde gemacht, ohne dass ihr das langweilig wurde.]"

The other guard, who was standing with his back straight, nodded thoughtfully and said something I couldn't quite catch, but it made the tall, bearded guard snort.

The conversation lasted a few minutes before they continued on their way in the opposite direction.

The observer is observed.

The woman who took many photos could just as well have been me...

Tomorrow I'm heading home to Sweden.

It will be nice to settle down for a while after a long period of wandering.

https://silviaedling.com/