Further progress on students' paintings ...

These are the paintings that we've been working on for about two weeks.  You can see some of them are either finished or close to, and some of them are still earlier on in the stages of development.  I encourage my students to not impose an arbitrary deadline on their work.  An imposed fake schedule is something I don't want them to be thinking about.  I submit to them that they should develop the painting based on what it needs, not on some other standard (including, time).  That way, they are focused on what is necessary to developing the image, and become more independent when they are encouraged to make decisions on how the image should be developed, as opposed to having a "schedule" imposed on them.

Beginning and intermediate Photography

When I begin a course in Introduction to Photography, I’m always struck by how little my students understand about film/chemical process photography.  I don’t need to tell readers of this blog that digital photography – and digital images – have become so common-place and accessible, that the term “photographer” has lost meaning and relevance.  So often, students are so used to the ease and the throw-away aspects of shooting digital photography, that they are both mystified and amazed at how different film photography is from their previous experience with digital images. 

I introduce students to photography by using film because I feel it has a uniqueness and richness that digital photography does not have.  Similar to my reaction to pulling a print from an etched copper plate, I still am personally still enthralled when I expose and print contact sheets, expose and make prints from a captured moment in time on a sliver of plastic.  The process is still magical to me, and it also re-enforces and encourages both myself and my students to become more sensitive to the media and to the possibilities of that media.  I have discovered that students who are accustomed to using Photoshop to manipulate images on the computer, become more sensitive to the decisions they are making when making a photographic image – both when shooting and when working in the darkroom.  Plus, I still see that same amazement when they shoot and process their first roll of film, and make a perfect exposed print in the darkroom.  Teaching them to manipulate the camera – simply by using focus, aperture settings and shutter speed – gives them yet another tool to explore their ideas with.  It empowers them with an increased technical knowledge, and access to yet another media. 

I say this not as a rebuttal of those that are photographers that use digital photography – I count myself among them.  I just think that introducing photography in this way to my students opens up new possibilities to them, as well as it gives them a greater understanding of their shared history with photographers from the past 150 years.  I consistently show them works from contemporary photographers (Aperture and Blindspot are common sources), as well as works from books in our library (Edward Weston, Imogen Cunningham, Alfred Stieglitz, Margaret Bourke-White, Jacob Riis, Ben Shahn and countless more) that reinforce the connection between contemporary practices in photography with the history of the medium.

I start out the semester as you might imagine: Basic camera function, film processing methods, basic darkroom techniques (making a contact sheet and basic print from a negative).  But, we then quickly move into gradually more sophisticated directions with the media, such as:

-       How to show movement and sequence.

-       How to become increasingly sensitive to composition and the use of depth of field (how much space, or what object) is in focus to direct the viewer in a very specific manner.

-       The tradition of portraiture and how the portrait can be used as a metaphor or symbol for so many peripheral subjects, or as a way to communicate more introspective or vulnerable aspects of the subject.

-       How to use composite imagery and contrast filters to achieve an image that is both descriptive/naturalistic and abstract in nature.

-       How to use lighting as a tool to illustrate and use mood, space, texture and movement in the image, as well as a way to change the context and to shift the meaning of the subject matter.

-       How to compose the shoot so that darkroom methods (push processing, contrast filters, dodging and burning, cropping) can be used in a very sensitive manner.

-       How to use larger format cameras (Mamiya RB67 and several 4x5 negative cameras) and a portable light meter to become increasingly sensitive to composition, use of depth of field, and richer use and depiction of light to create images with a more cinematic richness and range.

It is invigorating for me to be able to get the students to a point when they are confident with the basic technical aspects of film photography that they become “antsy” about moving to the next project in the class.  This also allows me to have conversations with them about their work, as opposed to me just giving them technical lectures.

Painting class, after one week ...

You can compare the paintings in the previous post to the same ones shown here.  The students are working in an aggressive, confident manner, and on a (mostly) larger scale than before.

Preliminary Drawings, Beginning Stages ...

As I've stated in a previous post, I encourage students to develop preliminary drawings as an integral part of the process of making art.  I tell my students that the drawings should not be treated as second class.  They are as much of a valid artistic statement on their own.  I try to get the students to think beyond the categories of "painting" and "drawing."  Either the drawing/painting works as a dynamic, intriguing image, or it doesn't.  I want student to appreciate that they shouldn't be constrained by the category, or by whatever their expectation is of how the media works.  Even though each student should become sensitive to the inherent qualities of each media, I would like to them to go where their ideas take them, and to control the situation, not be controlled by it.  I constantly encourage my students to work through their problems, and to understand that the history of the development of the image IS the image.  If my students are only interested in the finished "product," than they lose patience with the development, and resort to shortcuts that cause them to lose focus on the essentials, foundations, and structure of the image, based on a true analysis and response that reflects their idea and philosophy.

