The narrative process in adolescent art: A case study

Secondary art education curriculum models developed over the last 20 years have focused on learning outcomes that stress knowledge about the visual arts more than production of art. This discipline-based focus has precluded serious consideration of how art-making processes may construct personal meaning for adolescents related to their life experience. In an effort to document how studio art production may construct meaning for adolescents, the present research applies Bruner's (1990, 1997) theory of the narrative construction of meaning to the analysis of an adolescent's self-initiated artwork.; Grounded theory and instrumental case study are used as the qualitative inquiry strategies for the examination of the 56 self-initiated artworks and six hours of audiotaped interviews. Bruner's (1990, 1997) theory regarding the meaning-making function of narrative within the field of cultural psychology provides the theoretical framework supporting the grounded theory . The case study focuses on the case of the narrative process in adolescent art. The unit of analysis is the self-initiated artwork produced by the adolescent over a three-year period.; Two different processes are used for the analysis of the data from the case study. The visual content of the artwork is analyzed using Feldman's (1987) Critical Performance Model combined with Goodman's (1968) criteria for the interpretation of expressive, symbolic form. The narrative content of the artwork and interviews is analyzed using Mishler's (1986, 1999) hermeneutic narrative analysis model combined with Bruner's (1990, 1997) definitions of the criteria for narrative content and structure.; The evidence examined in the research demonstrates the presence of an overarching narrative plot structure that links the content of all of the 56 artworks examined in the study. It further demonstrates that the adolescent's awareness of audience has a significant effect on the content of the artwork. The sociocultural values in the content of the artwork all relate to the student's life experience. Finally, the art-making process itself plays a critical role in the positive resolution of the adolescent participant's self-identity and self-esteem. The findings of the research have primary significance for the field of art education and secondary significance for the field of urban education.