George Bernard Shaw, in his play Man and Superman, invented the adage “those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach.” But Peter Kilian, professor and department chair at Northern State University, says art instructors cannot teach effectively if they’re not actively doing art.
“The very best teachers are also very good artists, outstanding artists. In fact, you really can’t teach art effectively unless you’re very engaged with your own creative experience and your own practice,” Kilian says. “So I’m happy to shoot holes in that idea any time I can, because the people I work with are not only outstanding classroom instructors, but they’re all first-rate artists as well.”
Kilian is a member of the South Dakota College Art Association, a group of faculty and staff who work and teach at South Dakota colleges and universities.
Members of that group exhibited their work in a show that closed this weekend at the Dahl Arts Center in Rapid City.
