The UCLA Broad Art Center was home to a much younger set of art students this summer when high school students took a stab at college-level art classes.
The UCLA Department of Art held its first Summer Art Institute aimed at teaching students photography, painting, sculpting and video art.
Unlike some high school art courses that generally aim for teaching students technical skills, the UCLA institute allowed painters, photographers and sculptors to work freely with their mediums. It was a freedom that many students said they had long sought in an art program.
“This is more free than a lot of the classes I’ve had … where they kind of hold your hand as you put the clay on,” said Erica Ducker, a senior at Henry M. Gunn High School.
The Summer Arts Institute, which is in its first year, consists of an intensive two-week long sampling of college art classes for high school students.
“I pick a color randomly, put it on the canvas, and see where it takes you,” said Rachel Hennessey, a senior at King & Low-Heywood Thomas School.
It was the sort of “unstructured instruction” that students such as Samantha Zulch, a junior at Miramonte High School, said they loved the most. The small class sizes and the longer studio hours ““ sometimes 12 hours at a time ““ are designed to allow high school students the opportunity to sample a typical college art course at UCLA, said Micol Hebron, the director of the Summer Arts Institute.
“The level of support we’re giving them individually is much, much higher with these classes,” said Benjamin Britton, an art instructor and a UCLA alumni who graduated this year with a master’s in fine arts.
He said he believes that consistent one-on-one conversations with his students is invaluable to the development of their understanding of art concepts but also in the maturation of their work. “Independent study is the only way to hit the meaning,” Britton said.
This focus on the individual’s artistic vision was an emphasis of the program.
“A lot of students coming out of high school art classes are afraid to think on their own. They’re afraid to do things outside of assignment structure,” Hebron said.
During one art class, Hennessey stared at her painting and started wiping away the paint. She wanted to start over. John Kilduff, an art instructor and a UCLA alumnus who graduated in 2008 with a master’s in fine arts, told her to remember, “There’s still history there.” He said that he focused on helping the students be comfortable with their own work and be free about destroying it. It was part of getting away from perfection, he said.
Some were surprised at their own advancement and growth in the program. They were not alone.
“They get so much better. The things they’re making when they come out is so much more sophisticated,” said Manya Fox, the photography instructor and a UCLA alumna who also graduated this year with a master’s in fine arts.
Annalee Porter, a junior at Concert of the Sacred Heart High School, said that prior to the program, she had no previous training in photography. Yet, after the program, she said she felt that she looked at the world through a photographer’s eyes.
“I’ll just go out and see random things and in my head I’ll think that’s an 8×10,” Porter said.
Even experienced art students found themselves experimenting in new ways. Kathleen LaManna, a senior at Polytechnic School in Pasadena and a student in the art program, said she usually sketched, but using oils in the class was a new experience.
“It’s sort of daunting to be looking at this big white canvas and thinking, "What am I going to do with it?'” she said.
Hebron said the program aimed at helping expose students to new ideas of what constitutes good painting.
“I think freedom in the sense of liberating students from the idea of a good painting is one that has perfect perspective and light and dark and shadow and looks just like a photograph,” Hebron said.
“We like to broaden the definition of what makes a good work,” she added. “That a good idea is as important as good technique.”
It was something she said many high school students struggle to adapt to.
“They want to know what the right answer is. And to us that’s absurd to think there is a prescription for making the right artwork,” Hebron said. “A lot of students think that the primary goal for making good art, allegedly good art, is to simply have a lot of technical skill. But at UCLA, we have a lot of artists that are invested in a conceptual as well as technical approach.”
The students were able to showcase their works in a gallery in the Broad Art Center on Friday, an opportunity that many students appreciated.
The exhibit featured a particular piece from each student, with photographs, oil paintings and a few large sculptures adorning the insides of the gallery.
While the experience was short, many students said they appreciated the program for letting each student pursue their individual visions.
“If you’re in a class and they tell you what to do, it’s not art,” said Tiffany Mai, a senior at Corona del Mar High School. “Art isn’t rules. It’s your own natural instinct.”