2008 Woodie Awards
Letter To The Editor
Physics Club: Well Qualified To Criticize Art
Cynthia Castellon
Issue date: 4/15/05 Section: Commentary
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To the Editor:
In the April 8th edition of the Maroon-News, Margaux Jackson held the contention that the Physics Club had "embarrassed" itself by daring to grapple with a subject beyond its comprehension. We resent the assumption that because we are scientists we lack the capacity to question, interpret or deconstruct art. By making such statements, the article promotes the same elitist qualities that Ms. Jackson claims to denounce in her article.
Several of us are, in fact, art minors or have taken art classes at Colgate and/or elsewhere. I would also like to point out that the objective of a liberal arts education is to provide students with a well-rounded and multidisciplinary approach to critical analysis. In this light, we are more than well-equipped to criticize.
Regardless of our actual educational backgrounds, we also feel that art should not be a province of the privileged. The "common man," who is exposed to art ,should be allowed to voice his opinion without reproach. Why should we presume that art can only - and should only - be interpreted by those who have studied it for years?
The article also blew our statements out of proportion, completely misinterpreting them. As we explicitly stated in our original article, our intention was not to disparage the art department, the projects of the other people in the class or art in general. Our intention was to offer commentary on one specific art project from one specific student and also to correct the belief that the piece was "embraced" by all of the users of Lathrop.
We do wish to apologize to the artist in question for any personal offense he may have taken. However, as a serious artist, he should be prepared to receive and handle criticism. In actuality, we would like to point out that the artist has enjoyed learning how people are reacting to and interacting with his project.
That said, we do not wish to apologize for criticism directed towards the actual project because we feel that art is created in order to be criticized. As one student said, "the bottom line is, art (especially new or modern) is there for you to talk about, to like and to hate. Art without discourse is a waste of time."
In the April 8th edition of the Maroon-News, Margaux Jackson held the contention that the Physics Club had "embarrassed" itself by daring to grapple with a subject beyond its comprehension. We resent the assumption that because we are scientists we lack the capacity to question, interpret or deconstruct art. By making such statements, the article promotes the same elitist qualities that Ms. Jackson claims to denounce in her article.
Several of us are, in fact, art minors or have taken art classes at Colgate and/or elsewhere. I would also like to point out that the objective of a liberal arts education is to provide students with a well-rounded and multidisciplinary approach to critical analysis. In this light, we are more than well-equipped to criticize.
Regardless of our actual educational backgrounds, we also feel that art should not be a province of the privileged. The "common man," who is exposed to art ,should be allowed to voice his opinion without reproach. Why should we presume that art can only - and should only - be interpreted by those who have studied it for years?
The article also blew our statements out of proportion, completely misinterpreting them. As we explicitly stated in our original article, our intention was not to disparage the art department, the projects of the other people in the class or art in general. Our intention was to offer commentary on one specific art project from one specific student and also to correct the belief that the piece was "embraced" by all of the users of Lathrop.
We do wish to apologize to the artist in question for any personal offense he may have taken. However, as a serious artist, he should be prepared to receive and handle criticism. In actuality, we would like to point out that the artist has enjoyed learning how people are reacting to and interacting with his project.
That said, we do not wish to apologize for criticism directed towards the actual project because we feel that art is created in order to be criticized. As one student said, "the bottom line is, art (especially new or modern) is there for you to talk about, to like and to hate. Art without discourse is a waste of time."