Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Teaching, A Most Noble Endeavor... or not.
A few months ago, I had considered teaching art on the side, to fill the time when things were slow. So, I told J about it. And she said, well, DON'T do it. Just don't do it. O...K.... and why would that be? She said that people just sign up for "art" lessons so they don't have to buy your work. What??? Yes, apparently, our friend G-- used to offer lessons to these older women and they would just copy what he painted. Well, they didn't copy it. They would just sort of copy it and then he would "fix" it and voila, by the end of several lessons, they would have a genuine G-- painting. They would hang it up in their homes, tell their friends about it being a G-- painting, and probably brag that they paid thousands for it at the gallery. What a load of... All this, just $20 a class!! Personally, I think he even undercharged them for the class, but it was a way to keep himself busy while he was trying to establish himself. See how artists are exploited? There is just no justice. I see all the time posts for the "opportunity to build your portfolio" which should read "artists are saps and should give their work away for nothing."
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If art students are stealing from their teachers it is bad. If they learn from their teachers it is good.
ReplyDeleteI agree theoretically... But teaching is an odd thing. I used to teach more than a decade ago young children and they were amenable, enjoyed art and easy to teach. Then I offered private one on one type lessons with adults and it was a whole other ballpark. It was as if the adult wanted to learn but also didn't want to learn. At the time I thought it strange, as why have that kind of attitude? If one wishes to learn, then learn!!! But there are all sorts of barriers that people create for themselves as they grow older. For instance, one cannot learn unless one admits he does not know something. I think this troubles adults who feel as if they should already know everything. So, maybe I think it's all just a lost cause to teach... If they aren't stealing, then they're fighting tooth and nail against learning something. But, I know, not everyone is like that. It's just that there are so many out there like that.
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