Adam@LymeAcademy

There are many issues that come to mind when considering applying to graduate school. There are the obvious questions, for instance; is my GPA high enough to even apply to graduate school (Typical GPA for MFA acceptance must be well over a 3.0 ). Or, how do my transcripts look to admissions departments e.g. do I have the correct pre requisites for my choice of major, in this case, good grades in painting drawing etc. Moving forward, and perhaps into the most important factor of all, is my portfolio strong enough to get in?? These are all questions you would want definitive answers to before sending out your application. Some times, State Universities or larger schools with secondary "art departments" won't offer the type of preparation necessary to properly aid an art student in the A,B,C's graduate school applications as well as under preparing them in there basic skills and the layout of there portfolio. For some students a year of post Baccalaureate is the answer. At The Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Old Lyme they offer a wide variety or classes in a Post Baccalaureate program designed to prepare each student to be successful graduate school applicants. Each student has their own 24-7 studio space and participates in in-depth critique loosely designed to mimic the graduate school experience with both faculty and the BFA seniors as well as the other Post Bac. students. If you're applying to graduate school and feel under prepared I would highly recommend looking into Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts at www.lymeacaemy.edu for more info.

Perhaps doing a year of Post Baccalaureate study is what you need to do. I went to a school with a great Post Bach. program. I went on to get my MFA with scholarships. It's called The Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, Connecticut. It's a small art college that focuses on representational painting drawing and sculpture but has a very MFA esque studio-critique environment. In the Post Bach. program you build a series of work that is critiqued by your choice of faculty and peers. It is an amazing program with world famous faculty. The program is designed to prepare students for graduate school. You might want to check it out.

Perhaps the names are irrelevant. The only really relevant terms will be the ones coined by the artists and art historians of the future. Any movements in art, cinema, music, or literature etc. which are emerging from and reacting to modernism one would identify as "Postmodern" and will be most clearly identified by the artists of the future. How can we name ourselves or our contemporaries. Also, doesn't the term "postmodern" cover it. Wouldn't one consider something "postmodern" to be something that refers to the modern not in past tense necessarily but, if its being referred to at all then it is something that has already happen which is subject to change every hour, minute and second that passes. Post modern. An old debate..

In a piece of writing you refer to an Institution first by its full name then you can refer to it as its abbreviated name or acronym for the rest of the piece. Possibly restating the Institutions full name the final time you reference it for impact.

I'd get rid of Pratt and SVA. Was it Pratt's BFA or MFA studios that just went up in flames?? Mass Art or Columbia may be better once you consider faculty and MFA program reputation...

Applying to Graduate School is a tricky process. Where to choose and how to get in. If your doing "Figurative work" for lack of a better term, it usually has to be the cream of the crop. Underdeveloped figurative art sticks out like a sore thumb. In recent years there has been a substantial influx of fastidiously done over plasticized figurative work being submitted to graduate schools all over the country. The trick is to separate yourself from the masses who simply work from photos and use naples yellow and flesh tone from the tube to paint. One idea is to paint or sculpt more naturalistically, paying more attention to the affect of light on form and painting with larger brushes and broader planes instead of over exploiting those HD Details we can all become so enamored with and can be over done so easily. One possibility is to do a year of Post Bach. at an institution where the figure is really focused on. Beef up your chops and then go where ever you want to Grad School. I know from experience. There is a little Art School In Old Lyme, Connecticut called The Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. Maybe some of you would benefit from looking into what they have available. I know of several people who have taught there such as Roland Becerra, Dan Edwards, Jon Demartin, Jerry Weiss and David Wenzel ( the guy who animated Tolkiens: The Hobbit.) Hope this helps some of you out! Cheers!