mel jacobson on fri 26 aug 05
as i have noted before...i did a great many credits in
painting at the u. of minnesota after i was 52 years old. (90)
it was a challenge....and i was determined to get all
A's, and damn well deserve them.
i worked hard.
that was not always the way of many students around me.
in fact...they got rather pissed off at me.
never the professors, always the students.
in one case a woman struck me in the chest and called me
`dirty F?#%#ing curve raiser` and she went on to say
that i was `older, and did not need grades`.
she did less than one painting a semester, and whined about
grades all the time...had some serious `issues` about her
art. you know...huff and pufff, think serious thoughts, then
make one painting stroke...then had to led out of the room
exhausted.
i was teaching full time and still managed to make over
70 images that semester. many as large as 6 feet by 4 feet.
the night of the critique she was livid. her half a canvas was
no match for me and a couple of other `real artists` in the
class. (and, anyone that thinks grad school artists are not
competitive....well, perhaps more than the football team.)
by the way, i did let her have it...a very adult critique.
i took her skin off. professionally. my prof said it was the
best critique he had ever been witness to.
my time at the u was spent mostly in learning the `language of
contemporary art`. critique and teaching. i did not need any help
with skill or technique...or motivation. my professors were excellent,
intelligent, motivated and they understood my motives for being
there and built on that study very well. in the case of four professors,
i could not have been in better hands. it was impressive.
so, you can have the best their is for teachers, and if the students
do not understand the work load...well, it can be laid at their feet.
trust and motivation are still the keys to learning.
without it...any delivery system will fail.
the person that delivers the material has to be trusted.
period. (if you go to the core of richard aerni's wife..i am sure
the students believe in her and trust her...that is why her class is
full...no other reason.)
mel
from mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
http://home.comcast.net/~figglywig/clayart.htm
for gail's year book.
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