A few weeks ago, I opened up my semester project idea and our class came into a pretty good discussion about the freedom of expression versus guidelines.
Someone said, "Guidelines often help push us as artists and gets us to think outside of our comfort zone."
While I agree with that statement, I feel it is somewhat contradictory. We are forced to think outside of our comfort zones and create this "new" art that defines us and expresses our interpretation of the project. So it's this mixture of freedom of expression and guidelines.
I don't have a problem with guidelines. I have a problem with professors giving an entirely subjective critique based on whether they like the work or not.
I have found professors will gravitate towards a student's work that is most like theirs. Perhaps it's the natural thing to do. You will immediately be drawn to works you find interesting and inspiring; however, why is there such a bias? Is this how all professors base who is their favorite and who gets the better grade?
Several years ago, I was taking a figure drawing course (and mind you, I absolutely suck at anything that is hand drawing) and I was having a tough time getting started in the class. Everyone else knew how to do gesture drawings while I was in my corner making stick figures. Throughout the semester, I grew tremendously. I learned how to quickly draw gestures, shade, build form and mass of the body. The professor saw this improvement, yet at the end of the semester, I never got the grade I had hoped nor a constructive critique. Everyone else got the attention and I was left in the dark, or at least that's how I felt.
I followed guidelines and I grew, but I never got the appreciation from the professors. I decided to do things my way, and I grew even more and began to receive responses - though not much constructive criticism.
What am I doing wrong?
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I find that what you say about bias is, unfortunately, true. I feel as though it comes from the quality of the mind after it has been institutionalized. what i mean is after a time being inside the institution a professor's mind becomes molded by that institution. all animals approach natural systems with the initial goal of acquiring food, shelter and safety. the modality of the professor is no different. a highly, many times overly, educated person and a feral animal are no different in this respect. a professor will not generally go against the parts of the system that garner him or her food, shelter and comfort, and thus his or her mind has been shaped as such. grading, paperwork, patent responses to conformed aesthetics, taking an indoctrinated response away from a conversation with another faculty member, all of these things have their mirror in nature. pack mentality, safety in numbers, castigating difference in others for the safety of the whole. it resonates across the spectrum. be aware of this as you go on to graduate school.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this will make a difference to you, but instead of thinking of projects with guidelines as "something that gets me out of my comfort zone," I think of them as a chance to make my own solution to a problem or to have my own unique take on something.
ReplyDeleteWhen we have to shoot in certain lighting, I can apply my own compositions and themes and photographic style to that lighting.
I know it sounds a little cliche, but looking at things in that positive way has made the art program an enjoyable experience for me so far.
Thinking of it that way also lets me feel competitive in a positive way, in that I want my solution to be the best one in the class, the most creative or inventive or whatever else, and that's helped me stay motivated to keep working at my photography. Having a competitive nature is good in our field, and most assignments I've come across have had room to get really innovative with solutions.
Channeling instead of limiting. Thinking inside the box, but realizing there's a ton of real estate in that box you just haven't checked out yet.
There is value to having to decide some of our own projects without rules because we're going to need to do that sometimes if we're not on a payroll somewhere, but my teachers have generally given me a good variety of assignments. I've made up concepts but I've also followed guidelines.
The part about tastes in the art program and the art world is another conversation entirely. I agree there's a right and wrong way of doing things and I also see it negatively... the way I draw, for example, is very linear and graphic and clean, but the "correct" way to draw according to contemporary standards invloves being very gestural, flowing, and whatever else.
I have to admit, though, that taking a drawing class last semester that focused solely on gesture drawings has made my own natural way of doing things look better. I'm a more skilled drawer and artist than I was before the class.
My complaint is now more specific, then: I'd like to learn in the best way possible, and I chose to come to UGA, I chose to be in this particular art department, and so I'm going to trust that my teachers generally have something to offer me in their areas. I would like my personal strengths to be pushed forward, though, instead of a broader artistic focus.
I played soccer extremely competitively up until I got injured at the end of high school, and the best coaches I had would teach me to remove my weaknesses as a player and develop my strengs at the same time. I was better with my right foot, so they made my left foot good enough to not be a weakness, and at the same time really worked to make my shots with my right foot a threat. That kinda thing.
And I respect my teachers and what they do, but Rob is right, you can still learn from them while keeping in mind they are part of a system and people act with their own well being in mind. They've gotten this far in academics by working within the system, so they do things according to that system. But you're paying these people who are at least mildly good at what they do to teach you something, so why not learn what there is to learn? Don't abandon your identity as an artist, just make yourself better with the bits and pieces you want from other talented people.
Sorry for the long stories and soccer nostalgia, but I like what I'm doing here at school and hopefully something about that can make your stay in Athens more enjoyable.
My response will not be too long or insightful, but this post reminds me of what some of my classmates have been complaining about recently. It's inherent that people will be drawn to what they like more than other art/photos. Just because you are a teacher does not mean you can make yourself completely unbiased. That being said, I agree that you have to take what they say, think about it, and then move on. If the teacher does not seem to like or understand what you are doing does that make it worthless? Not at all. I realize I might be being vague. We had crit in my photo class last week and out teacher kept making comments about different directions people could move in for each of their projects. Problem is the ideas were usually not what my classmates had in mind. Some of them were freaking out about it like "I just dont know what he wants me to do". My response: Dont worry about what HE wants you to do. Consider what he said and take it into account if you want. Regardless, keep doing what YOU want and make it the best you possibly can.
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