The specifics of the methodology of teaching contemporary art to art teachers in Russian and Chinese universities

Go Sin Graduate Student, Department of Art History and Pedagogy of Art, Herzen State Pedagogical University 191186, Russia, Saint Petersburg, nab. Sinks, 48, room 6, room 51 guoxing@rambler.ru Other publications by this author

The relevance of the research topic is due to the fact that modern China is an actively developing state that is actively engaged in the professional education of its citizens. In the country, it is considered as a promising direction that ensures further progress and growth of national welfare. Annual spending on education reaches a billion dollars. The main goal of Chinese art and pedagogical universities is the formation of competent, talented, informally thinking specialists. The Government contributes to this by allocating grants and scholarships, financing various programs and projects. In connection with this position, the exchange of experience of Chinese educational institutions with other countries, especially with the Russian Federation, is encouraged ^{[13, p. 169]}. China positions itself as a power that has certain traditions, in particular in the field of artistic and pedagogical training. In the conditions of increasing cooperation with the Russian Federation, the need for an analysis of the Russian experience is being actualized, which can improve the learning process in art and pedagogical universities in the republic itself. At the same time, Chinese art pedagogy also has achievements, especially in the field of reflection of contemporary art.

Currently, an extensive corpus of works by Chinese authors in Russian has been formed, related to the analysis of higher art and art-pedagogical education in modern China and its interaction with Russian educational institutions ^{[8; 2; 10; 4; 9]}. A. Tarasov, as part of his research, notes that at the beginning of the XXI century, the the level of teaching staff in China ^{[18, p. 84]}. Western scientists are also showing a noticeable interest in this issue. They examine in detail the ideological foundations of art education in the country, finding originality in them. They also point out that the formation of original national art is taking place in China now, which occupies an important place in the modern art process ^{[17; 15]}. Meanwhile, problems are also identified, for example, related to the fact that there are organizational shortcomings in teaching that affect the quality of training of future artists-teachers ^{[11, p. 54]}. In addition, China's education system is subject to censorship, which prevents a holistic study of current artistic trends. For example, they may be considered unreliable ^[19].

The attention of scientists to the issues of Chinese art and pedagogical education indicates the relevance of the study, revealing one of the aspects of dynamically improving art and pedagogical education in China in comparison with Russia, namely the role and place of contemporary art in it. Moreover, a comparison of the teaching methods of future teachers-artists of Chinese and Russian universities will allow us to identify specific features and existing gaps, as well as to outline possible "entry points" for interaction and exchange of the best practices.

The focus of this research is to study the peculiarities of teaching contemporary art in the largest pedagogical universities in Russia and China. These are, first of all, A.I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University and Moscow State Pedagogical University, as well as Beijing Pedagogical University and Peking University, which are scientific and educational centers of art and pedagogical education in their countries.

The objectives of the study include:

- study of the content and methods of training future art teachers at universities in Russia and China;

- identification of common and distinctive features of the existing systems of art and pedagogical education in universities of Russia and China in relation to the art of the beginning of the XXI century.

The article is supposed to address the activities of Russian and Chinese art and pedagogical universities through such research methods as comparing educational programs of educational institutions, the role of classes related to contemporary art in them.

The theoretical basis of the research is the works of scientists on the problems of interaction between the theory and practice of art and pedagogical education in modern China and Russia, in particular related to the educational process in individual universities of both countries ^{[21; 22; 2; 1; 6; 3]}. The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that it provides information about the features of teaching contemporary art to artists-teachers in Russian and Chinese universities at the present stage.

The higher education system of modern China is based on the principles of social justice and the guarantee of equal opportunities ^{[12, p. 4]}. Training at universities takes place on a paid basis, but grants and scholarships are allocated to many students, which allows the most successful and promising students to fully compensate for the costs of training. Starting from the initial and secondary stages of the educational process, students prepare for admission to universities, which actualizes the need to train competent teachers, including in the field of fine arts ^{[16, p. 48]}. Higher art and pedagogical education in China is focused on trends in global education, but at the same time it is addressed to the values of national culture. It is in this synthesis that a specialist is formed who is able in his pedagogical practice to develop a moral, humane and creative personality of a student who has the necessary knowledge and skills, able to apply them in creative work. In order to prepare a professional artist-teacher who will have all the necessary competencies, educational institutions offer appropriate educational programs, courses and individual disciplines. Each of them is a proven set of materials, methods, techniques and forms of work.

