Thoughts on ART, TEACHING, and LEARNING

"Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of
 inspiration."

Rudolf (Khametovich) Nureyev    [Рудольф Хаметович Нуреев]   March 17, 1938

When I saw this quote yesterday, I decided that I needed to jot down a few words about how I related the ideas of "style" and "technique" to the concept of creating art. 

In the 60's an art movement began to take hold which claimed that the end product that the artist produced was merely the "relic" of the idea(s) that the artist had.  In the final analysis the art work itself was just a representation of the craftsmanship of the artist.  The artist's ability to paint in a certain way or sculpt, print, etc. were only reflective of his training as an artisan.  The IDEA was the only thing that had merit.

To this end and with these thoughts in mind I contend that once the artist has visualized his idea into a physical reality by using the media most appropriate (or at least one in which he has derived some expertise regardless of the appropriateness) the artist should take what he/she has learned from their work and move on toward new ideas.  Unfortunately, this is so often not the case.  Once an artist gains recognition for his work, especially in the form of money and popularity, the "moving on" to new ideas frequently loses its appeal.  At this point the artist's "style" and "technique" begin to win out over any concept of innovation and creativity.

In the way in which I have been teaching this school year, using the Student Directed Art Curriculum based on INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, I have learned that new ideas are hard for all of us to grasp.  I had no idea of how the students would react to such a departure from their normal ways of dealing with a high school course.  I have always looked at each new school year, over my 41 years of teaching, as a new canvas.  It wasn't that much of a stretch, then, for me to go ahead and try something totally different.  The angst, anxiety, and frustration for me has been in not giving credence to the fact that these students have NOT been "learning" in a new way each year.  The have developed their own "styles" and "techniques" of learning throughout their 9 years of being in school.  The system has taught them the three "R's" quite effectively; that is READING, REMEMBERING, and REGURGITATION.   This idea of thinking for themselves, making their own decisions, and being accountable for their learning is just about as foreign to them as anything could be.  I think I am only writing this down so that I can come back and re-read this paragraph frequently as this school year draws to a close and I find myself wondering whether any of what I'm doing has had any impact.

So now I've said it and I will close out this little Chautauqua  and post a couple more examples of the students' textures in paint.  Enjoy.