Disposable Art & The Field Of Education
College tuition has sky rocketed while at the same time cutting required classes, programs and the instructors that teach them. Grants, scholarships and even loans are cut, limited, and poorly distributed.
Currently, here in California, Community Colleges offer more classes, flexibility for working class students, and substantially lower tuition fees. The individual classes are often times more advanced than today's over priced upper division courses. These junior colleges seem to be adapting to the economic climate unlike the four year universities. Which manages funds like the state and federal governments. Students who transfer into state colleges will most likely have some of the same instructors. This isn't anything new! Just a bit more amplified by a struggling economy and institutional greed. There is no real logic here in terms of priorities. Simply put, like Wall St., The competitive self concern, profit NOW priority is going to be short lived. The curtain has been pulled and the stage is empty. There will be no performance without the actors, acting. Only a well groomed audience that believes it has nothing to lose!
We would have to augment this times ten in art education! If you are not in an art department it doesn't seem to exist to the rest of the institutional or working class world. Even in the community college! The arts are usually the first thing cut and the last department funded. Physical education and athletics take the lead priority and rarely endure the sharp cut of the budget razor. For the team against the teams is the driving force and the pride of the vocational herd. So, in the big economic picture we trim education and increase not only military spending but, military involvement around the world. Could this rational have started at our standard of education? In this institution, precedence and incentive are predominantly trade and competition. The arts are leveled to STEAM and a special needs enrichment. For a minority of perceived mascots doomed to perform for their lives, and entertain a very offensive line at half time.
This playing field in art education is one of continuous defense. More frequently in state funded institutions. More specifically, for working class students and many of their instructors. Educators are commonly juggling classes wherever they can find them. This is a very common circumstance for the working artist and cultural scholars. The one's who also have to make a living, pay the bills, loans and student loans. While simultaneously pursuing study and practice of their discipline.
This isn't a very popular subject in the art world...working to pay the bills. The truth is, the world of art that many working class artists aspire to connect. Is comprised mostly of artists and scholars already born into this so called high culture. They are the chairs of the art departments, curators of the museums, the artists in all of the history books. The Art World, is disconnected to this defensive line and all of the adversity that it entails. On the other side of the coin. Many working class graduates building credibility for an Art World Express Gold Card, reluctantly, become educators. This can also be said for the less motivated silver spoons. That antagonistic cliche of the one who can't, teaches. Is given a little weight by these unfortunates who rationalize their minimal efforts as a form of philanthropy. In the end, we’re all on the same field.
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