Of particular interest is a relatively new and constantly updated discipline due to its specificity, which in China is called "Modern Art". It is designed to acquaint students with current types and styles of art, existing trends, and also, what is important for the field of art, to teach a future specialist to understand and evaluate the art space around him, to "get involved" in the processes taking place in it. We are not talking about lectures on the theory and history of art of the XX and the beginning of the XXI century, as in Russian education, but about a subject that combines theoretical and practical parts. The latter prevails. This discipline is considered as one of the key points of the training process. It, in fact, completes the mastery of practical visual skills within the framework of traditional drawing, painting, composition and introduces the student to the sphere of modern art practices. In them, he, as a future participant in the artistic process, must demonstrate the acquired creative competencies before developing them in his students.

It is impossible to ignore the fact that the phenomena considered within the boundaries of this subject in the art of China are quite closely related to Russia. The genre-thematic, stylistic specifics and even the integration of new techniques of visual activity in Chinese art, its aesthetic principles have been significantly influenced by the Russian-Soviet art world since the middle of the last century ^{[14, p. 56]}. Contacts between Soviet Russia and China in the field of training future artists and teachers became a catalyst for the creation and development of pedagogical universities in the republic and art and graphic faculties within them. It also partly "launched" the search for national identity in the field of art ^{[20, p. 967]}. Chinese artists and art teachers after the "Cultural Revolution" also focused on Western art, although recently they have again strengthened contacts with Russia. And these are not only joint exhibitions, plein-airs, projects, festivals, but also training, internships, practices of students from China in the Russian Federation and vice versa. At the beginning of the new century, in the process of China's interaction with other countries and borrowing their experience, Chinese art increasingly acquires stylistic originality and expands its borders.

The teaching of the subject "Contemporary Art" begins at school, since it is included in the curriculum at secondary school, and mainly as an artistic and creative activity in the form of projects. There are no such programs in Russian primary and secondary education. Schoolchildren up to grade 9 study "Fine Art", in which the modern stage of the art process is presented extremely sparingly, and then they also get acquainted briefly and at the level of theory with modern art, but already within the framework of "World Art Culture". In the existing organizations of additional art education in Russia, preference is also given to classical drawing and various areas in graphics, painting, less often design.

Pedagogical universities also strive to fill in the "gaps" in students' knowledge after admission in every possible way at the expense of their existing resources. Modern Russian pedagogical universities, engaged in the training of artistic and pedagogical personnel, consider the profession of a teacher of fine arts or a teacher of additional art education not as a set of practical skills, but as a special intellectual sphere, where theoretical disciplines related to the methodology of teaching fine arts are still dominant. Artistic and pedagogical education is mainly provided free of charge, which means greater independence from the educational services market of the teaching staff in determining the model and tactics of teacher training. The practice of teaching disciplines related to fine art is based on pencil drawing and writing with paints, sculpture, installation, as well as separate, but still quite rare courses in digital art and graphic design, working with galleries and the media sphere. Students are engaged in artistic practices, as well as master didactics and art history, museum pedagogy, psychology and other subjects.

The Institute of Art Education of the A.I. Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University is the largest center of art and pedagogical education in the country. At the undergraduate level, the Institute currently implements three programs, namely "Art Education in the field of visual arts", "Art education in the field of design and decorative arts" and "Art education in the field of fine arts". There is no discipline in the content of the proposed programs that would be devoted exclusively to contemporary art. Such material is offered as part of the content of such basic disciplines as "History of Visual Arts", "History of World Art Culture", "Museology and Museography", "Art criticism and journalism", "Analysis and interpretation of works of art", "Art Culture of the XXI century", "History of Fine Arts". At the same time, it cannot be said that any original principles and methods other than the academic model are offered in the learning process. The same applies to the practical part of the educational process. Thus, in the classes of drawing, painting, decorative and applied arts and design, classical arts predominate primarily as samples and objects of the image, as can be evidenced by the rather conservative in the choice of types, genres and means of implementation of students' educational and diploma projects. The training of future specialists within the walls of the university aims to form a solid visual literacy, mastering both the technical side of the process of creating works of art and knowledge about the artistic and historical process. Practical experiences in the field of modern art practices, digital art, new media mainly remain in the field of independent work of students, their personal choice, although they are welcomed by teachers who are masters themselves, who prefer and work with classical types and genres of art. In addition, the location of the university, that is, St. Petersburg as a "cultural capital", rich in various kinds of contemporary art venues, fills in the existing gaps in the curriculum, but subject to the personal interest of students.

