Reflecting on the Studio Visit

Let’s think about what takes place during a well-prepared studio visit: an artist and visitor come together to discuss (sometimes over coffee or tea) the work on view. Of the many aspects of this essential (and also vulnerable) exchange, the most important of all is the willingness of both parties to make an effort to truly understand the work on its terms and communicate with each other—on intellectual, visceral, and emotional levels. The generosity of spirit must come from both sides. In that sense, a studio visit is a perfect ground for a “non-power” place, where the only thing that matters is the work on view, and its possible sym-bolic, aesthetic, affective, conceptual, social, or political meanings. At its best, a studio visit is a deep conversation about the work, but also about the world, and about what passions and concerns drive the artist. It’s worth remembering, too, that many artists are shy, as are those who visit the studios of other artists. Mutual space, respect, and listening are necessary to create conditions for sharing. In the context of an MFA program, a studio visit also nods to Emmnauel Levinas’ philoso-phy of ethical reciprocity, placing accent on the “other.” In this way, the studio visit isn’t merely free of power dynamics, as much as possible, but marks a reversal of the expected power dynamic, where the accent is on the student as the artist, not on the visitor.

—Monika Weiss