1.
Reexamining and Reinventing of
A Collaborative Project-
An Ode of Reclaiming A Work of Art :
The Wonder of Tao- A Meditation on
Spirituality and Ecological Balance
Li-chin (Crystal) Huang

2.
(Continued)
This research was conducted in summer 2005 from a course –
The Theory and Practice of Inter-Disciplinary Collaborations Through
A CBAE Model , facilitated by Dr. Kim Schwartzhorff.
The main theme of the book-The Wonder of The
Tao- is focused on revealing and healing the
relationship between spirituality and ecological
balance drawn from inter-disciplines of Visual
Arts (filming, photography, illustration, and quilt
art), Eastern and Western Religions, Eco-
Economics Geography, Sociology, and
Technology.
2

3.
The project explored locales via a field
study and interview with professor Eggert
and quilt artist Pat Eggert to investigate the
imbedded rich visual and socio-
geographical symbolisms and spirituality
from local prairies of Menomonie/
Wisconsinas well as those of Minnesota to
trace the quintessential concept of self-
sufficient, sustainable ecological “Prairie
Model” as the alternation to the dominant
capitalist entrepreneurship.
3

4.
(Continued)
This Inter-disciplinary collaborative model
focused on examining contemporary geo-
economic concerns via the following approaches:
1. Community-Based Art Education (CBAE) Studies:
a practice attends to the relationships between arts and
communities with emancipatory character.
2. Interdisciplinarity: refers to the qualities of studies that cut
across several established disciplines or traditional fields of
study.
3. Collaboration: in this model, artists work with diverse
individuals or groups from outside of the field of visual arts.
4

5.
4. Integration: this model integrates critical theory, inquiry- based
learning, cooperative learning, and technology in a holistic way to examine the
intertextuality of our eco-system.
5. Critical examination: Education is a political process that
either reinforces an inequitable status quo through control of
consciousness or seeks to change it through critical reflection.
6. Diversity: In a pluralistic society, there are a variety of aesthetic
values and definitions of symbolic worth, which is aesthetically and/or
symbolically relative to its specific social context. Spectatorship
understands that what the eye purportedly sees is dictated by sets of
coded languages and generic apparatuses.
(see the diagram in the next slide).
5

6.
Contextualized Aesthetic and Symbolic Values
in A Pluralistic Society
Psychological/ Ideological/Moral
Cognitive dimension Theories of dimension
Philosophy of Art
Mimetic or Expressionism
imitationalism Objective Vs. Subjective
Account s of Emotionalism
Formalism Aesthetics and criticism
Ephemeralism Pragmatism/
Functionalism
Organicism
Preparation of artists
in every field of human
development with
sensitivities, skills and Attender/participant
Work of art: studio, non- imagination to
participating in
studio and community challenging status quo
based art productions and engaging in social Art History
reconstruction
Note: CBAE: Community Based Art Education
Socio-Cultural (DBAE: Disciplinary based Art Education) Economic-Political
dimension dimension

7.
A. East and West meet!
Let us study Lao Tsu’s “Tao-te Ching”
B. “Wu Wei” (無 為)
- the quintessential of the Tao/Dao ( )
Playfulness;
Pure self-expression;
No purposes;
No functionality; or.
“Art for art’s sake, if you want to name it!
7

8.
a. Cross-cultural Collaboration:
East and West Met – beginning with the
translation of Lao Tze’s DaoDeJing/Tao Te Ching (道德 經)
b. Inter-disciplinary Collaboration:
Eco-economist Professor Jim Eggert, writer and quilt artist Pat
Eggert, Dr. Steve Deckelman/Mathematician as the film maker, and
Li-chin (Crystal) Huang- Social Science instructor as the translator,
media and imagerymaker (illustrations and Calligraphy).
c. Cross-geographical Collaboration:
Integrate academic disciplines with geographic information (the
concept of self sufficient, sustainablePrairie Model) from Minnesota
and Wisconsin to provide alternate ways of living for the Capitalist
Consumptive Economic entrepreneurship.
8

9.
(Continued)
Results
The final product was a book “The Wonder of the Tao” which
focused on "revealing and healing" as well as exploring the
relationship between spirituality and ecological balance while
drawing on the teachings and traditions of
Taoism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Christianity.
Life is much to celebrate, but there are also unforgivable (and
unnecessary) losses as a result of our current cultural and
economic arrangements. We took a critical view at the impact of
technology and global economics on the Planet Earth from Life and
Co-responsibility perspectives to facilitate viewers to question the
current practice of Capitalism. 9

