Good Critical Thinking About Rebecca Morris, Artist, Painter, Lecturer

- Where does the lecturer live? Morris lives in Los Angeles, California. She was born in Honolulu, Hawaii.
- Where did they go to school, what degrees have they earned? Morris attended Smith College, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1991, a Post Baccalaureate Studio Certificate in 1992, a Masters of Fine Art and a Masters in Engineering in 1994.
- Do they earn their income from the work that they do? Or do they also have a day job? Since 2000, Morris has been an Associate Professor of Painting at Pasadena City College.
- Describe the lecturer’s work. Morris is a painter. She uses oil on canvas. She also uses spray paint and metallic colors in her artwork. One of her most famous works includes Party Cut, a collection of patterned and layered abstract pieces completed in 2013.
- What ideas, concepts, or themes does the lecturer address in their work? Morris’ paintings are very unique and the theme favors variety. Strong lines, random images and vivid colors are usually present in her paintings.
- Quote or paraphrase three things that the lecturer said, and explain what interests you about each one.
- “Don’t pretend you don’t work hard” – This interests me because sometimes people want to make it seem like because they love their work, it becomes easy. Morris is telling a person not to downplay the time and hard work that is put into each project.
- “I don’t want to dictate or imply what the viewer’s experience of my work should be” – This is interesting because most artists explain to the viewer what their art represents. Morris wants the viewer to look at the art and make their own conclusions and implications about what is being displayed.
- When Morris was asked what she is most proud of she says her “independence”. This is an interesting quote because sometimes artists feel limited in what they can produce. Morris is stating that she can create whatever she wants and does not feel like all of her pieces have to coordinate to have a central theme.
- Were you interested in their work? Why or why not? I am interested in Morris’ work because I like abstract paintings. They are vague by nature but can represent many ideas within the painting. I like how Morris uses bold colors and large canvases in her collections. This work also interests me because Morris uses a lot of images that people would not consider art, such as checker pieces, blocks and empty picture frames.