The Final Project:

So we discussed the working methods of the Wooster Group and then watched their deconstruction of Stein’s Dr. Faustus. It is usually a few years in between viewings for me and I always forget how weird this performance is. What I like about showing it at this point in the term is that students are ready for that weirdness and see a great deal of what we have been discussing in the performance. So, we had a nice chat about the piece and what they saw in it.

I did cut the conversation short to get them involved in an ideation process leading to the final projects. Bob and I did this last time in the Gen Art class and it seemed to help. Unlike the last time I taught this class, rather than give the students a single text I gave them a box of fragments – quotes from Wittgenstein’s Remarks on Colour, a bit of Heiner Müller’s poetry, a short Adrienne Kennedy monolog, some tarot cards, and a deck of flash cards I found at the dollar store. Basically a collection of raw material out of which to make something.

After the ideation process the last week was devoted to them discussing, rehearsing, planning, etc the final project. As I have in the past, I created specific groups based on the type of work throughout the term. Basically trying to figure out who’s skills or outlook will work well with other, or challenge others, or disrupt others. That kind of thing.

The final projects were really lovely. It is interesting that they took a similar frame to the last time I taught the class – highly interactive and with many indeterminate moving parts. While there is clearly a structure, by this point in the term there are times when the structure is challenged or completely open. As we discover, when you ask people to play sometimes you have no idea what they will do. It is a good way to end the term since there really is no closure for this type of class. 

Having them work with the ideas and material to see what they create is always the fun part. Many often comment that there would have been no way that they could have done this at the start of the term. So it is good to see evolution – or de-evolution – over the thirteen weeks. So, I find the project-based structure developed with Bob to be very sound. I often question it or doubt that we will get to where we are headed, but in the end it always works out. So, as I ask the students, I need to continue to have faith in this structure and what it is designed to do.

Ultimately my goal is to have students see perhaps a different pathway to artmaking, one that leans heavily on theory, concepts, and ideas. I don’t anticipate that all will work this way, but it is an option. Or, it allows them to see a bit more deeply into works that may have seemed haphazard or unstructured. As a form of conclusion I have to say that this was a delightful group of students. Playful, creative, intelligent, willing to dive into the increasingly vague project prompts. I do find this way of teaching somewhat exhausting, but the excitement on project days  is always worth it.