What I learned over the summer

I have wanted to write about this for a long time. I haven't taught for a few years, so hopefully I am not full of rage anymore. I am emailing this to all my former peers because I want them to know how I feel and that others feel this way. I must acknowledge there are some wonderful people I've met in academia that fell between the cracks and probably making this awkward is that some of them are my friends. Nonetheless.... The ideas being taught in art schools, private liberal arts and state schools are largely irrelevant outside of the institution and one is looked down upon if they reject many of those ideas. I feel bad for the students for they are being taught by people who generally don't value craft, so the students don't have well crafted work, so they fail as artists largely because they don't have strong foundations. Foundations usually not even taught by the professors. Not that it makes a difference but everywhere I taught the adjuncts and part time people were better teachers than the professors. It was so frustrating to have taught, and to have been good at it, and not have any power or control to correct the problem. I also have found that most students complained and where more than happy when they were actually taught some technique. I have talked to many people who went through college with little or no classroom demonstration. There is a large disconnect between working artists and academics. I find my experience repeated again and again in the other artists that I meet, to the extent that I now am embarrassed I ever went to school for art. My experience with the instructors in academia is that they tend to be aloof and come with a large ego that is stroked and maintained by the institution; furthermore without the structure of the university to couch them-there would be no audience for their work. I hated returning from art shows, after winning awards, getting respect from other artists, and having people actually like me and my work, and then come back to school to teach and not have any of it be acknowledged. In fact it was looked down upon, because what I was doing somehow didn't have academic merit. Somehow I got punished because my work is well crafted, smart and relates to people; while most academic work is aloof to the point that it's audience is an esoteric minority. I was made to feel like I wasn't smart or contemporary. Obviously I must not be. How can a real artist possibly function in "the system". Think about that. Most of the artists I meet are happy people, while most academics are in some form of severe frustrations due to their job, or from not being able to relate to people. These people are not self-sustaining artists so please tell me how they are able to teach someone to become one? Their view of art is institutionalized and so are they. There is NO model being taught in school for how to be a self-supporting artist, largely because it is difficult and these people don't know, otherwise they probably would be one themselves. I talked to a jeweler this summer who complained "if you want to be an artist, at least I have a business model I can teach you." I feel there is nothing most of these people can or would do to change the situation. They are getting paid and have that really well earned tenure. It is a twisted kind of artist welfare system, and the cycle repeats. I hope they are embarrassed by it, but I doubt it. The thing to do is demand a different and better education. I would not recommend sending anybody to any institutionalized art education, unless I knew there was a nonconformist amongst the faculty that actually knew what the hell they were doing. Instead I say, do what you love and find people that you think are actually good at it, as opposed to relying on people the institution says are good at it. *FYI the painting I did last week in Lansing, Iowa.

Death's Door

I am done with the shows. Back to work I guess. This was in Door County this summer. I went past here recently and the barn fell over. I was upset when I painted a little study of the place but I didn't feel like that emotion came through as much as I wanted. I just wanted the sun to feel like it was pressing down on the building, like it was stark and sad, but also beautiful in its' last moments. Like looking in the sun, we don't see so much. Turns out I sold the study before I even did the larger one and I worked from a drawing and from memory.

Sorry everyone if I haven't posted, I just haven't had time. You can see my wife in this photo. I will be busy until October don't expect much. Thank you everyone for keeping me so busy.

The time was right

I painted this in April before things leafed out. It was actually the end of April this year. You aren't supposed to park here on the river road but I waited until a sunny Sunday when less cops were around. This barn is on the Mississippi River and at one time the cattle before the dam was built probably were raised on the backwaters and many islands directly across the road.

A couple little ones in Decorah, Iowa

I have been eying these places up for a while. The white barn is on highway 52 in Decorah, and is used as municipal storage. The other is the Winneshiek County Co-op. I think about how so many small co-ops have disappeared because so many small farms have disappeared. I can only complain about things so much and listen to complaining so much. The best thing I can do is just be an example and live responsibly the best I can. Thank you all for allowing me to do this.

New Work

Two new large big paintings of Iowa. I guess if you have read this you can tell I don't like being on a computer, and haven't updated this as often as I should. This is without doubt the worst part of my job. Standing in the rain, mosquitoes, stupid ignorant people at fairs, traffic, freezing my ass off. Nothing compares with the level of anger as when I am stuck inside on a beautiful day and some lame ass computer doesn't want to function properly. How on earth can people due this shit day after day.