littlenova

And...Green Painter....you are from FLORIDA!!!!! Awesome!!!!!

Okay, so WELCOME!!!!!!!! to GreenPainter who chose MICA! And....Ren...Did you end up making a decision? I am graduating this year and would welcome any questions if you are still on the fence. You'll meet me in June. @RenAdams: Scholarships are based on varying factors and they vary by the year you are accepted (that year of funding) and merit. I have heard that the $5500 is a standard package for applicants in most years. That amount, like you noted, is renewable each year, but it pretty much stays the same. Your mentor won't have a say in that. All of the aid is dealt with through financial aid or the program director. That being said, they DO offer GTIs Graduate Teaching Internships (which equate to assistantships) if you move to Baltimore as a teaching assistant during the undergraduate school year. Other than that, there is NO TIME in the summer for anything else but, studio work and classes. They keep you extremely busy. (Did you guys see the BRAND SPANKIN' NEW facilities you'd be in for the summer? They had the grand opening this year. New gallery on the lower level, cafe, state of the arts studios. It's amazing.) And I have no reason to talk it up as I'm leaving and won't be able to enjoy them anymore after this summer! As for the list of low-res schools you mentioned...It depends on what you do. MICA is very theoretical and has a rigorous critical theory/academic component. The only low res comparable to MICA's when I applied was Bard, but this was before SVA started theirs. In my opinion, there is no other low-res with the same reputation or resources. Our faculty mentors are brilliant. (...and we also have a faculty member from Bard that visits us every summer first!) As far as debt goes, it is much cheaper to live in Baltimore for the summer than NYC or Boston, but it really boils down to what program best fits you. A few thousand won't make or break that decision, right? For me it was MICA or Bard. I chose MICA. Renee/Zlata have been my mentors. Best of luck to you both! Let me know if there is anything else I can do to welcome you or encourage you!!!

It's not about bragging about an acceptance. It's about belittling others on the board. I live in California, albeit Northern California. I'm already in grad school and was scouting for MICA on these forums to see if any new applicants needed encouragement or had questions. I'm glad I got to connect with the few I did. If by "making it", you mean taunting people than I don't understand how that gets anyone ahead—even in LA. It's difficult enough to get people to care about what you have to say without being obnoxious about it. And for what it's worth, if USC has a 2% selectivity, it's because of funding—not because of their superiority in Sculpture. I'm sure it's a fine program...I have a soft spot and have met with Charlie White. But let's be real, there are other strong programs in California.

If your work is this disjointed and thoughtless than you'll be weeded out the first semester of graduate school. I would love to print this out and show it to USC. My hope, though, is that you have a come- to- jesus moment and realize that your views are narrow, insensitive and grossly ignorant. I have met many famous artists and theorists who have the right to be as arrogant as you, but are humble and let their work and research level people. I would venture to say you are overcompensating for something that isn't happening in your art. Stop bullying people. Use your words.

Hey you... Just wanted to encourage you to look up Deb Sokolow's work. She started out doing these idiosyncratic, Darger-esque illustrations and long explanations/stories to go with them about her imagined worlds and conspiracy theories. But, beyond the 2D work, she puts on really great performances that are informed by her maps and doodles and drawings. It lets you more into her intention and makes it more accessible.

I attend the MICA low-residency program and we are offered TAships (GTIs) and opportunities to teach if we want to live in Baltimore for a semester (s). We also can work towards a teaching certificate after taking Pedagogy coursework. The professor who heads the Pedagogy courses received her Phd from Teachers College at Columbia and is really progressive with the curriculum and assisting us with preparing teaching portfolios, organizing guest speakers, etc. That being said, not all low-residencies are created equal. Bard is amazing. MICA is stellar. I've heard good things about MassArt and Maine. But, I would steer clear of AIB and some of the newer programs until they are a bit more seasoned. I was accepted and visited a lot of them and the alum and faculty work were iffy. :/

I really love what's happening in Miami, Milwaukee and Minnesota. Miami still needs a decent MFA program and you'd have to navigate some of the bullsh** art fairs, but it's an amazing incubator for some hot art and there is funding.

