Winter/Spring 2020/Issue Nine
ALUMNI NEWS Maintaining Art Instruction During a Crisis And moving thro’ a mirror clear That hangs before her all the year, Shadows of the world appear...
“…I am half sick of shadows,” said The Lady of Shalott. Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Lady of Shalott
Every day I marvel at how our technology offers us the opportunity to share and communicate effortlessly over great divides, which has become so important in this new world of education that has been thrust upon us during the pandemic. While we contend with these current separations and the need for social distancing, magic mirrors is an apt metaphor for our computers and phones which allow us to observe rooms and environments beyond our reach, and share so much through their lenses. I dreaded the day we sent our students home for this semester and having to tell them that they would have to finish the school year through online learning. I am so thankful that the students got to work with the faculty for half a semester making the transition to finishing online somewhat less awkward. Our School’s intimate numbers and personal connection have always been our strengths, and eliminating those assets has shown the quality and adaptability of our great faculty, who met the challenge deftly and fluidly within the School’s resources for this unpredictable development. That challenge also befell so many students who did not have adequate computing, internet capabilities, or studio space once they returned home. I doubt I will find many arguments that learning or teaching art online is far from ideal, but I know once we are back in the classroom, this spring’s experience will broaden and deepen the level of instruction moving into the future. For those of you who were in my figure drawing classes over the years, you may recall my emphasis that the beyond capturing a likeness, beyond capturing the proportions, beyond capturing the light, the challenge and opportunity to find magic in working from a live model was to capture the presence of the living, breathing, thinking, figure before you, and that transference being an important fundamental lesson for every artist. As we look past the summer, we are preparing for several various scenarios that may shape the fall semester. We hope to have all our students back on the campus, but state guidelines, international travel restrictions, and the ever-present concerns surrounding health and safety, may hamper how that occurs. We are certain that even with the students on campus, social distancing will still need to be practiced and classes will require some element of online learning. It is here that I present an invitation to all our alumni that if there is a way you can help during these times please do not hesitate to contact us. You could contact an old professor and offer to do an online lecture, demonstration, or financial gift that can be targeted to help students in need of technological support will all be appreciated. As we develop our online capacity, as well as in-person classes, it is so important that the School maintains its extraordinary character, quality, and identity, and our alumni are an important component in maintaining that goal. Ken Marchione Interime Dean of the School of Art