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What does it mean to be an artist at a time when the art world is becoming increasingly fragmented and disconnected--when the most highly valued art objects are seemingly the most abstruse, visually vexing, and conceptually difficult, or may not be physical objects at all? How does the art of today connect with the art of the past? These questions and more inform and enliven the pages of Art Schooled.In this fascinating chronicle Larry Witham takes readers inside the history, culture, economics, teaching, technique, and competition of one of the oldest and most prestigious art colleges in the country, the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. With rare, privileged access to the personal and professional lives of students, faculty, administrators, and visiting artists, he shows us how young artists develop their talent and vision, learn the ins and outs of the art world, and come to proudly define themselves as artists, even as theory and technology conspire to declare that art as we once knew it is utterly changed.
E-Book Content
[ Art Sc hooled ]
Art Schooled
[ ] A Year among
Prodigies, Rebels, and Visionaries
at a World-Class Art College
l a r ry w i t h am
university press of new england l e b a n o n, n e w h a m p s h i r e
University Press of New England www.upne.com Text and illustrations © 2012 Larry Witham All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America Designed by Eric M. Brooks Typeset in Fresco Plus Pro by Passumpsic Publishing The illustrations in this book are representative of the events described, and do not represent actual individuals. University Press of New England is a member of the Green Press Initiative. The paper used in this book meets their minimum requirement for recycled paper. For permission to reproduce any of the material in this book, contact Permissions, University Press of New England, One Court Street, Suite 250, Lebanon NH 03766; or visit www.upne.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Witham, Larry, 1952– Art schooled: a year among prodigies, rebels, and visionaries at a world-class art college / Larry Witham.—1st. isbn 978-1-61168-007-2 (cloth: alk. paper)— isbn 978-1-61168-188-8 (ebook) 1. Maryland Institute, College of Art. 2. Art—Study and teaching (Higher)—Maryland—Baltimore—History—21st century. I. Title. n330.b32m379 707.1'17526—dc23 5 4 3 2 1
2012 2011037224
[ co n t e nt S ] introduction Portfolio Day
1
[ part i ] foundation s 1 “Very Gifted People”
13
2 Visiting Artist
31
3 Tattoos and the Foundation Year
49
4 Seeing Red
63
5 Lines and Marks
74
6 Dead Authors Can’t Define Art
91
[ part ii ] art worlds 7 Urban Legends
111
8 Exhibitmania
126
9 Digital Tsunami
140
10 Art Market Monster
156
11 The End of Sculpture (as We Know It)
170
[ part iii ] art and sou l 12 Snowmageddon
189
13 Paint-Spattered Wretch
206
14 Climbing the Glass Cube
223
15 Being in Film
241
16 Education of an Artist
251
17 Art Walk
277
Map of the Maryland Institute College of Art and Its Neighborhood
291
Author’s Note
293
Notes
295
Index
323
[ in t ro d u ct io n ]
port folio d a y
O
n a chilly December afternoon, an annual ritual shared by American art schools begins at the Maryland Institute College of Art, better known as mica. It is Portfolio Day. Students arrive with artwork—drawings, paintings, and photographs—to impress faculty at an art school where they seek admission. On t