(no subject)
*does a little dance has he makes his first cut* Yeah, stories of me corrupting small children!
That's right, I was given the joy of crushing the dreams of two different high school classes. Upon a visit to one of my old school teachers I was requested to return to make a presentation to them about anthropology and the other fields they could use their art in, of course never mentioning my horrible class career so far and my need to fill out a new petition. (Of course that shouldn't be too hard since I have officially been diagnosed ADHD and have the highest dosage of Strattera that he could give me. Woot!)But I digress. These kids, seniors in the Ap art program were probably not even paying attention. I went over a few things, and the different fields they could incorporate their art into. I mean, lets face it, and art degree isn't the easiest way to get a job. I pulled up one statistic, the fact that while 95% of people that get a law degree get a job directly out of college, only 5% do with an Art Degree. Simple and understandable fact. I wasn't trying to discourage the kids, just let them know the realities and how hard they'll have to work, or at least find a way to mix it with another field appropriately. I remembered hating it when I was coddled in High school, so why should I sugar coat things for them? Their AP students, so I have to assume they are at least reasonably intelligent, at least a 90 IQ or higher. Hehe. Anyway. My old teacher told me that I shouldn't shatter their dreams like that, watching their 17 year old eyes fade from the spotlight of being famous artists. Focusing on that thought alone she skipped over what I had told them that would help them be that 5%, or to help them actually get a career involving art they would enjoy. I mean, out of both classes, only about 5% wanted to get an art degree anyway. And yes, I did ask them all to tell me what they wanted to do. I wasn't really shattering anyone's dreams. And my teacher should have remembered this was how I talked. Anyway, after two class periods of being uncomfortable, and trying to treat the kids like adults instead of continually letting them have the nipple instead of weening them, I felt unfulfilled to say the least. I had pictures, photos, and stories of tribes and their art, and as I knew it would be, little to no care in their eyes. They didn't pay attention. I probably could have walked out there with a dildo strapped to my forehead and have gotten no attention, because I was not one of them, a high schooler. Too young to know what I am doing, and too old to relate to them, I found my presentation a hit and miss. Some people read some of the magazines I brought, but no questions on more of what it was, or what they could do about it. From what my professor has told me, the field is slowly dying, people finding less use for archaeology and what it can do. I suppose I can see why people don't care, but I can't see why they don't find some of this stuff fascinating. I tried to find something pertinent to art, something curious. I actually found something really cool. A tribe in Papua New Guinea called the Sawiyano make these paintings on pulled off pieces of palm bark. The Museum of Anthropology has a whole collection of these called the Sago Spathe Paintings. What makes them most interesting is what they are based off of, probably based off the coolest most fascinating creation myth I have ever heard. Their creator deity, Awoufaise, first brought paintings into being, and then pulled the Sawiyano people out from the paintings. An excellent example of an entire culture based on art. I thought it was one of the coolest things I had ever heard. But no one but my teacher really showed an interest in it. I suppose it just wasn't something high school students would find interesting. *sighs* I suppose it was worth a try. If anyone else actually has an interest in these paintings you can view a lot of them at http://www.umma.lsa.umich.edu/Ethnology/Sago/Sago-exhibit.html
Woot! Cut, cut, cut!
That's right, I was given the joy of crushing the dreams of two different high school classes. Upon a visit to one of my old school teachers I was requested to return to make a presentation to them about anthropology and the other fields they could use their art in, of course never mentioning my horrible class career so far and my need to fill out a new petition. (Of course that shouldn't be too hard since I have officially been diagnosed ADHD and have the highest dosage of Strattera that he could give me. Woot!)But I digress. These kids, seniors in the Ap art program were probably not even paying attention. I went over a few things, and the different fields they could incorporate their art into. I mean, lets face it, and art degree isn't the easiest way to get a job. I pulled up one statistic, the fact that while 95% of people that get a law degree get a job directly out of college, only 5% do with an Art Degree. Simple and understandable fact. I wasn't trying to discourage the kids, just let them know the realities and how hard they'll have to work, or at least find a way to mix it with another field appropriately. I remembered hating it when I was coddled in High school, so why should I sugar coat things for them? Their AP students, so I have to assume they are at least reasonably intelligent, at least a 90 IQ or higher. Hehe. Anyway. My old teacher told me that I shouldn't shatter their dreams like that, watching their 17 year old eyes fade from the spotlight of being famous artists. Focusing on that thought alone she skipped over what I had told them that would help them be that 5%, or to help them actually get a career involving art they would enjoy. I mean, out of both classes, only about 5% wanted to get an art degree anyway. And yes, I did ask them all to tell me what they wanted to do. I wasn't really shattering anyone's dreams. And my teacher should have remembered this was how I talked. Anyway, after two class periods of being uncomfortable, and trying to treat the kids like adults instead of continually letting them have the nipple instead of weening them, I felt unfulfilled to say the least. I had pictures, photos, and stories of tribes and their art, and as I knew it would be, little to no care in their eyes. They didn't pay attention. I probably could have walked out there with a dildo strapped to my forehead and have gotten no attention, because I was not one of them, a high schooler. Too young to know what I am doing, and too old to relate to them, I found my presentation a hit and miss. Some people read some of the magazines I brought, but no questions on more of what it was, or what they could do about it. From what my professor has told me, the field is slowly dying, people finding less use for archaeology and what it can do. I suppose I can see why people don't care, but I can't see why they don't find some of this stuff fascinating. I tried to find something pertinent to art, something curious. I actually found something really cool. A tribe in Papua New Guinea called the Sawiyano make these paintings on pulled off pieces of palm bark. The Museum of Anthropology has a whole collection of these called the Sago Spathe Paintings. What makes them most interesting is what they are based off of, probably based off the coolest most fascinating creation myth I have ever heard. Their creator deity, Awoufaise, first brought paintings into being, and then pulled the Sawiyano people out from the paintings. An excellent example of an entire culture based on art. I thought it was one of the coolest things I had ever heard. But no one but my teacher really showed an interest in it. I suppose it just wasn't something high school students would find interesting. *sighs* I suppose it was worth a try. If anyone else actually has an interest in these paintings you can view a lot of them at http://www.umma.lsa.umich.edu/Ethnology/Sago/Sago-exhibit.html
Woot! Cut, cut, cut!