Monday, April 30, 2012

A Reflection On Forty Years of Teaching

Art History Class c. 1975


It was 1971. Richard Nixon was president.  Alan Shepard and Ed Mitchell had been driving a golf cart around on the moon, and I had been driving a taxi around Philadelphia.  I was twenty five, and I had just been  offered a better job. I had met a man named  Phil Trachtman, 6 months earlier during my one man show of paintings at the Wallnuts Gallery, on Locust Street. Phil had just  opened a new graphic design school, named "The Art Institute of Philadelphia." He was  an art director in town and often had to hire fresh talent. But his complaint was that the graduates from the Philadelphia art schools "don't know how to DO anything!" He had to spend months training them at things  like "paste-up" and "mechanicals."  So Phil decided he would try a novel concept: to create an art school, where graduates were actually ready to work!

His faculty was created from working professionals that he personally knew. Sophia Chitjian, for example, was a fashion illustrator for Strawbridge and Clothier, and he talked her into teaching...of all things...fashion illustration! Well known graphic art/ illustration pros like Jack Duffy, Ralph Malatesta, Bob Arufo, Jack Martin and the amazing Charlie Ellis rounded out the faculty. Recognizing that foundation skills such as drawing and painting were essential, he also had a number of fine art types, like Harvey Silverman and Bob Koffler teaching those classes.  Art history was also part of the curriculum and when an opening came up, he contacted me.
Jack Duffy at the school...


I was invited in for an interview. I didn't have an art history degree. I didn't have ANY degree, only  a certificate, but it was from one of the great art schools of the world, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. I had also had been making a bit of a splash with my work, had received several well known grants, including a Tiffany, and the Academy provided me with a letter attesting to my qualifications to teach. With that, the state of Pennsylvania certified me to teach art history- and Phil hired me for the highest salary I had ever received: seven dollars an hour! I had never made more the four, (including while working in a Pittsburgh steel mill) so this was a huge step!

I'm not writing a "history of the school" here. This is much more about what it has meant to me to be a teacher, and the value of a school such as AIP (as it was called then.) But, in January 1972, when I was hired, the school, amazingly,  had one person who did all the administrative duties, a woman named Alice Law. All the records were kept in paper files. Personal computers did not exist.  Our first graduating class, was two students. They both were hired, as were almost all of our early graduates, thanks to the "hands-on" curriculum, and the industry contacts of Phil and the faculty.  

So it was January 1972, when I walked into a class room as a teacher, for the first time. I greeted the fifteen or so young faces. I was their art history teacher. I was just slightly older than they were.  I began talking to the class about the Paleolithic period. I thought of the many exciting art history classes I had experienced.  To me it was akin to "time travel." I didn't have to fake any enthusiasm for the subject. Art was my life. I had a huge mass of slides which I had taken myself (thanks to my grants)  and used these to try to engender a love for the subject in my students. Several of those early students are still friends. I've seen them raise families, and one has a daughter who is an art history major in college.
Faculty from Cherry Street school

The school, in time, went through a metamorphosis. We grew in enrollment and after a few years moved to a much larger space at 18th and Cherry St. I began to teach drawing and painting as well as art history. Students from the mid-1970s era are now in their 50s, and many of them are Facebook friends, fellow art exhibitors, and teachers themselves.  We have occasional get-togethers, during "First Friday" events in Philadelphia's Old City section. I'm amazed at how MUCH they remember from my classes. I always tried to spice up art history with a bit of scandal or the bizarre, and those stories are remembered: was Vermeer a woman? for example.
My students and me in the late 1970s

In the late 1970s a major shift came to the school when it was purchased by Pittsburgh based,  Education Management Corporation. It was probably inevitable, because of huge changes in the graphic design and education  worlds. Computers were beginning to be used, both to run the business of the school, and in making art (the MACintosh!) Also, federally insured student loans were becoming more and more important, which meant accrediting bodies had more power.  It used to be a good portfolio was your ticket to a career, now a degree was becoming a pre-requisite.

So in 1980, now called AIPh (because AIP was the Pittsburgh school)- we moved to a massive new place in the heart of Philadelphia- 1622 Chestnut Street.  We had begun with Phil Trachtman's vision and less than 100 students on the second floor of an 8th Street retail space, and now we occupied an historic art deco structure in the exact heart of the city. We also had thousands of students. In evolutionary terms, this is called success, and there was a good reason for it. Our graduates were indeed building careers, and  their friends and children were coming to the school for the same "hands-on" education. Graduates were now art directors and were hiring talent from their alma matter. The school also went to great lengths to be anticipatory of the changing art world. When "Flash" became an important part of the design industry, for example, we had graduates trained and ready to go!

What I have always loved about our school, is that we will give almost ANYONE a chance. We have an "open enrollment" policy. You don't need a high GPA in high school, to be admitted.  Some people, especially pretentious academic "elites," see this as meaning we "let anyone in, just to take their money, or the government's money." These people, frankly have not seen a REALITY which I have experienced. Time and again, a young man or woman who had struggled to get D grades in high school, finds a path in life which is creative, fulfilling and viable at our school. Sometimes, the students we enroll are not ready, have not found their way, and it is the duty of faculty and administration to be realistic with those people, and fail them out of the program. I don't see it as a fault or an avaricious aspect of the school, that they were given a chance to succeed in the first place. Sometime, even our graduates cannot pay back their loans, (although most do.) But this is little different, percentage-wise, from what happens even at "prestige universities."

