This is the second of a three part interview with the director of the School of Representational Art, Bruno Surdo. Click here for Part One. In Part Two, we discuss the founding of SORA, good times, tough times, SORA’s relation to other means of artistic training, SORA’s unique composition program, and alumni.

BR: When you got back to Chicago, from Italy, why and when did you decide to start SORA?
Bruno: Well, when I came back to Chicago, I started teaching privately. I was teaching all over the city. I was doing workshops. I hooked up with a couple art studios. I was having classes and was generating a large following. At some point I was confronted by several students, namely Karen Larson-Turner, and they wanted to study with me, and understood the tradition I came from. They were anxious to learn this tradition. So at that point I decided instead of just having these people take courses with me here and there I would offer a little studio school. I wanted to start it small and offer the same kind of structure that I was taught. Even though I was doing these workshops and making some pretty good money and getting a good reputation, I always felt I could not give the thoroughness to the student that they needed to improve. When you run a business like that, you know people can only commit that amount of time anyway. I was frustrated as a teacher because I could get a student to a certain point and then I couldn’t get them any further. So I knew that it was a risk opening up the school, because there is no guarantee that I could find students that wanted to study in this tradition. But when I opened it I had 9 students and I brought on 2 other teachers, Mike Chelich and Chris Cismesia. We all did this tag-team teaching. I did the most teaching at that time, but Mike and Chris would come in when I could not make it. It was my school and I decided to at least give these students the opportunity to study in the tradition that I was taught. It was a dramatic time.

A lot of students had some difficulty in the beginning and even the teachers were a little tight. They did not know exactly how to handle it. Those early years were probably the most dramatic of all the years at SORA, just because we were trying to find our footing. It has leveled off, and now it is a whole different environment from when we started, even though it has the same flavor.

BR: What have been the best and worst times in the whole history of SORA?
Bruno: The worst time, I believe, was about the 5th year of SORA. I was going through a crisis of sorts. I got hired by the Illinois Institute of Art, back then it was called Ray College, and I took a position there. It was a secure position as a teacher, and I soon became the Chair of the department. So I was really pulling in 3 directions. We had a couple setbacks with the students at the school. Students were frustrated because I was not as involved as I initially was, and because I was pulling away a little because of my time. Students were revolting. I also had some health issues during that period.

So, between the health issues, being pulled away, relocating the school, having students being irresponsible, I was just on the verge of closing it. I just felt it wasn’t enjoyable at that point and it was really causing more stress than good. And we had a rough group of students that were not enjoying it. So I would say it was probably the lowest period. I remember walking out of class one day and saying “that’s it….I’m closing the door.” But, I’m glad I didn’t, because Mike and Chris increased their teaching hours and said they would pick up more of the slack. I offered Mike more classes, and I taught less. I told students this is the deal, I’ll run the school, but I’ll teach a little less. Mike and Chris will be the main teachers, and I will come in once or twice a month to supervise. As much as students didn’t like it, it still kept the school going and it actually worked out OK.

The high point of the school, in my opinion, was our first show in 1996. We had a student show here at the school on Illinois Street, it was our first exhibition of student work and it was a grand event. We had a huge turnout and some awesome artwork. It was the first real statement of what we were doing to the Chicago scene. It was magical, everybody enjoyed it. Everybody had a smile on their face. I was proud. The students were proud. Fred Berger came to see the show. A lot of people who were wondering what Bruno was up to with the school finally got to see what we were about. We had a great response, and it was a memorable day. I remember when we took our class photo, everybody was so excited. They all felt part of something. That was the first time I really felt I was building something, because all those years before were a struggle. I did not know where we were going. But after that show everybody got a jolt of encouragement and it felt real finally. We’ve had a couple shows since that were just as magical in different ways, but that first one was special. I saw the commitment and dedication involved in setting up the show from the students, and that really made me realize they were appreciative of what they learned and they were committed to at least being the best artists they could be based on the education they had received at my school. And many of them have gone on to have very successful careers. So that was a great time. I hope to have more of those.

BR: How has your own Atelier experience and prior art training informed how you crafted the school? And if there was one thing you could say to a prospective student about why they should come here as part of their own artistic training, and what they should keep in mind in terms of coming here, what would it be?
Bruno: Well I’m a very good manager. I can manage talent. I may not be able to manage the plumbing and the building, but I’m very good at knowing how to bring the best out of my teachers, and giving them roles that I respect and encourage them to do what they are good at. And have them have a voice to me, where they feel their opinion matters. I give them a lot of freedom to let them teach how they want. However, I oversee it in a respectful matter. I really feel like I’ve been able to coordinate a good team of teachers that have always been on board in helping the students. We all have our own different styles, and we’re all aware of our own strengths and weaknesses. We always try to make it clear to the the students that you have to get a variety of opinions, but they are all valid. And the student has the luxury to choose who you might connect with that day, but we are all trying to teach the same thing. The one common link is that all the teachers here are very giving people. I don’t want any jerks. I want people who are devoted, and really passionate about helping, and who almost give themselves over before anything. And I really feel the teachers I have are more than willing to give and contribute without any strings attached or any ego involved. Not that being a teacher does not involve ego, but my teachers are very good.

