I had my first critique. It could have gone a lot better than it did. On the plus side, no one was spiteful. On the negative side, I have to expand the way I think about making art quite a bit. My advice to myself is to decide what is important and to be sure I am willing to kill my darlings. Just because something is a good idea does not make it a good idea in context. If ideas are incongruous without purpose, they detract from each other, even if they are both good ideas on their own. Every action involved in the making and presentation of art is a decision. Some decisions may not be conscious. The more those decisions are deliberate, the stronger the intent of the work becomes.
To anyone who finds themselves in a situation like this, do not despair. Graduate school is hard. Remember they accepted you. If like me, you are getting funding, remember that they have a vested interest in your success, even though it may not always seem that way.
While this is not the last crit I'll have, time will go by quickly. I need to internalize the questions and advice. I don't get the option of just doing what people suggest. Even if they'd given me their opinions, their art is not my art. I need to ask myself better questions so my artistic inquiry can lead to better solutions. I knew I'd have to face some of these challenges, I just didn't realize I'd face so many at once. As much as I'd have liked to have heard that everything I'm doing is strong, that kind of feedback would not have given me something else to learn. I don't want this degree just for the certification. I want to grow.
What I heard at the beginning is true. This is not undergrad 2.0.
