I'm about to finish my second semester as an art student at a university. I'm required to take a variety of art classes, some of which don' t feel too connected to my major. It's because of this that I enjoy some of my studio classes much more than others. Enjoyment has a huge impact on your quality of art, and it's disappointing to admit I've had to turn in projects that were not that great. (And in classes I enjoy I've turned in somethings that I love.) Through these different experiences I've seen some very different points of view on art classes- that I hope I can get across here.
"I could get an A in an art class easy."
In high school I'm sure some saw art class as a blow off, something they knew they would pass even if they didn't give it their all. There are some people that could do this with college classes as well. There are two ways I could see this happening, natural talent and "artist etiquette".
I personally believe that natural talent is very rare, and in reality it depends on how much practice a person puts in. Which ever it is, however, these people can have a much easier time on the projects if they are experienced in the area. They will still have plenty of bumps in the process but in the end will come out with a product better than their peers- resulting in a better grade. Art is similar to English classes in this light- there's no right or wrong so they often have to judge projects against each other with the best getting the highest grade. I wouldn't necessarily call this "playing the system" since these students are amazing artists that deserve what they receive, but many of them seem to have waited until later in life to come to college. (This is just personal observation and may not be true every where.)
What I'm calling "artist etiquette" is the general understanding between artists that everything in a piece is up to artist interpretation. (I don't know if this has an actual term connected to it, let me know!) This is an amazing advantage for students- being able to take risks to make the art they truly want. There is one blaring problem with it though, that you can claim any little mistake as intentional. For example, you aren't the best sculptor and you accidentally cut the head off a character when you're working late at night. You don't have the energy or motivation to completely start over so you simply finish it without the head and tell the teacher that was the point of the piece. Now you are much more likely to get a grade comparable to that of someone who did start over even though you put in much less effort. I don't wish to say there's anything particularly wrong with this either, I think we've all been here, but it is definitely a loophole to pay attention to.
"Art Classes are Much Harder to Get an A in Than Normal Academics"
I'm sure this is a varying opinion as well, but it is my general belief. I am taking college core classes alongside my art and I consistently notice that it is easier for me to receive A's in my normal academic classes. For me personally, I believe this is because of how streamline they can be and similarities to high school AP courses. In addition, my art classes have projects throughout the semester that require hours of precise work in a limited amount of time. Hopefully the project is something you like, or else you are forced to spend all that time on something you would never want to do on your own. You must have specific supplies and if you break those guidelines you can lose points. Not to mention the many things you have to think about while doing the project, and that it's probably not the only project you are working on. Finally the teacher's opinion of your piece really matters since they are grading it (sadly bias is unavoidable), and you sometimes have to change things you like.
It's hard to describe how difficult certain assignments can be unless you are part of them yourself. My first ever art class assignment had me almost break down. We had to draw the outline of a still life and then go back in and draw the negative space- in pen with no erasing. It's still probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.
This is just something I've been thinking about lately, let me know what you think below!
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