The Institute of Fine Arts of the Moscow Pedagogical State University has a special experience in the field of interaction with contemporary art. So, on the basis of the university, the "Center for Contemporary Art of the KGF" (the Building of Humanities Faculties) was created, which implements various art events. These are exhibitions of contemporary artists, discussion platforms within the framework of the ARTKIT project, creative meetings, various collaborations with museums and galleries of the city, participation in cultural events of various levels. Students who study in art-related programs, due to their constant participation in the life of the Center, including as organizers and direct participants of events, immerse themselves in the actual art process, come into contact with the creative activities of contemporary authors. In addition, students can also show their works and creative experiments to the public there. Competitions that are held within the walls of the educational institution are an excellent opportunity to demonstrate their such achievements. For example, this is an annual Competition of projects on the methodology of teaching fine arts for undergraduate graduation courses, as well as for everyone who wants to study for a master's degree, or an international online competition of student projects on the methodology of teaching fine arts "Fine Art. Teacher. School", which involves solving a theoretical problem through an applied project.

The educational process at the Art and Graphic Faculty at the Institute is built within the framework of training programs for future teachers who specialize in fine, decorative and applied arts and folk crafts or design. At the level of applied bachelor's degree, the opportunity to get in touch with the modern art process is offered within the framework of such disciplines as "Project activity in the historical and cultural sphere", "History of Art", "Museum business". The proposed lecture form and its corresponding techniques, as in the A.I. Herzen State Pedagogical University, form a general idea of the place of contemporary art within the framework of artistic culture, without giving deep and detailed knowledge about it. The latter are formed mainly in the course of practical and independent work of students. For example, at seminars and in creative classroom work, which are based on research methods and problem situations. Thus, the arsenal of teachers' methods includes case methods that allow students to familiarize themselves with the works of various authors in an entertaining way. So, students explore situations or cases, collect the necessary information about the works and creativity of artists, analyze it and offer a solution to the problem, including artistic and practical ones. Often such tasks concern provocative and extraordinary artistic art practices. University teachers also try to abandon the usual criteria in understanding and interpreting the originality and specificity of the style of an artist.

In the methodology of the Moscow university, when interacting with contemporary art, the emphasis is on the fact that students themselves search, systematize, analyze and use for practical purposes information concerning it. At the same time, the key area of research at the Institute is: "Traditions and modern ways of developing academic education: teaching painting, graphics, sculpture, architecture, design, art studies, the latest artistic trends and new disciplines" ^[7]. Moreover, the voiced approach reflects the traditions of the educational institution itself, which are expressed in making possible the discovery of new, unexpected qualities of nature, points of view, pictorial-plastic, compositional solutions" ^{[5, p. 3]}.

Summarizing the experience of two Russian universities engaged in artistic and pedagogical training, it should be noted that contemporary art in their programs is not separated into an independent discipline, and within the framework of the theoretical component is presented only as part of acquaintance with the history and theory of fine art. At the same time, in the practical and independent work of students, work in actual types, genres and forms, as well as with non-standard techniques and materials, figurative expressive means is welcome. This is directly related to the orientation towards the formation of a specialist focused on independent and continuous creative development and reflection in the artistic form of the author's vision, the search for non-standard solutions.

Unlike the mentioned Russian universities in China, "Contemporary Art" is an independent discipline that has become extremely popular due to the fact that the art process is increasingly entering the media field, in which new digital directions are developing: digital art, video art, system art and media art. Within the framework of the educational process, the idea is formed that modern art is not reduced to painting, sculpture and decorative and applied art. Moreover, it is changing along with the progress of information and communication technologies. At the same time, this subject began to appear in the educational programs of art and pedagogical, as well as art universities, relatively recently, or rather in the last 15-20 years. At the same time, each educational institution fills the content of the discipline with what is optimal for it. For example, the Beijing Pedagogical University School of Arts and Media strives to combine art and media in all artistic disciplines. Here, in the classes of this discipline, classical techniques and materials are interspersed with the work of students in special computer programs that contribute to the creation of two-dimensional and three-dimensional compositions.

