When I first walked into the SXU Visual Art Center as a highschooler on my first college tour, I was in awe with all the opportunities and possibilities that the art program had to offer. Not only did it feel like a space of creative freedom, but also a place of growth and inspiration. It’s a place where any art student can make themselves feel at home.
Over the past two years, I have met art students who continue inspire me and I connected with professors who have shaped much of who I am as an artist. The VAC is a couple blocks off campus, so it’s a new world once you jump on the shuttle bus and enter the former chapel repurposed as a space for art.
So what do SXU art students wish others knew? I spoke to a few art students and reflected on my own experience. In no particular order, our thoughts are the following.
Art is not a walk in the park.
We invest several hours into our craft, whether or not it is self-interest work or classwork. I remember spending four hours on an oil painting for class, and it was only half done. As art senior Chris Thach says it, “We don’t just draw. Art isn’t a walk in the park. It takes just as much dedication, hard work, and brain-power as everyone else to come up with the things we do.” So much of our time is spent working on our craft.
Art is complicated.
There are a billion things you have to think about while working on art. “Art, like critical thinking and writing, requires focus and direction,” says James Miller, a Graphic Designer. “Time spent collaborating, critiquing, and most importantly conceptualizing is HUGE when creating works of art. It’s not about following a recipe and producing something that can be looked at. Twenty people can create the exact same painting with the same materials and have vastly different results.” There are so many things need to make sure that your work succeeds on its own.
We don’t understand all art that we see.
You might walk into the Art Institute of Chicago, and while there are impeccable works of art, we can all admit that there are and will always be questionable artworks everywhere you go. We have our passions for art, but it doesn’t always mean that we care for all of it. For comparison, a music major may love music, but not all genres or certain songs or even instruments. Artists have preferences in terms of tools, styles, artists, and techniques. Regardless, it creates a great dialogue to have, and if you hate a work of art, it probably did its job because it made you feel something.
The mental and emotional connection.
Art is a lot more than just pretty photographs and hyper realistic portraits. While these things are intriguing, a lot goes into artwork. Surrealist artist Bianca Santoyo admits, “Art is much like having only a visual conversation a conversation that takes time and patience to understand, and once you do it’s earth shattering because then you find yourself communicating in various forms with very diverse people. Art is eye opening. The act is humbling and grounding. It’s as if connecting to the inner self and the world around you in a way you never have before.”
Art is expensive!
Art supplies that we need can be pretty costly. A digital drawing tablet can cost up to $90. Adobe Photoshop can cost up to $120 a year. I’ve seen a small pallet of six watercolor paints for around $90. When an art student wants to be paid for their work, please understand them. If you have art supplies that you don’t use (and yes, this means you, non-art majors), there is likely an art major out there that is willing to take them.
Homework and classwork gets in the way.
Students who spend hours on their homework and classwork find it difficult to find time on art that they want to make. I spent so much time on reading for class, art classwork, chores, studying, and other responsibilities that it can become difficult to work on personal artwork. Trust me, it can be draining not being able to invest ourselves in our craft.
We are all different and valid.
Just because an art student may be skilled at portraiture does not mean that they may specialize in drawing animals (and vice versa) and this isn’t a bad thing whatsoever. Don’t be hard on your art fellow because he draws cartoons and not hyper-realistic portraits. Like I stated prior, we all have our preferences and skill-set.
Our finals are not easy
We would hope that others don’t underestimate how difficult it can be. We don’t want to hear “it’s easy! All you have to do is draw!” To that I say, “not at all.” Not all projects are able to be done in the comfort of our home. I used to spend days and weekends at the VAC finishing my oil paintings, but I definitely didn’t regret any of it because the satisfaction I felt when I finished my painting was priceless.
Our Senior Sem is… Intimidating.
Perhaps yours is too and it’s not to scare anyone because taking Senior Seminar is one of the best things that will happen to you as an art major. Even if you may feel vulnerable receiving critique on your art project from major professors, it’s meant to help perfect your craft and prepare you for life after college. It’s an opportunity to have your own spotlight and defend your work.
We love what we do
No matter how much time it takes, the cost, or the uncertainty of our future as artists, we committed to a major that is more than just a course of study. It is a passion that we give ourselves into. We wouldn’t trade it for anything else.