Last week we had a group critique which left me a little dumb struck, I'll admit. How this critique was supposed to be done was that we visit a student's studio, and while he or she remains silent, we observe their work for ten minutes, attempting to understand what exactly are they trying to do, and if they were perhaps successful. After that, the student responds to the comments, answering any questions made, and describing their work and process and little deeper for another ten minutes. Then I suppose the last ten minutes was supposed to be more of a helpful tip in steering them in the supposedly right direction.
I have say that when I found out that this type of critique was going to happen this early in the game, I was a little confused. From what I can see with my work and the work of that majority of the MFA 1 and 2 students, they have not progressed far enough to help anyone to understand what is going on without any explanation at all. Once it came to be my turn I marveled at how the tutor and students seemed fixated on my process of drying the beads and transferring images as if that was the art, without feeling like I was able to tell them that it had nothing to do with the final product at all.
On top of that, I found our tutor's "advice" to be derailing, unnecessarily aggressive and demotivating. I remember beginning to be surprised by her words when she told one of the students "It can't be as straightforward as that". Perhaps I am the only one who feels this way anymore, or perhaps its my cultural background or maybe I am a little old fashioned, but I have always felt that regardless of the extreme position that an artist might take: shocking, preachy, opinionated, it is far better than being passive. I had the feeling that this tutor was trying to confuse and derail the students rather than help develop their practice, which is what I had expected any art school was supposed to do.
When it came to be my turn, my work was immediately attacked as not developed, confrontational, using bad materials, and was, essentially, "not art". By this time I was so surprised that by the 21st century post graduate tutors were even aloud to say something isn't art. I was asked, point blank, if I thought that my work was art, and I couldn't help but reply that yes I did. Afterwards I felt that I was being challenged or rebuked, and I knew that anything that I said about my work and process would be only defensive, and therefore decided to say the minimum of what was required of me.
Right after the critique was finished, I couldn't help but feel boggled. I was so confused about what was said that I started to think about everything that was said to me in other critiques and tutorials in the past. I began to feel that I had been pushed and pulled in so many directions on how my work should be that I no longer felt I had a say in it anymore. I wanted to know, should I change everything or just ignore everyone for once and go with my gut instinct, regardless on how others may hate it. I decided to speak to another teacher at ECA, one that I hadn't spoken to since the beginning of my time there. I wanted fresh eyes, and fresh opinions.
I am so glad that I did so. This teacher was able to understand what I was trying to accomplish and reassured me that my work was actually art. He told me that he knew that I didn't want to be regarded as the "bead girl" but an artist who had an interest in more social and anthropological concepts, the beads being a by-product. He told me that my instincts were correct in that I should do what I wanted to do. He then gave me some readings to perhaps help me with describing my work a little better to those who might not understand it as well, or who might not thing it is "art". I began to read Marcel Meuss' "The Gift" and will later read Michel DeCerteau's "Practice of Everyday Life".
I can't express how relieved I was after such a tumultuous day. I finally received the help and encouragement that every student should receive at an institution. We attend school, regardless on what level we are at for professional help and guidance. I am sure we will receive our harsh criticism from the world once we finally embark into it.
