Fine Arts and Education

I see myself not just as a painter, but as an archaeologist. My brushes are tools that chisel into me, layer by layer, as I seek pieces of lost civilization beneath obscuring strata of identity. When I am painting, I delve inward, striving to be as honest as possible with the artifacts of self-discovery I encounter.

In my current work, I explore themes of metamorphosis. Though I derive my figures and compositions from classical sources, my thematic emphasize subjects outside of our contemporary mainstream society -- namely outcasts and rebellious women. In my representation of such subjects, I aim to expose the struggle of mind and body as set against the decaying backdrop of western civilization. The subject of transformation in my works was a natural development, born from my interest in mythology, particularly Ovid’s "Metamorphoses." Metamorphosis also projects my desire to break out of standard artistic forms, both figuratively and literally. The struggle between the technological age and the magical nature of the organic is a subject that particularly fascinates me.

Two factors have contributed to my decision to pursue my education at the graduate level. First, by attending graduate school, I would have the opportunity to explore the personal language of paint in an atmosphere of intense dialogue with other artists and scholars. In addition, I seek further education in order to refine and improve my level of written discourse on subjects related to art. I feel that graduate school will enable me to discuss and research contemporary issues that are of chief importance to an artist practicing in today’s society. Two of the 20th-century artists I most admire, Francis Bacon and Marlene Dumas, strongly interacted with their environments. Continuously collecting information and ideas for their paintings, they sought to create a personal language through a dialogue of modern ideas. Bacon’s viewpoints, for instance, were often as interesting as his paintings.

My other goal in attending graduate school, along with expanding my knowledge of history and art, is to prepare for a future career in education. In particular, this aim has become a reality to me over the past year of writing my undergraduate thesis. It is extremely important to me that I, as an artist and as a teacher, maintain a state of openness and awareness. I strongly believe that the best teachers are themselves engaged daily in the act of learning. In order to be creative, it is imperative to be open and vulnerable; however, I believe that good art has to possess an element of courage in order to provoke positive change.

While living in England several years ago, I taught arts and crafts to a group of children, using my home as a studio and classroom. Over the course of a few months, my students gained not only artistic skills, but also confidence in their abilities and aesthetic visions. As the children shared their enthusiasm for their art lessons with their parents, my little group grew significantly larger. This experience was quite exhilarating; I enjoyed teaching within a group dynamic as well as dealing with students one on one. As a teacher, I discovered that within the wide spectrum of individuals, each one may take a slightly different approach toward art -- making listening skills extremely important in a teacher. I also learned much about the way cultures and varying social classes affect people. Living in the north of England and traveling throughout Europe gave me a chance to understand how culture influences people, and in turn how they process this through their art.

One of the reasons Pratt is so appealing to me, besides the obvious attraction of its location within a cultural mecca, is the unique opportunity to earn a combined degree in fine arts with a minor in art history (M.S./M.F.A.). My main area of interest outside of painting is art history; I would love to teach art history in conjunction with studio arts. I feel compelled to understand how art has affected culture -- and vice versa -- throughout history, even as I continue to search for my own language through painting.

點評：

這篇essay以情動人加以事實說明，讓人感受到他/她對于藝術(shù)和教育的熱情。

首先作者用比較優(yōu)美的語句表明了自己的背景和研究方向。但是這一部分寫得比較意味深長，不夠開門見山，讀者很難理解他的目的何在。

之后作者明確表明自己的要攻讀研究生的原因。這里所表明的兩個原因都是很具有說服力的，第一個就是對于專業(yè)上的追求，第二個結(jié)合自己的教學(xué)經(jīng)歷，說明深造的另外一個目的是為了教書育人。

在說明目的的同時，作者也說了自己的學(xué)習(xí)計劃和目標(biāo)。最后，這篇文章說明了為什么選擇這間學(xué)校的原因。
總的來說，文章的語言優(yōu)美，觸動讀者心靈的同時以事實來支撐觀點。缺點就是一開始沒有直奔主題，太感性化，讓人摸不著頭腦。

