HELP! Crazy art teacher??

[Forecast]

I'm doing the RISD pre-college summer program now and my Foundations teacher (from Bulgaria, grown up w/the Soviet system) is giving us an assignment to draw HER and her T.A. ten times from memory.

...Is this normal?

She did a few strange things in class last Thursday, like tell us we had to draw a still life for 16 hours but then surprised us by taking it all away in the 8th hour when none of us were finished (didn't explain why, alot of us were angered).

Then she "tested" our visual memory by passing out a page of an advertisement and told us we had 5 seconds to look at it and then draw it from memory (but not while we were looking at it) and she rotated it around the room three times.

Does anyone know what she might be doing? If this is some kind of tactic/training artists have to go through? I'm confused and a little frustrated, especially because I have NO IDEA how to complete her assignment. I hardly remember how the T.A. even looks like!

Help!!!

[sweetoblivion314]

It seems like she is trying to strengthen your skills of drawing from memory, which can be very useful. One of my teachers had us try to redraw poses we already drew from memory and compare them to our originals. John William Waterhouse also practiced extensive memory drawing. He would go to the museum and draw and then when he got home he would draw what he saw at the museum as best he could from memory. Degas and Robert Henri where also big fans of memory training saying, "the most ideal school would be one where the model is in one room and the artist is in another."

Just keep going with what she tells you. I have a feeling you will be able to draw better in the end because she is training your eyes to gather more and more info in shorter amounts of time and to hold onto it longer.

[panchosimpson]

Artists trained in countries that were part of the Eastern bloc often know what they're doing. I wouldn't be surprised if she could draw better than most of the other foundations teachers at RISD. Basically it's because the USSR prevented modernist ideas from destroying the principles of academic training behind the iron curtain, so art over there kept developing in an unbroken chain from the 19th century.

sweetoblivion314 is right, listen to her. If you have no idea how to complete the assignment....well, maybe next time you'll look a little closer right? Just keep at it, I'm sure the doesn't expect you to have dead on likenesses from the get go. But imagine how good you'll get if every time you see something, you analyze it expecting to draw it from memory.

[Forecast]

Does that really work though? Does that mean that I'll be able to remember the faces I see and draw them accurately much later on? It just seems so advanced... it seems too soon for that. A lot of us are REALLY rough in our drawing skills. We're only high school students, most of us can't draw realistically even with a model in front of our faces.

[Noah Bradley]

You're one of the pre-college kids at RISD? You may have seen me around--I'm one of the snoody RISD transfer students. ;)

[panchosimpson]

well, if you do it enough you'll certainly notice improvement in drawing heads from memory, don't expect perfect results in one day, but it'll certainly help.

What I meant about the USSR and modernism (I saw your earlier question) was that the USSR basically preserved the european model of art education i.e. the 19th century art academies, before it all went to hell and people in the west forgot how to draw....hence high school students that can't draw representationally. In the 19th century (and it seems like in present day Russia too) people around age 15 could already draw really well because art education started earlier. Like this guy http://babailov.homestead.com/OldManDrawingAt15.html

What does this mean for you? it means she probably knows what she's talking about. However, if you still have concerns, why don't you just talk it over with her?

[Stoat]

Huh. I went to RISD in the '70s. I can't think of a single one of my teachers I would have trusted to take care of a box turtle. My typography teacher used a projector to shine fonts on a naked lady while she skipped around the room, and had us try to draw her.

I don't want to scare y'all or nothing, but unless things have changed drastically in the last thirty years, you're currently enjoying the world's most expensive pointless hazing ritual.

[Elwell]

I don't want to scare y'all or nothing, but unless things have changed drastically in the last thirty years, you're currently enjoying the world's most expensive pointless hazing ritual.
Fortunately, things have changed a lot in the last thirty years. Not completely, and certainly not everywhere, but when you were going to school was probably the nadir of art education. Which isn't to defend Forecast's teacher, who doesn't sound like somebody I would put in charge of a bunch of high school kids.

[Stoat]

I was talking about where I went to school. And Forecast's experience sure sounds familiar.

Still, they just got a new president. Hold a happy thought.

[Elwell]

Yeah, I know. And I know RISD revels in it's reputation for hazing freshmen (and evidently pre-freshmen as well). But I know a bunch of good people teaching there these days, although none, I might add, in the foundation program.

[Noah Bradley]

I'm in the RISD transfer program right now (which is essentially the foundation's year compressed into 6 weeks) and I can honestly say that the assignments and professors are mostly normal; none of this weirdness y'all talk about. Sure, I did get a creative writing assignment for my drawing class, but I think we're using those later for a drawing assignment. For the most part it's fundamental art techniques; or assignments that are open-ended enough for a personal pursuit of learning.

I love it here, and I'm not even in my (awesome) major yet. :)

[Mirana]

Oh Forecast...I'm sure there are plenty of crazy teachers in your future (good or bad). I can't say I had a single "sane" art teacher in grade school, and some wildly off ones in early college. ;)

I agree that she seems to be teaching you memory tactics. Just remember that a lot of these "gimmicks" and foundations work are largely not about having a gorgeous drawing at the end. If they were, she'd just set you up grid-drawing all day. They're more about training your brain and your hand to think and see like an artist. They'll look like butt for a long while. That's okay. :)

Even if she's a total wacko try to get something out of it and always do your own work on the side.

[Anid Maro]

Even if she's a total wacko try to get something out of it and always do your own work on the side.

Just wanted to restate that line. If I've learned anything from my years of college, it's that. Y'see, professors (or really anyone for that matter) won't hand feed you what you want. Some will give you the tools to find what you want, most will just force feed you what you want, but nobody's gonna directly give you what you want. You'll have to dig for that on your own, and you can always find something of value from every class once you realize this.

