What is it about?
Everyday objects hold powerful social, political, and environmental histories. This article explores three ways that contemporary artists use objects in art making to engage with social, political, and environmental issues. To show how these approaches can be applied to the art classroom, this article features an art making prompt inspired by each approach and resulting student artwork.
Featured Image
Photo by Kshiraj Vij on Unsplash
Why is it important?
This work opens new possibilities for teaching, making, and thinking about and with objects in the art classroom. The featured artists and student work illustrates how critically engaging with objects can foster awareness, empathy, and solidarity. It also shows how recognizing the power of objects in the artmaking process can offer ways to help students navigate and respond to the complexities of today's world.
Perspectives
I hope this article helps readers see the power of objects in art making and inspires them to explore different ways of using objects in art making.
Alexa R. Kulinski
Indiana University Indianapolis
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Not-So-Quotidian Object: Leveraging the Power of Objects in Artmaking, Art Education, May 2026, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/00043125.2026.2670971.
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