Letters to the Editor
10
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Excerpts from Art Department's letter
D ear APSA Committee;
As we approach a time of transition in Guilford's leadership,
we need to carefully consider what we deem important as a
community. The members of the art department want to share our views
with the people entrusted with making decisions about this college now
and in the future.
Interested faculty and staff from the art department met on Oct. 7,2013,
not to hold a gripe session, but to build solidarity in our program and
share ideas about productively moving forward in ways that allow our
voices to be heard. During our meeting we recognized the difficulty of
the task put before the APSA Committee and wantto acknowledge your
sustained efforts to respond conscientiously to thd committee's charge
and your diligent work to make difficult but concrete recommendations.
It is our belief, though, that some of these recommendations should
be revisited.
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a hilo many of the rcmmmendalions in ihe .\PS.\ report impact
the arts community, wc strongly advocate reconsideration of the
recommendation to close the Guilford College Art Gallery'. From
our perspective, the qualitative impact of the gallery its Htalitv and connei tion
to the art program, and its importance to the Guilford community are dearand ■
vital. ' ' " .. y'' ■' -
One recommendation from our constituency ri-1ate^ Ur collection of
qualitative in addition to quantitative data. From the comments at the open
community forum, it seems like many people across campus shared the amcern
that additional qualitative research was needed. According to survev e'pert
Michaela Mora, "qualitative research is by definition exploratory, and il is used
to when we don't know what to expect, to define the problem or develop an
approach to the problem Quantitative research is condudve in its purpose as
it tries to quantify the problem and understand how prevalent it is by looking
for projectable r^ults to a larger population," Qualitative research, though
more time consuming, requires direct interaction with individuals on a one to
one basis or direct interaction with individuals in a group setting. Certainly
our colleagues in the sodal sdences could supply a thorough methodology
regarding the collection of qualitative data, but we feel that this aspect of the
report was lacking. For example, to our knowledge, no one in ihe art department
was asked to comment on the impact of the gallery on our teaching.
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W ithout the Art Gallery, students who do not take a dass in the art department would likely never encounter
art directly. It will become more difficult for individuals and for the general campus population to have this
kind of experience if the gallery is closed. Direct, experiential learning from artworks in art classes would
only be able to happen when we take students off campus. Due to the increased investment of time, such off-campus trips
might even become more difficult to take in the future. Therefore, this resource is one that we would like to see protected.
Lest we start down the slippery slope of thinking that interaction with the art collection and its programs is extraneous,
studies from the past decade have shown the importance of fine art in education. On behalf of the Katy, Texas, Independent
School District, Bob Bryant collected data to emphasize both academic and non-academic benefits from studying the arts:
Sufficient data exists to overwhelmingly support the belief that study and participation in the fine arts is a key
component in improving learning throughout all academic areas. Evidence of its effectiveness in reducing student
dropout, raising student attendance, developing better team players, fostering a love for learning, improving greater
student dignity, enhancing student creativity, and producing a more prepared citizen for the workplace for tomorrow can
be found documented in studies held in many varied settings, from scliool campuses, to corporate America.... The fine
arts also provide learners with non-academic benefite such as promoting self-esteem, motivation, aesthetic awareness,
cultural exposure, creativity, improved emotional expression, as well as social harmony and appreciation of diversity."
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I n addition, it should be noted that art dasses use the Gallery each
and every semester {we have 173 students this semester alone). It
was also mentioned that Terry intentionally appeals to multiple
departments for each exhibition and each pmgram, as evidenced by
the current exhibition of contemporary Inuit art which has engaged
dasses from Sodology/Anthropology, Economics, Religious Studies,
and History in addition to Art, Behind the scenes, there are additional
artworks in the library that art students have been able to hold and
experience tactilely.
View the rest of this letter online at:
WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM
W hen times get tough, art is often cut first because it is seen as extraneous or
nonessential. It all depends on the kind of existence you want to have. Guilford's
core values suggest that we value communication across boundaries of
homogeneity and seek diversity to foster an ethical dimension of knowledge. An institution
of higher learning can, of course, exist without art. However, art provides a heart to this
institution: it is a source of communication, motivation, learning, skills preparation, and,
yes, job-preparedness training. If the core values, in fact, do matter, it is important to take
note when we are promoting inequality by setting a hierarchy of value. Instead of taking
more programs away, we should be figuring out ways to add educational opportunity.
During our discussion. Assistant Professor Mark Dixon pointed out that the "culture that
promotes standardized tests contributes to a factory, mass-produced society. We do not live
in that time. Today collaboration and critical thinking are crucial." The way that we try
to teach art at Guilford contributes to a wider approach to existing in the world and these
initiatives go hand in hand with the Art Gallery. Closing the gallery would undoubtedly
not only reduce our visibility within and outside the college, it would tarnish it. Along
with the Bonner Center, the CRRC, Friends Center, multi-cultural education and CPPS, the
Art Gallery should be promoted as a real point of difference for this institution so that our
graduates will have an advantage. Upon reading about the budget cuts suggested by the
APSA report, art alumna Katie Maloney '12 said, "Those are all the things that made me feel
like I got a good education."
What do you need to hear from us to prove that the Art Gallery is a good thing? If you
do not have that information, let us know what it is. We feel certain we can gather it and
welcome the opportunity to do so. As far as recommendations for alternatives, perhaps
instead of seeking ways to divide our institution into ways that seem "expendable," we
should be looking for ways to preserve the lifeblood of our institution.