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Is Art School Worth It? by Hannah Dallman  Maybe you're fresh out of high school, eager to take on the world. Maybe you're considering a second career, or perhaps you're headed to graduate school after a hiatus in the real world. Whatever your place or background, making the decision to go to art school can be a hard and lonely one. Do you love your artistry, I mean, really love it? Would you commit to it even though you weren't in school? Are you a painter who walks around town, sketchbook in hand, or a musician who hears music around every corner and in every conversation, or are you a writer who scribbles nibblets of conversation down in public? Do you find yourself feeling a little blue when you find that it's been a while since you've picked up your paintbrush, your drumsticks, or your video camera? And so you do, and suddenly the birds are chirping a little louder and the folks at the local bodega seem a little friendlier? If that's the case, then chances are that you've found your calling. Allow me to offer some perspective based upon my experience, and perhaps even a little helpful advice. I've attended three art schools — one for a BFA in theatre acting/directing, another briefly attended for undergraduate work, and the third (my current program) for an MFA in Film and Video. In going to school, let's be honest — there is both the possibility for creative success and creative failure. School can be a place to incubate, to push yourself and have others push you, all towards growing and learning. At the same time, it can also be a place to retreat when the world is looking too scary or maybe you can't think of anything better to do. In my experience, I have learned more and developed more in the classes or places or on projects where the other students around me see school as an important stepping-stone to where they want to get. People out to impress their professors, for whatever advantage that might lead to in the very short term, are equivalent to "yes-people" and I haven't found them to be very good partners for the development of my work, nor willing to have me as a partner for theirs. The important question is "What exactly do you want out of art school?" Is the training you want even at school? Art and academia can mix well but sometimes they mix, well, not at all. Finding the right balance of classes grounded in strong theoretical and aesthetic texts, and classes where production, or making is the emphasis is important in finding this balance. Not only that, but each semester should also be balanced in this manner, where the theory classes inform the work that you are doing. Want to read more? Subscribe to POLYSEMY. Click here to preview more articles. ©2006 POLYSEMY. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. |