Art and art education as understanding media:

Information processing for Kansei and literacy

Abstract

Since art is a form of media representation, understanding and representing art can be discussed within the framework of media literacy. Additionally,as literacy is the fundamental characteristic of educational capacity and function, or culture, art education also needs to be discussed from the perspective of literacy. This paper aims to reconstruct the concept of art and art education from the perspective of literacy and record its practice. Therefore,this study reviews domestic and international research contributing to the relationship between art and literacy,offering new proposals for the concept of art literacy. Art is constructed physical and semantic information, so literacy can be discussed from the perspective of understanding information. The concept of“Kansei”(aesthetic sensitivity) is the important element that differentiates art education from other education and it should be discussed even when examining art from the perspective of literacy.