Georgina Rutherford
My decision to become a teacher is stemmed from my faith in art. Art is integrated into every facet of modern day life from which children are the foundation. Youth today are bombarded by images and media that make advertisement hard to distinguish from fine art. It is a teacher’s job to clarify truths in a world of exaggerations and half-truths.
My self-portrait speaks of my love for art history as a medium of story telling. The ocean in this work is the most important aspect. I think of water as a symbol for teaching. It is an essence of human life and it surrounds us in a very literal way. The sea here is from a classic Turner painting that depicts water as turbulent and ominous. In water we can float, drown, swim or frolic and I get the same feeling from teaching. It is a job that comes with different results for every child. All the elements of this portrait are working together to build my presence as an art educator.
Brainstorm for Portrait
Posts
As a secondary art teacher, I can appreciate a work of art that seeks to define one's philosophy. Some of the imagery is clear--the Parthenon referencing art history, the water/waves as a symbol for teaching, the lighthouse for guidance. The boat is visually vague, the figures are hovering, not sure why. I see the color sphere as the visual world that we are constantly teaching our students about, helping them understand and access in their own way.
ReplyDeleteI hope that in my relationship with Geo as friend and mentor I will be able to help her clarify her philosophy further.
That is pretty cool Georgina. Did you do paint that?
ReplyDeleteAs your mother I can say I didn't read the lower half of the email. I am sorry. I was just excited by what I thought was a new piece of artwork! It is always interesting to me that you chose to talk about waves since you are the daughter that never comes out of the water. I remember you picking up sand sharks to show them to other people. I don't know anything about symbols being an earth science professor but I do know that water is very important to you.
DeleteI like the water image. It reminds me of body surfing with you in the southern ocean. The image is appropriate -- for some, water, particularly wild ocan currents, can be terrifying. On the other hand, if you have a sense of how the ocean feels and works, this is a familiar and inspirational environment.
ReplyDeleteI can't help bu feel that the self image is a bit stylized here. Surely, you can produce a more authentic self portrait!
I like the Greek influence here -- is this the Parthenon?
(K-12, 11th grade) What strikes me most about the piece is the three figures in the forefront. Something about their three dimensionality and simplicity reminds me of the immense history of teaching. This is also supported by the Parthenon in the background. It speaks of what an ancient art pedagogy is.
ReplyDeleteAs far as technical skill is concerned the images seem...disconnected, but perhaps that is a image you venture to capture. There are many different sectors of self perspective and maybe the piece speaks to the different directions of teaching you want to convey.
As a whole, despite the differences in each image, they do speak together.
--conceptually wonderful, and with practice the technical aspects can be easily worked out
(K-12, 12th grade) The image captures a wide variety of artistic time periods/movements (realism, surrealism, modernsim, etc), which I like. That is what teaching should be about: giving students a well-rounded education that combines things that are abstract with things that are concrete, stuff that's from past and the present.
ReplyDeleteMy only constructive comment is that the image is missing an element from today, 2012. While I recognize the different styles and some of the subjects (the Parthenon), I would also have liked to have seen something that I recognize from my own lifetime to show how, as a teacher, you might connect with students through present day art. Cool image!
(K-12 11th grade) I really like the image of the rough water which means to me that life isn't always easy and has its perils. I also like the two people aimed at the middle person as if they were supporting her. What I most like is the rainbow colored arch over the picture, it makes a nice contrast to the darker colors beneath it. I enjoyed the straight and clear lines a lot. You don't see straight lines in art that often or my teachers at least never really focused on straight lines but I personally appreciate straight lines that form a clear and realistic image of something.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I think th picture was missing was the contrast between the figures and the ambiance but maybe you intended to do it that way.
Great job I like the picture a lot!