Arts Studies and Criticism

This study utilizes an aesthetic ethnographic approach to explore the contradictory relationship between educational discipline and artistic subjectivity in the art education practices of local universities. The study finds that exam-oriented education, represented by the art examination, narrows artistic creation into standardized technical training, weakening students' independent thinking and creative subjectivity. Despite some curriculum expansion in local universities, the "technical inertia" and "standardized discipline" in teaching practices continue to profoundly restrict students' artistic creation and the development of subjectivity. While some teachers advocate for "free creation," students still face expressive anxiety in their creations due to the lack of systematic methodological support, and are unable to break free from the shackles of technical training. At the same time, implicit evaluation criteria exacerbate aesthetic homogeneity, leading to conservative and standardized creations, thus systematically eroding individual creative subjectivity. The study reveals that the current art education in local universities is characterized by a dual alienation of technique and art, severely limiting students' creativity and artistic expression.