Integrative Art Experience

Out of random curiosity I googled Collab Studio. Our blog is number 3 on the results list! Wow! After scrolling through the results, I found Collab Studio- Pain is Humor. Professor Pamela Allen teaches Collaborative Studio at Troy University. Collaborative Studio (Troy University) is a fine arts course where students from each studio arts concentration join together for an integrative art experience. Every aspect of the project was directed by the students including the online art gallery.

This site inspired an idea. Artists are often isolated; working alone in studios, parks, and alleys. The 'ability to work as a team member' is often mentioned during job interviews and listed as one of many qualifications on a job application. What if each student from the Corcoran were given an opportunity to collaborate with a student studying a different medium? The partners would be randomly selected to prevent the 'I like you so let's work together' syndrome. Students would be asked to create a social commentary on a topic or news headline of their choice. The choice of medium, meeting hours, and etc. would be arranged by the artists participating in the activity. I believe a collaboration of this kind will help broaden the knowledge of unfamiliar mediums and techniques, expand artistic interests and encourage experiential learning. The collaboration would also help artists develop better social skills. 

During sophomore year at the Corcoran I participated in a collaborative project with a fellow fine arts student. The Fine Arts Core teachers required each student to collaborate with another student. To my knowledge this project was part of "50 Works" which required students to create 50 works of art in a short amount of time. Students were provided with a list of 50 instructional words or phrases. For example, #27 might have read 'create a highly tactile object.' During the time of this project I was interested in creating colorful, graphite illustrations of scriptural quotations from Revelation. I worked with Antea Roberts, a ceramist, who was exploring body image and Greek architectural designs at the time. Together we created an 18" x 24" illustration of celestial creatures, and water. Antea and I worked on the illustration for a couple of hours nonstop. While drawing we developed a narrative to explain the complex imagery. When we completed the piece neither of us argued about who would display the work or who was honorable enough to sign the back of the picture. After the "50 works" exhibit was removed we agreed that I would take the picture, I still have the drawing tucked in my studio to this day. From this experience I learned to enjoy the process of collaborating, to appreciate a team member's vision, and to smile often while working.