Teaching Philosophy

Because the classroom is the safest place for young artists to develop their own voice, I try to nurture and encourage the students as much as possible. My teaching philosophy establishes a balance of presenting aesthetic and technical information to motivate students to develop their personal vision in art. My teaching is improvisational; much of the creativity comes from designing the assignment and ongoing lively interaction with students.

From my work, I believe art is an ever-evolving practice, continually redefining itself. I promote flexibility and openness to see new ways of doing things. Students are given the opportunity to explore and develop with traditional and contemporary tools in order to envision and create new ideas. These values are becoming increasingly important for people to adapt to a changing world where technology may render certain skills and knowledge obsolete. It is closely connected with the way I see art as an important process of understanding ourselves and the society in which we live. This connection between the two needs to be balanced with the development of theoretical, historical, and philosophical aspects.

By keeping an open communication with my students, exchanges and interaction of opinions between us serve to heighten students’ interests as well as sparking any intellectual curiosity. My contribution in the classroom is to make the environment attractive and thought-provoking, illuminate the concept of art, arrange materials so that they become accessible, diagnose learning activities and results, provide guidance, extend learning and finally, constantly seek activities that promote personal growth in the students and to bring out the best in them.

My overall mission as a faculty member is to create a challenging environment that stimulates discourse among students, faculty, and the public as they explore the range of ideas addressed in contemporary art. I provide my students a forum for artistic research that reflects diversity in attitude and approach to art making. I encourage diversity and change in a university setting that nurtures free expression through thought-provoking processes, through which we constantly scrutinize our artistic approaches. I do not promote a particular school of thought or practice, rather I seek to present art that defines its own terms of craft, criticality, and vision.