This morning I woke up to the incredibly annoying Alumni Association survey about what RISD needs in a new president. The whole thing bugged me — with its little buttons I was supposed to push indicating my support for an array of inane pre-digested questions, none of which had any substantive meaning. So I wrote this back instead: Dear RISD Alumni Association Your prepackaged survey questions are inadequate. The 50 character Hint option is insulting. RISD itself needs to forget about growing its reputation and acquiring and developing real estate, and instead get back to the business of teaching young people what it means to love looking at and making art. That includes teaching them that success in the arts is not defined by fame and market buzz, but by making and doing meaningful things. RISD needs a president who understands the value of all of the above , and who knows what art actually is (as opposed to commerce) and who has spent a life making it. RISD needs to get over its hyper-inflated self image and figure out how to be a real art school instead of a vocational institute for art-shaped entrepreneurs Sincerely, Christopher Benson Painting 79-82, BFA painting 2005
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 12:59:16 +0000
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