Optional Sketchbook Assignment 1: My World and the Art World (Tracks A & B)

Well, this is the first assignment (optional) that was given for this particular MOOC I'm taking through Coursera, 

Live!: A History of Art for Artists, Animators and Gamers
by Jeannene Przyblyski, Ph.D.

We shall see...I am absolutely NOT an artist. However, both my children are amazingly artistic, seriously, I'm not doing the 'proud mama' routine, they are both truly talented. I may have to post some of their work as well (with their permission of course) just to show you all. I'm trying this MOOC out to see if it will help me be more creative, if not necessarily artistic, as a teacher and as a business owner. 

This is an assignment I’ve given in my critique seminar for a number of years. It’s a good way to start a discussion about your assumptions about art (whatever they might be) and how those assumptions might constrain or enable your practice (whatever it might be). Again, this is an optional assignment but I encourage everyone to try it. If you are unsure about sharing your work in this class, I still encourage you to do it on your own. Don't think too much about it—just give it a go! Next week, we'll provide more information and examples about giving feedback to your peers' work. The critique is equally, if not more, important than the assignment itself.

To complete this and other assignments in this class, please refer to this page in the Course Overview.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In your sketchbook, make or describe something (or choose a work by another artist) that stands for what you think art really should be in your perfect world—if art was daring, bold, unique and special, if it was community-building or affirming, if it made the world a better place or turned the world on its head. Here, you get to decide.
2. Then, make or describe something (or choose a work by another artist) that stands for what you think people in the world think art should be—because a teacher or expert told you that’s what art is, or because that’s what you think “good art" is, or because you think this is what the art market wants, etc.
3. Photograph or scan your two images/descriptions, or if you are using a digital sketchbook, copy the permalink to your post. (If you are including a work by another artist, please do not post an image that you don't have permission to use; post a link instead.)
4. Head over to this forum, and start a new thread. Paste your two images/texts/links into the post. Include a short description and citation if necessary. Add a title for your post, such as "Sketchbook Assignment 1 - my submission".
5. Finally, if your version of what art should be like and what the world thinks art should be like are the same, great! If they are different, then think about those differences a bit and write down your thoughts below your uploaded images/text/links.
6. Click "Create new thread". You're done!

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Further Reading and Web Resources

Sarah Thornton, Seven Days in the Art World. W. W. Norton & Company, 2008

The second chapter of Thornton's book, titled "The Crit", is a close examination of the late Michael Asher's Post Studio class at CalArts. A recommended read. 

Vincent van Gogh: The Letters

An impressive online archive of all of van Gogh's collected correspondence, including fascimiles of the originals, transcriptions and translations.