The Education of an Artist

The New York Times just posted an editorial titled “The End of the University as We Know It, ” by Mark Taylor.  It is a proposal & reexamination of the University’s relationship to society. It is full of damning criticisms and bold solutions. He criticizes the financial structures, the tenure system, curriculum and specialization. Mark goes on to outline 6 steps to make higher learning “more agile, adaptive and imaginative” … and I would add practical. I don’t want this post to be about agreeing or disagreeing with him, but rather to simply highlight this important conversation.

Additionally, all this talk of education has me thinking more specifically about Graduate Art Education (my personal opinion). I just found an old notebook from Grad School (University of Washington) and felt moved to share a few of my notes here. (I should credit Denzil Hurley as my mentor during this period). The notes are rambling and not “objective” … but they share my own values and clearly reflect a particular point of view about this stage of development:

–    Be self driven
–    Apprentice with another artist
–    Expand choices & give yourself permission
–    Sorting out the parts of one’s activity can become the representation
–    Isolate and Expand
–    What’s NOT there is very important
–    Consciousness leads to differentiation
–    Examine habits of process in relationship to one’s questions (cravings)
–    Develop ability – Challenge ability … and then sort out deployment
–    Mode of presentation/conveyance generates meaning
–    Show how dealing with “influence” … lay it out!
–    Looking for the “truth” exclusively might cause you to construct something else.
–    Look unlabored!
–    Good stuff doesn’t age
–    Reduction is worthless if the result doesn’t “expand” (cause other things)
–    Much of contemporary art is over determined by idea … how can the work be kept open?