I want my students to also be  mentally aggressive and focused while they are working.  Much of what I talk about during class goes back to the fundamentals that have been presented in previous classes.  You will notice in the photographs below that the students have become increasingly confident and sophisticated in their approach, and have really applied so much from their studio experience from the last semester. I feel that they have become increasingly sensitive to what I see as the true essentials of the image - a development of the description of space, sensitivity to the proportion and gesture of the figure, use of sections/planes of color to describe form, and a sensitivity to the overall composition.  I often encourage my students to stay focused on what what matters in the image - to not get side tracked by the surface, cursory and random aspects of the image.  The work you see by the students below is the first class session working on these paintings, after completing sketches and more resolved drawings from observation.  You'll notice that the students have the drawings next to them to work from.  I don't want them to copy the drawings - as I have said before, I would like to them to appreciate that the drawings are a valid artistic statement in their own right, and do not "need" to be added to.  I simply submit that the drawings can be another level in the development of the painting, as a part of a body of work, a series of images that are now a fully resolved way of understanding an image.  This suite of images then becomes a richer and more engaged response, one that offers more to the viewer - a more thorough window into how the student/artist is thinking and growing.

Figure Drawing

Drawing the human form seems to consistently be the most challenging subject matter for most students to master.  It seems to me that this is so because of the psychological connection each person brings to an image of another human being.  The depiction of the human form contains the most direct connection that most people will have to an image - another similar "container" staring back at them.  Students put so much stock in how their figure drawings look - usually much more than other subject matter - in ways that seem to suppose that the human figure as subject matter is somehow more valid and special than other subject matter.  They tend to revert back to a juvenile understanding of what to do in a drawing, simply because the human form has such a tendency to be an intimidating subject to address.

At the beginning of a semester of figure drawing class, I try and get student over this barrier by approaching the figure in several ways:

1. As stated in the previous post, I spend the beginning of the semester teaching basic human surface anatomy (most muscles and all bones).  I illustrate and diagram the skeletal system, and each muscle and group of muscles form the inside out.  I emphasize how each grouping reacts (contracts or relaxes) depending on how the body moves, which then illustrates how, on a real body, one does not see everything delineated as in an anatomy diagram, but that one sees hints of what is happening underneath.  Also, this extended period of the study of human anatomy gives each student concrete principles and structures to rely on - in other words, to take some of the mystery out of what really happens when a model is posing in front of them.  I also make sure that each student knows the names of all the parts of the human body that have been presented, so that when they are drawing we can both have a discussion about what part of the drawing is giving them problems - so that we can have a discussion in a specific, scholarly manner.  After the series of lectures on anatomy, I also have the students complete a drawing that combines three drawings layered on top of each other.  First, I have a model pose in a very basic standing or seated pose, and have the students complete a drawing from that model.  Then, using a skeletal model posed in the same manner as the live model, I have students complete a drawing of that skeleton on a sheet of vellum on top of the original drawing.  Finally, I have each student use their notes and diagrams from the previous lectures, as well as the model in front of them, to complete another separate drawing on vellum of the muscles on top of the skeletal drawing. This series of drawings really causes each student to become much more sensitive to how the human form is a unique, integrated series of machine "parts," as well as encouraging in them to become much more focused in their understanding of how each body is an movable, organic thing.

2.  I have the students complete large format drawings that emphasize the geometric structure and general proportions of the human form.  I have them use large sticks of soft charcoal in order to emphasize what they really see (how light and anatomy define what they see), as opposed to a more stylized, generic, juvenile outline of the figure's perimeter.  I have them work large and to push the speed at which they draw, in order to have them to get used to exploring and discovering how the structures integrate with one another, as well as to emphasize both the organic nature of all of the structures of the figure, and how the figure can be approached by reducing those forms into a more rigid structure.  This emphasis on the larger, more generalized forms of the figure also encourages the students to approach their drawings as ways of developing and layering how the figure can be understood, as opposed to thinking only of a finished product that has to "look right".

3. As happens in most figure drawing classes, I also have the students work in a more expressive, gestural manner at the beginning of class.  This encourages each student to become comfortable with exploring, to "find" the figure after searching the surface of the paper using considered, but loose, line.  Working in this manner also encourages each student to become more mentally and observationally aggressive in their approach.  I don't want them to repeat a generic sense of the figure as they are drawing - I want them to respond in a sensitive manner to what they are seeing.  I also press them on how fast they work.  I don't want them to slow down and draw in a manner that is safe for them, simply because the students need to break habits, to push themselves beyond their supposed limited abilities, and to also use their whole mind and body when they are drawing.   Working fast, and on a large format, and  to keep looking and responding to what they see - these all result in more confidence, a heightened sensitivity, and a way in which they become more focused on the essentials of the figure, not the extraneous details.

