Welcome!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Sweet home
Seattle Artist Interview & Profile
1. Identify a professional artist in Seattle—someone outside the Cornish community—that you are interested in learning more about. The person may be from your own artistic discipline or from another. (Make use of your Cornish resources by consulting your teachers, your department chair, and other faculty members for advice and referrals.)
2. Contact the artist and ask if they’re willing to participate in an interview about their life and work as an artist. (Keep trying until you find someone who is willing to participate.)
3. Make an appointment to interview him/her for about 30 minutes. (A day or two before the interview, call or email to confirm.)
4. Before the interview:
· Find out basic information about the individual’s artistic work by exploring the resources available in the Cornish library, visiting the artist’s website, and/or searching online (google.com, seattletimes.com, seattle-pi.com, seattleweekly.com, thestranger.com, etc.).
· Prepare a list of interview questions. Your questions should be open-ended (i.e., asking for more than a yes/no response). Consider asking about the artist’s working process, influences, artistic values, what inspires them, how they survive, how living in Seattle plays a role in their work, etc. (Come up with questions about topics that are of genuine interest to you.)
· Consider whether to record the conversation, simply take notes, or do both. Choose the approach that will allow you to be most present in the conversation. (If you plan to record, be sure to ask permission and double-check your equipment ahead of time.)
· A day or two before the interview, remind the artist of the appointment by phone or email.
5. At the interview:
· Be respectful of the artist’s time—begin and end the interview punctually.
· Ask questions and listen actively to the responses. Ask follow-up questions, if appropriate.
· Ask the individual if they have any advice they would offer to young artists just getting started in the field.
· Thank the artist for participating.
6. After the interview:
. Send the artist a thank you note.
. Freewrite your observations and reflections on the interview as soon as possible, preferably immediately afterwards.
. Type up your notes from the interview. If you taped it, listen to the recording and transcribe key quotations.
. Review your notes and consider what is most important for you to share about the artist. What perspective can you offer? What did you learn that was of particular interest? What does a person need to know in order to have a feeling for the artist's work?
7. Write a profile (2-3 pages) of the artist and his/her work.
. Include key quotations from your interview with the artist.
. Make use of vivid details and specific concrete images to communicate a sense of the artist and his/her work.
· Double-check the facts by referring back to your notes from the interview, consulting your research, or contacting the artist for verification.
· Read your profile aloud. Does it flow? Is it clear? Does it communicate a vivid sense of the artist? Revise as needed.
· Share your profile with another student or a tutor in the Writing Center. Invite feedback and listen to responses. Revise as needed.
· Type your profile, double-spaced with one-inch margins. At the top of the page, write your name, the date, “Seattle Arts Ecology,” and “Artist Profile.” Proofread for spelling mistakes, grammar errors, typos, etc. Make corrections as needed.
· Save a copy of the paper on your computer, and print a copy to bring to class.
8. Prepare a presentation about the artist based on your profile (5-7 minutes). Include visual images or other elements that will help to convey a sense of the artist’s work.
Due Dates
· Identify the artist you plan to interview by Friday, September 28
· Schedule the interview by Wednesday, October 3
· Preliminary research on the artist by Friday, October 5
· Develop interview questions by Monday, October 8
· Complete interview by Friday, October 12
· Write up notes from interview by Monday, October 15
· Write first draft of artist profile by Friday, October 19
· Revise artist profile and prepare class presentation by Monday, October 22
Home sweet home.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Sweet Home
Monday, September 24, 2007
Class Cancelled Today (Monday)
Please bring your revised memoir with you to Wednesday's class.
Also, please read “Sweet Home” from The Lure of the Local by Lucy R. Lippard in course reader, and post your response on the course blog.
And start thinking about a professional artist in Seattle that you would be interested in interviewing. We will discuss the interview project on Wednesday.
Chris
Seattle Modern Dance: The Legacy of Bill Evans
Free and Open to the Public
On The Boards
100 West Roy Street, Seattle
Combining live performance and video with a panel discussion, “Seattle Modern Dance: the Legacy of Bill Evans” will explore Evans’ approach to dance-making and trace his profound influence on the development of Seattle modern dance. Panelists will include several members of the original Bill Evans Dance Company, including Bill Evans, Wade Madsen, Shirley Jenkins and Debbie Poulsen to name a few. In addition to facilitating the panel, dance critic Sandi Kurtz will present a lecture on the history of modern dance in Seattle. Photographs of the Bill Evans Dance Company and an interactive display of Evans’ influence on Seattle modern dance will be exhibited in the lobby. A reception with refreshments will be provided mid afternoon. The symposium is free and open to the public. Please call the Cornish events line at 206-726-5011 or visit http://www.ontheboards.org/ for more information.
The Big Six O' Seattle Art Dealers
I also thought the importance that the art dealers put on PLACE was interesting. They talked about the importance of finding the right location to have thier art galleries, and how about fixing up Pioneer Square brought more business to thier galleries. It made sense that the surroundings be nice. People like to look at art, and then invest in the surrounding area by going out and eating lunch, or getting a cup of coffee. This makes people want to stay longer, thus spending more time in the galleries. It's the circle of art!
-Stacy