“Girl with a Pearl Earring,” Johannes Vermeer, parody. Image courtesy of Pinterest.
John Alford is an art history professor here at SCAD Atlanta. He teaches 20th Century Art and is well practiced in conversing with his students on a personal level, helping to make sure that everyone can think on the issues at hand.
Cole Seidner: What inspired you to study art history?
John Alford: As an undergraduate I was a studio art major, and art history was part of the program. It was in the survey classes that I realized that I enjoyed art history very much, and I thought about majoring in it. My college didn’t have an art history major, though, so I had to wait until graduate school.
CS: Do you have some favorite moments from your time here at SCAD Atlanta?
JA: It’s always great to see the works our students exhibit each year at Open Studio Night. That’s one highlight. I’ve also always enjoyed going to lectures by visiting artists such as Art Spiegelman, Marina Abamović, and Shirin Neshat. Spiegelman, for example, came soon after I began teaching at SCAD, and it was interesting to hear about his work, particularly his graphic novel “Maus.”
CS: Have you always wanted to be a professor?
JA: Actually, I wanted to be a sculptor at first, but I gradually moved over to art history, and while pursuing my Ph.D. I taught some undergraduate classes. It was during this time that I decided to become a professor.
CS: Is there something you would like your students to take from their time in your classes?
JA: I want them to see how important the study of art history is to their particular disciplines. If nothing else, such study helps them know what art is out there so that they don’t repeat something that’s already been done. I particularly want students to become critical thinkers, so that they can think outside the box in there careers.
CS: Have your students every taught you something?
JA: They teach me something all of the time. Each quarter in each class I learn something new from my students. My students have also taught me the importance of good organization and the need to present material in an understandable manner.
CS: There is a kind of mini-trend online that I’ve noticed, where people have started to take famous art works, depicting females, and photo shopping cellphones or mirrors in their hands. I have a few examples here, these are works by men depicting, from what I’ve read, the male gaze. I was wondering if you have any comments about this trend?
Frida Kahlo selfie parody. Image courtesy of www.society6.com.
JA: I think it’s a good thing. The images are humorous, but they also cause us to think about the existence of the male gaze, and how it has been a factor in our art and in our media for a long time, even though people may not be aware of it. These images are a good way to counter that way of thinking because the selfies take the focus away from the gaze of the viewer; now the female subjects are focused on themselves, which perhaps makes us see them as real people with thoughts of their own (although that may be a stretch with the Venus statue). On the otherhand, we could see the presence of the selfie poses as an invitation to continue gazing at the figures, as if we now have their permission to continue looking.