A Shocking Experience

[Gill]

I don’t know if I should be writing this. I’m still in a state of shock.

As part of my continuing quest to develop my art skills, I applied for a full-time arts foundation course at the local college. Today I went for an interview and found that art isn’t at all about what I thought it was. For instance, it’s not important if you can draw or design original work. The tutor produced portfolios of other students’ work. Most often, they were daubs rather like the finger painting I did when I was 6 years old. However, this counted as art because the students then duplicated the work in different mediums and colours, showing a progressive development. Then I was shown the work of other students who had filled their portfolios with various pictures clipped from magazines or printed off the Internet. The students had then manipulated those images and claimed original ownership. I told the tutor that in my book this was plagiarism and therefore illegal. She responded that so long as the students only used a proportion of the original material, it was legitimate. I disagreed.

The interview was not a pleasant experience. I left with my dignity and integrity intact knowing that I wouldn’t soil my hands with any of their courses. I’m disgusted and still in a state of shock.

Gill

[Steviegwood]

Hi Gill, that is very shocking that they are teaching in this manner. I am glad that you walked away from that with with your integrity intact. That shows excellent character. Thanks for posting this. Steve

[Meiglan]

Hi Gill
I can understand how shocked and disgusted you must be...I wonder however if that is policy only at that particular institution or if that is the current widespread interpretation of the copywrite laws...whichever it might be it must cause worry in the hearts and minds of all the wonderful designers out here..... Jayne

[workin for wood]

I can understand you're point of view, especially being more mature than the typical art student would be, and having been around in places like this, but what you have seen is the real world. You can't go case by case persay, but what you have seen is the basic way that you are taught to create art. The books/portfolios's are the students inspirations of what they hope to one day be. Learning to create art often means studying art that is already created. As you were showing me, an old grid design where a man is drawing a lady..well that is used in all beginner drawing and painting classes to this very day, although they don't use a grid like a window, but rather place a grid over an exsisting drawing and then draw it onto a grid paper. Sure, technically that is not their own creation, but on the other hand, it is...if you see what I mean. I started my intarsia's the same way...I duplicated other art, then slowly learned the processes involved not only in the intarsia, but in the drawing aspect as well. Now, after a few years, I can sit down and draw a face free-hand, with no pictures what so ever to go buy...it's just simple evolution. I call those pieces my creations, but I do refer to the creation being a copy off someone elses creation at the same time. I think most of the students understand this as well, and if I was the teacher, I would explain this to them in the begining, but I wouldn't keep drilling that fact into them, because at the same time, I am building up confidence in the students to one day be able to spread their wings a fly like the adult birds do.

And so, in sumation, I say you should go back and take the class. Regardless what you think, and what you know, you will learn something new.

[Gill]

Jeff, you weren't there and you didn't see the portfolios.

Gill

[BobD]

I've got to agree with Gill here; the most appalling thing is that they are not required to give credit to the original artist.

I wouldn't expect a budding artist to know they should give credit if the take one piece of art, modify it a bit, and claim it as their own. If they take several pieces of art, combine them into their own design, they are fine, but one piece modified a bit is an intrepretation, not an original design.

I think it is a good habit to start with...giving credit where credit's due.

I think plagarism is also a good work; it reminds me of the English Composition II class I took in college. I opted to take the "tough" teacher because I wanted to learn. We had to back up our research with a citation, and the teacher actually went and checked our sources to not only make sure we used them in the right context, but also to make sure we were not plagarizing.

I would be a lot more comfortable if the class Gill was looking to take would have taken this approach.

Don't get me wrong; I'm a firm believer that the majority of what we do, artistically, today is based on the work of past masters. But I think we need to define ourselves in the art, and the way we do that is a composition based on our intrepretations and combination of inspiration from MANY artists, not just our intrepretation of one artist.

Bob

[Pop]

Ouch Gill! I guess the interpretation of art is different all around. I went to a local art school (what seems like a million years ago) here in Pennsylvania, who's graduates are pretty well accepted anywhere around the US. At that time it was called The York Academy of Arts... it's now Bradley Academy and has branched out to more modern art forms including the PC. I needed example of every medium I was applying to (i.e. pastels, pen & ink, charcoal and conte' pencil). If I would have had anything like what you described in the beginning post,they would have laughed me out the door. Guess lots of criteria has changed since our youth.

[will8989]

HOORAY FOR YOU GILL FOR STICKING TO YOUR GUNS AND ETHICS!!! If I were a photographer and saw some of my work chopped up and used in ways I had not intended, and without my permission, I would be highly upset. When I do my shows, people say that I am an artist. I inform them I am a SCROLLSAW artist and I just follow the lines on the patterns that people who are much more talented than me draw. I couldn't draw my way out of a paper box if I had to!! CHEERS TO YOU!!

Betty

[Forester21]

I am surprised that Art instructors don't stress the copywrite information more.
I took my 16 yo daughter to the local community college for a class in watercolor. The instructor has the students paint a picture from a photo - no problem there if the student also took the picture (or in our case, the parent). The basis for this is that the teacher can see if the painting looks like the photo when it's done. I can understand this. What I didn't understand was that he said if she didn't have any photos she could search on the internet for something. And many of the pictures being created were done from magazines.
Then there is the computer art - manipulating various photos most of which I am sure were not the students.

I am very proud of my daughter (and not just in her artwork!) - she is hesitant to paint a picture of her cousin because it is from a professionally taken photograph. I will have to try and snap a picture next time we visit her cousin!
Theresa

[miamw]

Gill, I'm so proud of you for having such high standards and adhering to them while seeking out a dream. It must have been so difficult and sad for you to exit the interview knowing how much you prepared for it and looked forward to it to learn that you probably are already more advanced than they would admit they are.

I also agree with Bob how he related learning art to writing. After giving it some thought, he's right on target there. I remember writing papers in school and learning that if you quote someone, you were required to give credit either in a footnote or in a bibliography. Art should be the same way. You can paraphrase someone's thoughts, but you can't paraphrase someone's picture.

Are there other schools you could investigate? If so, then keep looking until you find somewhere you can fulfill your dream.