I go to an Arts school. A school for the fine and performing arts. I must say I enjoy it quite a bit. I like not having massive 3.2 million people lectures. I like having my general education classes tie (somewhat loosely) to my major. I like having faculty that works in my field as well as teaches, which means I know they're not sugar coating anything. But, I have to admit, there is something quite odd about the entire concept of an arts school, especially when it comes to the fine arts.
Now, behind the scene's stuff, like fashion design, radio/DJing and backstage work are all easily taught. I'm not saying they're easy skills, but they can be taught the way any other trade or job can be taught. Acting presents some difficulty, as there is an intangibility to it. You can teach someone lines, how to say them, where to move onstage... but unless they have that talent, that ability to embody a role, they really can't act. It is a talent that can't be taught. I should say that those who have that ability and simply need work with it can work on it, even someone who's never acted before, should they possess the necessary talent, can be worked with to be better... but there is an intangible something that all actors have that some people just don't.
This intangible concept is even more present in things like Art, Dance or Poetry (Yes, there is poetry majoring here). It's like... how are you really supposed to teach this? you can teach it's history, it's methods, but in the end either a person has the talent or they don't. Simple and plain. I wish that these could be "Yay! everyone can do it!"-type arts but they're not. Especially when it comes to poetry or painting. There is a creativity required that alot of people don't have, not to say the average person can't understand or love art, simply that they cannot create it.
Maybe it's this notion that makes art students such snobs... I really couldn't say. I mean, the entire snob things is a rant I'll save for another day, but I guess... I guess the entire concept of an art school can be confusing at times, and it's simply an interesting thing to examine, as to how much of the arts can actually be taught.
Until we meet again,
Timothy of Briton
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5 comments:
Teaching them this stuff though, is a technique used in order to bring out their inner talent.
the only thing that really sucks about our part of the program is that there's no audition process
(i mean, it's in my favor, and not for self-deprecating reasons...)
therefore, people who are less than talented or want to do this for the wrong reasons are in the classes.
teachers know they can't teach the kid how to act, they just give him feedback.
all in all the worst part is that there's no bar in the first place, and no one here can or will kick a person out if they're lacking, nor--the biggest thing i've got with this--tell the person in question to just give up because they have no talent for this.
i know when we go through the years in this program, people disappear... but still, from what i see now...
Art school students are typically snobs or dillusional about their talent (or both) because they have parents who say "Oh, darling, it's okay you didn't even get accepted to state college, you're SPECIAL, you're ARTISTIC, here's 30 grand a year for school, and an extra hundred a week for pot."
So these kids, who have never had anyone in their lives with the balls enough to tell them straight, "You just aren't talented enough, please do something constructive instead."
So that's that. Stupid arts school.
i'm going to hunt down my acting teacher at the end of the semester and force her to give me an answer like that.
I agree Lisa, going to do same!!
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