10.
Results
The essential part of our project was a rational optimism -
embracing the twin ideas of "balance and rebirth“. Professor
Eggert proposes the “Prairie Model” (see the next slide) as an
alternative ways of life for the current capitalistic entrepreneurship.
Our project emphasizes contributions from modern science as well
as the practices of ancient philosophy (both from East and
West, such as Taoism, including the art of T'ai Chi- see the
translation display)-for the health of individuals, communities, and
the ecological web that sustains our unique, yet fragile planet.
10

11.
A Meditation on Spirituality and
Ecological Balance of “Prairie Model”
Red Wing Minnesota
Minnesota Prairie Lands Wisconsin Prairie Lands 11

12.
The concept of Prairie Model
- beyond Symbolism
"One approach to assessing such complex interconnections is to
produce computer models of the world economies, of the world
ecosystems, and the interactions between them,"
(Hannon, 1992)."The effort will require constructing new
models, interconnecting existing models, and assimilating existing
data bases to simulate the impacts of major economic and
environmental changes."
A project of this magnitude will require the high-performance
computational resources and the networking capabilities, which will
host the effort involving a large group of ecological and economic
modelers from around the world.
Source: ”Modeling the global links between ecology and economy” retrieved from
http://access.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Archive/backissues/92.3/92.3.GlobalLinks.html
12

13.
After the book was published, we were invited to
several book reading and signing events at
bookstores and local communities to disseminate
the messages that affect most of us in the
contemporary society.
Watch the video of
Eco- economist Eggert’s
Prairie Model on the
sustainable economy
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14.
The Wonder of the Tao Book Reading
14

15.
1. Interdisciplinary approach has a synergetic effect
– the total is more than the sum of the parts, i.e.,
resulting in a constitution of new object of knowledge.
2. The intertextuality of images, sounds, and spatial
delineations are embedded in multi/culture which lends
ever- accruing layers of meanings for re/interpreting
and re/mapping and re/assessing.
3. The aim of human development is the preparation of
artists (Herbert Read, 1943) who have developed the
ideas, sensitivity, the skills and the imagination to
create work that is imaginative, skillful, and well
executed regardless of the domain in which one works
(Eisner, 2002).
4. The Intrinsic connections between art and daily life
underpins a democratic framework for critical reflection
and seeking change.
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16.
For K-12 Projects:
1. Karen T. Keifer-Boyd’s Open Spaces, Open Minds: Art in Partnership with the Earth, and Josh Kun’s articles
in packet.
2. http://www.art-in-partnership.org.uk/wip/ for you as Artist educators
Established in 1985, Art in Partnership was the first public art commissioning agency in Scotland and is one of
the leading agencies of its kind in the UK. Art in Partnership is an independent visual arts consultancy and
public art commissioning agency. They provide artistic advice and a curatorial and project management
service for public and private sector organizations considering commissioning works of art or developing
collections of contemporary art and craft. They offer a creative approach to the development of public art
strategies and visual art projects. Art in Partnership Scotland Ltd is a charitable company limited by
guarantee.
3. http://www.tnte.com/mmc/mams/Teacherresourcelinks.html for you in classroom
This site provides miscellaneous resources for conducting collaborative projects: Clip Art Collaborative
Projects Educational Associations Games Lesson Plans Miscellaneous Resources
Professional Development Standards Teacher Tools
Reference:
Adams, M (2002 ). Interdisciplinarity and Community as Tools for Art Education and Social Change in Issues in
Contemporary Issues in Art Education. Prentice Hall.
Bastos, M. ( 2002 ). Making the Familiar Strange: A Community-Based Art Education Framework in Issues in
Contemporary Issues in Art Education. Prentice Hall.
Chalmers, G. (1981). Art education as ethnology. Studies in Art Education, A Journal of Issues and Research in Art
Education,3 (22), 6-14.
Krug, D. (2002). Teaching Art in the Contexts of Everyday life in Issues in Contemporary Issues in Art Education.
Prentice Hall.
Rogoff, I. (2000). Terra Infirma: Geography’s visual culture. London: Routledge
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