Fantasy and illusion. (Editor's Comments).

Last fall I was invited to give the keynote address at a meeting of the Tennessee Art Education Association in Memphis. The trip to Memphis made me wonder about the fantasies, illusions, myths, and realities that drive art teachers, or any teachers for that matter, to make choices that improve student learning. It also made me wonder about the fantasies, illusions, and realities that influence our experiences in daily life.

My remarks to this energetic and enthusiastic group of art educators on the fantasy theme of "setting the course for an art-filled life" were probably not memorable, for these teachers are already committed to the "good teaching of art." However, the trip to Memphis was memorable to me for three reasons: the high level of interest and the involvement of teachers in the vast array of studio workshops; the opportunity to see one of the nation's largest collections of nineteenth-century Chinese art at the Peabody Place Museum; and my tour of Elvis Presley's Graceland.

On the part of the Tennessee art educators, there is no fantasy or illusion of being artists in the classroom. These artist/teachers take their art-making seriously. They have indeed put art in art education. One teacher even had her work on display in a trendy downtown gallery. I, on the other hand, only dream of being a celebrity artist someday, driven for many years by the illusion that I have something to offer the world of art.

But fantasy and illusion were even more pronounced as I viewed and compared the tours of the Peabody Place Museum and Graceland--two different cultures, two different art worlds, two different traditions. Yet, as I tuned into the conversations around, I heard similar words being used to describe both places: excessive, extravagant, opulent, ornate, overdone, unbelievable, flamboyant, spectacular, out of this world, over the top.

Juxtaposition and unusual placement are part of the experience of fantasy and illusion. To experience the exquisiteness of an ancient culture in the context of a downtown shopping and entertainment mall, shocks the senses. You have to allow yourself time to bridge the gap between the two contrasting worlds. Once you leave the barbeque and blues behind you, the immortal essence of jade and the symbolic powers of mythical creatures seduce you. The massive jade sculptures, intricate, tower-like ivory carvings, and vibrant lacquer furniture reveal enormous patience and painstaking execution. The forces of spirit and nature are unified in enduring fantasy forms of artistic vision, skill, and beauty.

The setting of Graceland, in the midst of strip malls and smaller neighborhood homes, is another challenge to our expectations. Graceland is an illusion of grand space in a compressed area. It is at once ordinary and extraordinary. Touring Graceland, I kept asking myself, "What am I doing here?" Even though I did have a pair of blue suede shoes and a couple of Hawaiian shirts in college, I never outted myself as an Elvis wannabe. But standing in the long lines, I had to admit there was an element of fantasy fulfillment in my being there. I really did rediscover an American icon. In the billiard room, one visitor turned to me and said, "That's certainly something, isn't it?" Taking in the walls and ceilings covered with thousands of yards of tightly pleated fabric, I found myself replying, "Wow, it certainly is!"

That's the reaction we hope you will have to this issue of SchoolArts.