| The story of the Amazons, a nomadic nation with female warriors, has provided centuries of mysterious and evocative art. Often presented as sculpture in public spaces, the enduring, yet enigmatic, example of women's history in the arts offers an ancient example of female independence, self-reliance, and power. However, the educational accessibility of the motif is understudied, particularly in public spaces. At the same time, scholars have found that public art contexts have the potential to be highly educational. This presents a missed art education opportunity to advance understanding of an archetype that acknowledges women as leaders, self-reliant, and physically powerful.;This dissertation explores how Amazon sculptures in public parks are received and experienced by learners. In this work, I entwine arts-based educational research methodology, feminist poststructuralist theory, and work in the field of public pedagogy, which each provide perspectives for blurring the traditional lines of educational inquiry. Guided by these threads of academia, I craft this dissertation as creative nonfiction that utilizes text, image, and music. Six vocal and acoustic guitar tracks are included as supplementary files.;Further, the study is framed as a/r/tography, which is the practice of making meaning through art making, researching, and teaching. Data includes observations and interviews with public audiences at two Amazon sculpture parks. Feminist Poststructuralist Discourse Analysis of the data indicates three groups of multiply positioned learners, who perform along a continuum of more powerful to less powerful learner. The supremacy of experts and exclusivity are two subthemes of dominant discourses about learning through art found in the study, while competent independent interpreters and non-professional facilitators are key subthemes of counter discourses about learning through art.;More broadly, this work explores educational access to visual art by describing the interaction in which meanings are formed through art objects. Specifically, the theory of syntonic dialogue provides a diagram for exploring the performed positioning of a subject as learner by offering a way to explore the interactivity of the components put into relation through dialogues with art. Other themes about the complexities of discourses about learning as well as women's history are discussed. |
