Saturday, May 06, 2006

Surely, I have something to say!




Right, how's this: the other day for PE, my friend and I were packed off to the gym. The reason being that we still could not land our standing broad jump well - and quite literally for me. I hit the 170s, but it seems that my center of gravity has claimed a permanent place of residence on my butt, because that's what I kept falling on.

It's just a tad awkward being the only two girls in the gym, doing funny leg exercise machine things in our short shorts while the guys muck around doing their own thing, occasionally grunting fraternal support and admiration to each other. Also interesting is that it looks a little absurd, this whole affair with exercise machines. As if we've been reduced to such a sedantary life that we need these bulky and complicated looking machines to develop basic muscles!

Our Little Art Class faced a traumatic event yesterday, when an art teacher from a certain established junior college, upon invitation from our own teacher, visted us for consultation services concerning our A level coursework.

So traumatic that we ended up coining the name the Fry Club for those who received her attention. I was spared fortunately, but those who weren't like Zara and Kenneth ended up even more confused than before, and primarily because once more, it triggered the whole structured institutionalized art vs. free art -- and no prizes for guessing which camp said visitor came from!

No guesses from which side I come from either.

I don't know, I just cannot understand why people would think that to get a good grade for the A Levels, you have to somehow sacrifice some extent of your creative will to give space for what the Cambridge People Want. I know you've heard this rant a gazillion times from me Zar, but augh the issue still makes me itch! What is the point of doing another hyper-realistic painting in *gasp* acrylic, when there are already so many around such that it looks like it was almost painted by the same person. It's all the same, and it's all very boring after awhile. I cannot understand the fear and paranoia that surround the whole issue! Notably, not quite the fault of the students, since it was first perpetuated by the teachers...it's times like this that I was so pleasantly surprised that our teacher, who we thought to be quite uptight, is somewhat liberal after all.

But you know, I suppose even after my whole DON'T BE AFRAID, JUST DO WHAT YOU WANT sentiments, I am aware that I might be risking (gasp!) a B and I'd be lying if I said it doesn't worry me..but I think that if I did get a grade lower than an A for the right reasons, I'd be okay with it. In this sense, it's not like the other A level subjects where you flop because you didn't work hard enough, or just messed up that crucial 90 minutes of essay-writing. Because at least your work will speak for itself you know, so to hell with what the examiners think cos after all, if you're going to work in an art-related industry, its the portfolio they look at more I should think, and not the grade.

Boy, am I glad I'm going to an industry where sneakers and not polished leather shoes patter about.

But still, I have faith in the Cambridge examiners - that they really aren't the pinched, narrow uber-traditionalists that they are made out to be, and can recognize skill, talent and effort when they see it. Let's give them some credit, right.

Right?

No comments:

Post a Comment