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Question:
> Is there a common preconception that students generally
have when they start the course of what they think Fine Art is?
Fine Art Lecturer (FAL):
>> "Yes, massively! A lot of students that come into
this course have been told that because they are very good at drawing
or painting, that essentially they are fine artists. Actually, the
kind of work they may be doing may be more appropriate to illustration
or certain areas of textiles or graphics - or even to do something
else entirely - but they haven't had the opportunity to do that.
And there are some students that are absolutely terrified of Fine
Art because they don't understand what it is at all, but I think
that's probably the same for every subject area and student at Foundation
level. They come in with those same preconceptions of those areas,
which they soon realise were false, but at interview I see an awful
lot of students with loads of oil paintings, or detailed observational
drawings from photographs, saying they're fine artists. But that
is what this course is for; to give them a much broader creative
experience and wider breadth."
Q:
>Is there a definition of Fine Art? Is it possible to define
it."
FAL:
>> "I think it would be extremely difficult to define
it, as any definition I gave, you could argue that it was wrong
or that it wasn't all encompassing. I think it is to do with the
kind of approach to work, approaches to research, materials, and
of conceptual development of ideas and addressing things like meaning.
Visual language and meaning are sort of central core things to do
with fine art, but again that's still loose in once sense because
with the sort of work that students do is so varied that it is quite
difficult to say. I think if you have a course where there is a
particular kind of work that the students do, then there is a problem
really."
Q:
> Even though it's difficult to define in terms of approaches
to work, what would you say to the perception, or indeed accusation,
that whatever fine art is, it's elitist and classed as High Art?
FAL:
>> I would take that on board really, but again I think it's
quite common in all areas that there are these levels and elitist
attitudes and camps. I think its fair to say there in an elitist
view of fine art from both inside and outside the area and that
is part of the problem in a sense in terms of people's perception
of it, but I don't think it's the only approach or perception of
it. If students were actually interested in those debates of "is
fine art elitist?" then I would encourage them to make
work about that and to actually find out about those things, because
it has a lot to do with institutions, rules and games, and they
are really interesting areas to explore. Rather than being rather
intimidated by the idea of elitism and alienation, I would say they
should explore it and make work that addresses those issues."
 24.
Q:
> "Playing devil's advocate, thinking of the classic stereotypical
images of fine art - such as the bowl of fruit still life - what
would you say if a student came to you and basically said that is
what they wanted to do? How would you nurture a student that with
that idea?"
FAL:
>>"Well I would ask them about the starting point which
made them arrive at wanting to do the bowl of fruit. Maybe they're
particularly interested in colour, in light, or in the actual traditions
of painting like the Dutch School who have very specific approaches
to painting, so I would encourage them to look into the history
of those approaches to making that sort of work and to understand
the artists working in that way, and to maybe make some kind of
new comment in some way. That may involve making exact copies of
that type of work and altering them in someway. I would definitely
encourage them to understand why they are interested to work in
that way, and I would do that with every student, no matter what
type of work they wanted to do really."
 25.
Q:
> "How important is originality in art education?"
FAL:
>> At Foundation Level I wouldn't say it is as important as
individual identity, and an individual voice, rather than being
necessarily original. I think it is very difficult to be original
anyway. Obviously it is important in terms of working in the creative
industries, but I think that comes at a higher level than foundation
really. I think foundation, for me, is about students exploring
their own ideas and learning the technical, manipulative and conceptual
skills and to move away from the very literal way they may have
been used to, to more interpretative ways of making things. It's
interesting as it comes right back down to how do you define fine
art, and whether it's about originality of thought or technique.
I think it is important for students to become confident in their
own abilities and understand their individual approaches and what
they do well, rather than having to be original in the grand scheme
of things. Especially at this level."
 26.
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