STUDIO ADVISOR REPORT - (& reply)

Linda Mary Montano – Studio Advisor report for Fall Semester

CLAIRE is the quintessential believer in a student-teacher relationship. When we met in berlin we discussed BEING+DOING.  And how being was Claires new path and way to bring art=life into better balance. We talked about community and fitting in and how sometimes the work is a barrier and a way to keep out the viewer so a strategy to heal that was generating self love as art.I ws more than surprised to receive many,many many and even more than many studies from Claires photo and video experiments which did not quite gel with our Berlin conversation but believe me it made me think a lot about  HOW TO USE THE TEACHER AND HOW THE TEACHER CAN GUIDE THE STUDENT.. Claire is a practiced artist since childhood and  is butting up against an inner belief that she is "lazy" and she knows that this is her belief so she has sent and done countless studies. She is verging on getting to a wonderfullness in her work having done so much/ I have totally enjoyed participating in her wonderful process. And she has taught me  HOW TO BE A STUDENT. I am grateful to her.

Reply:

Ah … this is really very interesting Linda, that you have picked up on this emphasis on BEING A STUDENT ……. Because this is my chosen role this year!

Last year, I began to develop a pedagogy – a teaching method – for performance art.

& This year – my mode of operation has been to BECOME MY OWN STUDENT – to use my own pedagogy in my practice & to see what I learn & discover.

In order to begin this process I had to strip away everything – to address the Raw Material of the Self as my medium from which to create art.

You saw some of my previous work before starting the MFA with Transart … it was all about soooo much STUFF ……. Theatrical props & costumes & big installations & many collaborators with live music & video projections etc etc etc ….

So then I stripped everything away except for the Self.

What can I do with just my body & psyche?

I started to develop my pedagogy – my teaching method – based on this concept.

Then I wanted an interaction … the Raw Materials of the Self – plus the Raw Materials of the environment around me.

You have seen my many many experiments with this …

It is what I had planned to do.

The intentions I expressed to you about the project when we talked in Berlin were very much about BEING – being present in / with the Self, the body … in / with nature & the environment … in life & in art.

& This is what I have been doing …………. It has just somehow all become so much “busier” than I imagined!!!

But yes … I am being a student – because I am creating a teaching method … so I must learn it as a student – I am my own student & I am also your student.

In Art & Life

- thank you Linda!

C*

Other thoughts .......

I am maybe a little surprised that the way I am approaching the work seems so incongruous to Linda with what we had discussed in Berlin - as it is pretty much what I had envisioned - at least content-wise.
... Also - it is interesting about the role of "STUDENT" - as it is only from this position that I can give someone else the right to tell me what to do with my work - it is the only context in which that is acceptable to me.