Art School - Was it helpful or worth it?

In My Humble Opinion
21
  1. Well, what is art school like?

** Largely a waste of time, punctuated by very important moments of revelation or clarity. It was Film School. There were 106 people on Freshman Orientation Day. Stand up, say your name, town of origin and what you wanted to “be”. The overwhelming majority wanted to Direct. Of the few who stated very specific goals, many of them are doing just those jobs. ( cinematographer like myself, animator, editor, etc. ). Those that wanted to be Spielberg are back in Syossett, working in Dad’s shoe store. An entirely excellent way to pay the mortgage, but more reality based than wanting to be " a Director of movies"… I hung with the Illustration majors. They were brilliant, thoughtful, direct, visual and fun. I know…snotty. -shrug- I did hang with a few of my fellows, but my experience detailed below quickly isolated me from their shared school experiences.**

  1. Did any of it help to further your knowledge of art or your techniques if you had a basic, intrinsic knowledge?

** It surely helped in terms of theory and criticism. I went to the Film Department of a well-known Art School. The Production side of the department was an abomination of broken-down gear and instructors who cancelled a LOT of classes. My Film Theory and Criticism teacher for 2 years was Amy Taubin, and to this day I find myself on shoots where something she said, or made me think, will arise in my head. Brilliant articulate theorist and filmmaker. :)**

  1. How much academia was present/did you learn any higher level mathematics or sciences?

Very little. I’d done a year at Penn State, and so had almost all Liberal Arts credits secured already. I took creative writing and one other L.A. class, but everything else was pure filmmaking.

  1. What school did you go to? What years?

**School of Visual Arts, NYC. **

  1. MOST IMPORTANTLY: is it absolutely necessary for any career in art in today’s world?

** IMHO no. I started freelancing in the middle of Freshman Year. Within 2 months my hands-on production experience far outstripped that of my 1st Year Production instructor. Starting 2nd year, I was constantly having my parents get letters saying my grade would be lowered in this or that class due to excessive cuts…because…I was working on real movie shoots !! I worked on so many gigs by the time graduation came around, that my resume in many was equalled the average work days of anyone teaching production. It was not necessary. I wanted to drop out to work more. My parents refused, insisting that one day I’d badly need a Bachelor’s Degree to get a job. I’ve been out of school for 19 years, and have worked nonstop ever since. The degree has never secured me a day of work. At all. In fact, it’s a total non-issue in my end of the art world.**

Cartooniverse

22

1) Well, what is art school like?

Unlike most here, I found it to be boring. My fellow students were great, and most of the teachers were useful… but I didn’t find my creativity being stretched too often.

2) Did any of it help to further your knowledge of art or your techniques if you had a basic, intrinsic knowledge?

Not at all. I can’t really remember a single technique that I learned in school, that I hadn’t already figured out on my own. I did learn to use a few different media than what I’d been using- but that was mostly because I grew up fairly poor, and couldn’t afford different media 'til I had to.

3) How much academia was present/did you learn any higher level mathematics or sciences?

Standard workload, I imagine. I ended up dropping out after about a year, never got a degree.

4) What school did you go to? What years?

TSTC, in Waco, TX. The Commercial Art and Advertising course.

5) MOST IMPORTANTLY: is it absolutely necessary for any career in art in today’s world?

Absolutely not. As far as artists go, I’m making some pretty big bucks. I’ve been Art Director two times now, Lead Artist once. I’m in the game industry, and I haven’t used a single skill I learned in school.

The thing is, you can’t teach talent- all you can do is enhance it. No matter how much someone loves doing art, if they don’t have the underlying talent, no amount of school can give it to them. For example, I’ve met many artists who have tons more talent than I do- and I will NEVER catch up to them, no matter how much I try. That was a sad day, the day I realized that.