Ernesto Ballesteros: “Las buenas ideas surgen de un océano de malas ideas”

Ernesto Ballesteros, an artist of great esteem, was one of the teachers who directed the education of ProyectArte’s young students in 2009-10. Here’s what Ernesto had to say about his experience as an instructor with ProyectArte

Virginia Gobbi (ProyectArte Volunteer): What do you think is the purpose of ProyectArte?

Ernesto Ballesteros: I think it’s wonderful that the students have the opportunity to take advantage of a scholarship like this; it leads to a very socially heterogeneous group. It is a privilege that such young students can get to know and study with distinguished artists currently working in Argentina.

VG: What about ProyectArte inspired you to teach here?

EB: First off, the organization knows how to adapt itself to meet the needs of teachers and students. The relationship between the teaching and administrative staff and the students is warm and close, far from the institutional stiffness you often see. There isn’t very much bureaucracy and this facilitates great work and interpersonal exchange. In terms of the students, I don’t think there are any divisions among them, they treat each other as peers and equals and they support each other. They work hard and they have fun together.

VG: What was your teaching methodology?

EB: From the very first classes, in which I gauged the predilections of each artist, I tried to shake them up, to take them out of familiar circumstances. And encourage them to have fun. I believe that a teacher should instruct her students in a way that helps them to become independent of the teacher rather than dependent on her. That’s how students advance. I also told them not to take everything I or their other professors said as the absolute truth; it’s important for students to follow their own intuition. That’s where artistic innovation comes from.

VG: What are your expectations for the students’ future careers?

EB: My desire is that they be happy with their jobs, that they not allow their preexisting expectations images or ideas to limit them—that’s always terrible for artists. I hope that they don’t lose any part of themselves to shame or self-censure, and that they create works that exist for their own sake and not because they’re what the buyer wants. As they try to figure out whether a career in art is the direction in which they want to take their lives, I recommend that they stay eve alert and attentive to what they feel, and that they allow their thought and feelings to slosh around a bit. Good ideas emerge from a sea of bad ideas.

Ernesto Ballesteros is a recognized  visual artist who has received numerous awards, among them the Leonardo Prize for the Young Generation and the Gunther Prize silver metal. He has exhibited in collective and individual shows in Argentina and internationally. In addition, he enjoys “indoor aviation,” which involves building scale model airplanes to be flown in large indoor spaces.