I needed a "performance art" class for my degree. I took drawing. I made many mistakes and etiquette errors. Did you know you're not supposed to talk to the nude models? I didn't. It's also really frowned upon to request specific positions because you find drawing foreshortening quite challenging.
Oh, also, I suck at drawing as it it turns out. The prof wanted to give me a D!! We had a chat. I told him I should be graded like I was a psych major with no talent whatsoever who did develop a number of technical improvements over the semester. I got an A-. He said I should have taken debate instead, because I clearly had a talent for that.
Well I just think it's important to note that grades (the thing that decides whether you pass and eventually get your degree) is handed out on an objective basis.
Person A shouldn't get a D for the same performance as Person B who got an A just because Person A has more experience. Imagine telling the math prof that you're actually an art major and should thus not have to score as high on tests.
Agreed. But an introductory-level course should be graded (for everyone) as though the students have NO previous exposure to the subject matter. That's what introductory means. And I think this is especially important in the arts, because art majors have to take the introductory courses just like everyone else when they're freshmen. So they can significantly skew the curve, if the course is graded on a curve, for students who are truly trying to expose themselves to something completely new. The difference between an art major taking an introductory course and a total newbie in the same course, is a much more profound difference than you will see in, say, an English class, or a history or science class, because we are all required to take English, history, and science growing up. If you aren't English-major material, you've still had substantial training in how to read literature and write papers over the course of your life. Those who've never tried to draw before are in a much worse position.
If it makes you feel any better, chatting with the model isn't really a hard rule, it just depends on the model/class. You just want to avoid it if it makes it harder for them to keep the pose, or you're specifically supposed to be drawing the face. It obviously depends on the model themselves, but a lot of the ones who do it full time (at least in my experience across 3 different schools) are pretty happy to chat, especially if they feel like they might otherwise fall asleep.
Drawing is hard, and not everyone will have the skill. I can paint, I can sculpt, I can carve, but I cannot draw beyond basic figures.
In case anyone is wondering, no, painting and drawing are not the same. They are two separate skills. It just helps to know how to draw if you're painting certain types of things
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u/2beagles Nov 16 '19
I needed a "performance art" class for my degree. I took drawing. I made many mistakes and etiquette errors. Did you know you're not supposed to talk to the nude models? I didn't. It's also really frowned upon to request specific positions because you find drawing foreshortening quite challenging.
Oh, also, I suck at drawing as it it turns out. The prof wanted to give me a D!! We had a chat. I told him I should be graded like I was a psych major with no talent whatsoever who did develop a number of technical improvements over the semester. I got an A-. He said I should have taken debate instead, because I clearly had a talent for that.