Nicoletti's Method: 'Sharp Pencils and Sweat'
From himself and his students, painter Joseph Nicoletti seeks what鈥檚 real
By Edgar Allen Beem
鈥淕enerally speaking, my work is about the past, both personal and historical,鈥� painter and 乐播传媒 lecturer Joseph Nicoletti told the dozens of friends, family, colleagues, and former students assembled for the June 12 opening of his elegant exhibition at the 乐播传媒 College Museum of Art.
Joseph Nicoletti: A Retrospective (through Sept. 25, 2010) features 60 paintings and drawings that survey Nicoletti鈥檚 career from 1971 to the present. The masterful still-life, landscape, and figurative works provide clear, quiet, and convincing evidence why Nicoletti, a modest man loathe to promote his own art, is considered a painter鈥檚 painter, one of the most respected artists in Maine.
But what the Nicoletti retrospective honors as much as 40 years of painting is 30 years of teaching at 乐播传媒. And if his art is about the past, his teaching is all about the future.
At the exhibition opening, Carl Benton Straub, professor emeritus of religion and former dean of the faculty, related how a first-year student had recently said this about Nicoletti: 鈥淗e always recognizes and celebrates achievement, however small.鈥�
鈥淢y friends,鈥� enthused Straub, 鈥渢hat is what this place is all about. That is what teaching is all about.鈥�
Nicoletti began teaching at 乐播传媒 in 1981. In recent years he has taught drawing, figure drawing, and painting during the fall and portrait painting during Short Term.
鈥淚 really believe in a liberal arts education for an artist,鈥� says Nicoletti of his teaching career. 鈥淚deas can come from anywhere 鈥� art history, science, literature. I had a liberal arts education and I think the exhibition shows that.鈥�
Born in Italy in 1948, Nicoletti grew up in New York City. He received a B.A. from Queens College in 1970 and an M.F.A. from Yale in 1972.
A classic realist in the studio, Nicoletti is also a pragmatic realist in the classroom.
鈥淚 recall him scoffing at the notion of talent,鈥� recalls Christopher Sokolowski 鈥�90, a paper conservator at Harvard鈥檚 Weissman Preservation Center. 鈥淲hat counted for him 鈥� quickly adopted by me 鈥� was the regular, serious practice of drawing from the figure, geometric shapes, and the landscape. He wanted to see sharp pencils and sweat in that studio.鈥�
鈥淚 focus on representation and perception,鈥� Nicoletti explains. 鈥淗aving a good strong base of perception of the world out there is critical for any kind of artist. I鈥檓 teaching them how to see. It鈥檚 as simple as that.鈥�
Art department chair Rebecca Corrie praises Nicoletti as 鈥渁 rigorous teacher, loved and admired by his students鈥� 鈥� whether they鈥檙e art majors or not.
鈥淭alent is cheap 鈥� being an artist is about work and a lot of thinking. It鈥檚 an intellectual exercise.鈥�
鈥淚f a student is not going to be a studio major, and if they are going to become a lawyer or a psychologist,鈥� he says, 鈥淚 want them to see the world differently because of taking a class with me.鈥�
Nicoletti鈥檚 own art education took place at what he calls 鈥渁 macho time in teaching.鈥�
鈥淭eachers tried to break you down and make you stand up,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 the best approach.鈥�
Along with a rigorous program of drawing and painting, Nicoletti shows a lot of slides to familiarize students with the history of art, assigns a lot of copy work as a good way to learn craft, color, and composition, and holds group crits in order to teach students to become their own best critics.
鈥淔or all he taught me about figure drawing, color theory, and landscape painting,鈥� says Matt Tavares 鈥�97, an award-winning children鈥檚 book author-illustrator, 鈥淚 think the most valuable lessons I learned from Joe are the pointers he gave me about the day-to-day work of being an artist.聽He stressed the idea that being an artist takes hard work, self-discipline, and dedication.鈥�
鈥淏eing an artist is a tough life,鈥� Nicoletti says. 鈥淚鈥檓 tough because students need to realize that it鈥檚 not a fuzzy-wuzzy thing about having talent. Talent is cheap 鈥� a lot of people have talent. Being an artist is about work and a lot of thinking. It鈥檚 an intellectual exercise 鈥� not just manual skills.鈥�
鈥淚 always appreciated how serious he was,鈥� says Kelsey Engman 鈥�07, a studio art major now doing graduate work in creative writing. 鈥淚 knew I could trust the criticism and the encouragement he gave me. He doesn鈥檛 give false hope.鈥�
It鈥檚 fashionable among artists to complain about having to teach, about how draining it is and how much time it takes away from an artist鈥檚 own practice.
But you don鈥檛 hear that from Nicoletti.
鈥淚n the last 10 years, I鈥檝e realized that I would miss teaching,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t gives me a kind of joy I can鈥檛 get from painting. If I鈥檝e made any mark in this world 鈥� and it鈥檚 just a scratch 鈥� it鈥檚 more because of my teaching than my art.鈥�
Freelance writer Edgar Allen Beem writes the blog 鈥淛ust Looking: New England Art鈥� for Yankee Magazine.
