PNTG-316-SU02-2026: Painting: Is all painting embarrassing?
This studio course will join together various discourses on the theme of embarrassment as it pertains to art-making and specifically painting. Difficult to define, embarrassment somewhat defies intellectual investigation. Meanwhile, the topic opens up a highly varied space in the realm of emotion. This course will explore this undetermined concept through making, imagery, discussions, readings, interviews and more that might be called embarrassment adjacent. Though commonly associated with negative affects such as disgust and shame, embarrassment can equally often lead into the more ambiguous regions of cringe and humour. Arguably, embarrassment is a useful starting point in the pursuit of self-knowledge and the acceptance of life’s absurdity.
The themes raised are intended to deepen student understanding of artistic motivation and creative processes, and to provide insight into meaning production in art beyond the aesthetic.
Please note: students are in no way obligated to engage in emotional processing or self-disclosure in this course. This is fundamentally a studio course and participants are welcome to determine their own relationship to the subject matter when developing their painting practice.
- Teacher: Rebecca (RB) Brewer