Hate Mail
Here’s some of the hate mail I’ve received about my book!
This guide to art school survival will help you save years of torture, misspent money, and sliced-off fingertips. This is what art school is REALLY about.
If I can get this book published, I pledge to use some of my profits to start a scholarship for low-income students to get art supplies. (I was one, and supplies are very expensive.)
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:
"This site is too deep and funny for words....I read every word.....I am an art student...." - Taylor Negron, comedian, actor, artist
"I rolled through 'My Art Comes Before My Grade.'...You're keeping the FUNNY rolling right along while at the same time exposing the bullsh*t of teachers, students and the defining of Art and assignments...(GOOD SHOW)!" - Gregory Hollimon, "Strangers With Candy"
"Holy shit! Art School Survival = awesome." - Michael Shamalla, MFA, Landscape Architecture
"The hygiene one made me laugh out loud. i had a flea named Diego myself once." - Sarah Rohan, BFA, Painting
"Your book is reality...I am now realizing what it means to be a starving artist." - Kary Fernandez, BA, Arts
"Overall the site is rather disappointing...There are lots of funny things about art-school tropes. Daniel Clowes did it well. It was as smart as it was cutting. Your project is not...Your students deserve better than this. Your behavior is disgraceful. For someone who is teaching art and clams to care about artists and students, you are a disappointment." - Matt Kenyon., associate professor of New Media
............................................................ If you think I'm full of shit and want to bash my artwork to feel superior, go here: Alice Teeple Art Hate Mail Page ...........................................................All photographs and writing herein ©2011 Alice C. Teeple.
Select art made by students, but only like, four items. If you made it, let me know. I am not making money off of this site.
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Alice,
On your “artschoolsurvival” blog you have images of several artists works without any attribution.
If you are trying to get a book published, you need to make sure you have consent to use their work.
“All photographs, select art, and writing herein ©2011 Alice C. Teeple. ”
Overall the site is rather disappointing.
ReplyMatt,
I see you followed the link to me saying I’m full of shit! Awesome!
The fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:
the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit
educational purposes;
the nature of the copyrighted work;
the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
As of now the photographs on my free blog follow Fair Use to the letter. As most of the items were found in the trash with no names on them, there is no way to attribute the work to anyone in the first place. Those on display are welcome to have their work attributed to them. In fact, I totally welcome those artists to submit their names and artist statements.
Sorry my blog disappoints you, but I’m more disappointed in the fact that, according to SNAAP, most BFAs in the United States leave school never work in their own fields, and those who do report an average salary of $30K/year. When art school debt is over $100K for many students, these findings are quite troubling.
Alice,
It is a disappointing that graduates are burdened with enormous amounts of debt.
Your blog is claiming exclusive copyright over works for which you are not the sole author. Maybe a variation of creative commons license would be a better fit.
Maybe if you cite the artists whose work you are using (never-mind copy right/left) you would accomplish more than the mere lip-service to the idea supporting the struggling art student. Who knows, maybe this would help both you and the artists/students.
I purpose an alternative reason you are not citing the artists here. It is far easier to construct art school stereotypes if you overlook the individuals. Some of the individuals whose work you are using on your site have gone onto be successful artists and educators.
If you don’t know whose work you have on your site, both you and your argument come across as lazy and disingenuous. You run the risk of being perceived as little more than a bitter former Art-School-Staff-Tourist.
ReplyShades of utter snobbery in your last paragraph. I know exactly what I’m talking about because I myself went through the program. I WAS an art student…for over thirteen years. Mere tourism? This book is my personal experience. It’s the personal experience of everyone who participated in it. Of all my classmates of the class of 2001 who got BFAs in areas like printmaking and painting, I can’t name a single one who can support themselves on their art. In fact, over half of them don’t even do art anymore. One works at a paper mill; one works as a realtor, one went back to school for nursing because she lost her job as an art teacher due to budget cuts.
Great, Matt. Send me their names and exactly what they are doing now, where they are working, how much they are making, and if they are able to support themselves as artists…or art teacher. I certainly couldn’t support myself as a fine artist; I had to go into a more commercial route – design – and into teaching, which ended with the budget cuts to the university. If these people made it, I want to hear their stories of exactly how they’re doing it. Are they working as fine artists? Can they afford health insurance? Do they have children to feed? Are they living on their own or with roommates/family? I have a lot of questions for BFA graduates.
ReplyAlice,
I think maybe I can describe the disconnect going on here.
On your site, you write that you are trying to help art students ” save years of torture…sort out the bullshit” etc.
But what you do is post students work with captions bellow making fun of them and their efforts. I get it. But I think you at least owe them proper citation. If you were in art school for 13 years and can’t be bothered to know whose work your using on your site, it does not speak well to your credibility as an educator, artist or as a person in general.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Art School Confidential. There are lots of funny things about art-school tropes. Daniel Clowes. did it well. It was as smart as it was cutting. Your project is not…unless you cite the creative people whose work you are using.
I’m not saying that it isn’t hard being a recent art school graduate. I know it is difficult. I’m saying that you are being disingenuous by claiming to be helping artists/students, when your not. How can you be? if your using a fellow artists creative work with out at least giving them credit.
I thought you were running the risk of being a bitter-Art-School-Staff-Tourist because you were not citing the artists you are holding up to ridicule. But if you don’t KNOW their names, what they are doing after school etc… well that might be worse.
ReplyMy intro is about dissuading people from bothering to go to art school in the first place. I think my book does an awesome job of that!
ReplyIf your site focuses on dissuading people from going to art school, why put the bit in about using the proceeds for some scholarship?
Aren’t you still teaching a web course for the University? If you are, you should know there are major integrity issues with posting student work on your site.
ReplyIf they’re my own students, maybe. But they aren’t my own students. This falls under fair use.
Reply“Maybe”
Reply?
are you kidding me?
Students deserve better than this. This is disgraceful behavior for someone who is teaching art.
ReplyI couldn’t have said it better myself!
ReplyYour students deserve better than this. Your behavior is disgraceful. For someone who is teaching art and clams to care about artists and students, you are a disappointment.
Reply