STUDENT WORK
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
Essential to student development in the visual arts is practice. Students must make even in uncertainty; they must make especially in uncertainty. Technical mastery matters, as does an understanding of contemporary art discourse. At the undergraduate level, it is not feasible to develop craft and concept to their fullest capacity, but it is possible to acquire a model for lifelong study.
Sculpture requires an awareness of many disciplines. Relevant artistic output is not possible without an interdisciplinary approach to learning. I ask students to familiarize themselves with a multitude of materials and processes before embarking on more concentrated study. Following 3D Design, I teach a range of technical skills in hard, soft, and digital media. As students achieve a degree of technical independence, craft begins to influence concept as much as concept might dictate materials and process. Advanced students are tasked with identifying their art historical lineage as they refine the grammar of their practice.
I strive to graduate students capable of speaking and writing about their work. The artist statement need not be definitive; likewise, it can extend beyond self-reference. One-on-one and class critiques are essential to effective teaching. If I am to effectively guide a student to fluency, I must understand the attempt as much as the result. My ultimate goal in one-on-one and group critique is to strengthen the student’s ability to engage his or her own work, and the work of others, with confidence, curiosity and insight.
The language that I use in the classroom is informed by my curatorial and studio practice, art history and contemporary art criticism, conversation with other practicing artists and educators, and exhibition and travel. My own methods may serve as a model for students to follow or reject; it is there to challenge them, not to impose. Students who seek the excitement of intellectual discovery deserve to have their continued efforts met with close attention to their development as culture makers. I constantly seek to provide students with a reservoir of knowledge about the field of sculpture and to help them to connect with both universal and personal aspects of their own practice.
Essential to student development in the visual arts is practice. Students must make even in uncertainty; they must make especially in uncertainty. Technical mastery matters, as does an understanding of contemporary art discourse. At the undergraduate level, it is not feasible to develop craft and concept to their fullest capacity, but it is possible to acquire a model for lifelong study.
Sculpture requires an awareness of many disciplines. Relevant artistic output is not possible without an interdisciplinary approach to learning. I ask students to familiarize themselves with a multitude of materials and processes before embarking on more concentrated study. Following 3D Design, I teach a range of technical skills in hard, soft, and digital media. As students achieve a degree of technical independence, craft begins to influence concept as much as concept might dictate materials and process. Advanced students are tasked with identifying their art historical lineage as they refine the grammar of their practice.
I strive to graduate students capable of speaking and writing about their work. The artist statement need not be definitive; likewise, it can extend beyond self-reference. One-on-one and class critiques are essential to effective teaching. If I am to effectively guide a student to fluency, I must understand the attempt as much as the result. My ultimate goal in one-on-one and group critique is to strengthen the student’s ability to engage his or her own work, and the work of others, with confidence, curiosity and insight.
The language that I use in the classroom is informed by my curatorial and studio practice, art history and contemporary art criticism, conversation with other practicing artists and educators, and exhibition and travel. My own methods may serve as a model for students to follow or reject; it is there to challenge them, not to impose. Students who seek the excitement of intellectual discovery deserve to have their continued efforts met with close attention to their development as culture makers. I constantly seek to provide students with a reservoir of knowledge about the field of sculpture and to help them to connect with both universal and personal aspects of their own practice.
