Some Rules for Students + Teachers by Composer John Cage

A teaching philosophy is something one may not think about actually writing until it is requested in a teaching application but addressing your philosophy towards teaching is very important; as an artist you may find yourself in the position of a role model in the form of mentoring or when teaching studio assistants. Also when sharing your work with collectors or the public during lectures and gallery talks it is invaluable to have a philosophy of your own as a guide.

What is your approach to passing on your knowledge to others, how do you share your studio practice and your work? What is your philosophy in the capaicity as a teacher/student?

'Some Rules for Students and Teachers' by Composer John Cage  (1912 - 1992)
RULE ONE: Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile.

RULE TWO: General duties of a student - pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students.

RULE THREE: General duties of a teacher - pull everything out of your students.

RULE FOUR: Consider everything an experiment.

RULE FIVE: be self-disciplined - this means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.

RULE SIX: Nothing is a mistake. There's no win and no fail, there's only make.

RULE SEVEN: The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It's the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things.

RULE EIGHT: Don't try to create and analyze at the same time. They're different processes.

RULE NINE: Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It's lighter than you think.

RULE TEN: "We're breaking all the rules. Even our own rules. And how do we do that? By leaving plenty of room for X quantities."

HINTS: Always be around. Come or go to everything. Always go to classes. Read anything you can get your hands on. Look at movies carefully, often. Save everything - it might come in handy later.

John Cage 1912 - 1992