The Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts has had to adjust their methods of working in response to COVID-19. Though some studio work is still allowed, students have found new ways to pursue their trade despite the ever-changing environment.  

Charlie Shaw, a freshman interested in communication design and fine arts, expressed how certain aspects of remote learning seem to work well for art students. “It’s going a lot better than I expected,” they said. “With online studio, some students have found it easier to critique work.” 

Curran Neenan | Student Life

An empty letterpress studio in Bixby Hall. Studio access has been more limited this semester, inhibiting the hands-on, collaborative approach that usually powers Sam Fox.

This new ability to zoom in on fine details through screen sharing has made it easier, in some ways, to analyze, critique and assess art. For one assignment this semester, students depicted a conversation or concept in the form of art, not words. Shaw explained that since COVID-19 has exasperated social issues and brought pre-existing problems to the forefront of social attention, they decided to create conversation pieces around police brutality and the hypersexualization of queer youth. Shaw explained that “You go in [to the LGBTQIA* community] assuming it is a safe space, but it really opens the door to a lot of predation.” In Shaw’s art, they display a “portrait,” but instead of being a typical face, it is simply a grey body being grabbed by a hand.

The work’s black and white coloring serves to contrast the colorful nature of the pride flag, with Shaw implying that the risk of predation is not what the community should accept. And that is just one of many issues that have been brought to light this year. 

Even as Shaw thinks that two-dimensional schoolwork has adapted to the impacts of COVID-19 well, they do find it strange not being around people while working. “I’m a pretty social person, so it has been odd not being able to go out and work with others,” they said.

Architecture students have also encountered changes as they adapt to the COVID-19 world. Freshman architecture student Cindy Wang explained that the shared screen critiques have been more difficult because they are virtual. “Zoom makes it easier to maximize and zoom in on artwork, but it is nearly impossible to effectively edit your art through the application,” she said. This has caused some frustration, Wang said, but students have still found some relief in being able to still have a physical studio space. 

One of the adaptations to working in art studios during this time is that professors cannot walk around and watch students work, as they typically would. In Wang’s case, her studio professor is isolated to their office, which is only a flight of stairs away. This makes it hard to reach out to others for advice or inspiration. “It’s harder to keep focus and stay inspired when a large majority of your work is through Zoom, especially when your professor is literally a floor below you,” she said.

For Wang’s conversation piece, she decided to take a more personal approach and base her work off a person that inspires her. Because the political environment has been negative the past several months, so she decided to focus on something that makes her happy. The piece displays I.M. Pei and the controversy around his Louvre Pyramid. It shows how people have taken Pei’s work both positively and negatively, despite being an iconic architectural building. With the pyramids separating a “happy Pei” and a “sad Pei,” Wang expresses the balance of praise and criticism.

Sam Fox has taken many approaches to optimize their students’ experience despite the limiting effects of COVID-19. Whether it be a positive or negative impact on the students, it is their reality. Artists are in a confusing but interesting place because of COVID-19, and they have taken the opportunity to explore their trade.