So, I’ve also been teaching now for many years and I think my experience with what it takes to be a successful student, hopefully, has influenced students here. The students know what it takes to be an artist, and also what it takes to be successful at learning. It’s a certain kind of commitment and devotion which I do find is a rare thing, but I do try to give people encouragement and sometimes you might go through a couple setbacks. But you may find a little later in life, or after your second year, many fall short, and its sad, but you try to be honest with the students and make the program speak for itself. I give people the opportunity to study here, and they have all the opportunity to be what they want. But if they’re not happy with themselves, or with their life, they are not going to benefit from being here. This is a very difficult environment for many. It also challenges them with some adversities which they will deal with when they are a real artist in the real world, because the real world is by far more brutal and not as enjoyable at times, because you are all alone.

I tell people that it is a unique education that you will never receive anywhere else. No matter what kind of message you want to send through your art, you will have a technical ability that most respect and admire and you will not get that elsewhere. You can study for 10 years on your own, and you may get it eventually, but we can teach it to you in a shorter amount of time here. So the seeds that you are planting here, and the way you are feeding it and building some really strong roots and I personally think that as a visual artist, that kind of education will only enhance your own sensitivity to nature and appreciation of many things, beyond just drawing…that if you’re gonna embark on this really ambitious career making quality art…you have to have so many more tools at your disposal. And it all starts with the fundamental skills of drawing and painting. Even in our high tech world today, these skills are still in demand, because it is rare. You can teach anything, but to really learn this tradition takes time, dedication, and appreciation and I think a deep understanding of how art links to the past. You know, it took 500 years to master the art of naturalistic imagery and somehow once they mastered it in the 19th century there were and are still ways to keep re-inventing, or else we would not keep doing it. Thank goodness for that.

BR: How has this the experience teaching and running this school contributed to your own career?
Bruno: Well, I think it has made me articulate my ideas better, and formulate a broader vision than my own. When you are teaching, you have to think through students and their way of thinking. It also makes you see things slightly different, because you have to respect students ability to have a broader way of seeing. So it does broaden my way of seeing. As far as my art and what I do, I don’t know if its done anything for that. I already had an agenda. Sometimes technical skills are reinforced when you have to teach them. I think it’s just about sharing and giving and seeing people progress based on your advice. It makes you feel like you are a better human being, because you are giving. Even now as I’m advancing in my age, I feel like I want to give more, because I feel I was lucky to have that in my youth. I feel really obligated to extend that to other people, as much as I can. I do teach a lot and I help many people in all aspects of art education. Its been rewarding on many levels, nothing to do with money or praise, just knowing that you’ve done a service for people, especially if they’ve paid for it and want to learn. That’s the good part.

BR: Can SORA training be a starting point for things other than being a representational painter?
Bruno: Absolutely. I don’t know if it can be a starting, middle, or end, it’s all the same. The long answer is how could an education be bad if you’re studying beautiful things in nature as intensely as you are teaching it. It is heightening your awareness, teaching you how to interpret things, how to take something and make something with it. It’s forcing you to produce technical skills. It’s showing you the discipline of sticking out something longer than an hour, and how to improve it, and how to problem solve, and keep searching for more meaning and more answers to your senses, and to just basically give you broader appreciation and knowledge of the visual world. Not only that, but it shows you how to take that and use it as a form of expression. And how can that be harmful to a student? I just don’t agree with a lot of the naive painters today, that say everything has to be pure and honest. This can be pure and honest too, because you are tapping into the highest form of vision I think you can reach. And how can that hurt anybody, however they take it or however they use it? You know, classical training was classical base for a reason, to give people a base. Once they have a base they can broaden in so many directions, and maybe they invent themselves, reinvent themselves as they get older and maybe unlearn some things, break the laws, or reinvent the laws, but they have to have laws to work with first. Its funny that people always try to say “I want to be innovative, I want to be different….” What is innovative? What is different? If you spend your life being innovative, hey that’s great if that is your focus. But its kind of an empty street too. Because how many things are really new? Is representational painting new? No. But it can still offer different imagery. Just like an interpretation of a Mozart piece can. There are ways to present imagery that will always be interesting to the mind because people have their own brains and their own experiences. So why not share it? If we all were clones of our past and had the same ideas, then why do art at all? We all have a story and we want to tell it. However you choose to tell it is up to the artist themselves. Hopefully representational training will help them or help anyone because in my belief its a very sound system that has been proven to teach people things that you can’t learn anywhere else. And at the same time, some students encounter its limitations because they don’t know the worth of what it can be for them because all they do is copy blindly. There is that aspect of the training, but that is all about the individual student. Some students are here for deeper meaning, others just want to learn how to copy something. They hope to broaden their minds, but they have to teach themselves.

