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In her 20s, Beverly Naidus was an up-and-coming New York exhibition artist with a reputation for socially effective work and a bright future. But poised on the brink of success, she looked around and decided to walk away. It was a choice that would shape her future as an art educator.
鈥淚 saw my friends in the art world develop these jet-setting careers,鈥� said Naidus, now an art instructor in the Interdisiciplinary Arts and Sciences department at 91探花Tacoma. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want that. I wanted to use my art to raise consciousness.鈥�
So Naidus turned the page on what she calls the 鈥淣ew York art world chapter鈥� of her life and began writing a new one as a respected teacher of art that influences the world. She calls it 鈥渁rt for social change,鈥� and inspires her students 鈥� experienced artists and novices alike 鈥� to use paint, pencils, computers and themselves to make a difference.
鈥淢y goal is to get people to recognize that art isn鈥檛 about decorating the walls of your home,鈥� she said. 鈥淎rt can raise consciousness or tell a story or a truth that you don鈥檛 see portrayed in pop culture or the media. Art has a function that鈥檚 about more than beauty.鈥�
Naidus came to UWT from Goddard College in Vermont, an 鈥渆xperimental, alternative鈥� liberal arts college with an interdisciplinary Master of Fine Arts program. At UWT, she is one of two assistant professors shaping a brand-new arts curriculum within the Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences program. She hopes to create a program focusing on art for social change and healing and community-based art. This approach, she says, is perfect for a college campus.
鈥淚 am the antithesis of the 鈥榓rtist-as-unique-genius-on-a-pedestal鈥� way of thinking,鈥� she said. 鈥淢any students don鈥檛 know much about art, and they may be afraid of it. They have stereotypes about art, and I can blow their minds.鈥�
In her classes, Naidus says, students will explore new ideas about art.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e not going to be making precious objects. We鈥檙e going to explore all kinds of different ideas about art. I want students to use art as a tool to create comment or ask a question about what they see in the world.鈥�
Many of Naidus鈥� students are from other disciplines. She hopes her class helps them learn to look at art in new ways.
鈥淭hrough art, they can learn to be critical of the dominant culture,鈥� she said. 鈥淎rt can transform consciousness. I want each of my students to find his or her own voice as an artist.鈥�
Naidus says her own art always has a connection to what鈥檚 going on in her personal life. In a recent exhibit at the 91探花Tacoma gallery, Naidus displayed a series of digitally-created pieces relating to female body image and environmental illness, two issues that affect her deeply. As a child, Naidus suffered from allergies. She believes they were a result of chemicals sprayed on fruit trees in her family鈥檚 yard. Later, she moved to Los Angeles. The pollution there only worsened the problem, and she began to realize that chemical pollutants in the environment are endangering the lives of everyone.
鈥淭here are so many people suffering from environmental illness,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an epidemic, and it鈥檚 not being talked about in the media. They just go out and make more products that make people sick.鈥�
Body image, especially among women, is another personal issue for Naidus. In 1993, she published the book One Size Does Not Fit All, a collection of drawings, collages and text that confronts women鈥檚 issues concerning body hate and struggles with weight and food.
鈥淭hat book came from my own issues around the body and cultural identity,鈥� Naidus said. 鈥淚 am dark-skinned, and as a child that made me feel different.鈥�
She hopes that her art helps viewers understand 鈥� and confront 鈥� these issues within themselves. Although her most recent show was in a gallery, she usually prefers to display art in unconventional settings, where the public is more likely to see it accidentally.
鈥淚 like to put art in the street, and in beauty salons and buses and store front windows, where all kinds of audiences can access it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 have put a work about women鈥檚 body image next to a women鈥檚 dressing room and a piece about consumerism in a shopping mall.
鈥淪ometimes, people don鈥檛 even realize it鈥檚 art and they become engaged with it,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f they approached it as art, they might have been intimidated by it.鈥�
Naidus said cultural misconceptions about art and museums are keeping people from learning new things.
鈥淢useums don鈥檛 really feel public to a lot of people. They don鈥檛 understand what鈥檚 on the wall,鈥� she said. 鈥淎rt is often seen as frivolous. I wish more people realized that it can make your life richer and provide some insight into the world.鈥