Vision & Mission Statements / Wabi Sabi Aesthetics

 


I 

 

Unit: Art

Theme: Vision & Mission Statements / Wabi-Sabi Aesthetics

 

Introduction

Statements of a school’s vision and mission are important for keeping a school focused on its core purpose. The statements can act as a guiding north star for school administrators who aim to make decisions that live up to the statements. They are also important because they are documents that parents use to see whether the school meets their family’s values.

 

 

II

Learning Objectives

 

  • Understand the meaning of a school's vision statement
  • Explain the importance of a school's mission statement
  • Gain awareness of the role they play in a teacher's decision making 
  • Experience the Wadb-Sabi aesthetics and its application withing the context of a school's vision and mission


III

Main Lesson


1

Concepts


Mission Statement
It is a formal summary of the aims and values of a school, company, organization, or individual.

Vision Statement 
A vision statement is a declaration of an organization's objectives, intended to guide its internal decision-making. 

 

2

 
Examples of Mission and Vision Statements as they appear in the websites of three schools.


a)
New World School of the Arts 

https://nwsa.mdc.edu/about/


Mission

New World School of the Arts (NWSA) is a Florida Center of Excellence in the Visual and Performing Arts. NWSA provides a comprehensive program of artistic, creative, and academic development through a curriculum that reflects the rich, multicultural State of Florida. The school empowers students to become state, national, and international leaders in the arts by challenging them with innovative ideas as they prepare for professional careers in a global community. These principles guide intensive and rigorous education for talented high school and college arts students

Vision

We are committed to providing educational and artistic excellence for our students.

 

 b)

Miami Arts Charter School

https://www.miamiartscharter.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=153154&type=d&pREC_ID=299441

 

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c)

Design and Architecture Senior High School

https://dashschool.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=509337&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=981020&hideMenu=0


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 3

 Wabi-Sabi Aesthetics


  • In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi is a world-view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete."
  •  
  • Wabi-Sabi refers to the kind of beauty found in asymmetrical, uneven or unbalanced things. The asymmetry of a ceramic bowl is an example of wabi. Sabi is the beauty of aged things and speaks to the impermanence of life through the passage of time. An example of sabi is the lovely patina found on a rusted old metal wall.
  •  
  • Wabi-sabi is a concept that motions us to constantly search for the beauty in imperfection and accept the more natural cycle of life. It reminds us that all things including us and life itself, are impermanent, incomplete, and imperfect. Perfection, then, is impossible and impermanence is the only way. 
  •  
  • With roots in Chinese Zen Buddhism, the story of wabi-sabi can be traced back to a 16th-century Japanese legend about Sen no Rikyu and his tea master, Takeeno Joo. The tale tells how, upon his master's request, Rikyu cleaned and raked the garden to perfection. 
  •  
  •  Zen Buddhists use a round symbol called enso (円相) to express their version of wabi-sabi. This perfect circle of black ink painted with a thick brush is made of infinite motion: always moving, never standing still. Sometimes, a painting will feature a gap in the circle.

4


5 principles for living the wabi-sabi way
  1. Get rid. De-clutter your living space and it will help to de-clutter your mind.
  2. Head outside. Give yourself time to sit and think in the outdoors, amongst nature.
  3. Live seasonally. Observe the seasons as they come and as they pass.
  4. Embrace the imperfect. ...
  5. Enjoy your emotions.

5

 

History of Wabi-Sabi


 

IV

A Note to Remember

Using simplicity as one of the key principles for organizing the environment brings many benefits to children's well-being and development.

 

 

V

 Case Study

 

Nobuyuki Kobayashi 

 

Born in 1970 and from Yokoze-town, Saitama prefecture. After independent of 1993, I have been shooting mainly portrait and fashion photography for advertisement and magazines. But from 2001, I learned the basics of fine arts and alternative print technique in New York. Hosokawa-paper (Japanese traditional paper) is utilized for the support of the print. I have combined the Hosokawa-paper with platinum palladium print, which has succeeded in creating a graceful and unique atmosphere within my work.



 

VI

Discussion Questions

 

  • How can wabi-sabi principles advance your commitment to make the arts part of the general curriculum?
  • How does the concept of wabi-sabi apply to installation art work?
  • How can wabi-sabi principles advance your commitment to make the arts part of the general curriculum?

 VII

 

Activities
 
1
Gather in groups and come up with your group's mission and vision statements in accordance to your ideal school.
 

2
Individual Work: Bring nature indoors with flowers, foliage, twigs, bark, grasses, feathers, pebbles, shells, rocks, crystals, pine cones, conkers, nuts and seeds. Use the nature items to reflect the seasons and create interesting provocations through an installation art piece.
 

 VIII

Journaling

 

IX

Glossary

 

X

Sources

 

Statements in School.  https://helpfulprofessor.com/school-vision-and-mission-statements/

LINK:  https://www.communityplaythings.co.uk/learning-library/articles/wabi-sabi-keeping-it-simple

Simplicity by Design.  https://www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/2021/Simplicity-by-Design

 

XI

Student's Work 

 

Previous Semester

Title: Resting Calm

Yohandy Morales
 

2

Untitled

Wysh Anstine
Shows something that is heavy can have a lightness to it.
 

 3

 Title: Time

Ben Easton

This piece shows how nature and time are intertwined.
 

4

A New Life

Haley Galante

The dead leaves in this piece are shaped into a tree symbolizing their past life and alluding to their new life as an environment for ecosystems on the ground and in the soil.
 

5

Crutch

Genevieve Sloan

This piece represents the students leaning on the teachers for help. The teacher is active in the student's learning.
 

6

 Super Wabi Sabi

Julia Yu

 

7

Sailboat

Andrew Walters


 It's an old sailboat in the woods. It shows support as the rocks support the dead leaf to help it perform as a sailboat.
 

8

Untitled

Norchad Omier Rojas 


9


Title:  "Growth Isn't Linear" 

 
 Ally Gaddy

Every branch is plucked at different times and stages from different sources, but they all grew.
 
 
 
10
 
  "Dead or Alive"
 


 Daniel Guthart
 
 My piece represents the life cycle stages of a plant being alive (As demonstrated by a green leaf) and dead (As demonstrated by a brown leaf). The two leafs were placed in a x formation to represent the intersection of two stages of life. 
 
 
 
11
 
Title: Stem
 

 
Alexa Persico
 
 The middle (stem) represents our journey through life and the leaves on each side represent the choices we are faced with and the different routes we can take.
 
 
 
12
 
The Natural Environment
 
 
Alejandro Rosario 


13
 
Untitled

Marina Geilen

Mission: My mission is to be an engaging and empathetic educator that encourages the students to learn and feel prepared in their future endeavors. By creating a safe environment where the student feels that their needs are cared for will create a classroom that is suitable for learning.

 

Vision: My vision in order to get to that place and feel prepared is to teach English abroad over the summer to gain more experience. Finish my teaching degree and utilize what I have learned to then go into the field as a prepared teacher to create that creative space within my classroom so that my students feel free to think for themselves

 

Wabi Sabi can be applied to my vision and mission statement because I want to exude a aura of acceptance in my classroom that will help the students be who they want to be and allow for them to grow and evolve over time

 

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