I do a lot of teaching. I’ve taught a lot of people to do animation and games, and even at my current job at the Illinois Institute of Art I’m very highly regarded because I bring my background. I incorporate all my artistic sensibilities to the computer age. I’m very popular at the school because I bring art to their world of games, and I’ve been able to pull off 2-d animations, and help students create demo reels for their jobs, help them with their print portfolio, and learn how to draw from the computer, and how to model with Photoshop tools. Maybe not the technical end, but the visual end. All these skills have been highly respected and demanded even in the high tech world, in game art and computer animation.

BR: What does a SORA student receive, in terms of training, that they would not get at a regular art school or even another classical Atelier?
Bruno: Well number one, you get a very structured program that is focused on one thing, and that is teaching you high end drawing and high end painting. High end meaning highly skilled. And you have the time to do it, because we don’t work with the quarter system. We also have the instruction. We have trained people that have been through it, and understand it. You also learn the discipline of what it takes to become an artist. You have to work hard. You have to be here, working. You have to act like an adult and act like you really have a meaning to what you are doing. And you have to perform. You can’t just hide or hint at things, you have to really do it. We treat people as individuals and you are looked at as an individual. You get personalized training and education, so you feel like there are people out there who understand your language and what your needs are. Everyone here has a similar background where they are frustrated with their previous instruction, or they’ve been out looking for a great school, and they’ve tried this or tried that. They all kind of congregate at my school and have horror stories about looking for this all their lives, and here it is. So, you also get to meet people who are going to be lifelong friends in your art, that will maybe show with you someday, and be at your first opening and give you a pat on the back because they know what it is like to do this kind of work. Or you can say the friends are family. They know what you did.

People who do it know it, they understand the demands. So its kind of a sisterhood or brotherhood that we have all been through. And our job as teachers is to share it. And I hope my students also share it through their teaching someday. I don’t ever think it’s the Bruno Surdo method, I’m just part of a link of many great artists that have carried on this chain of education. So that is the other legacy that I would like to foster in prospective students, maybe carrying on the tradition way beyond my years.

BR: The SORA composition program and the capstone painting, a creative composition, was that your invention?
Bruno: Well Mike Chelich. Fred Berger was always a big proponent of the idea that everything should have imagination no matter what you do, and knowing that you are studying traditional painting so you can paint grand paintings in the manner of Rubens or Titian. However, when we started to open up the school, we thought what would make our school unique? What did we lack in our own education? Even though Mr. Lack pushed composition to a point, we never quite got a chance to carry it out unless you really worked and had time, even beyond your school years. So I just wanted to make it a focus so students could see that what separated my school was that even though we are teaching technical faculties, we are also teaching students creativity and how to interpret their ideas with the composition class and learn different methods of composing. So when they get to the high level where their technical skills are improving they can hopefully execute a piece that is something personal to them and tie in the whole methodology of creating a work like that with the technical skills they learn from drawing and from life. Mike and I especially have done works of that nature. So we have an expertise in certain areas of how to go about doing that, and that is also a big part of learning. Why not learn that process if you are going to go into that, if you are interested? Again, how could that hurt anybody? Because that whole method, you’ll never get it unless you do it yourself. No one will ever teach you that. Its been challenging to make it work, because a lot of students never get to that level. They get stuck in the basic class. But having students make it through the entire program, thats our goal as a whole. That is our main mission, to produce artists that have a voice, and we just want to bring out the voice as best as we can.

BR: Who are some SORA success stories?
Bruno: We’ve had several, a lot of my students are painting. I consider it a success if they are painting and doing what they love to do. Gail Potocki, Craig Blietz, David Abed, Karen Larson-Turner, Teddy Spath, Travis Frazelle, John Murdoch. A lot of my first batch of students, including Monica Rezman, are painters that continue going on. Brian Sindler, Shar Coulson, Amy Lloyd, and these are painters that will keep painting. Kathy Honey, and they paint because they love it but they are very grateful that they were here and experienced what they learned here at SORA. Now they’ve developed a nice community of artists. They get together and chat about art, and support each other, they have a little network of people. Its great because they enjoy each others company. They travel a lot together and enjoy having something in common, and that is SORA.

For Part Three, click here.

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