Brian Alfred / Statement
My teaching practice as an associate professor in the drawing and painting area has grown and evolved since my start at Penn State. In my first few years of teaching, I looked deep within to as a way to connect to the students. As I myself am a graduate of Penn State’s School of Visual Art, I used my own personal experience as a roadmap in teaching students. I looked at successful patterns in my own learning experiences to inform my interactions with them. Drawing on one’s own experience and knowledge can be a direct and deep resource for guiding students on their path forward. In my time since, I feel that I have been able to connect my personal experience and my first hand path with the outside, post-school world. As my confidence working with students grows I am able to layer experiences from outside the school environment and connect the two.
This connection has been enriched by a simultaneous shared experience I have fostered through my curating and conversations with other artists. While maintaining my exhibitions and personal artwork, I have been finding the value and substance of making connections with other artists and people in my field. This connecting thread has helped me become a more thoughtful and experienced educator. To be a great teacher, I feel you must spend a great amount of time dedicated to learning. I believe that teaching is hinged on the ability to communicate effectively in many ways. Through my work on my podcast, I have been in a continual state of learning, reflection and consideration.
While extending my practice outside of the studio in these ways can have a great effect on my personal perspective, it is essential that that bridge is created and strengthened with the students. One way I have done this is invite artists to share their experiences directly in conversation with the students via video conferencing and visits to the classroom. I have used this more and more in the classroom as a direct communication line between students and working creative professionals that I feel is an invaluable asset to their thinking about being a creative professional in the future. I have also asked them to listen to interviews, read articles and create responses to their work.
I have worked with students in my classes, students in independent studies, graduate students, non-majors and pretty much any student that asks for my advice and/or input. In each case, I have come to realize the effect of a personalized approach to understanding each student’s drive and goals and establishing an individual set of questions, ideas and challenges to motivate and support them in their learning. A main tenant of successful teaching in the arts is the individual input you can impart to the students. It’s this kind of learning that, although difficult to quantify, is immeasurable in its positive impact on instilling a sense of support, confidence and motivation in students. I am dedicated to constantly improving my technical teaching in courses through different media and also consistently working to teaching students ways of sustaining a creative path outside of school through various means and strategies. Overall, I have attempted to migrate from the insular shared experience of being in the Penn State School of Visual Arts, to the bridge between that experience and becoming successful as the students move into the next phase of their life.
In my recent creative work and research, I hit a major milestone which was the 500th episode of my Sound & Vision Podcast. For the occasion, I hosted a live podcast at the Williamsburg Biannual Art Space in Brooklyn. The panel discussion included three established voices in the art community and we spoke in front of a live audience. Bringing the podcast in front of a live audience and also recording it was an amazing experience. The podcast continues to teach me and be a guiding force in my research as a creative artist.
I was asked in May to host a panel discussion at Future Fair in Manhattan with two other artists. I was included in a large group show at Halsey McKay Gallery in Brooklyn. I spent most of the year in the studio making work for my upcoming exhibition at Miles McEnery Gallery entitled 'Plus Ultra' which runs from June 25th to August 15th. I have also been working on writing my next book about art & sports.
The podcast and panel public discussions impact my work in that these discussions about art and life inform my personal exploration within my work about how our environment and how we interface with the world describes us as a society. For my upcoming show about sports and society, the topic came to mind after many years of interviewing artists who spoke about their experiences with sports as a young person or yet still to this day. The idea of athletic practice and a studio practice and parallels with a dedication to creating and making arose from these conversations. This directly informs my upcoming exhibition in June and also built the pathway for the new book I am writing. I see one of the biggest values of art making to be the communication between the artist and the audience. Through the podcast and discussions I believe that my work becomes more engaged with a broader conversation in our society.
I have been able to share and engage my work and ideas in various arenas in the public realm. I created and hosted a month long series at the Apple Store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where each week I did a live discussion with an artist in front of the public audience. These conversations included top artists working today from Robin F. Williams to Diana Al-Hadid. I spoke on a panel at the Apollo Theatre that explored the modern day visual artist in the music, theater and entertainment industries. Panelists shared how they transform performance spaces into visual experiences and how these experiences have shaped their careers and changed the field. In addition, they advised young artists on the skills needed to manage a career in the arts and establish themselves in nontraditional spaces. The panel was moderated by Lauren Kelley, Director and Chief Curator at the Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art and Storytelling in Harlem, New York. I participated in a discussion with the artist Matthew Craven at PS1 for the Artist Book Fair at PS1 MoMa I hosted a panel discussion at Hunter MFA in Tribeca on the life and work of Robert Reed.
I performed along side my colleague, Rudy Shepherd, at the Spring Break Art Fair as part of his performance piece. I created four large collage works for NYU Hospitals which is now on view in their new facilities on the lower east side. I created another two public murals for the Rag & Bone store on Houston and Elizabeth streets. I am currently working with San Francisco based tech company UNITY on a virtual reality piece of my artworks. I made two new editions for Maharam Digital Projects which ended up in my artwork being part of a coffee shop in Seattle and a public mall in Canada. I performed live animations at Elsewhere in Brooklyn for Logan Takahashi. I made artwork for Grimm Ales, one of the top independent breweries in the US. I was also interviewed by The Studio Visit, Modern Art Notes and several other sites and podcasts where I discussed my process and my shows. I also contributed a written piece on the work of Jo Baer for the web blog Painters on Paintings.
Another contribution that means so much to me is the work I have done with Time In, a non-profit organization that introduces the arts to underprivileged children growing up under difficult circumstances in Harlem. I did a collage workshop with several age classes at Time In’s headquarters in Midtown Manhattan. Sharing art and the art making process with these kids is one of the most impactful and heartening activities I do as an artist. Seeing them smile and have fun in expressing themselves creatively knowing they have such a hard time in their daily lives is very fulfilling.
As the area head of Drawing & Painting. I work with graduate students on their path to an MFA, organize committees, and oversaw the implementation of a sustainable solvent overhaul on the painting floor which brought a streamlining of equipment and materials in order to create a more eco-friendly program. I organize the BFA reviews, assisting and mentoring the Painting Club and the visiting artists that they bring to the program and much more. My creative work sets the bar for what I teach and express in the classroom. I find it incredibly important to set an example for the students and show them that engaging in an intense and dedicated studio practice is achievable and rewarding.