Teaching Statement:
Art is a space where anything is possible. There are no preset answers, and there is no limit except that of the imagination. At its best, art teaches us to think inventively, and is a critical part of a liberal arts education. Some students may have a higher aptitude for these skills, and may go on to develop their talent and a portfolio that leads to further studies and a career in the arts. For those students, I strive to create a strong foundation they can build upon. Beyond this foundation, I seek to create an environment where technical ability, craftsmanship, relevant technology and conceptual ideas find balance relative to contemporary thinking and art making. I believe that an understanding of historical context, both socially and artistically, as well as an understanding of past and current critical and social theory and events are essential to preparing artists to successfully contribute both to their field and to the larger cultural context in which they live.
Though not all students will become professional artists, not not everyone will find mastery of every medium, I feel strongly that anyone who so desires can learn, through practice, to have a level of competency that allows them to engage in creative expression throughout their lives. Creativity can be expressed in any field, and understanding a student’s individual interests is crucial to help them to connect those interests to the project at hand. Integration of ideas from fields outside of the arts, even outside of the humanities, including science and technology, can inspire students to experiment and create strong work with unique relevance to contemporary culture.
Class Environment:
Academic:
I lay out my expectations clearly, and work with each student to ensure that they understand the expectations and are given the tools to have a successful classroom experience. I prioritize giving clear and supportive feedback, so that each student has a reasonable understanding of what they need to do in order to achieve their goals in my class. I expect all students to treat each other with fairness and respect, and feel it is my role to lead by example.
Continuing Education:
In these classes I consider myself a partner to help you get a you to where you want to go. I look at your past work, watch you work, and ask questions about what is important to you, what your goals include, and what art you are drawn to love. These answers determine what tutorials and demonstrations I provide, what artists or books I steer you towards and how I direct your investigations. My approach to each student is highly individualized with the students' goals in mind. More often then not, I find that students (of all ages and levels of experience) understand more then they might at first give themselves credit for knowing about where their voice lies.
Practice:
Setting parameters for students, while allowing a level of creative license, teaches the student to use visual language as a way of pursuing creative and critical thinking, as well as learning problem solving skills that are applicable to all avenues of life. I pose assignments as problems to be solved through critical and technical inquiry. I encourage playful experimentation in the initial stages of learning while researching historical and contemporary discourse and images to gain an understanding of the conversation which they are joining, and how to contribute their unique voice to the discussion of contemporary art.
Technical:
Understanding a variety of art media is the equivalent to having a strong verbal vocabulary. It enables students to expand their conversation and their expression. While it is not unusual for students to find a focus of interest, and can be an important part of their development, as a teacher, I find it important to expose students to multiple approaches, the ability to translate objects into multiple materials, and gain technical proficiency in a range of processes, as well as New Media, from the perspectives of both art and design. In our contemporary art world technique is being rediscovered as a necessary asset, and a strong vocabulary of media will ensure a student’s ability to communicate ideas successfully.
Theory:
An understudying of critical theory is necessary in almost every field--it details our perspectives, helps us to understand our biases and enables us to frame conversations productively. In visual art, critical theory combined with an understanding of art history and how it relates to current events of the time, enables students to contextualize artists and movements. They learn to understand how the work of artists of the past gives us insight into historical ideas, which helps us to understand how we have arrived at our current position in contemporary art. Students gain knowledge of how understanding and focus shifts over time in a symbiotic relationship with social events, and how art can act, at times concurrently, as historian, bystander, and agitator.
Discourse:
Critique affords students the opportunity to develop their observational skills, practice critical analysis, and refine their ability to express themselves verbally. This is an opportunity to combine their visual practice with their theoretical understanding, while learning to engage in a mutually respectful dialogue. Critique is not necessarily negative, but instead, offers the students a space to question, explore and understand. I work with students to create a space where critique sends a student into a space of deeper exploration, motivated and excited to probe beyond the previous session.
Methods:
I utilize a variety of methods to engage students including visual examples, presentations on artists and by artists, technical demonstrations, museum, gallery and studio visits. I find an important augmentation to the class room is maintaining a class blog to engage students with each other’s personal investigations both in and out of the classroom. I strive to engage students in the creative process with both group and one-on-one support in a mutually respectful environment. My goal is for all of my students to learn to expand their definitions of their own capabilities, and to equip them with the tools to engage in the arts as a life long learning process, fully engaged in the world.
