I find all the writings this week to be too idealized. Not everything can have meaning. Maybe it should, but it doesn't. Sometimes exercises are necessary to teach the students certain techniques. "Cool looking" art is sometimes a good thing. A student that was never interested in art may see something she thinks is cool and want to make something like it. That may be the beginning of a career. All meaning isn't necessarily apparent to everyone. Different compositional decisions may be made to give meaning, but what if a student doesn't understand or care to understand that art should be looked at beyond face value. When a student moves past 12th grade and decides to become a fashion designer she can't be worried about meaning in everything she makes. What art career out there really requires meaning in the end product? Few if any.
Young artists should look at art as a way to express themselves, but not be entirely strapped to that belief. Some art is just meant to be pretty. And if you try to sell your work you will come under that realization. I sell my work at a store and I know that what I sell is meant to decorate. To be cheery, bright, aesthetically appealing, and void of meaning.
Is there something wrong with that? Certainly not if you try to sell and certainly not if you're prepared to be a professional artist. Should we allow our students to figure that out?
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