In the content of teaching at Beijing Pedagogical University, "Modern Art" is mainly focused on happenings and installations, which, at the choice of students, can be created through various, including computer, technologies. Teachers include new expressive means and methods in the process of artistic training of future teachers, cultivating among them an understanding of creativity as a multidimensional and innovative process ^[23]. The university strives to form a developed imagination, spatial thinking, the ability to create compositions in mixed techniques, knowledge of the basics of working with information and communication materials, as well as the perception of works of art related to various styles and trends of world and Chinese contemporary art. To do this, the emphasis is on the methods of artistic development, and not on the presentation of the theoretical foundations of the discipline. For example, within the framework of the discipline "Modern Art", future artists-teachers are taught compositional thinking, which helps to develop independence, originality of thinking, associativity, imagery, a sense of color harmony and disharmony, and visual memory. The university also created a database with a system of contemporary art styles developed by the staff with examples of works based on the method of creating works. For example, "drawing" includes performing creative works in the field of abstraction and expressionism, regionalism, modular art, abstract illusionism, street art, etc. The discipline "Art of Mass Culture" includes trash art, pop art, neo-pop, food art, deviant art, etc. Students choose for themselves the course within which they create their projects. Modern art, due to the variety of directions, has led to the use of audiovisual interactive means during classes. In addition, in the context of the pandemic, there was a problem with university students visiting museums, galleries, festivals and other projects in the field of modern art practices. In this light, the media space has become a field of interaction between teachers, students, representatives of the art sphere, and also provides an opportunity to strengthen the in-demand skills of students working with information technologies. Moreover, online classes "removed" from the educational institution the need to present equipment and materials for acquaintance with digital art, giving students more freedom in the process of contact with various art arenas.

Thus, we come to the conclusion that the main trend of teaching contemporary art within the framework of Chinese higher pedagogical education is the rejection of purely theoretical study of the subject and the emphasis on its conceptual practical component. Students are taught the original expression of their ideas, as well as the search for an artistic solution by means of the language of modern art. Students master modern art through the use of interactive teaching methods, as well as creative and information and communication technologies. The fundamental importance of the discipline "Contemporary Art" for China is connected with the policy of "soft power" implemented by the state, focused on the development of national art in the context of the world artistic process. In addition, the contact of Chinese students with the field of foreign art allows them to develop their creative potential. The methodology of teaching contemporary art in pedagogical universities in China has its own problems. First of all, it is generalized. This makes the professional and pedagogical activity of teachers rather superficial and, as a result, less effective. The program of the discipline "Contemporary Art" is focused on specialized courses at universities, and is not an obligatory part of the entire range of programs offered.

In pedagogical universities in Russia, the issue of teaching contemporary art is no less acute, since a future teacher working in a secondary school, art school or art center, museums and other organizations should also be aware of what is happening in the art world. Meanwhile, in educational institutions, the first attempts are still being planned to develop training courses focused on classical samples of the past, in the direction of current practices. This happens through the introduction of project and problem-based methods into teaching, which allows students to independently choose the language of expression within the framework of solving a particular theoretical problem and task. At the same time, contemporary art is still being mastered as a theoretical discipline. Students who have entered an art and pedagogical university are not prepared for it, rarely have an idea of its subject, which does not allow them to feel part of the artistic process, actively master it, and also quickly choose suitable styles and trends for themselves. Thus, the Moscow Pedagogical State University has opened a Center for Contemporary Art within its walls as a space in which the search for a new artistic imagery is demonstrated, which is a successful solution to this problem. A different model was proposed at Peking University, combining the activities of such structural units and the introduction of practical classes related to experiments in the language of modern art, as well as the creation of databases that help to understand the features of the art process of modernity.

Common to both Chinese and Russian universities is their focus on practical and independent activity of students when getting acquainted with contemporary art. The management and teaching staff of the considered educational institutions try to include their students in the art process as much as possible, which happens through constant creative activity and its public demonstration, the creation of exhibition sites in the walls of universities, as well as the use of information and communication technologies that allow, among other things, to form a systematic idea of existing artistic practices.

In the considered Chinese and Russian art and pedagogical universities, there are also common features when teaching contemporary art. Thus, the emphasis is on the practical component in teaching students in the form of creative projects focused on the independent search for a language of expression within the framework of solving a particular educational task, including by means of the language of contemporary art. This should also include the use of interactive teaching methods, as well as creative and information and communication technologies in the framework of classes.

We see prospects for further research of the problem in a more detailed study of the educational practice of modern art and pedagogical universities of the two countries in terms of the use of contemporary art. This will make it possible to form a model of training artists-teachers in cooperation with relevant art practices, optimal for both Russia and China.