LARA BULLOCK ABOUT TEACHING CURATING REVIEWS WRITING CONTACT VIRTUOSITY
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
My Introduction to Art History course was a class that determinded the rest of my life. The lure of investigating the artistic achievements of various cultures, as well as the chance to apply this knowledge through interpretation, was intoxicating. I looked forward to spending my evenings in the library stacks reading about yamato-e painting, Justinian and Theodora, Beatus manuscripts, and combine paintings. However, I am aware that not everyone shares this interest in cultures of the past as they are presented in a typical survey text. Therefore, additional methods and techniques, in addition to the traditional lecture course, are essential not only to sustain the interest of students enrolling in a required course, but also in order to facilitate broader and deeper understanding of various cultures and their aesthetic output.
When teaching at an art school, it is important to acknowledge that the students are pursuing their own creative abilities and are thus engaged with the artworld from a contemporary perspective. Therefore, it is important to make art history contextual. My first experience teaching at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago was unforgetable. Initially, the students were weary of spending three hours a week in a class exploring "old stuff." As an instructor, I viewed this as a challenge instead of as a disparaging remark about the course. Therefore, class took place not only in the classroom, but also in the museum. We read poetry and analyzed it in the context of Grecian vase painting and philosophical beliefs and I gave them homework assignments to find contemporary knock-offs of important art historical artworks in the context of greater Chicago. The form of the class involved slide lectures, but also music, films, and literature. In the end, I felt that the class was successful. Both I, as well as the students, emerged with a nuanced understanding of historical art and its effects and permutations within its original historical context as well as in the context of contemporary culture. Judging by their projects and classroom dialogue, the students were thoroughly engaged, inspired, and challenged by the "old stuff" that they initially dreaded.
Finally, teaching needs to be an exchange between different points of view. Instruction involves listening as much as speaking. During the first day of class, I like to have a discussion with students in order to find out their own unique interests, why they enrolled in the course, and what they hope to gain from it. With this knowledge, I then try to cater the course to accomodate the specific group of students so that they will be encouraged to communicate their distinct knowledge and backgrounds, while maintaining adherence to the more general core curricula outlined in the syllabus. This allows students to engage with the subject matter in light of their various backgrounds. Just as art is not a homogenous entity, neither are the individuals that engage in its production and investigation. By encouraging a dialogue between students and the instructor, the history of art becomes a rigorous, interesting, and relevant subject, which is an invaluable asset to any classroom.
2012 Teaching Assissant, Dwelling-Designing Equality, Nancy Kwak
University of California, San Diego
2011 Teaching Assissant, A History of Time: Time in Modern Society, Stefan Tanaka
University of California, San Diego
2011 Teaching Assissant, Society of the Spectacle, Charles Thorpe
University of California, San Diego
2010 Adjunct Instructor, History of Western Art
Southwestern College, San Diego
http://art151museumblog.blogspot.com/
2010 Teaching Assissant, Writing and the Arts of Memory, Catherina Gere
University of California, San Diego
2010 Teaching Assissant, Introduction to Asian Art, Kuiyi Shen
University of California, San Diego
2010 Reader, Roman Art, Sheldon Nodelman
University of California, San Diego
2009 Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Modern Art and Visual Culture: 1660-1900, Norman Bryson
University of California, San Diego
2009 Teaching Assissant, Arts of Modern China, Kuiyi Shen
University of California, San Diego
2009 Teaching Assistant, Introduction to the History of Art, Ancient to Modern, Ann Woods
University of California, San Diego
2009 Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Asian Art, Kuiyi Shen
University of California, San Diego
2008 Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Modern Art and Visual Culture: 1660-1900, Norman Bryson
University of California, San Diego
2007- 2008 Adjunct Instructor, History of Western Art I
Illinois Institute of Art Schaumburg
2006 Teaching Assistant, Issues in Visual and Critical Studies, James Elkins
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2006 Instructor, Survey of Ancient to Modern Art and Architecture
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2005 Teaching Assistant, Survey of Ancient to Modern Art and Architecture, Daniel Merkle
School of the Art Institute of Chicago