4.  I then begin a series of drawings with the students that help them depict the figure in a more naturalistic, realistic setting type situation.  I first have them work on a series of drawings that emphasize the awareness of how foreshortening is used to place the figure in a more convincing space, as well as to try and get them to understanding more about the sensitive aspects of how the figure in front of them is posed, as opposed to using their generic understanding of the figure to draw what is front of them.  I have a series of projects that, again, the figure can be understood using different methods - dividing the figure into shapes, using a exploratory schematic of the figure to understand how parts line up, using a careful understanding of the laws of perspective to change proportions and angles of the figure, etc.  I will then construct a space around the figure using some furniture items and easels in order to show how the figure can be fit into a space without even delineating any part of the outline of the figure.  This whole series of projects/assignments encourages each student to approach the figure in a more expansive, integrated manner, as opposed to focusing on unrelated parts.  To me, this is the most difficult series of drawings, but if the students are given enough time over several class sessions to work on each large drawing,  then these become some of the most dynamic drawings of the class.  I often see huge jumps in each students' ability and confidence after completing these drawings, which enables the class to move on to more expressive approaches to the figure.

Drawing during dance rehearsal in the dance studio.

Anatomy lecture.

Painting completed from two self-portrait drawings completed from life.

foreshortened view of model's head/shoulders.

The end of the semester in painting class

The beginning of the semester in painting is devoted to more structured assignments - color mixing, technical training with the media, studio practice, even a lecture on the specific pigments, binders, different oil medium recipes and their properties, and of course, color theory.  The idea is to give each student a visual vocabulary, or, a set of tools, if you will.  My attempt is to take the "mystique" out of painting - to give my students an empowering sense, that they can work through problems and make things happen in a specific manner.  I say to them often that I want to them to MAKE things happen (or, even if they don't have a clear sense of what will work, I encourage them to work through the POSSIBILITIES of what can happen), instead of hoping that they do.  The first assignments are geared towards having an "organized series of states of mind," as Robert Henri says.  I want them to know that the mystique around painting is a ... fraud.  The mystery and wonder should be present in the reading of the image, inevitably, but not in the work that leads up to that moment.  During class, I often present to them a body of images from an artist, so that they realize that the process of working, the mastery of media, drawing, organization, etc. is the secret, that there inevitably is no ONE resolution to the situation, but that it is a growth on the part of the artist, based on a sustained work ethic.  If you get an email from me, you'll see a quote from Chuck Close that states that you should not be waiting for "the clouds to part and for inspiration to come."  He states that "work is your salvation."  The first two assignments are geared towards each student seeing that affect on their own work.   Towards the end of the semester, I can see that mastery and strong sense of where they want to go in each of my students.  For the final assignment, they must first complete a series of three drawings from any subject matter that they can observe, and then to complete a larger format painting using these drawings as their source.  I feel that, again, the working through of problems that the drawing process accomplishes empowers them to be able to manipulate the media so that they can communicate what they want to the viewer.

A student working from three landscape drawings and from the great view through the windows next to her.

A view of the painting studio

Students working on the beginning stages of their final assignment. Note the drawings situated nearby that they are working from.

A student working on the beginning stages of a printing completed by working from a double-portrait drawing completed from life.

A student working from three separate drawings on her final assignment.

Students working on the beginning stages of their final assignment.

The end of the semester in Printmaking.

The end of the fall semester is coming up at end of this week, and as is usual at almost any educational institution, it's been an intense couple of weeks of activity.
At the beginning of the semester, I structure the printmaking class so that first we work with a more direct process - relief/woodblock printing - then moving to a section of the class devoted to intaglio printing.  Both of these sections include several demonstrations on technical and historic aspects of these media.  Each student is required to complete multi-plate or multi-block prints, incorporating the use of color by using layers of transparent and opaque colors from those individual plates or blocks.  AFter printing state proofs of each image with different color schemes, each student is required to print an edition of the one color scheme that is chosen as the best resolution of the image after a group critique.   After completing the relief and intaglio print editions, we then move to stone lithography.  I will complete a separate post on each of these sections of the print classes, but I wanted to show that at the end of the semester each student is allowed to complete their final print edition using any print media (or, combination of any print media) that has been presented in class this semester.  You will notice in the images below that students working in a sophisticated manner, working in all those media.  I'm excited to see the finished print editions, and they are all working hard.

One student completing the first etch of the stone, one student completing her drawing.

A student using a "rainbow roll" of color for the color block for her final woodblock print.

Finishing the drawing on a stone for a lithographic print. 

A student printing the first of two colors for his final stone lithographic print.

Printing the first state of a print after the first line etch is completed.

A student printing the first of three colors for his final intaglio print edition.