7 Days in the Art World-- THE CRIT

QUOTES AND ANECDOTES THAT I ENJOYED/FOUND INTERESTING

• "I [try] to imagine how great artists get made in this airless institutional place."
• "because his works have no title (they are not 'Untitled' but actually have no name whatsoever); they can't be invoked quickly and easily. They demand verbal description... Asher's overall artistic goal has always been... to animate debate."
• "MFA degrees have become the first legitimator in an artist's career"
• "Group critiques offer a unique-- some say 'utopian'-- situation in which everyone focuses on the student's work with a mandate to understand it as deeply as possible."
• "In more senses than one, it costs a lot to be an artist."
• "The work you do as an artist is... like when a two-year-old discovers how to make a tower out of blocks. It is no half-hearted thing. You are materializing-- taking something from the inside and putting it out in to the world so you can be relieved of it."
• On page 49 the author discusses the moment when it becomes clear that Josh, the grad student undergoing crit begins to "unravel". I have endured this painful, empathetic moment many times, mostly as a spectator but occasionally as the artist. Watching in discomfort as the student becomes a target for criticism, and realizes that their idea really isn't working the way they'd hoped. "A high proportion of students are looking at their feet... The room comes to a stand-still. Silence..."
  
• "The most important function of art education is to demystify artists; 'Students need to see that art is made by human beings just like them."
• "There is undue pressure on artists to verbalize. Many believe that artists shouldn't be obliged to explain their work."
• Interesting anecdote: the suburban setting of Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands was inspired by the California neighborhood of Valencia. Didn't know!
• MFA stands for yet another "Mother-Fucking Artist"
• "Criticality is the code word for a model of art-making that foregrounds research and analysis rather than instincts and emotion."
• I think it's really curious how the CalArts students look at the words 'creative', 'beautiful', and 'splendid' as taboo words; disgusting, overused, insincere, "lovey-dovey cliches used by people who are not professionally involved with art".
• "In most crit classes, the prohibition against passing explicit value judgments is absolute, yet people's reactions can be read from their bodies."-- This is definitely true, and is sometimes more damning than actual criticism.
• "To get the most out of your crit... you have to have a mysterious blend of complete commitment to your decisions and total openness to reconsider everything."
• Interesting idea: the artist as cowboy persona, a pioneer in the field of new ideas.
• "Talent is a double-edged sword. What you are given is not really yours. What you work at, what you struggle for, what you have to take command of-- that often makes for very good art."

After reading the chapter, I just can't believe the endurance of the CalArts students, and vast amount of time they spend critiquing the work of only 3 artists. It was exhausting to read, much less sit through for over 12 hours! I admire the commitment, but I have to wonder if I could handle it myself. I like that by the end of the chapter, the author takes a final look at the room and decides that it's gone from being "airless institutional space" to being "complicated and inspired". I think in the last 2 years I feel the same way about the big dirty white walls of the 3rd floor crit rooms in Mason Gross. Very good job capturing the anxious atmosphere of a crit environment.