The Whole Artist/Whole Student: education of the whole artist, complementary to disciplinary training; educational needs of emerging artists; idea of entrepreneurship in the arts; impact on curriculum and student experience at CFA.
Focus on whole artists/whole student is a unique aspect of CFA; we need to consider how to approach this in a meaningful way. [See also notes above under excellence.]
Whole Artists/Whole Student is part of CFA in the University context (formal ways that the whole student is educated and trained; providing liberal arts, etc.) and the informal context of the academic community (creating chance interactions and connections that contextualize a student artist). Importance of proximity between students and programs; importance of student life in fostering connections.
Role of the university curriculum and CFA School curricula. CFA appropriating the perspectives of “liberal arts” education (e.g. critical thinking, understanding context, etc.) in a fine arts model: “Take the intuitive artist and make them into the thoughtful artist.”
Balance between the needs of the student and the standards/demands of the discipline. How does CFA create successful path along both dimensions?
6 Comments
Jim Petosa posted on January 18, 2011 at 11:32 pm
I wonder if an artist can be both intuitive and thoughtful at the same time. I think she can! In teaching (and in professional practice as well) I have observed that the artist in collaboration tends to lean towards the intuitive or the intellectual. In most cases, my experience has been that the intellectual artist needs to allow his intuition a larger role. And that the intuitive artist often needs to consider the possibilities of her intellect. Hence, the immortal yin and yang is always present trying to seek its balance. But what we can probably agree on effortlessly is the notion that the artist’s ability to contextualize her work will probably make her a better artist. The interpretive artist (which many of our students are) must have the capability of contextualizing from a place other than his own life experience. This is something we do and must do better. So to, the people who use our work to enrich their lives need to be brought to a broader understanding of how the arts can impact them and their lives. So much of our market driven culture is based on immediate gratification based on needs we think we already understand. Art, in such circumstances, becomes predictable, easy, rote, and popular, too! Only by broadening an audience notion of its pleasure…the pleasure of thought, the pleasure of provocation, the plesaure of identificaiton with a life utterly removed from our own, the pleasure of “trying on” new perspectives, values, morals, life stories…then we are approaching the real value of 21st century art. It can’t happen soon enough as we seem to move to new orthodoxies with greater rapidity than we arrive at new notions of unorthodox (and for lack of a better word “liberal” as in “liberal arts”) worldviews.
Jim Petosa posted on January 19, 2011 at 2:46 pm
Thinking further on this topic….an essential one….is the unstated but present notion that disciplinary training is not holistic. I wonder if there may be some truth in that in current/standard practice. I do believe, however, that in many cases (and many that I see in our own School of Theatre) disciplilnary training can be a potent way inside holistic education. When scene analysis is taught in a liberal manner, the world that opens is far from mere technique. I have seen voice and body and acting and directing and textual analysis courses become real rabbit holes into a vast universe that goes inside the individual student artist and also can tranport them to the vastness of the real universe outside of themselves. It is arts education at its best when this happens. Bringing the non CFA student into these experiences can be even more mindblowing because it is often not the norm of their educational experience which may tend to be less holistic then is conventionally believed. I witness classes where our theatre students are participating as curricular aids and I see conventional students slowly move out of the passive habits of their normative classroom in ways that show significant promise, but often reveal that this is more holistic teaching and learning happening in the artistic sphere than may be believed. If this is not the norm it should be and we might articulate it in ways to promote it.
Phyllis Hoffman posted on January 26, 2011 at 10:11 am
I heartily agree with Jim that disciplinary training can be ” a potent way inside holistic education”. Although it frequently isn’t, it should be and I believe that outstanding artists of all media reflect this integration of their art into the totality of their beings. The development of singers, for example, requires the integration of the mind, body, and spirit (emotions)- arguably not this neatly distinct, but at least a basis for the conscious recognition that the voice is part of the whole and thrives to the extent that theses components are healthfully nurtured and exercised. Further, our intensifying commitment to an education that defines our students as members of and beneficiaries of the larger University community informs our mission to provide the opportunities for the development of the whole person and to promote a philosophy of disciplinary training to include holistic values.
lynne allen posted on January 26, 2011 at 10:14 pm
I agree with both Jim and Phyllis and actually think this is the one topic we do extremely well without even thinking. It is like breathing to us in all our disciplines. We are so conscious of the whole person and our sense of community inside CFA, the relationships with faculty and outside exposure to the rest of BU is crucial, that every student gets a real sense of this during their four years.
