Image of Bryan that he used for a project in Art Foundation.
As VCUarts celebrates its nine-decade history, our alumni share their recollections. Here, Art Education alumnus Bryan Hill (BFA ’94) recalls how his professors challenged him to consider art from all perspectives.
“The model had on a flowing gown full of color and shapes; the assignment was to ‘paint the model.’ Milo Russell, my professor of painting, taught me to look beyond what I see and I saw a woman with a blank stare that seemed to have her mind elsewhere. I chose to paint what she was offering us. I saw a woman full of despair, full of trials and concern… I took what she was giving and what I saw and chose to paint her in monotones from the floor up, keeping her dressed in her flowing gown. As a collective group, my professors during my tenure at VCUarts forced me to look at art from all perspectives—not just as the artist, but as the viewer and even the sitter. What will the viewer see once the artist is no longer standing next to and supporting the artwork? As I am entering my 20th year as an art educator, those are some of the same ideals that I teach my students each and every day: “What will your art say to the viewer, once you leave the art for them?”
Bryan Hill, Resting Foot, 1994, Oil on Canvas 36×36. Collection of the Artist.
2018 marks 90 years of creative daring at VCU School of the Arts. To mark this occasion, VCUarts is spending this school year reflecting on our shared history and envisioning how we can continue to pave the way for creative practice in the 21st century and beyond. Visit the VCUarts 90th Anniversary website to learn more about the many stories that have shaped our school, and to share memories of your own.
The post VCUarts 90th | A memory from Art Education alumnus Bryan Hill appeared first on VCUarts.