Writing Archive Journal Archive
Art Schools Teach Too Much 'Gimmickry,' Wtih Not Enough Real Education
Letter of comment in the Chronicle of Higher Education, May 26, 2000
The San Francisco Art Institute, as portrayed in "An Education in Risk-Taking," is a factory of self-indulgence. Calling it "art" doesn't elevate the student's behavior, but it does reduce the value of "art" as a term.
Could Zoë Ingalls find no dissenters at the SFAI who think that liberated expression and self-justification were being persued ad absurdum? If not, then the critical-thinking skills that the SFAI wants to instill in its students are not nearly critical enough.