The strange death of the art school Daisy Dunn The standardisation of British art schools has replaced a once living tradition of artistic practice with self-justificatory faux-academese. “Gaining university status was one of the worst things that could have happened to art schools. Out went practical, apprenticeship-style learning, and in came the need for endless self-justification. The faux-academese that began to creep in in the 1980s has intensified as universities clamour for government funding. It’s easier to rank performance through written work – like that produced in traditional degrees – than anything as subjective as art. One measuring stick fits all.”