Yesterday would have been a lovely day to drive down to Athens (Ohio, that is), yet unfortunately I was stuck at home doing laundry, writing an exam and generally vegging out. Today is a gray day, and being at work in Zanesville would have prevented me from such a road trip anyway. I'm thinking about Athens because I was invited (with every other faculty and staff member, I'm nothing special), to a brown-bag meeting of sorts at Alden Library. The topic was "Using Principles of Design to Rethink Powerpoint," which I figured would be interesting, even if I don't teach long-term.
With today's lovely technology, I was able to watch the talk online. And inevitably, everything the speaker said made me think in my head, "Yes, but for an art history lecture..." The presenter is a professor of communications, and he extended his points to other subjects such as biology, business and chemistry, but nothing was mentioned about art history. If I were brave (and if my computer were equipped with a microphone) perhaps I would have chimed in.
Some things did make sense for all subjects; such as, using properties of narrative and compare/contrast to tie the information together. I do that all the time, naturally I think. Especially when I obliterate the order in which images are printed in the book. And one rule I go by every week: if your students could print out your Powerpoint and have all the information without your spoken words, you're doing something wrong.
However, a lot of things said and presented are the exact opposite of what I do, and I'm hesitant to make those changes. For example, he mocked the concept of black backgrounds, calling it his "Dark Period." Now I use black not to be "artsy" but to give a better view of the details and colors in each image. White just messes it all up. And I don't have a lot of graphics and charts and captions and text...that's just part and parcel of an art history lecture. It's all about the image. Period. I try to mix things up with video and real artist's tools and supplies, but really, it's all about those slides. I just don't have the luxury of turning off the projector like I'm sure some other professors do.
I'm not a graphic designer, and neither is the presenter. He did gave a line that cracked me up, though: "I'm not an expert in graphic design, but I know enough to be dangerous." If I were able, I'd be happy to use the Rule of Thirds, etc. But when my slides are paintings, sculpture and views of architecture, I see no harm in exact centering. Sometimes I'd like to use different fonts and effects, but that takes away from the art, which is not only a visual aid, but the topic of discussion itself...
I guess art history is really that unique.
26 September 2011
13 September 2011
autumn
Most consider autumn the season of decline...leaves start to turn and fall, grass browns and temperatures drop. Yet for me, autumn, this one in particular, is all about a new start. It's my spring. Instead of lamenting my under-employment, I will be chronicling the whirlwind that is holding two jobs: one in academia and one in the non-profit sector. Right up my alley.
Now, I can't exactly blog about the non-profit...if I choose to identify it, I'd have to follow a law that bans me from "proselytizing" or making political statements. And although I don't consider myself much of an activist, I think I should allow myself the ease of anonymity where that is concerned. Suffice it to say that it's a brand new chapter in the book of me, a challenge that will hopefully develop my management skills and make me irresistible to future employers.
The temperatures are still summer-like...jeez it was hot Monday during the 9/11 Day of Remembrance service project. I prefer cool weather when I can wear scarves and cardigans and other layers. Speaking of scarves, the least complicated issue of the academic job is whether I should go full Manhattan mode with the wardrobe. It's what pops into my head when I think "art history professor," but then again, I'm teaching in Ohio, and I need to be accessible to the students, not aloof. I already feel like the bad guy, expecting them to do incredible things like show up for class. And I'm already on the path of disappointment, heading toward the realization that despite my words and images and best efforts, they won't love art like I do.
When I told the awesome people at the store about the class, they were surprised. "You have a Masters?" "Wait, how old are you?" Seems I can still pass for a teenager in some people's eyes. Well, gone are the days of shop-girl-dom. Now my brain is fighting shifting into overdrive to get into this new mode of employment...a mode which requires and invites me to think. It's what I wanted, but getting what we want can be scary too. Come on, autumn. And bring it on, winter. Except for a lot of snow...a snow day or snow emergency would seriously wreck my course schedule.
Now, I can't exactly blog about the non-profit...if I choose to identify it, I'd have to follow a law that bans me from "proselytizing" or making political statements. And although I don't consider myself much of an activist, I think I should allow myself the ease of anonymity where that is concerned. Suffice it to say that it's a brand new chapter in the book of me, a challenge that will hopefully develop my management skills and make me irresistible to future employers.
The temperatures are still summer-like...jeez it was hot Monday during the 9/11 Day of Remembrance service project. I prefer cool weather when I can wear scarves and cardigans and other layers. Speaking of scarves, the least complicated issue of the academic job is whether I should go full Manhattan mode with the wardrobe. It's what pops into my head when I think "art history professor," but then again, I'm teaching in Ohio, and I need to be accessible to the students, not aloof. I already feel like the bad guy, expecting them to do incredible things like show up for class. And I'm already on the path of disappointment, heading toward the realization that despite my words and images and best efforts, they won't love art like I do.
When I told the awesome people at the store about the class, they were surprised. "You have a Masters?" "Wait, how old are you?" Seems I can still pass for a teenager in some people's eyes. Well, gone are the days of shop-girl-dom. Now my brain is fighting shifting into overdrive to get into this new mode of employment...a mode which requires and invites me to think. It's what I wanted, but getting what we want can be scary too. Come on, autumn. And bring it on, winter. Except for a lot of snow...a snow day or snow emergency would seriously wreck my course schedule.
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