Summer 2009 - Sewickley Academy

Prior to his arrival in Sewickley, Rob taught at the University of Kent
at Canterbury, the University of Cambridge, and The Benneden School
in Cranbrook, Kent. He received his doctorate and Master of Philosophy
in social and political sciences and art history from the University
of Cambridge; a Master of Business Administration in business studies,
arts, and design management from the London Business School;
a Master of Arts in graphic design from the Central School of Art and
Design and Royal College of Art in London; and his Bachelor of Fine
Arts in studio art and visual communication design from the University
of Alberta. To top it all off, he is a concert level pianist and attended the
Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Dr. Edwards took some time out of his summer routine to reflect on
his teaching and thinking and how Sewickley Academy has influenced
both.
What have you learned about students and art since you joined the
Academy’s faculty?
I’ve learned that all Academy students have their unique styles and
personalities, and I strive to treat each and every one as the individuals
they are. During each quarter, the primary objectives are to extol to my
students the virtues of drawing to encourage them to draw as much as
possible, and to eliminate the refrain, “Doc, I can’t draw!” from their
vocabulary. Mark Twain once said, “I can survive on a morsal of praise
for a week.” In this spirit, I reckon my role in the art studio is to take
student talent and try to realize its potential through encouragement,
work ethic, and confidence-boosting.
Has your experience here influenced or challenged your opinions on
art and its intersection with politics, history, or critical thinking?
As a teacher I have become more conservative in my teaching - which
can be interpreted these days as being radical. Rather than try to
reinvent the wheel via a progressive studio curriculum, I’m attempting
to return to the basics – to communicate what I feel is the essence
of all visual artwork: the act of drawing. (The sculptor Auguste Rodin
claimed that historically he invented nothing, but instead he “rediscovered.”)
As for the intersection of critical thinking and teaching Middle
Schoolers the glories of charcoal and paint, one renowned German
critic wrote in his Minima moralia: Reflections from Damaged Life that
“the task of art today is to bring chaos into order.” Read that as you may.
S E W I C K L E Y S P E A K I N G S U M M E R 2 0 0 9 S E W I C K L E Y S P E A K I N G S U M M E R 2 0 0 9
THE ART OF TEACHING: DR. ROB EDWARDS
Just completing his sixth year on the faculty at the Academy, Dr. Rob Edwards is well-recognized among students, faculty,
and the community as a scholar and artist. He is affectionately known as “Doc” in the halls and studios of Sewickley
Academy and continually inspires students to explore their potential through diligent practice and an understanding of art
history and theory.
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Dr. Rob Edwards beside his drawing of daughter, Eleanor, at age three.
How does your teaching - pedagogy and content - reflect your philosophy
of education?
“Sane judgment abhors nothing so much as a picture perpetrated with
no technical knowledge, although with plenty of care and diligence,”
said the Renaissance master Albrecht Dürer. In my studio, students
are trained to “see”; they are taught to sight and measure the subject
in order to reproduce it accurately using the academic methods
of drawing. They are also taught to render gesture, expression, exaggeration,
and fantasy in order to animate the subject to a high degree
using methods of cartooning and caricature. Students are further introduced
- along with the requisite technical skills – to the disciplines and
“habits of mind” of a traditional atelier studio practice, an environment
that fosters and inspires within each student the elements of close observation;
attention to realism and detail; discipline and persistence;
patience and reflection; contemplation; self-criticism and evaluation;
and a willingness to explore, take risks, and learn from mistakes. All
good stuff. These, I think, are the worthy ingredients for any sound philosophy
of education.
What do you do outside of teaching at Sewickley Academy?
I am a practicing professional artist outside the Academy. I
work on many private commissions - personal, family, corporate
- both in the area and out-of-state. For a decade, I have
somehow managed a consortium of over 40 international artists
via an agency called Drawn & Quartered, which serves a
varied constituency of newspapers and magazines worldwide.
What other little free time I have is spent with my own family of
budding young artists, and digging gardens for my wife.
Please share stories from some of your most memorable
projects.
Some years ago I was commissioned by the University of Kent
in the UK to paint Michel Rôcard, former Prime Minister of
France and European Union Commissioner, who was invited
to Canterbury to give a syntillating keynote address on economics
and the benefits of the euro. I portrayed the illustrious
man as a latter-day Napoleon, standing with hand in jacket,
surrounded by the accoutrements of worldly statecraft. The
Corsican general has a mixed reputation with French socialists,
and here my sensibilities as a political caricaturist collided
with what traditionally could have been formalist flattery.
The portrait was presented to Rôcard onstage with great fanfare.
The ensuing reception was mixed: the University’s Politics
Department (loyal British subjects all) absolutely loved it,
but Madame R never did invite me to Paris for dinner.
They say you should never underestimate the power of art. I
also had an opportunity to draw an oversized portrait of one
Mike Tyson, former undisputed heavyweight champion of the
world, “baddest man on the planet,” and now a latter-day
movie star. This particular work was published and circulated
in many syndicated newspapers at the time, and soon after
Tyson’s entourage came around to my apartment to relieve
me of the original. I sensed life imitating art with Drawn &
Quartered here, but fortunately for me, Iron Mike took a real
shining to the drawing, and the exchange was cordial. In his
very next fight, Tyson lost the belt to James Buster Douglas.
How are you involved in the community?
I try to spend time with Sewickley’s arts and crafts community,
in particular collaborating with my good friend Mark Rengers
of Sewickley Gallery and Frame Shop regarding student exhibitions
and framing issues. My son is also an avid member of
the Sewickley Cycling Club, so if you see a laboring “Clydesdale”
[sic] on a bike badly trailing a youthful Lance Armstrong
through town - that will be father and son.
UP-AND-COMING
CROSSING BOUNDARIES
What were you doing the summer of your 15th year? Was it your
first year as a camp counselor? Were you bussing tables at a
local restaurant? Or, spending your days poolside? This summer,
Sewickley Academy student Evan Fuhrer ‘12 will be performing original
music across the region with his local band Crossing Boundaries. Not
bad for a 15-year-old with a passion for music inspired by the Beatles.
Evan and former SA student Jacob Klein are the two singers and
songwriters for the band, which has established itself as one of the
region’s premier rock ‘n’ roll performers. They have been featured in
the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette and have appeared on KDKA’s Pittsburgh
Today Live. One of their songs, Pretty Lady Goodbye, is being played
on WYEP radio station – the youngest band debut in the station’s
history. They recently opened for Michael Glabiki of Rusted Root and
have attracted over 300 people to their shows. They also just performed
at The Pittsburgh Music Festival as one of the area’s best up-and-
coming bands. Sounds like they are on their way.
So, how did it all begin? Evan began taking piano lessons and Jacob
started playing the guitar. It was not until Evan discovered music
that he loved and Jacob started singing that it all clicked. It helps to
have a community that supports them, explain the musicians. From
parents, to friends, and teachers, Crossing Boundaries has a strong
following in the region and at school.
Over the years, Evan and Jacob have been influenced and inspired by
the Beatles, travel, and nature. As for the future – Jacob has his sights
set on a Grammy. Evan, on the other hand, is taking it all in stride, “My
goal is to write music that I like and is fun to play. I am taking it year by
year and seeing how far it goes.”
Jacob and Evan have “the unique ability to write beautifully constructed
pop songs that appeal to people of all ages. Their soaring harmonies
and wonderful lyrics remind many of The Beatles,” explains one critic.
Their first CD is titled Here’s To Yesterday, a reference to the wonderful
music of the ‘60s, and has received wonderful reviews from as far
away as London. Even at 15, you can go a long way with talent, passion,
and a supportive community.
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