Who else loves the visual discipline enough to dedicate a few years and thousands of dollars to become "classically" trained? Dropouts (I have yet to finish a course or two) aswell as graduates and current students are welcome to chime in. Is school worth it, shown in any galleries, found out its a load of sh*t and the professors are dicks? Who else has found themselves at a crossroads with art, to pursue a full-time career as a starving artist or give it up and find a real job?
Well I'm no artist, but since I see art as subjective and ever-changing, I think it's weird art-school even exists. I get it if you want to study the history of art, but art school as a way to learn to create art? I don't really see art as having a fixed definition, if you draw something and I like it a lot, it's art to me. Maybe not to the art-school professor, but subjecting yourself to a method which claims to teach you how to create art is only narrowing the definition of art. And that for a couple of thousand dollars.
I never bothered with art school. People telling you how and what to draw defeats the whole purpose of being an artist.
The nearest college to me has a good art program and most of the Professors are constantly having their own Gallery shows.I know there are some colleges out there that have total bullshit programs, but there are some good schools out there. A University with a good Art program isn't there to teach people per se, but to refine their art. While a BFA or MFA is basically a worthless degree, unless you intend to pursue a career as an art teacher, there are skills you will gain. Fine tuning of your art through practice, critiques. (Critiques from other artists are pretty valuable in your development as an artist) Discovering different mediums that your love and new-to-you techniques because of the different courses you take to meet your requirements, and different projects given out in said courses, and working side by side with other artists. Learning how to properly display art and set up an aesthetically pleasing gallery shows. The opportunity to have your art displayed in a Gallery show through your University and Galleries that have formed relationships with your university. I could go on, there are a lot of things to be gained besides a basically useless degree
I'm currently at an art school; I've only been there for one semester and I've already gained loads of info and insight. As was already said, critiques are valuable. It's sometimes difficult to pinpoint what doesn't look "right" in your work; this is where others come in and offer insight. Along with teaching you how to properly present your work, my school offers TONS of opportunities to meet other artists, contests, exhibitions, and plenty of ways to show off one's work. At my school, freshmen are required to take a Color class. This has proved invaluable; my paint mixing has shown a drastic improvement. Another awesome thing is that some art schools actually help their students find internships and jobs. My school has a 96% rate of entry level employment after graduation; that's definitely something to look forward to. However, you have to be willing to work. Some schools carry a heavy course load (such as mine) and if you can't keep up, you'll fall behind. I'm already all screwed up due to failing 2 classes last semester. Poor time management
I am going to a commercialized art school to learn how to draw for animation and stuff. By commercialized I mean its towards more profitable jobs. To me it is more about the environment. Being next to a bevy of other artists and such you get to learn from them. The teachers are usually well versed and can actually teach you some good drawing techniques and then at other times some of them just kind of suck. It is definitely too expensive but I feel like it will be worth it to have a degree. I can get a job way easier. On the side I draw the kinds of art you see on here. Work on my writing and comic. So I think it is worth it. Having them tell you what to draw is fine to me. I want to learn how to draw everything good and to keep me from stopping drawing for long periods of time. I just insert my own energy and style when I want to. Just my two cents. But I believe you can learn just on your own and be successful as well. This is just the route I wanted to take it.
My art teacher says that she doesn't exactly want us to go into an art career in life, but she said she wants us to think "creatively" and outside the box, which we are trained to do by doing the assignments. We are given an idea to work with, and we basically have to create stuff on it on our own. So it doesn't really "narrow the definition of art", IMO.