ABSTRACT
Before the 1980s, talking had a low priority in art education. This fact can be traced to the belief that visual art should ‘speak for itself’ and not need to be justified in words. Analysis gets in the way of feeling, which was the presumed driving force for creativity. Talk might help to create a relaxed atmosphere in the art classroom, but if talk was considered at all, at best it was thought to be incidental to learning, and at worst, obstructive. If visual art is visual, why spend time talking about it?