Erpnope...So true! Baltimore is happening right now...They also just renovated the Studio Building and it's hot. (Gallery, Cafe, everything...) I do low-residency, so I show and make work on both coasts during the year and do Baltimore for summers. But, you are only a few hours away from Philly and NYC if you want to branch out. The crime is a downside to Baltimore, but the lower cost of living maybe makes up for it. After graduating this summer, I would have spent 30k on my graduate degree and I think it was worth every penny.

Aw, I love it. I graduate this June. I'm in the low-res program and it's been amazing. I'm glad I chose them over VCU...The resources and facilities are great. Would you be a Mountie or Hoffberger? I like the work coming out of Mount Royal...

They gave me the most aid out of all the schools that accepted me. It came out to almost 75%! I hope you get to go!

And then go back further, and you'll find these sentiments explored in Dada and in Nietzsche's writings... Artaud is a necessary, but pungent character. Isn't he? Somewhere in between Artaud's negation of everything and Brecht's critical epic is where I think we begin to address the postmodern moment of art. I think Derrida does a beautiful job of deconstructing Artaud...What does it mean to shock people now? Is shocking the same as challenging them? I am always skeptical of any authoritarian recipe for making work or looking at the world—absurdist or otherwise. But, yeah, those essays got me thinking...

@thismessageispadiforby: Lol... Just wikied Info Wars...just another brand of Libertarian ideology. Isolationism...Coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs, folks. If I would've known, I wouldn't have even wasted my breath on the response above.

What graduate school, some humility (and some research?) might teach some blow-hards on this board: Art school is what you make out of it. It's a resource. It's not a guarantee. While programs like RISD and YALE are well connected institutions, they don't guarantee you a career anywhere. Likewise, coming out of a smaller program like OHIO doesn't mean you will have a sleepy career. My professor at MICA came from OHIO STATE and is blowing up in Berlin and in the UK. Michelle Grabner, a recent selection to curate the Whitney Biennial this year, came from Northwestern. Two of my classmates who came from the University of Florida went on to be quite successful at the Whitney Biennial, Venice Biennale and the Perrotin in Paris. Artists come in all shapes and sizes, hail from all kinds of programs and the scope of their impact reaches in a multitude of ways. The idea that someone is either a good artist or a bad artist innately, is modernist bullshit that died in 1950. Education/historical awareness, rigorous critique and community create a critical art maker. And yes, being aware makes us better. Making work in a bubble is not relevant if we are to be in dialogue with the world. Going out there and just "making thingies" is irresponsible without a thoughtful practice and one that weighs the historicity of contemporary art. Art, indeed, functions like a language. The presentation of signs and signifiers is one that should be understood so that artists can respond mindfully to the bombardment of competing visual ideologies. Most of the systems of control that we rebel against began with visual domination...How do we combat this without education? I attend MICA and I have loved every minute of it. But, none of that comes with any entitlement. It's just another community...an experience that I was lucky enough to get almost entirely funded... an experience of learning and research that I want to pass along to my own students someday. Further, I detest this polemic that real artists only make works to exhibit, struggle to show alot and become art stars. That's more romantic mythology. Art is resistance. Art is activism. Art is engagement. That could look like a community organizer, an educator, a performer. It could look like a lot of things. Success in this field shouldn't be confined to the commodification of what you sell or your popularity. Teaching doesn't mean you are less of an artist. Being radical doesn't mean you have to act like a duchebag or discourage people who are trying to add to the conversation on this board. Manners. Respect. p.s. If you were in a MICA crit, and spewed out that nonsense, you would be eaten alive with a side of bacon.

Hmmm...Are you considering a career as a commercial photographer or a contemporary artist? Not that these have to necessarily be mutually exclusive, but I think you'd benefit from looking at more conceptual approaches to photography. Where did you apply?

I really dig your work. Like...alot. I think you had stronger projects conceptually on there, though. I personally love The Friendly City. I think it all depends on where you are applying and what your direction is. The more conceptual programs like Yale, SAIC or MICA might fault you for the photojournalistic figurative work/portraiture, but I know SVA, Columbia, Syracuse would probably go goo-goo over them. You are most definitely a photographer's photographer, though. And with the right program, I can't wait to see what you'll do. Good Luck. I hail from Miami. Big ups! p.s. I read your statement. Go further...I think you should be asking larger questions about the "public v.s. private." Like, what does it mean to take someone's photograph or use their image for your messaging? What does it mean to do this now during a time when the truth claim of photography is being questioned? Be critical and skeptical of your medium.

