We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Adam Finkelston. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Adam below.
Adam, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
I think I decided I wanted to be an art teacher in about 5th grade. My mom was a teacher, I loved art class, and I had an amazing art teacher named Vicky Scanlon, who I just thought was the coolest person I knew. Her class was so fun. I already loved art class, but I remember thinking during one of her classes in 5th grade that I would like to have her job.
Adam, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am primarily an educator. That is how I make my living. And, I actually consider it an important part of my artistic practice. It’s not a side gig or something I just do to pay bills. There is an art to being a good teacher. It takes a lot of patience, skill, planning, compassion, knowledge of your content, and organization. You have to be a team player, you have to truly care about your students as people, and you have to believe in the importance of teaching your content.
In addition to teaching, I am also an artist and a magazine publisher. I curate and jury exhibitions. I am working on earning my MFA right now, too. All of those experiences have two purposes. One purpose is to pursue my own art-making practice and to show my own work. I have been able to show my work in numerous juried and group exhibitions as well as a handful of solo exhibitions. I make photographic images as well as linocut prints.
As the owner, publisher, and co-editor of The Hand Magazine, I have the opportunity to provide a space for other artists to publish their work. I never publish my own work. We publish primarily work that has been submitted by readers. We also constantly scout and ask artists to contribute, and we have featured interviews with artists whom we admire and whom we want to introduce to our readers. That affords me the opportunity to be in contact with a large number and a wide variety of artists all over the world.
All of that helps me be a better teacher. I teach Darkroom Photography and advanced art classes at Shawnee Mission East High School full time. And in the fall, I also teach an elective class at the Kansas City Art Institute centered around photographic printmaking and alternative process photography. So all of the experiences I’ve had as an artist and publisher also help me be a better teacher for my students.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I wish I knew all the ways that one could be involved in the arts. I mentioned before that I have a lot of different experiences as an artist and publisher. One thing I know from all of those experiences is that there are a lot of people supporting the arts. That means there are a lot of ways that people can be involved in the arts other than being makers. And that is something that I really try to impress upon my students. The idea of being an artist is something that most students don’t understand. I know I didn’t. It seems like only the most talented people can be artists. And talent has a lot of value, but hard work means more, in my opinion. Also, it’s helpful to know that you can be involved in the arts and that maybe your talent lies in arts administration, art conservation, art history, art criticism, art law, illustration, graphic design, industrial design, exhibition fabrication, or any of the hundreds of other ways that you can parlay your interests into doing something creative. I didn’t know about any of those jobs. So, I try to take a lot of field trips with students to introduce them to different kinds of galleries and arts organizations. I want them to see the different roles those places play in the arts ecosystem. I want them to meet the people who do those jobs and get inspired to maintain their interest in the arts and to be a part of a creative community. I wish I know more about those things when I was younger.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I think one thing society can do is to stop making creativity seem like some kind of unicorn or magic thing. Everyone has creativity. I truly believe that. I think that society treats creative people like they are some kind of fragile thing, or, alternatively, like they are some kind of freak – depending on your perspective! In truth, creativity is all around us all of the time. It’s part of every company, every business – every human endeavor requires some kind of creativity. I think that kind of “us and them / creative vs non-creative” stereotype makes creative people feel like they are outside of that ecosystem, when in fact they have always been part of it.
I actually think that this stereotype starts in education, where we have “core subjects” – math, science, language arts, and social studies – that are tested on standardized tests. Then we have “electives” that are not tested. This creates a hierarchy that tells students that visual arts, performing arts, athletics, woodworking, mechanics, cooking, etc. are not as important. So the kids who excel at the core classes are seen as being smarter or somehow better than kids who excel in other areas. The solution, in my opinion, is to get rid of standardized testing. It creates problems in so many ways. First is this basic hierarchy of what kinds of skills are important, but also I just don’t think it’s an accurate measure of what students’ potential to be productive is. Standardized testing is for politicians and administrators who have to have data to justify their positions. It doesn’t do anyone else any good – least of all students. As a result, creative thinking becomes sequestered to the arts instead of being seen as a thing that is present in all areas of achievement.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://adamfinkelston.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adinfinitum138/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adam.finkelston
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mr.finkelstonsclass1072
- Other: The Hand Magazine website: https://www.thehandmagazine.space/ The Hand Magazine Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehandmagazine/ The Hand Magazine Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The.HAND.magazine/
Image Credits
All images by Adam Finkelston EXCEPT: The Hand Magazine Logo graphic by James Meara Image of the magazines spread out by Christina Z. Anderson