I had the first thesis class with Kathy Wilson. She asked a class questions, which were all good and straightforward, making all of us think deeply about ideas for the thesis.

Questions:

  • Who are you?
  • Why are you here at ITP?
  • What have you gotten out of ITP?
  • What do you hope to get out of the thesis class?
  • What are your concerns regarding the thesis?
  • What do you want to do after ITP?
  • (Thesis specific) What is your focus? – what are you exploring? or what do you want to do? or what problems are you solving?
  • (Thesis specific) What is your direction? – how do you plan to do this? or what will you build? or what tools will you use?

I think the most practical and impressive feedback came out when we were discussing about time management. We were all concerned about how little time we have (14 weeks!). Kathy told us that Red Burns decided to give only one semester to thesis projects, unlike other art grad schools that usually allocate 1.5 years for thesis projects, because she believes that “thesis is about the scope and time management”. No one expects us to finish projects in 14 weeks. For Red, thesis is about big ideas with execution of the most core components. Kathy also told us that when she had her thesis back in a grad school, her professor told her that “the most important thing is the fact that it’s done.” I totally agree with Red and Kathy’s professor. I’m very looking forward to what comes out of this wonderful class & ITP.