caving

Also, this isn't really up my alley but worth sharing.... http://www.krop.com/creativedatabase/ hosts similar for commercial/photo journalism photographers as well as graphic designers/web designers/typographers/etc etc. very geared towards getting paying gigs and my friend who has used it has already gotten some freelance work from it. nice layout-- and big images, pretty sweet. plus the availability to "upgrade" from their free package to have more than just a 10photo portfolio hosted by them.

Hey guys, I have really appreciated all of the support and information this community has provided over the past months. Artists don't strike me as the type that use message boards (or at least, I didn't think I was until now), but I was hoping that since we have such an amazing community of competitive students and artists that maybe we could put together our collective info to share with one another some great opportunities, online communities, and resources we have found for other artists. I am just starting to promote myself online- and this MFA search has really been an eye opener to the opportunities available. So maybe other people could share some great things too? One of the best resources I found through my MFA application experience was the Irving Sandler Artist File online. It is run by Artist Space gallery in NYC (wowsa!) and is a portfolio hosting website for fine artists. They host a free portfolio, CV, statement in a really nice format (especially for those of you who don't have websites). And it is geared towards curators and artists putting together group shows to be able to search you by location, media, and subject matter. A professor at PennDesign uses it, and two or three of the Yale MFA students recommended setting up portfolios on it too. I had never even heard of it before, but have since made a great portfolio and had a few people get in touch with me about my work. http://afonline.artistsspace.org/ It has been great, and I wanted to share it with everyone. If anyone has anything similar, or any other neat overlooked resources to bring to the table, I would love to hear them!! Even if they are for a specific media, I think getting a message board about stuff like this would be great.

Go to Cranbrook. I live in Philadelphia right now, my boyfriends mother went to PAFA- and two of my old coworkers got their MFAs there (both hated it//regretted being in debt to them). I have been to many PAFA events with said mother and have just been so underwhelmed with the community I have met there, either snobby boisterous and full of themselves, classic/traditional painters who are clueless about talking about contemporary art, or very shy and underwhelming students who didn't seem to have great focus. Of course, you could get these students in any program. There are a few exceptions to why PAFA is great: I think they have some nice ties if you want to stay in Philadelphia- there is certainly a whole array of alumni living in the city and my friend who went there undergrad had many of his pieces from his senior show purchased by alumni. There is a strong community, and good support. mostly based in Philadelphia. The museum is great, but its really reliving the hey-day of PAFA, which in my opinion has come and gone. My big disclaimer to my own PAFA-hating is this, If you want to paint the figure, and oils- this is the place to get some of the most technical training available of any program I have seen. Their faculty are true chemists as far as pigments and oil painting and can offer you advice to really use the best materials out there to get the most out of your paintings. If you are looking for this background, and don't have it- PAFA is your school. However if you are interested in more modern, alternative, conceptual painting. You are not going to be pleased with the level of critique and conversation you will be finding in the community here- something Cranbrook will truly offer you a whole education and experience in. Which is why my two friends had such discouraging experiences. However, overall I think their program is very skewed towards specific technical training (their undergrad offerings are almost entirely based around the figure), and while the MFA program is more open as far as what you are painting and what the students are making, and much less traditional- the faculty simply will not hold up if you are interested in experimenting and pushing forward conceptually.

with a few notable exceptions- a lot of programs you will find are "2d fine arts" mfas (like yale or massart...) , or in the case of columbia they dont even have "genres" you apply to. most places see printmaking as something tied to painting and drawing (with, notable exceptions) and some printmaking programs will be very geared towards book arts. so you need to find the program thats right for you//your portfolio =)

i think thats a really nice roundup of other popular, esteemed, cheaper, overshadowed programs. i hope folks next year find this helpful- even the debate about cornell. i think all of us documenting what we love and hate is really important and can help some other people out since so many of these places we are influenced by professors or artists we know who went to them. ?

when i have my retrospective at the moma i shall call it "legendary over-hype". just love the phrase. hah!

still unsure! (haven't heard back yet...) but let me tell you-- when i interviewed and saw the undergrad work up in the halls, i was incredibly impressed. i think a lot of the undergrads there are showing so much more direction/promise. made me feel excited about the whole community at massart.

oh i would have been livid! my friend is there for an mfa in creative writing.... can't say i want to move to ithaca any time soon- you're brave for supporting you hubby in the cold ithaca winter

NO WAY abe is retiring?? that is such a bummer. i had him for a semester where he was a visiting professor during my undergrad and he really challenged me/pushed me in new directions. and i havent really been following the students at massarts work, my statement merely came out of the fact i am just a sucker for the faculty and think it has a reasonable price point. and yeah, its hard not to look at the students and understand the trajectory you could/would be on if you went there. i think its a good way to look at a program, for sure. ....unm sort of had its day and is a very different place now, but the art and ecology mfa, assuming it works out to be as challenging and exciting a program as it sounds- should be amazing and different than anything offered in the country. i applied to it, and didn't get in, but i frankly don't even know what they were looking for, or what their student body is going to look like. the idea of being part of a brand new program at a traditionally great school sounded really exciting... but i'm really excited to hear what comes from it, and am certainly jealous of whoever gets a shot to check it out. =) i don't know much about rit, somehow never understood its place in the "ratings" and don't really know anyone who has gone there.... thanks for the link, im reading through the responses now (wow!) i work at a camera store and i had a very irate customer who got mad at me for recommending a photo gallery to him that had a very strange/experimental art show. a lot of which included found photographs and other objects which he claimed were not photography and "how dare i waste his time" (i frankly, had no idea what show was up). but you have to think about how photo is a fairly new art, and painting went through the death of painting- malevich and the suprematists, etc. photo is taking itself to the extreme- colliding with cinema (crewdson) to the completely abstract (liz deschenes), trying to find its place in all of these, and hopefully will return to a full flourishing of the medium... p.s. and congrats on massart, even if its not right for you- its certainly something to be proud of!

