Hi Margaret
This is a subject close to my own heart and I'd be
keen to learn what you discover.
My perceptions lead me to believe that there is less
time spent now doing life drawing than when I was a
student 20+ years ago), that this is particularly true
in departments of painting and sculpture, and that
where drawing is compulsory it is quickly "progressed"
to other "more experimental" forms of drawing.
As a foundation student in 1983 (in Scotland) life
drawing was compulsory one day (6 hours) a week for
three twelve week terms. Thereafter (studying
illustration) it was compulsory 2 hours a week for the
next 3 years. Painting and sculpture students would
have more drawing than that.
Now I find myself in the position of teaching. In the
foundation year it seems to me student time has been
eroded, drawing is compulsory but divided into various
areas (design drawing etc) and as a result I think
they spend less time actually, physically drawing from
the model (there are obvious philosophical reasons for
this). Thereafter on the illustration course students
study life drawing for 3/5 hours a week for the next 3
years. Students of painting and sculpture will
typically do far less than this , if any at all.
As I say I would be interested in your findings. My
suspicion would be that life drawing hours have
declined markedly.
I think there is another associated point here which
is that this process has now gone on long enough to
have endangered or in fact lost a kind of lineage of
pedagogic excellence. That is many of the people who
are now being employed to teach life drawing have come
through a system where it was only partially valued
(or not at all) and so find it impossible to pass on
it's deeper values. My contention would be that it is
not enough to put people in a room with a model and
tell them to draw. There has to be an enthusiasm a
(practical) understanding and a motivating impulse
from the institution and tutor otherwise life drawing
can indeed become a stale and "pointless" exercise.
The older art teachers who were thoroughly familiar
with the complexities of life drawing are retiring and
being replaced by younger artists whose enthusiasms
lie elsewhere. Given this situation it is easy to see
how life drawing becomes more and more marginalised
and may be/ will be hard to resurrect.
Alan McGowan
--- Margaret Mayhew <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> I was just going over some old postings on this list
> and thought I'd
> conduct a quick 'straw poll'.
>
> I'm assuming most of the members on this list are
> associated with some form
> of art institution, either as students or staff.
>
> I was wondering how many *hours* of life drawing are
> actually offered per
> week/semester in various institutions?
>
> Is it compulsory/optional (including foundation
> year) and
> has it changed?
> and if so when?
>
> I realise that a lot of this information exists in
> academic calenders but
> I'm more interested in people's perceptions and
> recollections of the
> amount and extent of life drawing within art
> schools.
>
> cheers
>
> Margaret Mayhew
> PhD Candidate
> Department of Gender and Cultural Studies
> University of Sydney, Australia
>
>
>
>
>
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