Susan Rothenberg, "Galisteo Creek", 1992 via
Joe Fusaro's post about art becoming wallpaper, particularly in the classroom, brought up some interesting points about integrating forms of art in such a way as to enable and encourage discussion. This brought to mind my most memorable moment in the classroom when I was in high school, which occurred when viewing a documentary on Louise Nevelson; it was like a light was turned on, she was eccentric, she was building structures with the help of others, and she fought through the art scene in the 30s and 40s that was primarily considered a 'man's world.'
This visual exchange should take place more often, with spaces within classrooms devoted to multiple types of art practice in an effort to juxtapose the mediums and processes. I think education would change if this were the case, even in the university setting, I can see this being a positive approach to introducing new artists to students and even to faculty. I think the brutal movement in university architecture has finally passed, but as a student I am still subjected to windowless classrooms, white cinderblock hallways and ultimately an anonymous setting in what serves as the 'creative' backdrop to an arts education. I am a firm believer that a thought-provoking environment would better serve the needs of the photography students. Alas, the institution may not be able to 'remove' the buildings, but surely there could be a sort of compromise in which there is more freedom to alter the classroom by posting and sharing imagery and work in allocated spaces. I suppose I was spoiled at Rice.
I also thought it was ironic to see an image of Susan Rothenberg's work at the beginning of the post, as I for some reason respond to her artwork as though it is 'wallpaper'. I simply cannot relate to it, but she has been critically acclaimed since '75, so what do I know?