譯文：

美術(shù)與教育

我不僅僅把自己看成是一個畫家，還是一個考古學(xué)家。我的畫筆像鑿子般一層層地深入我體內(nèi)，正如我尋找在模糊的階級意識下迷失的文明。當(dāng)我繪畫的時候，我總是全情投入，努力嘗試把畫跟我潛意識中的史前文物相吻合。

在我目前的工作當(dāng)中，我探尋變形的主題。雖然我的作品和主人公來源于經(jīng)典，但是我的主題卻脫離當(dāng)代主流社會――即是被遺棄的和反叛的婦女。在表現(xiàn)這些主題的過程中，我的目的在于呈現(xiàn)在西方文明衰退的背景之下精神和肉體的抗?fàn)?。我作品主題的轉(zhuǎn)變是自然發(fā)展的，來源于我對神話，特別是奧維德的《變形記》的興趣。變形也是我希望在象征和字面上突破傳統(tǒng)藝術(shù)形式的主題?？萍紩r代和有機(jī)體神秘本能的斗爭是特別吸引我的主題。

促使我決定在研究生水平繼續(xù)學(xué)習(xí)的原因有兩個。首先，加入研究生院之后，我可以在濃厚的討論氣氛中與其他藝術(shù)家和學(xué)者探討我個人關(guān)于繪畫的觀點。另外，繼續(xù)學(xué)習(xí)可以增強(qiáng)和改進(jìn)我的藝術(shù)相關(guān)論文寫作水平。我認(rèn)為研究生院可以讓我討論和研究那些對于一個藝術(shù)家在當(dāng)今社會工作至關(guān)重要的當(dāng)代事件。我最欽佩的兩個二十世紀(jì)的藝術(shù)家是佛蘭思斯培根和馬林仲馬，他們受到所處環(huán)境的很大影響。堅持不懈的為作品收集信息和意見，他們追求創(chuàng)作出與現(xiàn)代觀點相符的個人語言。例如培根的觀點就和他的畫一樣吸引。

除了擴(kuò)展在歷史和藝術(shù)方面的知識，我加入研究生院的其他目標(biāo)是為了我將來的教育事業(yè)做好準(zhǔn)備。這個目標(biāo)在本科論文之中我就已經(jīng)詳細(xì)描述并且在過去的幾年內(nèi)成為事實。作為一個藝術(shù)家和老師，保持開放和學(xué)習(xí)的心態(tài)是極其重要的。我堅信最好的老師是把自己融入每天的學(xué)習(xí)之中。為了變得具有創(chuàng)造性，就必須開放和接受挫折。但是，我相信好的藝術(shù)必須包含激發(fā)積極改變的勇氣。

幾年前我住在英格蘭的時候，我把自己的家當(dāng)作畫室和課室教一群小孩藝術(shù)和手工藝。在短短幾個月的課程之后，我的學(xué)生不僅掌握了藝術(shù)技能，還培養(yǎng)了對能力和審美觀點的信心。隨著那些小孩與父母分享對藝術(shù)課的熱情，我的學(xué)生也越來越多。這是一個很愉快的經(jīng)歷，我享受了集體教學(xué)與單獨授課的樂趣。作為一個老師，我發(fā)現(xiàn)在一個群體當(dāng)中，每個人對于藝術(shù)的理解都可能會有細(xì)微的差別。這使得聆聽的技巧對于老師來說變得很重要。我也意識到文化和多變的社會階級是怎樣影響人們的。住在英格蘭北部和歐洲旅游的經(jīng)歷給了我一個機(jī)會去了解文化怎樣影響人們以及人們反過來怎樣影響文化。

除了其顯而易見的地處文化麥加的誘惑之外，普拉特吸引我的原因是在這里可以有獨一無二的機(jī)會去獲得藝術(shù)碩士和輔修藝術(shù)歷史碩士的聯(lián)合學(xué)位。我主要感興趣的領(lǐng)域除了繪畫之外就是藝術(shù)歷史了。我喜歡在教授繪畫藝術(shù)的時候結(jié)合藝術(shù)歷史。即使當(dāng)我繼續(xù)在繪畫當(dāng)中尋找自己語言的時候，我覺得很有必要去知道歷史上藝術(shù)怎樣影響文化以及文化怎樣影響歷史。