A little ditty I wrote when teaching drawing classes . . . 
Aye of the Beholder
Teacher mustn’t be too choosy,
Guiding student artists through
Projects in which they redo
The works of masters from Brancusi
to Vermeer or Frankenthaler
Or da Vinci; every student
Has a vision of what’s prudent
And what fails, as artist-scholar;
Though they may have witticisms
And have skill and wisdom plenty
As artistic cognoscenti,
Few have true twin criticisms–
Expectation must diminish,
Open-mindedness then flourish,
So the student brain can nourish
New great art from start to finish;
This is what the child of three meant
When she said no one had told her
That the Eye of the Beholder
Never met complete agreement:
Genius art is the dominion
Of the Artist, true; and yet, it
Is the critics, I regret it,
Who know Genius is opinion.
Art-Colored Glasses 
Like safety, art appreciation is subjective and relative.
One man’s art is another’s trash.
And if you’re looking to get a major art grant, sometimes one man’s trash can become a juror’s Art! Ooh, I *didn’t* say that! ๐
Perfect, having been in many many art classes (as the life drawing model) there is genius indeed and lots of hollow hurtful opinion! good one.. c
I think I spent more time and energy in my beginners’ classes trying to teach them how to productively and thoughtfully *critique* stuff than to actually *make* it. So few people know that Criticism is not inherently a negative activity but can be extremely welcome and fruitful if it offers insight and help!
I can remember when I was in college majoring in art and a professor didn’t like my work. I did live through all of the criticism that semester and I know you can’t have wonderful, wonderful given to you your whole life but beauty or art really is in the eye of the beholder.
And I’ll bet you were tempted to stick something in the beholder’s eye, too, if you’re like me! I do know what you mean. I had a prof who was (I learned later) in the middle of a nasty divorce when I was in his class, and was famous for making everybody cry in critique sessions. I later learned that though he was naturally curmudgeonly, he did respect those who challenged his snarky comments on factual grounds and ‘gave as good as they got’, so I too survived. ๐ Later, he became a colleague when I returned to Alma Mater to teach! Ha. The joke was on him. ๐
Love that!
Genious IS opinion! Hear, hear. And sometimes risk is it’s own reward ๐
Hear, hear back atcha! Everything I’ve ever felt really special about that I achieved came when I did things that were waaaay out of my comfort zone and experience levels.
No doubt your understanding of the otherwise misunderstoods has nurtured more than a few students along the way. Genius.
Would that I were confident I’d had much positive influence on students, but I dare to *hope* that some good came out of my attempts at teaching. ๐
Well said, Kathryn, and budding artists need to hear and learn this. The very nature of any artistic endeavor is to have it accepted and rejected at precisely the same time. Either way, it’s just opinion. I’d be willing to bet you were quite a positive influence on more than a few of your students and you’re remembered warmly because of it.
Teaching is not my particular gift, but given that we all tend to remember extremes more than we do average people, things and events, I try to focus on those stellar students who really put their hearts and backbones into their work and made something of themselves and let the memory of those with whom I felt a profound failure fade away as much as possible. And there *were* (and are) some of my former students of whom I am still as proud as any old mother could be of her kids. ๐
Interesting poem, Kathryn…. Gives us something to think about.
Me, perhaps, most of all–as with many of my poems and even some of my posts, I can also take a rather distinctly different point of view. In this case, it would be equally true to say that I think that criticism is still valid and useful, because we do develop common language and standards and ideas of value over time and while they will continue to evolve, they are fairly stable for long periods. Hence, our holding certain things dear as ‘golden’ or superb or masterful, collectively.
I would like to take your class.
I would like to have had more students who *wanted* to take classes! ๐ Though I will admit that the ones who did always made the difference.
Lovely poem… In the eye of this beholder.. true genius here in both the written word and the art! You’re so clever and talented it is quite something!! You must be the best teacher, I think! xo Smidge
I don’t think teaching is a particular gift of mine–I am far more comfortable with individual tutoring or small, focused groups than with teaching classes. But I do love working with genuine Amateurs in the deepest sense, those who are eager to learn and to practice just for the joy of it and without huge worries or expectations dependent on the outcome. Then everything good that *does* happen is just icing on the cake. ๐
xo!
Wonderful reflection on how art is first and foremost the domain of the artist.
‘Expectation must diminish,
Open-mindedness then flourish,’
Actually this is a good axiom for many things in life. Thank you another thought-provoking and beautifully written piece!
I do think we put too much emphasis on outcomes and not enough on the pleasures and benefits of the processes themselves in life. Being willing to make mistakes and learn and enjoy what happens along the way is so much more rewarding in the long run. ๐
Yes I see what you are getting at and that to a certain extent art appreciation is subjective but would there be anyone for instance who would consider the Mona Lisa or other great works of the old masters not to be a great works of art? I think that the modern embrace of subjectivity allows the artistic community to put forward anything as good art – the old “if the artists says it’s art then it is” argument. By the way my subjective and objective) opinion of your art is that it is great. ๐
Oh, as you can see from my comment to Shimon above (and probably guess from other things I’ve written along the way here), I agree with you as well. It’s generally easier to make a ‘statement’ poem or post with a single point of view, even when I might deviate from it occasionally or fully. In this case, I also think it’s useless to be so wishy-washy as to avoid having *any* standards!! ๐
Dear ki, you’re good, better, best at all your artistic efforts. Here sits a fan aka fanatic of your works…
You always make me feel so happy about what I do, my dear. Your kindness and support make it so very worthwhile! Thank you.
xoxo
This is a fantastic piece, and so true on such a base level for all artists. I love “witticisms” – that got a laugh out of me. ๐ It’s so hard to find people who know how to critique work: most of the time they give it a good, hard look and then go “it’s great, I love it” because they think that’s all they have to say– or all you want to hear. For anybody reading this, it’s not! Artists adore feedback, especially when it helps them grow. (And even if you’re not an artist, that doesn’t mean you have no right to critique a piece of art. You have eyes, after all!)
I discovered way back when I was in high school and tutoring younger students that the best challenge one can offer a student is to teach him or her to consistently revert to being a two-year-old: always be curious, and never stop asking everyone, yourself most of all: *WHY?*. Never stop at ‘I like. I don’t like.’ Moving on to Why can teach you more than almost anything else in the world, and it’s a heck of a lot more fun too! ๐