Pitt professors teach art, create art

Sure they can teach, but can they create? The artwork on display now at the Department of… Sure they can teach, but can they create? The artwork on display now at the Department of Studio Arts 2008 Faculty Exhibition, an exhibition that occurs every two or three years, includes the most current pieces from 14 professors. The work ranges from second-hand bed sheets that, when inflated with air, become cars, to silver gelatin prints of hair strands to textured strips of colored tape. Many of the faculty members with artwork in the show often exhibit locally and play a major role in Pittsburgh’s art scene as well as in other cities, both nationally and internationally. Two professors, Professor Michael Morrill and Professor Kenneth Batista, talked to The Pitt News about the artwork they have in the faculty exhibition. The work of both professors shares many characteristics in terms of process and inspiration, and they had a lot to say about how their processes and artworks connect to the world. Batista, who has taught at Pitt for 31 years, says he is currently exploring a hybrid between technology and traditional painting.’ ‘I take the photograph and I run it through Photoshop,’ said Batista, ‘which breaks it down in pixels. From there, I push and pull the colors. I’m dealing a lot with color transition and light.’ He uses acrylic paint to transfer the manipulated photograph onto the canvas. Morrill also often uses computers as a basis for his artwork. Morrill’s paintings in the exhibition are black and white paintings formed by the application of many layers of paint, and they explore the relationship between light and dark. For both professors, computers and the increased speed of the world today are two of the most powerful influences on their work and on the art world in general. ‘I would say that there’s been acceleration in the art world these days,’ said Morill, who has exhibited for 28 years now. ‘Young people are exhibiting work at a much younger age than artists did 30 or 40 years ago. I think the idea of a long-term evolution is getting somewhat compressed.’ Batista explains that the computer is also creating a sense of fragmentation in our culture, because anyone can go to the computer at any time of night or day to find out anything. Batista likes to combine the traditional artistic processes with technology to combat its speed. ‘Working with oil paint is a very slow, old process,’ said Batista. ‘It slows me down; it slows the world down for me.’ Both professors agree that increased technology and globalization have also influenced how students learn about art because it changes how they view the world. Learning how to create art is different from the days when classical Renaissance masters used to teach students precise skills for painting figures and perspective in their studios or the Impressionists gathered together in Paris to discuss the movement. ‘I have no interest in creating a school of abstraction or something like that,’ said Morrill. ‘I’m really interested in setting a condition, stage or atmosphere in the studio where students can probe and find their own ideas.’ Batista does not try to persuade the students to create one type of work, but rather provides a base level of skills upon which they can apply their own interests and build their work.’ Batista sees a very fluid relationship between the classroom and the creation of artwork. ‘Teaching and working in the studio are very different energies that require different parts of you,’ said Batista. ‘The energy I put out in the classroom I get returned from the students and, in turn, I take to the studio. The energy I get out of working in the studio, I take into the classroom, so it’s a very nice balance.’ Both Morrill and Batista say they appreciate all of the diverse experiences each of their students brings into the studio. They say that this keeps them interested and fascinated in what’s going on in the world today. ‘One of the nice things about teaching here, and this is why I came to the University of Pittsburgh, is that it’s a B.A. program,’ said Batista, ‘which means a number of our students come from different disciplines. You could have a freshman in an undeclared major sitting next to a graduate student in molecular biology that’s taking the class to get his or her head out of his dissertation … everywhere in between.’