jfhkeith posted on February 9, 2011 at 9:52 am
I felt that it might be valuable for me to jump in as perhaps a representative from the “student” community as discussion continues to take shape around the issues we’re confronting in this process: even though I am technically a staff member here at BU, I still do consider myself a student in many ways (graduated in 2008 and have been taking classes along the way since coming to BU as an employee). And I am definitely still in a transitional phase with regards to shaping my own career path and continually trying to determine how much of a role the arts will play in my life as I go forward. Thus far, I haven’t been sure if it would be appropriate for me to contribute to this process, since I am so new to CFA. But yesterday’s discussion about defining what art really means in relation to an individual discipline, but also in relation to the student body across the university and the community at large brought up some ideas stemming from my personal experience that I thought could be helpful to share…
I should probably first say that I have a background in all three of the disciplines represented at CFA. They have shaped me since I was a little kid and have continually been a source of great joy in my life, so I have always found ways to keep up with them. But at the same time, all my life I have constantly felt caught between wholeheartedly pursuing the arts and more cautiously choosing a less “risky” field, as I think many students who have interests in multiple disciplines do. In this current economy, students can be fearful about appearing marketable and desperately wanting to find their first job out of college. I know I was! Even though I ultimately went the route of the humanities in terms of what appeared on my diploma (French and Comparative Literature—arguably still not a very “practical” major when you talk about job opportunities!), I feel that the arts opened the doors for connections that enhanced and broadened not only my scholarship, but my personal life in ways that were absolutely invaluable.
BU was one of the schools I was very strongly considering when I was an undergrad. There were a variety of reasons that led me to choose a very different school (Bryn Mawr College in PA), but I do remember at the time (this was 2004 when I was a freshman and even in the past 7 years, I think BU has changed quite a bit) the impression I had was that academics were pretty compartmentalized and that it would have been a difficult process to combine the arts and humanities in some kind of dual degree. So even though it may have been technically possible, at first glance it seemed that there was a fair amount of bureaucracy and red tape at the time that discouraged this. (Even though in the end, I didn’t end up combining my major with an arts discipline!) And yet it’s clear to me that the quality of all three of the schools at CFA is much higher than the patchwork opportunities in the arts that were available to me at a very small, suburban college—but because it was easier for me to “dabble” there, I think in a small way that influenced my choice. It seems like things have already come a long way in making this more possible here at BU through the work of the three schools, and certainly Benjamín’s recent work on several initiatives in this area seems to be underway. But I think it would be fair to say, from having worked in a student services capacity at BU before coming here, that students still run into a fair amount of difficulty in trying to cross-pollinate, so to speak, even though I think the desire is very strong for many students out there.
But certainly I can see the other side of this, which was raised as a concern by some in previous meetings about not wanting to risk diluting the quality of any of the individual programs here at CFA. Especially because the three departments are so strong and designed to be on par with a conservatory style program, it makes sense that they want to attract serious and disciplined students—it could potentially put a strain on resources and time if the schools were stretched too thin trying to serve students who are not necessarily majoring in that discipline. And certainly from a technical standpoint, students who have no background in that area wouldn’t be on the same skill level as their peers who have devoted their whole life to it. So I think striking this balance is very tricky, but as someone who throughout college was constantly seeking out opportunities to take a drawing class or play my instruments or audition for plays, I considered these experiences to be critical for my personal development and my studies. And they are all things I continue to pursue…even though I may not ever go the route of the professional artist, I know I will carry my skills in the arts and my exposure to them with me for the rest of my life and hopefully employ them in whatever my career shapes up to be.
So I suspect that my experience as a liberal arts undergrad might have been very similar to the experience of a lot of current BU students—the ones who are majoring in a humanities or sciences discipline, but who also have a sincere desire to cultivate their artistic talents and are looking for opportunities to do that in a serious way. So of course figuring out a way to serve both the fully committed artists at CFA who want to be professionals in their field, but also continuing the work that I think has already begun to happen in finding paths for people like myself—and even those who are completely new to the arts! I think this will give birth to a new generation of 3-dimensional, creative thinkers, who are more fulfilled and have a broader perspective on the world.
Jim Petosa posted on February 13, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Thanks for these insights, Julia! If you were an undergraduate today with an interest in our School of Theatre, I would STRONGLY recommend you to consider our Theatre Minor. Since we initiated a ‘new’ and inclusive approach to the minor some three years ago, most of those (primarily CAS and COM students) are very much engaged in the society of the School of Theatre. Our faculty have developed a real sense of concern for these students. Our SOT students have incorporated them into the “family” as well. A new benchmark has been reached this year as one of our minors will actually be participating in our Senior Showcase in NYC as part of InCite Arts Festival! We now have a policy that allows theatre minors to audition for a place in the showcase if they so wish!
All best,
Jim