Ooops, I did it again

Reflections of an Art Student   (3 of 4)

More sketchbook drawings

So, this was a revelation, the fact that there are adults out there who have held on to the impression they had in college that art was a less “serious” major. Like all false impressions, undervaluing the art student (or anyone else) starts with a quick initial assessment: “that person is not like me”, which in many instances is followed by “… so they are weird…”. Then we look for things to support that analysis. But it would be a pretty boring world indeed if we all had the same interests and talents. To begin building bridges of understanding and mutual respect between people, it helps to examine what we have in common. Let me provide some perspective.

One thing we all have in common is the desire to pursue our interests and refine our talents. I didn’t know anyone planning to go from high school to college who wasn’t looking forward to the freedom of not dealing with subjects they didn’t particularly like; it didn’t matter what they planned to study. The English major wanted to leave math behind and just write, the math major looked forward to a world of numbers and no term papers, the scientist couldn't wait to get into a lab, … the artist wanted to forget about them all and just create. (Of course, we were all in for a rude awakening. There were academic requirements for everyone, and, honestly, these provided balance to the intense focus on one’s major.)  

I never considered how others spent time pursuing their degree because it seemed to me that it was a familiar routine, study the material and get tested. Now I think my assumptions may have been a bit skewed and I wonder what these students thought of an art major's life.

Our classes were scheduled in blocks of time that were similar to lab classes. Our late studio nights resembled long hours in the library. Large project assignments had deadlines like those of term papers. What was different was how proficiency and progress was assessed.