From: Jack Fulton (jfulton@itsa.ucsf.edu)
Date: 08/21/02-10:43:42 AM Z
What Judy writes is quite subjectively true and honest and based upon many
years (oh, come on, not 100) of experience. Yet, all of us, hold such
subjective truths. Perhaps it might be wise to learn to be a lawyer but my
"hope" has been for there to be four "R's": Readin, wRitin, aRithmetic and
aRt. If Art were as seriously taught as fundamental to what it is to be
sentient being, I truly believe we'd ALL be better off for it. So, screw
those lawyers.
Maybe it is the way I was brought up, perhaps the country environment I
grew up in (Marin County . . now very elite and sub-urban(e) ). It might
have been my teachers in high school, who were fantastic, or the
equivalently interesting folks I went through school with. Perhaps it was
the period of Beatniks (seeing Ginsberg getting arrest . . and Lenny Bruce
too .. for saying 'fuck' in public), or Eric Hoffer, or being a hippie or UC
Berkely's Free Speech or, or KennedyKingXKenddedy assasinations, the VN war
. . who the .... knows. But, to be understanding and liberal and as one ages
to know we all basically experience the same stuff but react differently has
made me one of those teachers who crit with positive notions and
semi-critical words at times. I am more interested in how each individual
sees life as it is experienced and how manifestations of what they thik are
presented. I wish to encourage them to pursue the field of Art because I
wholly believe it is the only thing in this world that is worth a shit. The
rest of it is commerce . . well, I don't mean to toss out family nor love
nor love of Nature . . but, they inform the Art.
And, Judy, I know how you are about those nudes and Ed etc. and there has,
indeed been history prior about all that . . it was that I feel Ed's work
can be seen in the light of objectivity. He was interesting to me for his
subjective objectivity. Or, is that objective subjectivity? Photography is
good at that if one has no fear to practice and don't hide that under the
guise or mire of pretension.
These conversations are good for this list . . some ultimately become
tired of it because they wish the super tech tricky truths of alternative
methodology . . but to me a good round about wandering conversation amongst
us all is one healthy jolt for the mind and aids the search for the how and
the why in alternative methodology.
Jack Fulton
> I think one question we could do a little more on is just what IS the role
> of the teacher. For instance, every year our schools turn out more MFAs
> than there were artists in all of Renaissance Italy. Maybe if they
> discourage a few from going on, they're doing the art ecology a favor.
> Not to mention that if the student is so easily led and discouraged, they
> don't perhaps have what it takes to survive (let alone succeed) in an
> artworld that is grueling, corrupt, thankless and totally narcissistic.
> The only crueler profession I'd say is dancer -- there, besides the
> competition, is the fact that the dancer is *old* at 30.
>
> I myself went to the best schools, or considered so, and then to graduate
> school. In all of it I only had one teacher who encouraged, let alone
> inspired me. As an undergraduate 100 years ago (at Cooper Union), I was
> beaten up & down by teachers who mocked me and made constant cutting
> remarks... nothing I could do was praised beyond "this looks like you
> knocked it off before breakfast." (Honest, word for word -- and clearly it
> still stings.) The worst was in advertising design and another in
> illustration. I went on as an illustrator to be in every commercial annual
> that existed... Illustrators, Art Directors, Graphis, etc.... At the time
> the thought occurred to me that they felt some competitiveness... It
> seemed awfully far-fetched, but it did help salve the wounds.
>
> But again, when the children of friends or the friends of my children
> asked me "should I be an artist," my answer was always, if you can ask
> that question the answer is "no." If you feel you can live a fulfilled
> life doing something else, for gods sake run for the exit. (I gave the
> same answer when the students the age of my children at grad school asked
> if they should have children.)
>
> So whatever their unconscious or even conscious motives, these "that's
> been done" teachers may be doing the right thing. Whoever is so easily
> demoralized by lack of strokes, is better off at law school.
>
> A couple of other comments:
>
> Perhaps my most talented and successful student ever, says blithely that
> as far as she's concerned, if she hasn't done it, it hasn't been done. Jon
> says that too... And what anyway is "been done" ? The subject? The
> human body has been done. Are we to cross that off? We haven't done THESE
> human bodies. I was told "street photography has been done." Not these
> streets NOW. And Jack, Edward Weston did NOT invent the naked lady, or
> prefigure ANYTHING along those lines. Take a look at Frizot -- or any
> history of the nude. You'll find far better by Anonymous. One difference
> of course was that those were frankly erotic -- a refreshing honesty,
> instead of artsy farce.
>
> Finally in grad school I had one inspiring teacher... he did a lot of
> blather, but about 15% was pure gold... which lasts a lifetime without
> tarnishing. His comment/question to the class was to avoid photographing
> something because it looks lke a "photograph"... That's like what Diana
> says about pre-validation.
>
> But Shannon, & company, I sense with all due respect for the brain death
> of these so-called teachers, and the idiocy of insisting students do
> something "new" whether or not it has been done --- photography of the
> self, with cellophane or without, with raimant or without, seems to be
> turning into a an attempt at therapy. Watch it. Photography is not
> psychotherapy, group therapy, or whine patrol made visible. It's a visual
> art form.
>
> But I don't need to wait for answers about the class mix. And the number
> of female professors.
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