Finding aid for the Getty Education Institute, Art Education History Archives Project, 1998-1999

Kyle Morgan

Descriptive Summary

Title: Art Education History Archives project

Date (inclusive): 1998-1999

Number: IA20034

Creator/Collector: Getty Education Institute for the Arts

Physical Description: 3.6 Linear Feet (5 boxes)

Repository:

The Getty Research Institute

Institutional Records and Archives

1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100

Los Angeles 90049-1688

reference@getty.edu

URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref

(310) 440-7390

Abstract: The records consist of a Getty Education Institute sponsored program to video-record interviews with leading art educators of the 1980s and 1990s. The resulting 45 VHS cassette recordings and transcriptions produced during 1998 and 1999, document the ideas and programs of the Getty Center for Education in the Arts, later known as the Getty Education Institute, that helped shape contemporary arts education in the United States.

Request Materials: To access physical materials at the Getty, go to the library catalog record for this collection and click "Request an Item." Click here for general library access policy . See the Administrative Information section of this finding aid for access restrictions specific to the records described below. Please note, some of the records may be stored off site; advanced notice is required for access to these materials.

Language: Collection material is in English

Administrative History

The Getty Center for Education in the Arts, later known as the Getty Education Institute for the Arts (GEI), was one of the original programs established by the J. Paul Getty Trust, an international cultural and philanthropic organization serving both general audiences and specialized professionals. The Trust is a not-for-profit institution, educational in purpose and character, that focuses on the visual arts in all of their dimensions. As of 2009 the Trust supports and oversees four programs: the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Foundation, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the Getty Research Institute. The Trust founded the Getty Center for Education in the Arts in 1982 with the mission of improving the quality and status of arts education in the nation's public schools. The education programs were guided by three premises: the visual arts should be an essential part of every child's education because knowledge of the arts is a principal means of understanding human experiences and transmitting cultural values; art education's content must be broadened to include instruction in art production, art history, art criticism, and aesthetics-an approach known as discipline-based art education (DBAE); and the most effective art education programs are based on partnerships among teachers, administrators, artists, museums, universities, and parents.

During its first ten years, the Getty Center for Education in the Arts / GEI concentrated on the implementation and dissemination of DBAE. This was achieved by advocating for the value of arts in education, through the dissemination of print publications and videotapes, national conferences, and collaborative projects; professional development for school and university personnel, through in-service programs such as the Los Angeles Institute; theory development to encourage evolution of DBAE, through seminars, doctoral fellowships, and the commissioning of scholarly publications; curriculum development to support creation of model instructional materials; and special initiatives to encourage others to champion DBAE. In January 1986 responsibility for administering arts education grants was transferred from the Trust's Grant Program to the Center for Education in the Arts. The goal of the arts education grant program was to support the development of model DBAE programs across the country.

Lani Duke was the founding director of the Getty Center for Education in the Arts / GEI and continued to lead the program for 17 years. Duke resigned at the end of June, 1998 upon notice of the GEI's imminent dissolution. President Barry Muntiz named Ted Mitchell, former dean of the UCLA School of Education, as the Getty Trust's Vice President for Education and interim director of the Education Institute until the program's dissolution in 1999.

When the Getty Education Institute for the Arts was dissolved one of its last projects was to record the legacy of its programs, most specifically the DBAE program, through interviews with leading arts educators of the time. The Center for Education in the Arts commissioned Dr. Stephen M. Dobbs in 1998 to conduct, record and transcribe these interviews. The project was completed in June 1999.

Administrative Information

Restrictions on Access

The transcripts described in accession 2008.IA.31 are available for use by qualified researchers. The original transcripts and videocassettes are restricted for preservation purposes.

Online digital copies exist for the transcripts. Where use copies do not exist, production of use copies is required before access will be granted; this may delay research requests. Advanced notice is required. Transcripts and recordings are restricted to on-site use only.

The following types of records are permanently closed: records containing personal information, records that compromise security or operations, legal communications, legal work product, and records related to donors. The J. Paul Getty Trust reserves the right to restrict access to any records held by the Institutional Archives.

Restrictions on Use

Contact Rights and Reproductions at the Getty Research Institute for copyright information and permission to publish.

Preferred Citation

[Cite the item and series (as appropriate)], Art Education History Archives project, 1998-1999, Getty Education Institute. Institutional Archives, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Finding aid no. IA20034

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifaia20034

Acquisition Information

One copy of the Art Education History Archives project records was provided to Dr. Stephen M. Dobbs upon completion of the Getty Education Institute commissioned project. Dr. Dobbs held these records until August 14, 2008 when he transferred them to the Institutional Archives. Accession no. 2008.IA.31.

Processing History

Records inventoried and finding aid created by Kyle Morgan, September 2008.

Technical Requirements

Access to digital files is available online through the links provided in the inventory. Due to rights restrictions, some online recordings are available to on-site researchers only.

Use copies do not exist for all recordings in this collection. The production of use copies is required before access can be granted and may add a delay to research requests.

Related Archival Materials note

The following materials are offered as possible sources of further information on the people, programs, and subjects covered by the records. The listing is not exhaustive.

Contributing Institution: Getty Institutional Archives

Senior Program Officer Stephen M. Dobbs' records, 1984-1989, Getty Center for Education in the Arts. Institutional Archives, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Finding aid no. IA20027

Director Lani Duke's Records, 1986-1998, Getty Education Institute. Institutional Archives, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Finding aid no. IA10015

Event and publication images, 1985-1997, Getty Education Institute. Institutional Archives, Research Library, Getty Research Institute, Finding aid no. IA20018

Scope and Content of Collection

The records consist of a Getty Education Institute sponsored program to video-record interviews with leading art educators of the 1980s and 1990s. The interviews provide an intellectual record of these educators' views of and participation with the Getty Center for Education in the Arts, later known as the Getty Education Institute. At a time when the J. Paul Getty Trust was the primary force in improving art education at every grade level (K-12) throughout the United States, the project provides insights into the ideas and programs that helped shape the contemporary arts education field. The records include a biographical and philosophical glimpse into such leading minds as Elliot Eisner, Edmund Feldman, Kenneth Marantz, Brent Wilson, and Harold Williams.

Dr. Stephen M. Dobbs was commissioned by the Getty Education Institute in 1998 to conduct, record and transcribe these interviews. The first interviews were begun on April 2, 1998 and the project was completed on May 12, 1999. The collection consists of a complete set of 45 VHS cassette recordings and corresponding transcripts. Each interview runs approximately 60 minutes. The transcripts have been digitized.

Arrangement

The materials are arranged by type of material and then alphabetically by the surname of the interviewee.

Indexing Terms

Subjects - Names

Williams, Harold Marvin, 1928-

Wilson, Brent

Marantz, Kenneth A.

Feldman, Edmund Burke

Eisner, Elliot W.

Subjects - Corporate Bodies

Getty Education Institute for the Arts

J. Paul Getty Trust

Getty Center for Education in the Arts

Subjects - Topics

Art in education -- United States -- 20th century

Art -- Study and teaching -- United States -- 20th century

Arts -- Education, Elementary

Genres and Forms of Material

Videocassettes

Transcripts

Electronic records (digital records)

Contributors

Getty Education Institute for the Arts

Dobbs, Stephen M.

Art Education History Archives project, 1998-1999

Transcripts of interviews, 1998-1999

box 2008.IA.31-1, folder 1

List of interviewees, June 1999

box 2008.IA.31-1, folder 2

Gordon Ambach, March 26, 1999

[Gordon Ambach Transcript]