Art is a space where anything is possible. There are no preset answers, and there is no limit except that of the imagination. At its best, art teaches us to think inventively, and is a critical part of a liberal arts education. Some students may have a higher aptitude for these skills, and may go on to develop their talent and a portfolio that leads to further studies and a career in the arts. For those students, I strive to create a strong foundation they can build upon. Beyond this foundation, I seek to create an environment where technical ability, craftsmanship, relevant technology and conceptual ideas find balance relative to contemporary thinking and art making. I believe that an understanding of historical context, both socially and artistically, as well as an understanding of past and current critical and social theory and events are essential to preparing artists to successfully contribute both to their field and to the larger cultural context in which they live.
Though not all students will become professional artists, not not everyone will find mastery of every medium, I feel strongly that anyone who so desires can learn, through practice, to have a level of competency that allows them to engage in creative expression throughout their lives. Creativity can be expressed in any field, and understanding a student’s individual interests is crucial to help them to connect those interests to the project at hand. Integration of ideas from fields outside of the arts, even outside of the humanities, including science and technology, can inspire students to experiment and create strong work with unique relevance to contemporary culture.
Class Environment:
Academic:
I lay out my expectations clearly, and work with each student to ensure that they understand the expectations and are given the tools to have a successful classroom experience. I prioritize giving clear and supportive feedback, so that each student has a reasonable understanding of what they need to do in order to achieve their goals in my class. I expect all students to treat each other with fairness and respect, and feel it is my role to lead by example.
Continuing Education:
In these classes I consider myself a partner to help you get a you to where you want to go. I look at your past work, watch you work, and ask questions about what is important to you, what your goals include, and what art you are drawn to love. These answers determine what tutorials and demonstrations I provide, what artists or books I steer you towards and how I direct your investigations. My approach to each student is highly individualized with the students' goals in mind. More often then not, I find that students (of all ages and levels of experience) understand more then they might at first give themselves credit for knowing about where their voice lies.
Practice:
Setting parameters for students, while allowing a level of creative license, teaches the student to use visual language as a way of pursuing creative and critical thinking, as well as learning problem solving skills that are applicable to all avenues of life. I pose assignments as problems to be solved through critical and technical inquiry. I encourage playful experimentation in the initial stages of learning while researching historical and contemporary discourse and images to gain an understanding of the conversation which they are joining, and how to contribute their unique voice to the discussion of contemporary art.
Technical:
Understanding a variety of art media is the equivalent to having a strong verbal vocabulary. It enables students to expand their conversation and their expression. While it is not unusual for students to find a focus of interest, and can be an important part of their development, as a teacher, I find it important to expose students to multiple approaches, the ability to translate objects into multiple materials, and gain technical proficiency in a range of processes, as well as New Media, from the perspectives of both art and design. In our contemporary art world technique is being rediscovered as a necessary asset, and a strong vocabulary of media will ensure a student’s ability to communicate ideas successfully.
Theory:
An understudying of critical theory is necessary in almost every field--it details our perspectives, helps us to understand our biases and enables us to frame conversations productively. In visual art, critical theory combined with an understanding of art history and how it relates to current events of the time, enables students to contextualize artists and movements. They learn to understand how the work of artists of the past gives us insight into historical ideas, which helps us to understand how we have arrived at our current position in contemporary art. Students gain knowledge of how understanding and focus shifts over time in a symbiotic relationship with social events, and how art can act, at times concurrently, as historian, bystander, and agitator.
Discourse:
Critique affords students the opportunity to develop their observational skills, practice critical analysis, and refine their ability to express themselves verbally. This is an opportunity to combine their visual practice with their theoretical understanding, while learning to engage in a mutually respectful dialogue. Critique is not necessarily negative, but instead, offers the students a space to question, explore and understand. I work with students to create a space where critique sends a student into a space of deeper exploration, motivated and excited to probe beyond the previous session.
Methods:
I utilize a variety of methods to engage students including visual examples, presentations on artists and by artists, technical demonstrations, museum, gallery and studio visits. I find an important augmentation to the class room is maintaining a class blog to engage students with each other’s personal investigations both in and out of the classroom. I strive to engage students in the creative process with both group and one-on-one support in a mutually respectful environment. My goal is for all of my students to learn to expand their definitions of their own capabilities, and to equip them with the tools to engage in the arts as a life long learning process, fully engaged in the world.