MJJ Andrew Snyder
I was unable to attend the event at The UICA so I observed the afternoon critique conducted by Mary Jane Jacob.
Some of the most successfully curated and presented shows I have seen have left me with a sense of provocation and questioning. Mary Jane Jacob was definitely capable of engendering this response in me at the critique. She asked very discerning questions about the Towne Club project that seemed to lead the students to a deeper investigation of their motivations and exploration of the project. She was an active listener who asked many probative and insightful questions that opened new venues for exploration for future projects. My sense was (without prior knowledge of her own vision) that this particular project was something that appealed to her own sensitivities and artistic sentiments and was something she was passionate about. She led me to consider the concept of public art as something beyond the presentation itself, but the actual “in the moment” experience of the art alone. It is clear to me that MJJ has a desire to break free of the conventions of traditional gallery driven representations of art. She wants to go beyond the concept of art and representation as something that only exists in an “art space” hanging on a wall. It was particularly helpful that she shared some of her experiences in Amsterdam and it was through this discussion that she began to reveal to the students the source of her opinions regarding their work. I feel whenever an educator and artist is able to share thier own specific experiences concerning the artistic process it is extremely beneficial. As artists and communicators it is essential that we learn to convey experience in as many ways as possible. I feel that having a variety tools for the mutual sharing of ideas continues to be the most vauable way of fostering artistic growth. Outside the context of art Jacob seems to be most concerned with the idea of building community and forging relatioinships. The most challenging concept for me is that I find it hard to seperate art from the context of life, to me they are the same. Art is the experience of life, and conversley life is the experience of art.
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