Art Majors Leave Textbooks Behind
By Abigail Fulton '09
Instead of going home for fall break on Friday, October 17, 10 of Hanover's studio art and art history majors climbed into vans with art faculty members Leticia Bajuyo, John Martin, Deb Whistler and Xiaolong Wu. The goal of their intensive three-day journey was to explore the exciting new exhibits at the Detroit Institute of Arts (Mich.), Detroit's College for Creative Studies, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Detroit (MOCAD), and the Toledo Art Museum (Ohio).
According to Brooks Ahlfengher '09 (Superior, Colo.), "The trip was a three-fold thing: seeing the professors outside the classroom, engaging other students outside the classroom and seeing works that you've come to love (in the classroom) outside of the classroom."
Martin said the educational purpose of the journey was "all about the making of the art and the viewing of the art, and the chance to experience both."
In the Toledo Art Museum, making art became the primary focus. "In Toledo, there was a 'Glass Museum' (where) live demonstrations of glass blowing (were) out in a facility open to the public, right in the center of the action," he said, his face showing his excitement.
"It's so important for people who are interested in art to actually go see it," said Whistler. She added that she was especially glad that her studio art majors could see the paintings from their textbooks up close, since "that's when they learn to paint because they can see the brush strokes!"
By exploring these exhibits together, the faculty and students learned about more than just the art. "I think the students really got to know us better," Whistler said, adding that on this trip, the students not only got the chance to experience the wide-range of the faculty's expertise, but "to see the faculty getting so excited, sometimes even brought to tears by a work (of art)."
One painting that affected Whistler deeply was the portrait, "Stefanina Primicile Carafa, Marchioness of Cicerale and Duchess of Montejasi," by Edgar Degas. Painted circa 1875, the subject was his aunt, in mourning attire. The emotional power for this painting, Whistler noted, lay in the tiny details.
"A book doesn't capture that burning sensation of the color (around her weeping eyes). There's this tiny brush stroke (that you can only see up close) that serves as the lid, but also a tear," she said.
Ahlfenger said the details of sculptures became more potent in person, too. "For sculpture, it's really important to interact with it, to walk around it. You lose a lot of those elements in a textbook."
Walking around "Adam" (c.1880), one of the bronzes by Auguste Rodin, he added, led him to a greater appreciation of the artist's work.
"(Rodin) was so realistic and lifelike that (people in his era) thought he had taken casts from live models. But he did (the casting) by hand, and in person. It's incredible."
Being so up close and personal to their favorite works not only encouraged learning in both faculty and students, but also caused a contagious flood of excitement.
"The students were such a good group because of their enthusiasm and spontaneous desire to see (new works)," observed Martin.
Ahlfenger agreed. "That spontaneity was the best part of the trip."
For Whistler, one of the best parts was the group's cohesion. "There was a lot of bonding going on," she said, adding that the shared excitement of a trip like this one "breaks the boundary down between student and instructor."
But this trip was more than just an exciting chance to learn and bond. It was also a gift, which came to the students in the form of an endowment for the arts funded by Mary Louise Greiner.
"[Greiner's] goal was to give Hanover College students the opportunity to study art with faculty and to see unique collections," Whistler said. "The students are so appreciative! All they had to pay for was their own dinner. Transportation, hotel, and museum entrance fees were all covered (by this endowment)."
Martin added that, when considering endowments, "We try to choose our sites based on what is new, what is innovative."
"We found that in this experience."
Abigail Fulton is a senior English major from Whitestown, Ind.