I have also had, in my forty years of teaching, many students who had degrees from other schools (including Ivy League)- which proved to be worthless as far as making a living in the world. They came to our school to do what they loved, which is art and design. Almost all of them get at least a viable start in the design world, thanks to our curriculum. I love it when I hear that 100% of our graduates have jobs in the field, and that happens quite often, especially in the web design department where I continue to teach.

 No one can tell me that The Art Institute of Philadelphia is anything other than, a force for good in our society.  There are certainly problems at our school, and as someone who has taught at 4 other major art colleges (PAFA, Rutgers, Rosemont and UArts)...they have the same or similar problems.  Teachers, staff and administrators sometime have different perspectives, but when it works as it should, they are all part of the same symbiotic system. The faculty is unionized at AIPh, and the union has been, from my view, a pragmatic force for betterment. It has been able to work with management in the past, to craft mutually beneficial contracts. In 2012, we are in a very difficult time. But we are all in this together. We have a shared endeavor: education.  If that is ever lost...a very fine thing will be lost.

What I see, and value, is this:  Every student I meet, is a son or daughter of someone. Many of them are parents, brothers and sisters. Some are former military with PTSD. Some are people, whose lives have become unviable, due to technological changes, and they are being re-trained for new careers. Some are young people, searching for something they have yet to define. Many have come from foreign countries, to study "in America" where they expect to get "the best education." Most of them are just out of high school. Some had the benefits of family support and great art programs. Some barely survived an environment of drug violence and indifferent teachers just struggling to maintain a semblance of order. Some...are brilliant- bursting with creativity and intelligence beyond what I recognize in myself.

 They all, have the full expectations of youth.  They  all, have some kind of HOPE. It has been my great joy to help them, along with so many dedicated faculty, and staff and administrators to achieve, their personal vision- their HOPE. That is the essential goodness of our school and why I  am  so grateful to have been a small part of it for the past forty years.
My former students and me- 2011

13 comments:

  1. Beautiful writing and encouraging thoughts.

    Robin Corsino

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    1. thanks Robin- in these times of trouble and woe...

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  2. Have you considered adding a career in writing to your portfolio? Nice job, Fred.
    You have definitely discovered and enjoyed the essence of what teaching is all about.
    A very good read.

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  3. hi fred,

    i've only been at the art institute of philadelphia teaching for eight years, but one of the reasons why i have stayed in this position (the most lengthy job i've had) is because of the sense of community and shared experiences among the faculty and the belief that all of us want to give our students the best that we can. thank you so much for your beautiful story and the reminder of what is really important right now.
    danielle demooy

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    1. Thanks for the comment Danielle, and I feel very much the same! I received a lot of private emails from former students from the story, and they all have great memories and feelings for our "Institute."
      (Thanks for the great graphic work on the Web program broshure also!)-Fred

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  4. Thank you Fred.
    I'm sure my dad would have very much enjoyed reading your account - even though I recall some moments when he may not have exactly shared your positive perspective on the entire teaching experience.
    I think, for most of his career, he did really love being a part of the Institute.
    Phil Trachtman did indeed have a brilliant concept and the genius to put together a great pool of talent. Thank you for your story.

    KC Ellis

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  5. KC, thanks for the comment. Your dad was unforgettable and one of the most amazing people I ever met! My first week at AIP, he and Jack Duffy took me to lunch and I thought, "wow! two real
    PROs are taking me to lunch!" thanks again...Fred

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  6. Need to identify the folks in the photos...I remember most but not all...3rd Photo. (B / W)
    Back Row: Left to right...Bob Arufo, Alice Gripman, Sam Fried, Fred. Middle Row: Michael Wills(?), Unidentified, Al Pastore, Sophia Chitjian, Front Row: Paul Axler(?) Photo teacher, Susan (?) Typography teacher and the man, the myth, the legend Charlie Ellis.

    In the next photo I can only identify by name Phil Trachtman, Jack Martin and Nick Tridemus. I know all of their faces but cannot remeber the names.

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  7. Mike- Not sure, but the u.p.t. (unidentified posing teacher) in the 3rd photo may be Bill Southworth (or something close to that?)
    and Susan MacIninly in front.
    The other with Phil and Jack and Nick- no clue on several but remember them all- behind Phil is Charles something, who was the ID dept head at the time...

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  8. maybe Bill Southwell? Jack Cederstrom was on the faculty then as well, Bernie Cleff - Bob Bach, (who captured a Japanese submarine at Pearl Harbor!)

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  9. One of the delights about blogging is finding a jewel like this post.
    I was fascinated reading the progress of the school through your experiences and non-elitist viewpoint.
    I went through an art school program in England - back in the day - and it was geared the same way as yours, with the practical applications of illustration: fashion, book covers etc, and the commercial art: lettering, paste-up,layout etc. I was never without an art job after coming to this country because of the strong basics instilled in me.
    I can remember interviewing artists from different universities fine art programs, carrying huge portfolios with nothing pertaining to the skills needed for the positions they were applying for.
    Fortunately, some fabulous art schools exist now and
    Phil Trachtman was indeed a man of vision.

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    1. Thanks for the very kind comment Julie- I just had a one-man show of my art in Philadelphia, and was stunned by how many of my former students attended.Some I had not seen for over 30 years! Being a teacher is a wonderful way to connect with others.My high school art teacher, John Dropcho and his wife also attended. I met him in 1957!!! and we are still friends and colleagues.
      I visited your web site- really enjoy your work as well!
      my best- Fred

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  10. Hi Fred, not sure if you remember me: I attended the Art Institute of Philadelphia and was a student in your painting class as well as in Harvey Silverman's class. You and Harvey had amazing works and paintings. Glad to see and read your Blog. Great memories and teaching staff too. Best, Darius Detwiler

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