In Releasing the Imagination, Maxine Greene points out that aesthetic experience requires us to move consciously beyond ourselves to notice what a work of art has to offer, that is, to notice how a work of art stirs our thoughts and feelings and can invite us to experience something new (124). In this way aesthetic experience can spark the imagination.
To help us begin to prepare for the next REA Annual Conference and, perhaps, to think about developing a proposal to present a paper or lead a colloquium or workshop session, I invite you to spend some time viewing the banner art on the 2015 Annual Conference site.
There are three original works of art by Seattle artist Todd Lown that serve as banner art. One depicts nature and the imagination, another presents the theme of technology and imagination, and the third presents the intereligious imagination.
As you spend time with the works, what thoughts and feelings are stirred within you? How might your experience of these images spark you to think about the imagination in relation to your work as an educator, religious educator, and/or practical/pastoral theologian?