Final Artist Statement

Through the thinking caps series, I aim to capture the essence of the diverse intelligences the hats represent: the creative mind, the synthesizing mind, and the respectful mind. The hats pay homage to those who have exemplified these qualities in unique and extraordinary ways. Often under-recognized in traditional schooling, these minds have not only made great strides for humanity throughout history, but are expected to be some of the most relevant and useful thinkers of the future. The diversity in media I have selected to create the hats is a metaphor for the uniqueness and originality of each type of mind. My wish is to expand the notion of intelligence and provoke the viewer to recognize the importance of diversity in thinking and education.

LTC 8900 Post - Hat series

 For this assignment, after reading about subject matter and disciplined mind, I decided that the "thinking cap series" I have created in my studio thinking class would be a great example of disciplined thinking. I believe that the hats I have created below represent disciplined thinking in that I (to quote Ali's slides) "used artistic tools and imagination to convey meaning and achieve certain effects on viewers." There will be more hats to the series of hats (representative of Gardner's 5 minds), but for now, only two are finished: the creative mind and the synthesizing mind. I have attempted to tell the "stories" of the minds through these hats, asking the viewer to consider what this type of mind brings to the table. The creative mind brings imagination, originality, new perspectives, a never-ending list of ideas, among other wonderful things. The synthesizing mind makes connections between information, summarizing the most relevant and useful information for others. I have attempted to provide insight into these kinds of minds through the creation of the thinking caps.