Chapter 2- The Crit

• the description of the classroom reminds me of every classroom I have had crits in. "... a windowless classroom with cement walls in which long-life fluorescent lights cast a gray glow."
• "... situation in which everyone focuses on the student's work with a mandate to understand it as deeply as possible. Crits can also be painful rituals that resemble cross-examinations in which artists are forced to rationalize their work and defend themselves from a flurry of half-baked opinions that leave them feeling torn apart." This is exactly what a crit feels like to me. More than often the second part. I hate getting up there and having to explain my work. I rather just sit and listen to what people actually think because most of my work is created non-objectively. So its hard for me to come up with an explanation other than "it just felt right".
  
• I wish I could bring my pet in with me to my crits. I am sure crits would be a lot better and easier on everyone.
  
• "art students need to understand their motivations deeply, because in grad school it's imperative to discover which parts of their practice are expendable."
• "Then they talk about Asher. 'He certainly gives you enough rope to hang yourself,' says one." This reminds me of one of my painting professors. He always just let you do what you wanted to do. But... when it came to crit... that's when he kicked the chair out from underneath you and told you where you went wrong. Although it was harsh, it the best way to learn when you are a young student and think you know everything.
• "Most teachers believe that creativity is a very personal process that cannot be taught. As a result, students are expected to have it when they arrive..." I think this is very true. However, most students do not know where to pull their creativity from when they are first entering art school. Sometimes they may find something that will intrigue or inspire them for a short period of time, but it will not sustain or drive a respectable body of work. It's like the creativity source of freshman art students is a trend. It comes and goes. It may be cool for a little while, but then you get bored of it.
  
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