Paul Benavidez

My art education began when standard art school and university art curriculum was rooted in hierarchical pedagogy. As a result, and due to my natural talent in drawing, I was corralled into arguably some of the best drawing pedagogy this land had to offer, most notably Howard Warshawʼs drawing program at the UCSB. I studied under Warshaw for three years. Art school curriculums were in serious pedagogical transition. The old school was being replaced by nonhierarchical teaching concepts. Though I was still a Warshaw student, I was fascinated by new ideas. I began studying at the College of Creative Studies with John McCracken, John Lilly and others. I later resumed my art education in two different eras, studying with Karen Carson, Harry Reese, and later Faith Wilding. It was clear to me that artists are always in search of new ideas and techniques, and how to realize them in existing and new materials usually for the purpose of challenging established world views. My pedagogical experience is as important as my professional experience.