That home series is luscious. I love it...A very curious list of photo programs. But, I hope you get into SAIC or VCU.

Wow, Justjean..that's great news. You must be AWESOME. AND A GOOD DANCER. AND ADORABLE. AND BRILLIANT. jk...It's Tam. I found you on here and had to poke you.

I'm a grad student at MICA (low-res MFA) and got more than half funded for all 4 years of the program. I will be in about 25k in debt after my MFA, which I don't think is bad considering the resources and networking at MICA in their career center, etc. I think it's absolutely comparable to UCLA or RISD or even some of the up and coming schools like VCU (Although Yale and SAIC are in a pretty amazing category of their own.) The big benefit to MICA is that it's one of the oldest art institutions in the country. This isn't about a pedigree per say, but their research and faculty measure up to that history of high standard. They grant more Fullbrights than any other art school in the country and there is a nice mix of theory and practice in many of the programs. Not all programs are created equal, though, and I wouldn't judge all of the grad programs based on Mt. Royal or a single department. As with every decision, weigh it by visiting and seeing for yourself.

I have a question about funding....My friend was accepted into the program and has some assistance, but still is short on being able to swing the entire 5k. Are their any other aid options besides private loans or whatever for something like this? I'd be interested to hear how you paid for your residency there. Does VCU do anything else besides the $500-1k scholarships? Thnx!

You are less than 2 hours away from NYC if you choose Yale. And, the program is elite...

@gradwannabe: What a great response! And definitely a phenomenon I am seeing alot more of. It used to be that if you wanted to write about art or run a space, you'd be compromising your own work in the process. When I did a curatorial study abroad in Cork a few years ago, there were mostly history majors and writers that were studying to be critics and not one had taken an art class. I felt as though, I had to hide the side of me that wanted to discuss art if I wanted to be successful at making it. I also sort of felt like a fish out of water, because some of these kids were working towards a Phd. But, I am intrigued by those who think of this as just another discipline they work in....and further that they can view it as a way to inform their work. When I lived in Miami, most of the spaces in Wynwood were run by artists and educators and alot of the success that happened there can be attributed to this "mobilization" of group shows, collaborations and collective projects. When I applied to grad programs, I noticed more and more MFA curriculums were integrating some kind of curatorial component along with art practice. It's exciting.

@Turnip: Would you consider curating to be an artistic discipline? I'm not being sassy...I genuinely want to know if it's considered an artistic discipline, because I have met some people that treat it as such and I always thought of it as an academic thrust like studying Art History.

I have alot of experience with this FAFSA/Independent Student thing. I think there is some misinformation here on the board...Savantgarde is right...Even if a student is independent from their parents, the parent's income will be still be calculated into the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) in most circumstances. Read about what is defined as an Independent student: If you are under 24 and unmarried, your parent's income will be calculated on the FAFSA. It counts as apart of your adjusted gross income. You'll see this calculated into your EFC number on the SAR printout. The Need Access form/process is a horse of another color. It is only used at certain schools. At institutions like Yale that offer need-based institution funding, the age is determined by the school. Yale says you must report all parent's income regardless of age (even though the cut off to report parental income on their Need Access form is 25?). At Berkley, the age is 30, etc. Taking parental income/assets into account is highly unfair to many students...This added income only hurts their chances at funding. Schools do this, because they want to give more money to Student A with a poor family and a low EFC over say Student B with a comfortable family and a higher EFC. But, it doesn't take things into account like if your parents are estranged or how much debt they have even if they wanted to contribute. When I looked at Yale's (and UPenn's) site I was also floored to find how little they pay their TAs and how little the fellowships are in relation to the tuition. Even though the education is first rate, it makes me a little sad that they charge their students so much.

Curating is definitely a gift! And I'm sure it doesn't hurt one's application when applying.

@gradwannabe: Yeah, interdisciplinary can be low tech or high tech... Lots of of options for either... Do you consider curating to be a discipline, though?