John Zurier at Studio School

Last night, i attended a talk given by John Zurier at the Studio School (30 Hotaling Place). John was one of my favorite professors at the San Francisco Art Insitute and after i graduated, i worked with him privately for a short while. I knew a little about his work and his process but last night's talk gave me more of an insight. I forgot what a learned person he is...he spoke eloquently and peppered his talk with quotations by some of my favorite artists. He calls himself a "nonfigurative" painter, not a minimalist nor a "non-representational" painter. His work is not for the Internet, nor for projection in a darkened room; the work needs to be experienced and is about being there in real time, in the real space (place) in the real light. He pays homage to his materials; paint, pigment, binders, supports, linen/canvas and while it seems obvious that color is important to a painter, it often seems like it isn't. For John, color is the most important thing. Colors create space and become dimensional. To be in the presence of his paintings is a silent, visual, wordless experience. It is the antithesis of the non-stop graphic, instant, commercial images, blasting and creating visual pollution.

John is a professor at the California College of the Arts. As much as i would love to study under John again, the tuition and the futility of having an MFA degree (spending $70,000+ dollars for an MFA to be pretty much guranteed not get a job in your field) prevents me from considering this.