The Problem with Kids Today
I'm going to make myself sound a bit like an old coot with a title like that, but it struck me as I went in to work on my paintings yesterday. I left about two hours early so I could put some extra time on my Vanitas still life and also give me the chance to leave about 30 min. early without feeling guilty so I can catch the bus an hour early (not that most people in the class don't vanish 30 minutes early anyway...).
So while I'm painting a guy wanders in. He didn't notice me at first and when I said "good morning" I think I startled him a little bit. We started chatting a bit and talked about art and such. Apparently he was "bored" with one of his classes and took the habit of vanishing and wandering the hallways and rooms of the art school during this period.
I asked him what class he was supposed to be listening to (I assumed it was Art History or something, which also goes on in the building), he replied that he wasn't missing a lecture, but it was a digital printmaking class or something of that sort. From the sounds of it the class is about converting digitally created images to traditional printmaking media. Pretty cool if you ask me, but he expressed some recalcitrance and I queried further, wondering if perhaps the material was just a bit bland and not challenging or perhaps the instructor bad.
No, that wasn't the case, Printmaking was just "difficult" and he hated the work he did in it because he never had any good ideas to go with whatever project.
Being me, I asked if he sketched much outside of class. He said no. I exclaimed "there's your problem!" If you don't develop ideas outside of class, how can you expect to have good ones in class? He noted that he has a hard time getting motivated or being "in the mood" to draw when he doesn't have a deadline to push for. I repeated one of my favorite mantras "you can't improve if you don't do it" both in respects to his drawing and to the class he was avoiding. I also noted that sometimes you just have to slog through and do the mechanical process before the muse actually fires up and does something. You'll never produce anything if you never draw. Can't expect everything to work properly if it sits on the shelf for months or even just weeks on end.
The guy remarked that he had been a bit depressed about his art recently and some of his work is just ugly and he doesn't want to continue with it. I replied with my firm belief that a lot of drawings go through an ugly stage. Paintings too. And sometimes its those works that seem the most painful to produce that turn out the best, ugly duckling and all.
The more we talked the more I saw the picture of someone who probably wasn't going to make it as an art major unless he had a major change in attitude. His focus was Animation, which means he's shoved underneath the umbrella of "intermedia." He wants to do digital animation, which made sense as I mulled over the conversation since he expressed an intense interest in detail and making things look real. It bothered him if it didn't make the viewer wonder if it was real or not. This is something, I admit, I've "grown out of" to an extent. I know I can do it, but it just doesn't engage me like it used to. Sometimes, sure, I will do things that are superbly realistic, but really ... it just doesn't engage me like it used to, just as the art world as a whole lost interest in it at a certain point. Not that I'm going to run around painting black squares or anything, but there are more important things than making something look like a photo.
I guess my meandering point and the impression that this conversation left on me is one of worry about those coming up behind me. Heck, even those of my generation, I've seen it there too. They want the glory, but not the work. They want things to be easy and immediate and don't take pleasure in the sweat and tears that are sometimes required to produce something, be it a drawing or painting, or anything else for that matter. I see it in some of my students with the horses. They want it to be easy and any challenge placed before them is a frustration and they give up (or want to ... in the case of my students I usually push them through it). I don't know if this is just because a lot of young people have been given life on a platter, or perhaps it is just the general culture that is going around in the media and elsewhere. Everyone is entitled to their perfect house, car, and job, no effort required ... HA.
Entitlement is probably one of the biggest problems attitude-wise with people. I've seen it time and time again and it just makes you miserable. People destroy themselves trying to "keep up with the Jones'" and it is one of the reasons why the economy is and has tanked.
Somewhat related, I did manage to finish the other two dollar bill on my Vanitas. I'll probably have to glaze over it to tone down the color a bit, but it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. Now I just have the horseshoe to do and I'm done with it. Awesome. Then I can finish my self-portrait and maybe get to that optional fifth painting.
So while I'm painting a guy wanders in. He didn't notice me at first and when I said "good morning" I think I startled him a little bit. We started chatting a bit and talked about art and such. Apparently he was "bored" with one of his classes and took the habit of vanishing and wandering the hallways and rooms of the art school during this period.
I asked him what class he was supposed to be listening to (I assumed it was Art History or something, which also goes on in the building), he replied that he wasn't missing a lecture, but it was a digital printmaking class or something of that sort. From the sounds of it the class is about converting digitally created images to traditional printmaking media. Pretty cool if you ask me, but he expressed some recalcitrance and I queried further, wondering if perhaps the material was just a bit bland and not challenging or perhaps the instructor bad.
No, that wasn't the case, Printmaking was just "difficult" and he hated the work he did in it because he never had any good ideas to go with whatever project.
Being me, I asked if he sketched much outside of class. He said no. I exclaimed "there's your problem!" If you don't develop ideas outside of class, how can you expect to have good ones in class? He noted that he has a hard time getting motivated or being "in the mood" to draw when he doesn't have a deadline to push for. I repeated one of my favorite mantras "you can't improve if you don't do it" both in respects to his drawing and to the class he was avoiding. I also noted that sometimes you just have to slog through and do the mechanical process before the muse actually fires up and does something. You'll never produce anything if you never draw. Can't expect everything to work properly if it sits on the shelf for months or even just weeks on end.
The guy remarked that he had been a bit depressed about his art recently and some of his work is just ugly and he doesn't want to continue with it. I replied with my firm belief that a lot of drawings go through an ugly stage. Paintings too. And sometimes its those works that seem the most painful to produce that turn out the best, ugly duckling and all.
The more we talked the more I saw the picture of someone who probably wasn't going to make it as an art major unless he had a major change in attitude. His focus was Animation, which means he's shoved underneath the umbrella of "intermedia." He wants to do digital animation, which made sense as I mulled over the conversation since he expressed an intense interest in detail and making things look real. It bothered him if it didn't make the viewer wonder if it was real or not. This is something, I admit, I've "grown out of" to an extent. I know I can do it, but it just doesn't engage me like it used to. Sometimes, sure, I will do things that are superbly realistic, but really ... it just doesn't engage me like it used to, just as the art world as a whole lost interest in it at a certain point. Not that I'm going to run around painting black squares or anything, but there are more important things than making something look like a photo.
I guess my meandering point and the impression that this conversation left on me is one of worry about those coming up behind me. Heck, even those of my generation, I've seen it there too. They want the glory, but not the work. They want things to be easy and immediate and don't take pleasure in the sweat and tears that are sometimes required to produce something, be it a drawing or painting, or anything else for that matter. I see it in some of my students with the horses. They want it to be easy and any challenge placed before them is a frustration and they give up (or want to ... in the case of my students I usually push them through it). I don't know if this is just because a lot of young people have been given life on a platter, or perhaps it is just the general culture that is going around in the media and elsewhere. Everyone is entitled to their perfect house, car, and job, no effort required ... HA.
Entitlement is probably one of the biggest problems attitude-wise with people. I've seen it time and time again and it just makes you miserable. People destroy themselves trying to "keep up with the Jones'" and it is one of the reasons why the economy is and has tanked.
Somewhat related, I did manage to finish the other two dollar bill on my Vanitas. I'll probably have to glaze over it to tone down the color a bit, but it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. Now I just have the horseshoe to do and I'm done with it. Awesome. Then I can finish my self-portrait and maybe get to that optional fifth painting.