Artists who teach

There is, it could be argued, an enormous symbolic capital invested in the belief that it is artistic practice that informs the pedagogy of artists who teach. Despite the apparent tendency for artists to reproduce stylistic character in their students and apprentices, this paper argues that the instructional relations between student and artist teacher are driven by art educational convention rather than the formalised reproduction of their own practical artistic experience.

This paper reports on research undertaken by the writer into the relation between artistic practice and teaching practice. The belief that the sophisticated practice of artists conforms to an integrated and disciplined pattern is challenged. The study is designed to reveal the concealed frames of reference, which motivate the beliefs of two artists and their practice over time. The methodology focuses on a semantic analysis of the texts and contexts, which form a representation of the underlying folk beliefs of the two respondents. The evidence emergent in the investigation suggests that understanding is not transparent in the two artist’s explanation of the works that they make.