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Subject: is it important to go to art school ?

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steph
Posts:1

10/22/2007 4:17 AM	Alert
hi there my name is steph and l am new to this forum and look forward to some interesting conversations in the future. l am a first year art student. l have been given a report to write and l wondered if anyone might help me by voicing your opinions. the question l have been given is IS IT IMPORTANT TO GO TO ART SCHOOL TO BE CONSIDERED AN ARTIST? l have my own personal opinion on this matter but l would love to hear yours. kindest regards steph twycross xx

one who sees

Posts:508

10/22/2007 9:02 AM	Alert
yes, but its not to be considered an artist....its so you can learn the basics, the traditional foundations of drawing......it takes a lifetime to be an artist....and it doesnt stop with your school...its a lifetime of studying learning and striving to improve

~I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it~ Vincent Van Gogh www.bettyannlemist.com

vikingwife

Posts:851

10/22/2007 9:37 AM	Alert
Art school (or art classes) were extremely helpful to me. I learned more about drawing "straight" lines and using perspective. It is a wonderful opportunity to be exposed to a variety of mediums. Do I think you NEED to go to art school to be considered an artist? Absolutely not. I have seen phenominal work by artists who have had no formal training. Those seem to be the people that eat, sleep and breathe art.....the ones who spend all their free time sketching and learning "on the job". Jess

darsart
Posts:56

10/22/2007 1:18 PM	Alert
No, it is not necessary to go to art school to be an artist. Art school is however, a wonderful learning and foundation to build on. But many fabulous artists have never had any formal training. There are also people who have graduated from art schools who do not have what I believe is an 'internal artist eye', and while they may be able to technically reproduce something, they lack the heart that is required to be a true artist. Is art school important? Absolutely. Is it necessary to be an artist? Absolutely not. An artist puts a part of themselves in everything they create, and this is something internal, not something that can be taught. Good luck on your project and your studies. Hope to see some of your work posted here. Darlene

Enchanted

Posts:16

10/27/2007 6:13 PM	Alert
Posted By darsart on 10/22/2007 1:18 PM No, it is not necessary to go to art school to be an artist.. Darlene I couldn't be more in agreement with your comments. And I speak as someone who has both my BFA and MFA in studio art. Whenever I hear or read of someone denigrating "education" I see red! One need not be educated to be an artist - that is obvious from the vast number of artists who are self taught. An education in ANY field - not just the arts - is about gaining knowledge that one wouldn't obtain without studies. Of course there are those professions that demand a degree of a person - and teaching art at the college/university level is one of those requiring an MFA in most accredited schools. For teaching other arts - art history, music, drama - a PhD may be the requirement. Those who seriously believe that they desire to "learn to be artists" in the old atelier way have the option of enrolling in schools that teach art methodology - usually those schools include "design, academy or atelier" in their names. :cheers:

Greetings from Land of Enchantment, USA

one who sees

Posts:508

10/28/2007 9:34 AM	Alert
i just want to further explain my stance on this....... my training, three years of drawing at BMFA was the most valuable training i received...and the only training...i am a self taught painter....but i got my drawing from being grilled by three traditional artists/art teachers...old school...all hands on...there were no books,no written tests no ~art appreciation~ taught from books... it was all hands on drawing...first from casts and then everything else that had anything to do with freehand drawing skills...we had models, we had the whole of the museum to use as casts..we were drilled on perspective,composition, values...countour drawing, line drawing and gesture drawing... at the time i was itching to be done with it....enough already!....but then? i was young and dumb...and had no clue what type of solid foundation this would bring to my artwork as i progressed, on my own, into color and paint.... would i be the same artist without this formal training? nope....i would lack some very important skills, and maybe i wouldnt be able ~to seee~ as sharply as i can..... would i advise another young artist to go through that torture? ABSOLUTELY...without a doubt in my mind. and i believe i can say in all honesty....that the artists i have woked with who had no formal training, and who i have tried to pass on some of what i have learned from those early years, dont have that depth of knowledge, dont have that well of experience to work with and bring into their work....they quickly catch on...but its because they are shown the difference... even abstract work has to have composition,perspective and contast in values of some kind.... if you have the dedication to learn, yes you can train yourself...but only with books, or with other artists who can relay the info to you... one cant truly understand perspective without studying it...or understand why composition is important...or the importance of contrasts... so in truth this is a question that has to answers.... you can only get so far without training and knowledge of some kind....but its up to the individual artist as to how far you wish to go.... is your goal to just create some beautiful pieces as a sideline, as a hobby... or are you driven by an internal force to find that way, to be able to use your creative voice and create pieces that move people, that share your interpretation of what you see...?...

~I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it~ Vincent Van Gogh www.bettyannlemist.com

idlewild
Posts:24

11/01/2007 11:00 PM	Alert
A person may be educationally qualified to be an artist, but if a person lacks the passion and the drive, it is of no use. A passionate artist, wether they took art classes or not, will find the way to grow into their desire to produce exceptional art and will be recognized as sucessful or not by each viewer.

"you don't realize what you have until you transform it"

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