Students' Notions of Artistic Objectives and Insufficient Skills for Accomplishing Them

Abstract

The article looks into a certain instructional problem in teaching fine art caused by the discrepancy between the students' ideas about the objectives of modern art and their insufficient proficiency to attain the corresponding visual goals. The author argues that in most cases the views on modern trends and schools in art are taken by the students for granted, uncritically. These are not their own artistic solutions, but borrowed mythopoetic concepts circulating in their milieu.
Such a phenomenon is not uncommon. Our thinking, especially artistic thinking, which is based on axiological ideas, is very easily amenable, as psychologists say, to suggestion in the waking state (not to be confused with hypnotic suggestion). The resulting fairly firm mythopoetic views without an insight into their nature create the illusion of an unquestionable aptitude to perceive the form and artistic tasks.
Besides, the basic technical competence of many students lags far behind their aesthetic ideas. Practical exercises aimed at filling this gap by improving their skills are resented by the students who mistakenly consider them primitive, unworthy of what they think are the "higher" objectives of fine arts. This leads to misunderstanding the learning goals and a decrease in interest in learning, which they often perceive as mere copying of ready-made templates.
Tackling this issue is quite a challenge. The article proposes a method of individual approach, consisting in the initial study of the students’ mythopoetic beliefs, the search for contact based on mutual understanding, discussion and encouraging them to do this exercise in a familiar stylistic manner. The subsequent inevitable failure of such an attempt makes it possible to clearly demonstrate that such solutions is impossible without the core principles inherent to all artistic movements without exception. Such an approach may allow to channel the student's work into a more meaningful direction and increase their interest in learning.