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| Mockery: the best way to open up the arts | Mockery: the best way to open up the arts |
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| One of the first things you learn when you study art is that there is “good art” and “bad art”. “Good art” will get you an A-grade if you copy it meticulously as part of your art class, while “bad art” will not. The people who decide the difference between these two types of art are generally long dead men in books and, if you’re especially unlucky, your teachers. | One of the first things you learn when you study art is that there is “good art” and “bad art”. “Good art” will get you an A-grade if you copy it meticulously as part of your art class, while “bad art” will not. The people who decide the difference between these two types of art are generally long dead men in books and, if you’re especially unlucky, your teachers. |
| You learn that there’s a canon (although you probably won’t call it that) of good art that you’re not really meant to criticise, even if you privately think it is rubbish (unless it’s contemporary art, in which case feel free to dump as much disdain on it as you like – there’s a braying chorus to back you up). This way of teaching is intimidating, and boring, and does nothing to inspire young people, many of whom have had very little contact with the arts. | You learn that there’s a canon (although you probably won’t call it that) of good art that you’re not really meant to criticise, even if you privately think it is rubbish (unless it’s contemporary art, in which case feel free to dump as much disdain on it as you like – there’s a braying chorus to back you up). This way of teaching is intimidating, and boring, and does nothing to inspire young people, many of whom have had very little contact with the arts. |
| The government’s pushing of the English baccalaureate – which has no creative component at all – in schools has seen a narrowing of our arts curriculum. There has been a sharp drop in students taking arts-based GCSEs, and in arts teachers; and it appears that low-income students taking arts subjects at degree level are very much in the minority. In other words, we have an arts divide. | The government’s pushing of the English baccalaureate – which has no creative component at all – in schools has seen a narrowing of our arts curriculum. There has been a sharp drop in students taking arts-based GCSEs, and in arts teachers; and it appears that low-income students taking arts subjects at degree level are very much in the minority. In other words, we have an arts divide. |
| The Warwick commission report, released last year, found that the best-educated and least ethnically diverse 8% of society make up a third of gallery visitors, and “higher” social groups account for 87% of all museum visits. Yet in this climate of rampant social inequality, there have been suggestions that museums reintroduce entrance fees – despite the fact that studying creative subjects has a positive impact on student attainment across the board, including maths and literacy. Students from low-income families who take part in arts activities in school are three times more likely to get a degree. | The Warwick commission report, released last year, found that the best-educated and least ethnically diverse 8% of society make up a third of gallery visitors, and “higher” social groups account for 87% of all museum visits. Yet in this climate of rampant social inequality, there have been suggestions that museums reintroduce entrance fees – despite the fact that studying creative subjects has a positive impact on student attainment across the board, including maths and literacy. Students from low-income families who take part in arts activities in school are three times more likely to get a degree. |
| I was lucky to be taken to galleries from a young age: we had a house full of art books and a mother who paints. But I was also lucky to have a great art teacher. He made Roman decorative art interesting by conjuring up an image of the warrior druids lined up on the shores of Anglesey; he told us how Magritte’s fragmented bodies might be a reflection of his mother’s death by drowning. My teacher let a 16-year-old boy do his final project on what it felt like to be on pills, and gave him a B. He made art relevant to our lives. | I was lucky to be taken to galleries from a young age: we had a house full of art books and a mother who paints. But I was also lucky to have a great art teacher. He made Roman decorative art interesting by conjuring up an image of the warrior druids lined up on the shores of Anglesey; he told us how Magritte’s fragmented bodies might be a reflection of his mother’s death by drowning. My teacher let a 16-year-old boy do his final project on what it felt like to be on pills, and gave him a B. He made art relevant to our lives. |
| This happened at degree level too, notably when we were asked to compare a painting by Joshua Reynolds (a white man in a red coat practically straddling a cannon) and a picture of the rapper 50 Cent (black, holding a gun). The teacher argued that the Reynolds was superior because of the stoicism it captured, but the class were having none of it. “50 Cent’s been shot nine times,” said one guy. “What’s more stoic than that?” | This happened at degree level too, notably when we were asked to compare a painting by Joshua Reynolds (a white man in a red coat practically straddling a cannon) and a picture of the rapper 50 Cent (black, holding a gun). The teacher argued that the Reynolds was superior because of the stoicism it captured, but the class were having none of it. “50 Cent’s been shot nine times,” said one guy. “What’s more stoic than that?” |
| Some will use this anecdote to argue that an arts education is useless and profligate, and serves no wider purpose, but they’d be wrong. It’s important that we analyse the visual culture around us, and that includes pop culture. Better to question the distinctions between good and bad art, than lording it on your high horse. | Some will use this anecdote to argue that an arts education is useless and profligate, and serves no wider purpose, but they’d be wrong. It’s important that we analyse the visual culture around us, and that includes pop culture. Better to question the distinctions between good and bad art, than lording it on your high horse. |
| Which is why, when it comes to opening up the arts, the internet is such a godsend. I cried tears of laughter when I first came across the blog Ugly Renaissance Babies (tagline: “the kids aren’t alright”), showcasing the worst infant figure painting the period has to offer. Meanwhile, Renoir Sucks at Painting is a hilarious and subversive commentary on artistic taste. This tongue-in-cheek group has got the internet analysing the differences between what is good and what is saccharine and sentimental. We should salute them. | Which is why, when it comes to opening up the arts, the internet is such a godsend. I cried tears of laughter when I first came across the blog Ugly Renaissance Babies (tagline: “the kids aren’t alright”), showcasing the worst infant figure painting the period has to offer. Meanwhile, Renoir Sucks at Painting is a hilarious and subversive commentary on artistic taste. This tongue-in-cheek group has got the internet analysing the differences between what is good and what is saccharine and sentimental. We should salute them. |
| Art history memes are everywhere. Those of the “Medieval reactions” variety – mocking the cackhanded and surreal artistic output of the middle ages – are especially funny. It doesn’t matter how revered the painter is, either. Online, the Last Supper diners are said to have asked the waiter for “a table for 26” – so that they could all sit on the same side of the table. | Art history memes are everywhere. Those of the “Medieval reactions” variety – mocking the cackhanded and surreal artistic output of the middle ages – are especially funny. It doesn’t matter how revered the painter is, either. Online, the Last Supper diners are said to have asked the waiter for “a table for 26” – so that they could all sit on the same side of the table. |
| Because of the internet young people today are probably looking at more paintings than ever. They are more engaged, more enthusiastic, more questioning. It’s exciting and inspiring to see, and teachers should be harnessing this power to educate. | Because of the internet young people today are probably looking at more paintings than ever. They are more engaged, more enthusiastic, more questioning. It’s exciting and inspiring to see, and teachers should be harnessing this power to educate. |
| The death of David Bowie this year led to many of us reflecting that the well-trodden trajectory of the star and his contemporaries, from working-class kid to art student to creative visionary, no longer really exists. Thanks to the abolition of the student grant system, the introduction of tuition fees, and the cultural dominance of the privately educated, any modern-day Bowies would these days find themselves standing outside a great many closed doors. And that is a tragedy. | The death of David Bowie this year led to many of us reflecting that the well-trodden trajectory of the star and his contemporaries, from working-class kid to art student to creative visionary, no longer really exists. Thanks to the abolition of the student grant system, the introduction of tuition fees, and the cultural dominance of the privately educated, any modern-day Bowies would these days find themselves standing outside a great many closed doors. And that is a tragedy. |
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