Art with an Artist seminars go online

Twice a year, Tokyo Tech offers students the opportunity to draw inspiration from its Art with an Artist seminars under the guidance of painter and poet Zuse Meyer.

Due to the exceptional circumstances, the first sessions of academic year 2020 were held online on June 10 and 17. Eleven Tokyo Tech students, including five first-year students who only recently joined the Institute, attended.

Meyer, a graduate of the Berlin University of the Arts and former lecturer at Tokyo Tech, is an artist based in Berlin and Tokyo who runs an art school and art workshops in both Europe and Asia. Despite the new challenges of conducting a hands-on event such as this online, both Meyer and the Tokyo Tech participants embraced the experience.

As in previous years, Meyer lectured in both English and Japanese on carefully selected themes. After this, participants created various forms of works with pencil sketching, crayons, and paper craft. The seminar closed with the sharing of all works among group members and both personal and shared messages from Meyer.

Discovering one's creativity by feeling and doing

Day 1: Creating still lifes with the non-dominant hand

Meyer began the first session on June 10 with a historical perspective on still life painting. During her informative talk, she shared with students images of various works by Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, and Pablo Picasso.

After this, each student shared with other participants the items they planned to use in their still lifes. They then received advice from Meyer regarding the arrangement of the subject matter and the use of single strokes, and were given 20 minutes to sketch out their targets. This was followed by a commentary session during which each student showed their works through the cameras on their computers.

To finish off, students practiced creating still lifes using crayons and their non-dominant hand. Critique from Meyer regarding these pieces was sent individually to each student via email.

During Day 1, it became evident that displaying art in an online environment poses certain technical challenges. For instance, students had difficulty positioning their web cameras to clearly display their art to other participants. Even when they managed to do so, the lighting in the room often would not allow the camera to render the works faithfully.

Day 2: Sharing art with others

One task on the second day of the seminar was to solve some of these practical issues. To do so, students photographed their works and sent them to Tokyo Tech's Student Support Center, the host of the event. Tokyo Tech staff then sequentially shared the works on Zoom, allowing Meyer to provide more detailed feedback.

At the end of conventional in-person seminars, the common practice is for all participants to comment on each other's works. This time, however, Tokyo Tech staff created a collection of all the works which were then sent to participants by email. This collection included comments from Meyer.

The fundamental ingredient of your art is your heart

After the seminar, Meyer shared the following message with all participants:

Comments from seminar participants

• I had not sketched with my left hand before, so this was a brand new experience.
• When sketching with my left hand, I was able to move the crayon more freely. I want to try it again. It was also a good experience to join a class held in English.
• It was lots of fun, and I learned a lot!
• A very enjoyable experience.
• I wasn't busy with other tasks, so I enjoyed it.
• Unfortunately, I had some issues with my communication equipment, but it was still great! I hope I can join again in the fall.
• It was interesting to learn the significance of still life paintings from a historical perspective. Drawing with a single stroke, with my left hand, and using tools I don't normally use was both refreshing and fun. In the past, I only drew portraits, but from now on, I think I will try still life paintings from time to time.

Trying new approaches is the key to improving online learning

When hosting practical workshops such as the Art with an Artist seminar online, it can be difficult to create the same desired effect that is achieved during in-person sessions. Although unexpected issues emerged, Tokyo Tech's Student Support Center, the host of this event, was able to resolve these issues by trying various approaches and aiming for improvements as the seminar progressed. By repeating these steps, Tokyo Tech staff members were able to support Meyer in bringing out the essence of her seminar in a virtual environment.

Tokyo Tech is already looking forward to hosting the next Art with an Artist seminar in November 2020, regardless of whether it is in person or online.

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This article has been updated to correct a typographical error on December 22, 2021.