Supervision by an artist creating a poetic universe as a reference in the development of aesthetic approaches to pedagogical supervision

Abstract

This article is based on a study of what contributes to the development of an aesthetic approach to supervision that might be identified in a choreographer’s supervision of artists in a co-creative artistic production process. The theoretical framework consists of multimodal learning theory with a focus on semiotic mediation inspired by Jewitt, Kress, van Leeuwen, Rustad, and Vygotsky. The analysis is informed by Dewey’s theory about transformative aesthetics, developed by Sava as a description of transformations in artistic learning processes. Some of the characteristics of artistic supervision were identified as corporeality, heightened listening, mindfulness and the avoidance of a negative response. These characteristics are suggested to serve as inspiration for multimodal approaches to pedagogical supervision in general. The tools provided by different art forms, different ways of telling, sharing and communicating stories are considered as holding the main potential of an aesthetic approach to supervision.