Art & Academia

Nowadays, it plays a crucial role as well, since it is widely used in such spheres as design, marketing and many others. We can see art everywhere: from magazine pages and english short essays to car bodies, from shops to garage walls. I have been interested in it since I was a child, and that factor has probably inspired me to choose the career of a designer. When asked about why I have made this choice, I explain that one of my childhood dreams was to create art each day, and that is what I am doing now. Daily, I get knowledge of how to apply art concepts in everyday spheres such as advertising or internet design. One more thing that I adore about my occupation is the opportunity to transfer my own artistic ideas to people, and thus, to contribute to the world’s art heritage. In my opinion, these two reasons perfectly describe my attitude to my future occupation and art in general. The suggested readings have assisted me in filling the gap of my knowledge in what relates to certain aspects of the artistic sphere, and specifically, in forming my own opinion about the connection between art and commerce, the need for the archive of artistic works, and the art school reform.

To begin with, one of the perspectives that have attracted my attention while perusing the readings is the non-admission of commercial representatives to the process of studying art in universities. To my mind, the concept of establishing a certain line that is supposed to separate the commercial world from art is obligatory. Considerable amount of people may say that art and commerce are inseparably connected now, so what is the point of dividing them into two cardinally different spheres? The answer is quite simple: being interested only in earning money, an art student cannot reach professional growth. Such pressure as that of money is absolutely inappropriate for an art student, since it interferes with the artistic isolation which is necessary for studying arts and developing an individual vision of important concepts. In this respect, my opinion coincides with the response of Paul Ramirez-Jonas in the “Questionnaire”: “M.F.A programs should not allow galleries, critics, and curators to come to their studios – let alone pay these people to come as faculty or as sanctioned visitors for lectures and critiques” (319). It is worth mentioning that there are basically similar views and expectations among art students claiming that commercials should be welcome, because in such a way students’ works are noticed and thus, future graduates are provided with jobs. This point of view is logical, but the opposing one is also worth paying attention to. Specifically, giving up the process of self-improvement, an art student stays at the same level that definitely decreases this student’s chances for a well-paid position.

Secondly, the perspective of crucial importance is the creation of the work archive. In “How to Be an Artist by Night,” there is quite a peculiar paragraph that suggests establishing a special system aimed to collect artist’s works in chronological order: “A history of the movement of a practice gets inscribed into the very terms of its expression, making visible all of its ideas – threadbare, discarded, extended, or transformed” (Raqs Media Collective 79). In this way, one very important aim of launching the archive is to remind an artist of long-forgotten ideas and certain visions that have been lost with the flow of time. This idea is of great importance since it has the power to revive significant feelings necessary for creating art works. One more benefit of the above mentioned perspective lays in the opportunity to trace the history of artist’s works back to its start. With the help of this tool, critics or investigators could get to know more about background, concepts and visions that inspired the creation of certain art works.

The third perspective that has affected me greatly is the school reform. It can hardly be a real reform, but at least, the approach to art should involve drastic changes. Everyone has been studying at school for 5-7 years leastwise, and when it comes to art, one of the basic school features can be figuratively described as “a one-time play”. If you get into memories from your school life, you can recall that the majority of art works were mentioned or showed just once. Personally, I consider it to be a critical problem, since to get the sense of an art work or at least to have a deeper look at it, an ordinary person has to see it for a minimum of three times. So, it is quite reasonable that schools should put all their efforts to organizing and holding art exhibitions and art shows. Moreover, “People learn from and with art, not simply from the speech of teachers but from the ongoing history of exchanges and conversations …” (Raqs Media Collective 80). I absolutely agree with this statement and think that only providing an exchange of opinions and views on art works, as well as art-related information among students and lecturers, it is possible to ensure knowledge assimilation.

What matters most in art making for you? Did art school have anything to do with your coming to understand this? For me, the most important thing is my inner vision. When certain outlines suddenly appear in my mind, there is a high possibility that in some time, they will result into my works. To tell the truth, art school was rather helpful, since it has taught me to trust my inner vision and work according to it.

With hindsight, would you do it the same way if you had the choice? If not, how would you have gone about your education as an artist? I would not change things, since the process of working on my individual artistic style has taught me numerous lessons, among which how to adjust to situations, and how to organize time and efforts. Also, people I have met while climbing my art-studying ladder stand as another factor of why I want to keep it as it is.

To conclude, having read two magnificent works, I have become even more motivated about what I am doing now. Having investigated the suggested readings, I got to know more about the background for creating arts. It has also given me the chance to look differently at some common art issues such as art school organization and commercial relationship. What is more, valuable approaches depicted in “How to Be an Artist by Night” and “Questionnaire” are to be surely helpful in my current and further work as an artist.