Intentionally Unsettled: Customizing Histories, Granting Permission, and Paying Critical Attention in the Age of Distraction

The practice of painting toggles between freedom and discipline, an understanding of history, and the re-working and challenging of established models. The deep dive within the contours of existing practices and the expansion of the definition of what constitutes an act as painting are all fair game for the studio classroom. Arguably, the most vital and enduring models for teaching painting are those that promote an unsettled definition of the field where rigorous and individual responses are fostered, and critical attention, open inquiry, and the customization of histories are central.

In my presentation, I will explore the ways an instructor, curriculum and program can both question and respond to the prevailing conditions that shape our times while also identifying critical outposts that help students move beyond their first response and become students of their own behaviors. Open ended processes, divergent thinking, and the complication and repositioning of past modes of making all play a crucial role in enhancing learner agency and opening up artistic possibilities and critical perspectives.

While the plural practice of painting today seems perfectly mismatched with the characterizations of the field offered by its historical detractors, the future vitality of the discipline may lie in practitioners’ and educators’ ability to foster understandings that neither eliminate the field’s rearview mirror nor get lost in the image projected by others.