SMP presentation response

Today I went to some of the Art and Art History department SMP presentations. I was especially interested in April Morgan's art history SMP. She studied the way the curriculum of the AAH department changed over time and how this can be tracked through student work in the teaching collection. I think it's always good to be introspective and I would be interested in knowing more about what she found. I think that changes in society over time can be mapped through art curriculum. There was a time when women weren't allowed to go to art school, and if they wanted to they would have to agree to model for male painters. Art movements have been met with resistance before being accepted into the art world and this is also important to note.

I really agreed with what April said about the importance of merging art studio and art history. I don't think you can call yourself an artist if you don't study art history or if you can't write about art. You have to get into stuff and figure out what you like and what you don't like, and how to discriminate between the two without solely relying on personal aesthetic values. I think it's imperative for artists to be able to articulate with words as well as images and other media.