Volume 62, Issue 11

6

Volume 62 Issue 11

•

FEATURE

•

The USD Vista

A life shaped by art

USD professor Robert Pincus reflects on a career defined by creativity DANIELLE PISCITELLI CONTRIBUTOR Through a long career journey, Robert Pincus has developed a philosophical framework that has inf luenced how he measures success.

“To me, success is writing what you really want to write about,” Pincus said. “And to me, success is — this will sound a little round — but success is also teaching in a classroom ... There’s nothing like having a nice discussion in a classroom.”

Pincus is currently an architecture and art history professor at the University of San Diego. A prolific writer and essayist, he served as an art critic and book editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune and as a critic at the LA Times.

He is also a published author, writing the inf luential book, “On a Scale that Competes With the World: The Art of Edward and Nancy Reddin Kienholz” about the artists Edward and Nancy Reddin Kienholz.

Pincus was born in Fairfield, Connecticut, a lush, green town with a close-knit community and memorable food. His parents would often take him and his older sister down to Westchester, New York, to visit their cousins. He speaks of his early childhood on the East Coast with a fond smile. But when he was seven years old, his family packed up and moved cross-country to Los Angeles. This was a startling experience for him.

Upon arriving, he remembers asking his father why everything was so brown.

After some initial discomfort, California began to grow on him. His home there was filled with plenty of books, as his parents were avid readers and passed their love onto him. His parents would pull books from

the shelves for him to read, his favorite being the sweet poems of “A Child’s Garden of Verses”

by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was from this anthology that his love for poetry stemmed.

His appreciation for literature continued to grow as he entered his rebellious teen years. In high school, he liked to think of himself as a non-conformist, sporting long hair and beaded jewelry. He spent most of his time with outsiders at his high school, forming a sort of intellectual group. That was when he began to read more classic poets and novels, really starting to understand literature on a deeper level. He had a surface-level interest in art, using his parents’ membership at the LA County Museum of Art (LACMA) to attend exhibitions here and there.

“What the heck is that,” Pincus remembered thinking to himself at a cubist exhibition.

However, there was one exhibition at the LACMA he remembers sparking an ember of interest. It was called “Art and Technology.” The display was a landmark exhibition showcasing the works of artists in collaboration with large technology firms to create cutting-edge technological art. Seeing art in such an innovative way caught his attention. He would not forget the “Art and Technology” exhibition in the years to come.

After graduating from high school, Pincus attended the University of California, Irvine. He started off studying as an English major, with some of his classes incorporating art into the curriculum. This was where he was exposed formally to art history. Pincus enjoyed the interdisciplinary aspect of those classes and decided to switch his major to comparative cultures. The program was forward thinking,

The cover of Pincus’ book on the art of Edward and Nancy Kienholz.

Photo of courtesy of Robert Pincus

More than just a professor, Robert Pincus has also worked as an art critic and editor.

Photo courtesy of @rlpincus/Instagram

exploring societal cultures and broadening one’s view of cultures through the lenses of the humanities and social sciences. This was especially progressive in the ‘70s when Pincus was in college. He liked the progressive thinking the program encouraged, particularly since some of his interests lay in activism and civil rights. Unfortunately, the program was disbanded after Pincus graduated.

“I have a bachelor’s degree in something that doesn’t exist,” Pincus said.

Once exposed to art, he wanted to continue pursuing this path.

He graduated college and went to the University of Southern California (USC) to receive his master’s in American studies. He wanted to compare American literature and art.

“I liked the idea of looking at certain periods of history and how writers and artists were sort of doing parallel things,” Pincus explained.

It was in one of his art history classes that his professor encouraged him to write for some art magazines as a side gig. He hesitated applying to the position, but ultimately took his professor’s advice. At the same time, he decided he wanted to pursue his PhD at the University of Southern California in art history and English. While in grad school, he worked as a teacher at USC to help pay for his degree. He also had a side gig writing art reviews for the Los Angeles Times once a week.

“It was kind of

insane,” Pincus said.

Dr. Pincus neared the end of his postgraduate studies and had two career paths: continue to pursue teaching or write as a critic full-time. He was ready to take a teaching position when he received a call from The San Diego Union-Tribune. A friend at the paper had recommended him for the position of fulltime art critic. He went for the interview and took the job. He became a full-time art critic, finished his dissertation and turned it into a book, “On a Scale that Competes With the World: The Art of Edward and Nancy Reddin Kienholz.” Once in a while, he would return to teach a class. “[Life as an art critic] was quite fun, quite interesting,” Pincus said.

He would write two to three stories a week on exhibitions, galleries or museums throughout San Diego for the Friday and Sunday papers.

Most of the time, he covered stories in San Diego but would also travel to Los Angeles and New York for important events.

Working as a critic wasn’t always easy, especially as the media landscape began to change with the rise of the internet. In 2009, The UnionTribune was sold. Nearly half the staff was cut, including Pincus. That was when he returned to teaching fulltime. At the time of the staff cuts at The Union-Tribune, he was already teaching a class at the University of San Diego, which began to offer him more courses during the

year. Now, he teaches two courses: “Writing for Artists” and “History of Art Theory and Criticism,” as well as a lower-division art history course from time to time.

When teaching non-major students, he has one hope.

“When they leave the class, I hope they remember two or three things that they think are memorable — two or three artists maybe, or some readings,” Pincus said.“I just hope it makes people feel more appreciative of art, enjoy it and feel less intimidated by it, because I don’t think art is really that intimidating.

But I do know that a lot of people are intimidated by it.”

The most important thing for Pincus is creating a comfortable environment for his students. He believes that students learn better when they feel relaxed.

In this environment, true success can be found.

“I don’t believe a punitive approach to teaching or scaring students or leaving them in the dark works well.”

Pincus said. “I think you have to set an atmosphere making it comfortable for them, and treat them with respect and kindness, then that makes the best learning atmosphere.”

This is similar to Pincus’ approach to being successful as a critic. As long as he maintains the respect and integrity of his peers and students, Pincus believes he is successful. Over the course of career, Pincus has found what he wants to write about, and to him that is success.