Alexandra Franklin Alex.Franklin@uwe.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer
Auditing creativity? The UK Art School in the age of neoliberalism
Franklin, Alex
Authors
Abstract
Short abstract
This paper will examine the role that the HEI Art School plays in both normalising and resisting the standardisation of the artist/designer in the UK and reflect on the growing influence of systems of 'coercive accountability' (Shore and Wright 2000) such as REF, TEF and the NSS.
Long abstract
In his Critique of Judgement (1790), Kant asserted that 'fine art is the art of genius' and further that, genius 'is the talent (natural endowment) which gives the rule to art. Since talent, as an innate productive faculty of the artist, belongs itself to nature, we may put it this way: Genius is the innate mental aptitude (ingenium) through which nature gives the rule to art.' This Romantic and deterministic vision of the creative practitioner has a long shadow, one which is still being felt in contemporary British Art Schools wherein the pressure to identify and draw out the unique talents of an individual sits uncomfortably alongside the institutional drive for universal, homogenising assessment practices and funding metrics.
This paper employs an analytic autoethnographic approach in the study of the evolving role of the Art School in the production of both the 'artists' and 'art' of the future. The author is a 'full member' (Anderson 2010) of the group being studied, inasmuch as her first degree was in Fine Art and she has worked in HEI arts education for 20+ years. The paper will outline the lived experience of balancing institutional, policy-driven and logistical demands with the day-to-day challenges of teaching students from a range of backgrounds, with a range of abilities, with a wide range of expectations, and all with a view to preparing them for a world which has yet to be imagined into being.
Citation
Franklin, A. (2018, June). Auditing creativity? The UK Art School in the age of neoliberalism. Paper presented at Art, Materiality and Representation, The British Museum & SOAS, London
Presentation Conference Type | Conference Paper (unpublished) |
---|---|
Conference Name | Art, Materiality and Representation |
Conference Location | The British Museum & SOAS, London |
Start Date | Jun 1, 2018 |
End Date | Jun 3, 2018 |
Acceptance Date | Jan 22, 2018 |
Peer Reviewed | Not Peer Reviewed |
Keywords | Art Schools, neoliberalism, audit cultures, creativity, autoethnography |
Public URL | https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/872101 |
Related Public URLs | https://nomadit.co.uk/rai/events/rai2018/conferencesuite.php/panels/6116 |
Additional Information | Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Art, Materiality and Representation |
You might also like
There’s no b’ness like ho b’ness: Deconstructing the hip-hop ‘ho’
(2019)
Book Chapter
Editorial: Intersectional dress
(2018)
Journal Article
Ageing by design: The role of the art school in creating a sustainable future
(2018)
Presentation / Conference
Relational ethics and the institution as 'intimate other'
(2018)
Presentation / Conference
Unravelling Miss Marple: Knitting, intuition and ageing femininity
(2018)
Presentation / Conference
Downloadable Citations
About UWE Bristol Research Repository
Administrator e-mail: repository@uwe.ac.uk
This application uses the following open-source libraries:
SheetJS Community Edition
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
PDF.js
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
Font Awesome
SIL OFL 1.1 (http://scripts.sil.org/OFL)
MIT License (http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html)
CC BY 3.0 ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Powered by Worktribe © 2024
Advanced Search