tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10774137.post116235512479281518..comments2024-03-14T17:27:00.740-04:00Comments on PAT's ART JOURNAL: Art Quilt ReviewsPat Dolanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11724006295082940515noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10774137.post-1162690900273363642006-11-04T20:41:00.000-05:002006-11-04T20:41:00.000-05:00Pat, you write about the girls you taught in St. P...Pat, you write about the girls you taught in St. Paul; their response to art and their creativity. Yes, I concur that art or writing, another healing art, can make students "come alive."<BR/><BR/>Some of the students who share my classroom space at Hudson County Community College in urban Jersey City certainly may be tagged "troubled." Their essays tell the story of lock-ups, early fatherhood at age 18, nights on the street, early pregnancies and leaving a respected, secure lifestyle in another country to come to America and "find the dream." Sometimes, their writing is piercingly beautiful, sometimes their writing is starkly horrific. This semester, many have found a voice, and even though it is a college course, many have told their stories and shared them with me, on paper; and at times, out loud in our "literature circles."<BR/><BR/>Hudson has a "fine arts" program. Some of the student work is absolutely haunting. <BR/><BR/>Some of these students are self-described as "hungry" for the arts, "hungry" to learn. If they would have had the opportunity to see the GCU show,I doubt that the pegboard would even be noticed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10774137.post-1162682490951116112006-11-04T18:21:00.000-05:002006-11-04T18:21:00.000-05:00Ah, Girlfriend, beautifully said! I guess I hadn't...Ah, Girlfriend, beautifully said! I guess I hadn't even thought about it in quite that way, but you are absolutely on-target. We have known and loved each other just short of a half a century - and we've always been following a different drummer than the majority follows. We tend to think of the so-called "underdog" as equals to ourselves and so we invite ourselves into an arena where we become the odd ones out.<BR/><BR/>I'm not so sure that we select conflict, per se. Rather, we see the universality and connectivity of all life - and refuse to draw lines where none should be drawn.<BR/><BR/>One of the thoughts I had about the artists who refuse to hang their work on pegboard is that they might then have to refuse to show their work in the inner city, the impoverished areas, the farming communities - for fear of being thought unprofessional by the “professionals.” How absurd that is. Real professionals are unafraid of doing precisely that!<BR/><BR/>I'd love to be able to bring my work and enthusiasm to those students with few opportunities to see and/or work with fabric to create art. When I taught at the Good Shepherd Home in St. Paul all those many years ago, I watched those troubled girls come alive with examples of and lessons in creative stitchery. Their creativity and completed projects were amazing to me, and even more amazing to the girls themselves, all of whom had extremely low self-esteem. These were tough street girls, all of whom were in trouble with the law. They blossomed that semester – and then I had to leave…<BR/><BR/>Art is educational as well as political and personal. Art should never be denied anyone. Yes, respect should be taken with regard to showing our art, with that I agree. But arrangements can always be made to accommodate the safety and security of the art while in any environment.<BR/><BR/>Just my opinion, of course. A strong opinion, to be sure!Pat Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11724006295082940515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10774137.post-1162672431495774872006-11-04T15:33:00.000-05:002006-11-04T15:33:00.000-05:00Let me think....art is political.Life is political...Let me think....art is political.<BR/>Life is political.<BR/>therefore, either art and life are controled by the ruling political climate...or they conflict.<BR/>How many years, Pat, have we, together, been on the side of conflict....<BR/>result?<BR/>.......a half century of growth.bopeephttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02025388577332307210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10774137.post-1162581626528731612006-11-03T14:20:00.000-05:002006-11-03T14:20:00.000-05:00Karoda, I think that you've quickly come to the he...Karoda, I think that you've quickly come to the heart of it all: <BR/>How and why does/can critiquing impact an individual artists' work?<BR/>Who is the one critiquing? - this relates to the personal/political aspect.<BR/><BR/>Yes, critiquing is very personal in many ways: levels of knowledge, understanding, education and/or formal art training, ways of presentation of comments, and certainly personal opinions and preference. <BR/><BR/>Whether it is seen as personal or political is another subject for debate altogether. In this particular critique session with its ongoing comments, much of it is about ideology and goals. Some folks have chosen to take the prestigious gallery approaches to their careers while others of us have varying degrees of passion for exhibition and sale of our work. <BR/><BR/>Therefore, there is no right and wrong - no point in taking sides on the issue. We can learn what we can from such discussions, but you are absolutely right in saying it is up to the artist to control how, why, and where they select to show their work.<BR/><BR/>Thank you for your clarity!Pat Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11724006295082940515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10774137.post-1162581399870721502006-11-03T14:16:00.000-05:002006-11-03T14:16:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Pat Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11724006295082940515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10774137.post-1162409486382260822006-11-01T14:31:00.000-05:002006-11-01T14:31:00.000-05:00I found the review interesting and helpful and tho...I found the review interesting and helpful and thought provoking and have re-read several times hoping that I'd come to an understanding of the whining point of art quilters/quilts not being accepted into some holy "art world". I really want to get it and understand how this debate impacts on my own work but at some point I just dismiss it as someone else's personal journey of being.<BR/><BR/>What I get the most which reinterates my experiences as a poet, is the artist must control how and where and why they select to show their work...the personal is political and vice versa.Karodahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12659789966973636488noreply@blogger.com