Is a more 'successful' artist a better arts teacher?

Not everyone can teach, we know that. Being brilliant at a subject does not guarantee brilliant delivery and the facilitation of understanding. However, would a better artist within a discipline be more inspiring than an artistic 'all-rounder'?

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Permalink Reply by Lucy Curle on January 19, 2013 at 11:51am

Hi

I would have thought that for a lot of learners having a 'successful' art teacher could be incredibly inspiring, particularly if that artist shared a discipline with their students. Being 'successful' they might also have a fantastic range of contacts in the art world that could come in to deliver workshops to further inspire students and allow them to develop their skills. However, as some people have suggested it could be problematic if that artist promoted their own particular discipline or style a little too heavily and was more interested in narcissistically cultivating admirers of their own work or disciples rather than encouraging students to develop their own style. There's also the possibility that if a teacher was very successful lit might actually demotivated some students who were perhaps a little unsure of their own abilities as they may be intimidated by the teacher's success. So, double edged sword I think. Perhaps a combination of successful and less successful artists who all have some involvement with all students would be the only way that inclusivity could really be achieved in that respect.

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Permalink Reply by Colin Chaplin on January 20, 2013 at 2:35am

Hi Lucy,

Thank you for your reply. I like your point about a successful artist having other equally qualified contacts to call upon for workshops etc. On another point, artists are notoriously hopeless at self promotion. We find comfort and solace with our work and our practice. The 'brashness' which has to accompany successful self-promotion is left to those in the galleries and agencies who 'look after' us.

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Permalink Reply by Ellie Nelson on January 20, 2013 at 3:42am

Aspirate is a use of breath Colin! Particularly on words that shouldn't contain much like plosive consonants such as B and D hope this helps you to release your inner singer! ;-) x

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Permalink Reply by Colin Chaplin on January 20, 2013 at 3:48am

Thanks Ellie,

My inner singer is a dangerous character, and is best left very closely guarded!!!

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Permalink Reply by Nader A Batayeh on January 24, 2013 at 2:58pm

I dont think so. Art teachers in general dont necessarily have to be successful ( if that means they sold many of their works) in order to be great at instructing others of his/her processes. They must be good communicators, have a passion for what they do and have a plan for their students.

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Permalink Reply by Effie Fotaki on April 13, 2013 at 4:48am

This is an interesting topic, but you need to define what an artistic 'all-rounder' is... It could be a person that has a wide and varied view and notion about arts, which to me translates to art theorists. Otherwise I haven't understood your question well and I am sorry about that. I teach photography in FE and I think there is space for both successful practitioners and art theorists in educating aspiring photographers. I think there should be variety of tutors, who are experts in different disciplines within the subjects taught, in any educational institution so there can be balance in the learning environment.

The risk with only having art theorists in a course is that there can be minimal links with industry and not enough practical guidance on how to survive life after college. As a student, you might get a varied knowledge on a subject and wide exposure to work by interesting artists, which is definitely inspiring but you might not acquire skills that are immediately usable in the market and you will probably need to spend equal amount of time doing that after college.

The disadvantages of having tutors that are experts on one area or another within a discipline means that students could miss out on skills that are not covered by the knowledge-base of the tutors.

This is my take on your question, if I got it wrong, could you please explain what you mean by artistic all rounder and what level of education you are referring to?