Besides, you've gotta take the class anyways, right? Might as well turn it into something positive.

[topaz_girl]

I've had my fair share of crazy teachers.. some good some bad :) All I can say is stick with it and try and see the positives of the situation. You don't have to like the teacher~ but you still can learn from her. Acutally I prefer the crazy ones... they're more interesting ^^

It was a few years ago.. and for my first english class I had with my teacher I really thought I pulled out the short straw. His methods seemed totally absurd to us ~ he loved the sound of his own voice,he gave us short deadlines and loved to test our ablities without a second's notice! But I would have to say he was one of the greatest teachers I know and I learnt a lot from him.

My point is you can learn something from everyone so keep an open mind :).

[ikken]

I don't really get the point of throwing you into abyss of around-soviet art training - it used to be very good, but it has totally nothing to do with your course from the beginning, and I doubt that only an introduction course, lead by classical constructive art teacher could help you with all the program;
From what I know (I'm Russian but never dealt with getting a degree locally - since most of russian art universities these days really have a mediocre reputation; students develop art skills - through five to six years of insane studying, but at the end it comes to perceiving themselves as sophisticated persons-of-art, totally not understanding their place outside of the university, with a huuuuuge self-esteem and a grand degree of snobbery, not to mention that teacher's relationships within unis are hard to call 'healthy'. There're exceptions, but generally schooling goes towards constant pressure and mentor tone of most of the teachers.)
Prolongated still-life sessions are basically a part of any ex-soviet art courses, and they certainly are good - but, once again, is there a place for that kind of training at your program?
Try to discuss that stuff with program heads, sure - maybe the lady really knows her business, especially if you will have her classes later in the program; otherwise, you'll just get a plenty of unnecessary headache.
And besides, don't be afraid to ask questions - ask as more as possible about any aspects of assignments that you don't get; depending on her reaction, you will either get a good solid explanation of the current work, or get that solid cup of stfu - I know about teachers of both types, so try it.

[Forecast]

I'm in the RISD transfer program right now (which is essentially the foundation's year compressed into 6 weeks)

What's your major? I'm in Drawing.

I heard the male art history teacher also has a few screws loose. My foundations teacher is crazy though... can't wait to see what I get for Basic Design! :P

[Forecast]

Which isn't to defend Forecast's teacher, who doesn't sound like somebody I would put in charge of a bunch of high school kids.

Elwell do you really mean that?

Guys, I'm going to try to learn something, but I don't know why she's starting off like this. I don't know why she just can't teach us to measure, see angles, etc. and instead has to use "memory tricks". I'm trying to look up the benefits of visual memory online but... I still don't see a direct connection. Why is memorization necessary?

[eezacque@xs4all.nl]

Help!!!

I think she is testing abilities that may be valuable, but testing without teaching is useless in education. I have lost count of the zillions of teachers that gave me assignments that were sooooo important, without teaching me how to tackle them.

From my limited teaching experience, all I can say is that if a teacher wants to teach you an ability, he or she should teach you, instead of simply testing whether you learnt it. Imagine a swimming teacher who skips the teaching and just kicks you down from the highest diving board, or a martial arts teacher who tries to kill you?

Now it's hard to distill from your story whether there had been any teaching before testing, but personally I believe the skills tested are valuable by itself, and if your teacher doesn't teach you, then you may try to teach yourself to draw from memory.

The 'exercise' of allowing you to draw only for half of the promised time may serve as an eye opener; I believe Nicolaides also mentions it. The underlying notion is that a drawing should be 'complete' at any stage, from gesture to a detailed sketch, as opposed to starting at a single detail, moving on to the next detail, which leaved the work incomplete from start to, almost, the end.

Tackle the whole!

[Mirana]

Why is memorization necessary?

I think you're looking at this in a very linear way and that's what's making it hard to understand. You might think: "Why is memorizing important when I can just LOOK at the object/person/landscape and draw it?" or "I can barely draw things in front of me well, so drawing something I can't see is too advanced!"

The POINT of the method is NOT to make a perfect translation of what you are seeing, but to teach your brain to SEE the object instead of break it down into vague shapes and colors.

When you think of this assignment, what do you remember about your teacher and TA? Hair style? Clothing color? Maybe an oddity like crazy earrings or a patch of stubble? What about drawing yourself? Would you make a good estimation of your looks without a mirror? We tend to simplify things around us and not see the details. It's hard to get someone who's used to this (a beginner) to learn to see those details without some major push. Thus she's trying to get you to analyze these details by trying to recall something you saw in front of you all day--Her. If you can't remember much then you can understand that you didn't really LOOK. This method also prepares you for quickly drawing objects that don't sit still in life. If you learn this, then you'll pick up on things of inspiration around you all the time.

I will say that she should have warned you about the assignment early on so you could be thinking about the situation whilst she and the TA were still around to analyze, but ah well. Perhaps it will keep you on your toes the rest of the time? ;) If you want to put the method to better use, try sketching your classmates during lectures. They won't move as much and you'll learn to memorize things before they change positions.

[Forecast]

Thanks mirana, that makes a lot of sense. Right after she told us the assignment she also mentioned something about how later, we would have to draw cars & people in motion. I guess this is why she wants to teach us this, to grasp a lot of information in a short period of time?
Thanks for the help.

[Flake]

I guess this is why she wants to teach us this, to grasp a lot of information in a short period of time?


To grasp the important information while ignoring the trivia.

/2p worth

[rpace]

Try to compare RISD's official description of what's supposed to happen in the course to what you're doing.

If ALL she's doing are these smart-ass memory tricks and the course is supposed to cover real fundamentals, then I think it'd be time to take it up with the administration.

That being said, memory exercises are important, but I sure as hell wouldn't start there.

~R