In many of the conversations featured on the BK podcast It can also be different This issue explores the role that a mentor (f/m/x) can play in the career and work of a visual artist. How important is ‘the mentor’? Is it a gateway to a professional career as an artist? What forms can a mentor take?
A good teacher teaches students to observe and discover, instills confidence, asks critical questions, allows room for mistakes, serves as a model of artistic courage, and demonstrates how to deal with doubt. A good teacher also takes their students’ talent very seriously.
Well into the nineteenth century, an artist was not primarily trained at an art academy, but in a master’s studio. An apprentice began with simple tasks: grinding pigments, cleaning brushes, preparing canvases, and making copies. Only later was the apprentice allowed to begin working on their own pieces. But a master teacher imparted much more: craftsmanship, discipline, a particular way of seeing, professional ethics, a network of clients, and knowledge of materials.
A good teacher takes his or her student's talent very seriously.
Many classical artists owe their development to a master; one generation of artists passed their knowledge on to the next. Da Vinci and Botticelli both had Andrea del Verrocchio as their teacher, and Raphael’s teacher—Perugino—was also a student of Del Verrocchio. Networks of colleagues formed around these masters. In the Netherlands, Rembrandt was likely the teacher of more than fifty students, whom he not only taught specific techniques but also encouraged to work experimentally and develop their own visual language.
Starting in the 1960s, there was a conscious move away from the traditional master-apprentice model. The mentor was no longer an authority figure who dictated what was right, but rather an artist who engaged in dialogue and supported the individual’s creative process. That guidance does not have to come from a single person but can also be found in a network of colleagues and former classmates who influence your work. That influence can, of course, come from all sorts of sources: teachers, colleagues, writers, philosophers, other artists, and so on. An important role of teachers and mentors was to encourage students to develop their own visual language, something that is still emphasized at many Dutch art academies. The questions posed by teachers—who are often active artists themselves—have shifted much more toward ‘Why are you making this? What are you exploring? What does this work say?’
An important role of teachers and instructors was to encourage students to develop their own visual language
Ideally, ‘the teacher’ eventually makes himself or herself unnecessary. Perhaps that is his ultimate goal: to instill enough self-confidence so that the artist can continue on his own and perhaps even take on the role of teacher himself, to nurture future generations with knowledge, technique, and self-confidence.
A mentor is not always an individual; it can also be an institution, for example. At De Ateliers in Amsterdam, young artists work for two years in their own studios, where they receive intensive guidance from experienced artists. There are several permanent and guest mentors, which prevents artists from becoming dependent on a single authority. Rather than one master who possesses ‘the truth,’ there are multiple voices that help an artist define their own position. This principle is also mentoring mentioned.
Like regional funds such as the CBK Rotterdam, the Mondriaan Fund invests in mentoring, in which emerging artists are paired with experienced artists or curators. The mentorship is not only about creating art, but also addresses questions such as: How do you develop an artistic practice? How do you position yourself? How do you build a network? It is a way to pass on the experience of established artists to a new generation.
Nowadays, the emphasis in mentoring and in the role of the teacher is more on artistic reflection than on the transfer of technical skills
You could say that the emphasis in mentoring and in the role of the teacher today lies much more on artistic reflection than on the transmission of technical skills. The modern teacher is perhaps less a master of the craft than a master of asking questions. The best mentor is not the one who imparts a style, but the one who helps an artist find their own voice and autonomy.
A mentor affirms that you are allowed to be an artist, dispels doubts, and in this way plays a rather existential role in an artist’s career. A mentor can give a young artist’s self-confidence a boost and dispel doubts. A mentor strengthens creative people’s self-image, self-esteem, and confidence, enabling them to take more risks and develop further artistically.
A mentor can boost a young creator's self-confidence and help dispel doubts
The mentor can help normalize doubt as part of being an artist (see also the essay "The Value of Doubt"). The modern mentor is a mirror, a challenger, and a guide who steers the artist through the uncertain landscape in which artists must navigate. A mentor points out the possibilities, the normality of uncertainties and doubts, and gives you the confidence to take the next step. A mentor is sometimes a person, but can also be a network of people.
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