2d!! oh goodness, my friend who also interviewed hasnt heard anything either so i assume photo has it together a little better/faster =) well anyway- congrats!! massart photo is amazing, abe morell is a fantastic teacher.

well i think saic had amazing facilities, and you're right- the chicago art scene right now is awesome. the faculty and the cost left me hanging though. i applied there, actually... but at times wasn't sure what i applied for when i was wild about some other places more.... i mean, i wanted an excuse to move to chicago and i love the museum- so i don't think it will ever be not relevant. i just think some programs have snuck in edgewise. cranbrook is going to be interesting to watch. detroit is a bigger mess than many people can imagine right now. in fact, just the past couple of weeks it has come in the news with the proposition of plans like mass demolition due to the population dropping so rapidly. so, there could be a lot of amazing social things going on around you and an amazing movement where bohemians/young artists move in and reinvent the place.... and that invigorate your art, or as the population dwindles and the city is desperately seeking new life it becomes really hard to stay connected and relevant. also, abroad central st martins would be my pick if i went abroad to england.... they have a great faculty and if you're doing art based research they are tied to such research groups like the international center for fine art research and the research center for transnational art identity and nation (art globalization!!) as well as a textiles research group.... sounds like there is tons to think about, plus you could pursue a phd there! p.s. littlenova- is there such a thing as an mfa legacy? had *no* idea.... if only anyone in my family didn't have lobster claws for hands (i come from a family of all doctors w atrocious handwriting and equally poor motor skills. as the lone creative type, let alone painter.... i'm the black sheep of the family)

i agree atrawick- that some schools are really fading which is why this forum might leave some kind of documentation about what is on the up and up in comparison to us news and world report. unfortunately those ready to dish out a list seem ready to repeat what us news has said (which isn't incorrect- it has its thumb on influence and faculty, certainly- but there are some great programs out there!). there is so many other amazing top notch programs that are worth checking out and are really at the forefront of contemporary movements right now.... and i say that because i have to notice a lot of people were really put off, both in my social/school circle and on this message board (about the three or four comments i read about student interviews being pompous and arrogant and stuffy....) by yale. i applied just to see what would happen, but frankly i wish i didnt waste my money- i knew when i did i didn't want to go. i had a really negative experience during the open house and so many of the students seemed so in love with themselves it made me wonder how anything could get done. that being said, there will always be huge heads in any competitive program- but my visits really helped me see programs that had a better energy/atmosphere. fortunately they made it easy for me =) i looked at a lot of places and wanted to make sure i was studying with people who were still going to be relevant in 10 years and give me the push and connections i needed.... these are all places i applied, because, well, they were all amazing. i was really impressed with ucsb- across the board they have an amazing faculty right now and the work coming out of the program is delish. from photo to sculpture, i think they are really in tune with what is happening right now in the contemporary art world (look at this faculty: richard ross, kip fullbeck, jane mulfinger and if youre into film theory, colin gardner!!) anyway, i was majorly bummed when i didnt get in. they have just about everything going on right now and got a great vibe from their students. penn was my top pick and probably where i am going to end up. they have a strong faculty and a great visiting artist program. they pay for you to go to skowhegan (if you get in) and two spots are reserved for penndesign students as a fellowship to the vermont studio center. and there is a fellowship to the RCA in london for a semester for some lucky student. they have a MFA student program at the institute of contemporary art in philly where youd get to work (!) as well as an amazing TA/instructor program that gives you some great experience. and the interdisciplinary stuff that is going on within the school of design is really giving some new edge to a lot of the work, be it architectural or ecological. unfortunately its hella expensive. also, mass art for photo right now can not be *not* included in anyone's top 10. they have one of the best contemporary faculties in the country IMHO. i applied for 2d media but if you don't think abe morrell, nic nixon, laura mcphee (a personal fav) and barbara bosworth is like a super team if i could ever think of one. their facilities weren't as up to date as other schools i saw- but they are also the cheapest program in the country as they are a *state* art school (yes!) so even if you don't get any funding, a whole MFA is the cost of one year at another private school. university of new mexico was also one of my top choices- this year they launched a new art and ecology MFA which incorporates environmental practice, design, and policy into art making. be it landart, photography, ceramics, etc. a one of a kind program and if you are earth-conscious and environmentally minded, there is amazing volunteer opportunities and a curriculum unlike any other. i think the landscape end of the penn program ended up being a better fit for me (though with UNM you do end up in the desert). i hope this info helps someone else out along the way!!

anyone here anything from massart? i interviewed thursday, thought it went well and keep holding my breath for a phone call from a boston area code.... =X!!

hah totally! most places i have been looking at are sending the financial aid letter 1-2 weeks after the acceptance. must have gotten lost in the mail! i would call them and let them know. theres no way they are putting their fin aid office to task putting together an offer for you if you are not in- CONGRATS =D

yay more penndesign folks! i think i'm going to do it, i'll see how my massart interview goes but i loved penn. let me know what you decide and if we're going to be painting together next year =D