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Advice for Incoming Art Students
Featured Author:
Amy Wilson
Amy Wilson is an artist who has shown her drawings and paintings with Bellwether, PS1, The Drawing Center, The Warhol Museum, the Grolier Club, Josee Bienvenue Gallery, PPOW, and many other spaces. Her work has been reviewed in the NY Times, Art in America, Time Out NY, the Village Voice, as well as other publications. Amy represented by Bravin Lee in NYC. She received her BFA from the School of Visual Arts (1995) and her MFA from Yale (1997). She teaches in the Art History, Fine Arts, and Visual and Critical Studies departments at SVA. amy-wilson.com
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Amy Wilson
Valerie – ArtBistro manager- asked me if I had anything in particular to say about education or perhaps even some sort of “How to survive art school” sort of talk that I could convey on this site.
I have to say that I really don’t have such a thing just sort of stored up in my head and even wondered if such a thing could be written. Artists are all so different, and so are art students. And then when you factor in all the different majors you can study – fine arts, graphic design, illustration, cartooning, etc – well, there’s suddenly even more differences to take into account.
But as I thought about it some more (while wandering around Chinatown, easily my favorite place to become inspired), I was able to come up with a list of a few key factors that I think will serve most if not all incoming art students. This is based on my several years of teaching along with my several years of being an art student; I’m sure there’s a lot more that could be said and I’d love it if you could add to the list if you think of others. But for now…
1. Establish a routine for yourself. Artists love to bite off more than they can chew and young people love to be away from their parents’ grasp; put these together so that you have young artists and it can be a recipe for disaster. I swear there have been SVA students who have stayed out all night, gone vegan, joined an anarchist squat, and tossed their meds away all in the time it would take most college students to unpack. While these are not necessarily things I’m opposed to (well, I’m not opposed to young people staying out late, skipping animal products and involving themselves in left-wing politics; I’m neutral on meds) the idea of doing them all at once is not a good one. It leads to exhaustion, which leads to sickness, which leads to you screwing up your classes due to being genuinely really sick. College schedules are weird enough as it is – you may have class from 9am to 6pm one day and then 3pm to 7pm the next – without you drastically altering your food/sleep schedule with every new day. Get the sleep and the food you need. Don’t jump into a million activities on your first week. Suddenly being responsible for your laundry, grocery shopping, and everything is totally different than having mom and dad do that, so it takes some getting used to. Take it slow to see what you can handle. (Observers of my life would say that I should follow my advice… and they would, of course, be right!)
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DonPelton
about 1 month ago
44 comments
I would like to add one thing. The days of the rich Prince or Cardinal that can put an artist on a staff retainer are long gone. It is a one in a million shot that you will get your stuff into the Metropolitan Museum of Art right away. While you are getting yourself known, be prepared to say "Would you like Fries with that?"
bargvicki
2 months ago
12 comments
Awesome Article. Well written and good advise for any student.
dr_dtramey
2 months ago
20 comments
All of the advice is good. I should know. I have been through college level education in a field best befitting my dad.(I wanted to be a writer and artist - watercolor was real fine) Ha!Ha! Out of sheer desperation I became a photographer - and not just any type but a *gasp* wedding photographer! (Pull 'em in and push 'em out) For ten years i did this, while dabbling in poetry / short stories, and drawing still dreaming of being a writer and artist. I've managed over the years to pick up some post-grad education in writing, an fine art (both watercolor and real art photography), but I must admit had I to do it all again, I'd have defied my dad a little stronger (since he didn't give me one thin dime for school any how!), and gone for my MFA. Which is what I at fifty-six am doing now!
xcillia
2 months ago
234 comments
As a current art school student I wish that more people would read this list. Unfortunately there have been a few know-it-alls in my classes. Though impressive at first, it wears off and they end up being isolated from everyone else. The small stuff really sticks with you.
avehein
2 months ago
2 comments
I really liked #7. People don't realize that your fellow students and even the teachers are going to be your network in helping you get work when your out job searching!
I think you missed something that I found would have been helpful for myself. Unless you intend to be self employed you should go to the job boards and look at what jobs employers are hiring for and what skills they want. You might discover that it'll be to your benefit to either make minor changes to the classes you take or possibly change your major altogether!
Zax
5 months ago
48 comments
That's the kind of advice i need to survive "tha future"... lol.. Bt i av 2 ask - does the subjects you took in high school affect your possibilities of getting into an art university? Like if you never did art in high school?
julialilogan
8 months ago
2 comments
Amy, I am 51 and ready to pursue my career in painting. I took several basic painting classes prior. Now I would like to paint inspirational cards and create painting to sell. I am enrolling at the art school. What would be your advice for me. thanks
sanjoe
about 1 year ago
5926 comments
Very good advice for incoming art students especially when so much is out there
Bruk
about 1 year ago
216 comments
What a great advice, Amy ! Thanks !
amywilson
over 2 years ago
22 comments
Hi John - I know what you mean, but I'm speaking more of having an art school "sampler plate" as it were - trying out a lot of skills rather than specializing in one so early. It's just so frustrating as a teacher to see students who are 18 saying, "Oh, I don't need to know how to drawing from life because I'm not that type of artist." Wait, what? That's absurd. But at the same time, they are under incredible pressure to specialize, develop a "style" that is marketable, etc., and basically, I think all that is totally counterproductive to a good learning environment.
jhaber31
over 2 years ago
824 comments
That's a great list. But you know, what struck me when I read item 6 was to worry that if you'd been more broad-minded and studied painting, maybe you'd have been as turned off of that as of sculpture. Does school ever work like that?
sfmike
over 2 years ago
10 comments
Great suggestions! It is always important to be vocal, yet humble, in the school culture, as well as to network with students and faculty. You never know who will be your next boss or collaborator in the future!