Rani Robison, an Academic Lecturer in the Department of Visual and Literary Arts, has worked on validating her profession as an artist for many years.
“I’ve always known I was an artist and nearly declared an art major as an undergraduate student. I decided it wasn’t a practical choice,” said Robison.
“It’s not surprising that seven years later I ended up returning to school to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree, which was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.”
Robison went on to teach at the New England School of Photography in Boston. She took time off to raise her children, after which she began teaching again here at UW.
At the beginning of the Pandemic, Robison said it was hard for her to justify doing art again.
“The pandemic weighed heavily on me and making art seemed frivolous all of the sudden. However, now that we are several months in, I am back in my studio and approaching art in a much more relaxed and intuitive way. After experiencing how life can suddenly take a sharp turn, I am putting a lot less pressure on myself to come up with ideas, and simply allowing the answers to reveal themselves,” said Robison.
Robison’s art pieces that she has recently worked on focus on the impact the pandemic has on her children.
The two images in “Caged” feature her children as being stuck with bird cages.
In her artist statement for this piece, Robison said, “I have thought a lot about the psychological weight we now carry due to the pandemic, and unfortunately, kids are not spared. They will forever remember this moment — when their friends, sports, and social activities were taken away. My children don’t fear the virus itself as much as they fear how long it will last. I wanted to convey the anxiety associated with being contained at home and how we no longer feel safe to move about as freely as before.”
Robison said the transition with online classes was a struggle, but she has been able to work with it.
“It can be challenging to create a sense of community in an online class,” said Robison. “I feel much more comfortable teaching online now, but I certainly miss the more personal experience of teaching in the classroom.”
Robison said as a bonus of her classes being online, they are now accessible to students who would not have been able to take the classes because they live outside of Laramie.
“I think ultimately this experience will make us better teachers, pushing us to find new ways to present material, as well seek out additional online resources (such as museum webinars, etc.),” said Robison.
Rani Robison has taught Digital Media and Foundations classes since 2014.
She teaches many classes including Digital Media, Graphic Design I and II, Foundation 2D, Foundation Color, and sometimes a photography course.
Robison also manages the Visual Arts Building as well as the Visiting Artists program.
“I hope students realize that art is not not just about the latest and greatest new features in Photoshop, for example. Although these tools are incredibly important, I want students to have strong concepts within the work itself,” said Robison.
