Thom Mead on wed 17 jan 01
Hi George:
I will avoid the talkers like the plague. Like the mayor, all those years=
as a "professore" (as the Italians like to call us high school teachers)=
, have made me more practical than mud. The research I will do before emb=
arking will be (and is) epic.
Thanks for the archive--I've read that one so many times myself!!!
----- Original Message -----
From: george koller
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2001 10:28 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Grad School at 51
I DUG THIS OUT OF MY ARCHIVES. IT HAD MADE
A REAL IMPRESSION ON ME AS REGARDS AN OLDER PERSON
MAKING THIS KIND OF DECISION.
THE AUTHOR, SHOULD IT SOMEHOW NOT BE IDENTIFIED
AS SUCH, IS THE MAYOR HIS OWN SELF....
=3D=3D=3D=3D
one of the most dreadful realities for me, when
i went back to school at 55, was the observation of almost universal
lack of dedication to intense study.
can you believe this:
i was accused of being a `CURVE RAISER`.
i did so much work that it made them look bad.
shit, a curve raiser in grad school....you see, they sorta knew
i was not going to accept the mfa....this was all for me.
it was beyond their scope of understanding.
i was very interested in the `new language of art`...the
critique was why i was there. i can do art in a barn, all alone.
i needed them...but, got very little. my teachers were brilliant.
(but, not very tough.)
most of the students wanted to talk about their art.
talk, talk, talk. write a few paragraphs.
their metaphors.
their images.
their personal grief.
their menstrual cycles
gender issues.
the death of redwoods.
all predicated on not doing art. not painting.
not making pots. but, talking, for hours.
students complained about the `work load`.
`why do we have to read about milton avery, he was so dumb?`
damn, if you do not understand milton avery, don't pick up
a brush for the rest of your life.
going to grad school should be the greatest gift that a person
can ever get. it should be total immersion. total.
if one is not dedicated to that...get the hell out of the way.
i would have failed half of them...kicked their asses into the
real world...but, they all graduated. and you wonder why the
mfa shows are often so bad.
art is about personal dedication. it is work. talented folks are a
dime a dozen. workers are rare as diamonds. a worker with talent
is, and becomes genius
Get your FREE download of MSN E=
xplorer at http://explorer.msn.com>
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