Sunday 18 May 2014

Staging the Show

As usual it took far longer than expected to stage the show.  It took me 6 days.

I went a day early, while the show build was taking place, and discovered the magnets I planned to use to suspend my coat from the ceiling were too small!  I checked the order, and discovered I had ordered 10 x 3kg magnets, but 20 x 1kg magnets had been supplied.  The original supplier's website was now stating the 3kg magnets were out of stock, so I ordered a couple of 5kg magnets from a different website.  I was more relieved than upset, as at least I had identified the problem while I still had time to resolve it.

On the first day of staging, I discovered going up and down the ladder aggravated my back, so Jim became chief staging assistant and did this part of it for me.   He was an absolute hero, constantly moving the magnets around the metal suspended ceiling bars, in order for the work to hand just right.   It took me a long time to work out which pieces were best displayed in which position, but once this decision was made, I was able to paint grey panels on the wall, in order for the knitted samples and roller towels to show up clearly.

My Mother's Work - Supportive

My Mother's Work - Cyclical (plus me in my matching dress)

My Mother's Work - Unfinished

My Mother's Work - Unending

Most students were quite well organised and by Thursday a lot of them had completed their staging.  Two textile students had a good extensive display, and were going on holiday for a week on Friday as a reward for their organisation and work.  Others had used washing lines to stage their textile work.  The jewellery/ceramic students had laid their work out beautifully.  The glass student spent all week working and communicating diligently to have false walls built with the assistance of the technicians, then put special strong fixings in, and attached her hand-drawn, slumped panels.  She worked very, very hard and it paid off.

However, on the last day, I found it quite fraught.  One student turned up at 1pm on the 5th day of staging, assuming she would just hang her work and go.  We had been told about a month ago that no drilling into the walls was allowed, which gave me a lot of angst until I realised magnet fixings were actually more flexible for staging, and I did not have to use a drill (drills scare me!).  This student discovered she was not allowed to drill into the walls, complained that she had changed her work in order to hang it this way, blamed the tutors and technicians for the problem, cried, then threw a tantrum and started shouting at Antje for not sorting out the studio!  This deteriorated into a first rate row, where  Antje shouted back and said the final degree show was the students' show, and the student's  responsibility to stage it, and turning up on the last afternoon was not acceptable.  At no point did the student seem to accept any of this was down to her.  I found it all very stressful and removed myself from the arena as soon as I could.

This led to me thinking about self directed learning (again).  As a mature student, I have read the university guide, and made myself aware of the university's self directed learning style.  I have frequently railed against it, and moaned about having to find external classes to investigate things that interest me, …… but I have tried to be a good student, and just got on with it.

What I don't understand is: where is the defining line, for what self directed learning should teach?  If we don't teach the subject, should we teach how to learn?  If so, should we be taught how to communicate, how to analyse, how to conduct ourselves with professionalism by showing the appropriate behaviours.  Or is this also to be worked out for ourselves, just by reading the criteria upon which we are assessed?    Some of the seminars I have attended have been truly painful or pointless, depending on your point of view.  Many students do not contribute at all, and I am  not sure whether this is because they are disinterested and bored; stupid; selfish; not prepared to contribute to other people's learning ….  Others appear unable to answer simple probing questions from the tutor and their standard answer to any question about their work is "I don't know".   Surely students should be given feedback that they are being assessed throughout the course on their ability to communicate, so they know they need to buck their ideas up?  Should we be running flip chart sessions on what students need to consider when staging their work?  Should we clarify what planning and organising skills are required to be a professional artist?  Should there be a flip chart session to identify typical questions to ask when working out what goes well/badly in our work so we can self assess?  Or is this also part of the learning that we are expected to find out ourselves?  Even if it leads to our tutors (unfairly) being on the receiving end of temper tantrums?

Another defining line that I am puzzled by, is what is the role of feedback in self directed learning?  I believe strongly that robust feedback is required at every stage of learning, and thought it essential in self directed learning.  I benefitted hugely from the weekly classroom crits at Curtin, even though I found them stressful, often hurtful, and it made me cry on one occasion.  The hurtful stuff was fair comment (unfortunately!).   And you always had a lot of feedback before assessment.  Yet in the UK, we only receive feedback (brief) after assessment.  So this would seem to indicate that feedback is not a part of self directed learning in the UK.  The more I chew it over, the more I seem to be suited to a taught degree.

Having observed the behaviours of fellow students who conducted themselves well during staging, I wonder whether it is their previous work/life experience that gives them a positive, self-reliant attitude.  Two students have spent time working with a self-employed parent (off licence and garden designer).  Each student communicates clearly and is able to articulate their requirements and expectations (in very different ways).  Neither of them blames the tutors for their own shortcomings.   Each student plans and organises her work, by thinking ahead and identifying material and time requirements.  Have they gained these skills by working in the family business?  I suspect so.


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