SocialKonstruct

About the article, there is no doubt that if your goal to make it "big" in the contemporary art world, going to the top 10 MFA programs is pretty much it. With exceptions of Rutgers and a few others.

Yes... I actually have a class syllabus for their feminist science fiction course and it's dense. Lots of critical theory and very fascinating challenging precepts. Having an open mind. If you wish for a copy of the pdf, you can e-mail personally

Interesting that you use food in your artwork. My colleague Bea Hurd uses food all over her work too- https://beahurd.com/

I know that the Yale MFA Sculpture interview does require a physical/virtual slide presentation.

Thanks for sharing. Sorry about the interview. I am curious what you meant by tripped up here?

I have a friend/collaborator who is attending his MFA (Arts and Tech) in CalArts and it's a key school for awesome connects into the LA art world. If you are into highly conceptual art then this is the best fit along with UCLA. If you are looking into more traditional paintings, etc. then Otis would be a good fit there.

Honestly prestige is important but honestly if one is going to spend 2-3 years of your life doing a MFA, find your niche and be happy. My life experience has told me that you can't rewind your life and have a redux

This is the director here- https://www.joanwaltemath.net/ and https://www.mica.edu/graduate-programs/leroy-e-hoffberger-school-of-painting-mfa/faculty/

https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/66-art-history/ This is the proper section.

Some folks argue that Columbia's program is in the same route as this. However, to be honest, I think it's an individual step. When I apply honestly I tend to be very self-directly and for me, I will continue doing art even if the world is collapsing around me. One shining example of success in a MFA program is a recent Columbia program graduate Susan MB Chen. https://susanmbchen.com/. Already fresh out of Columbia, she had already sold every single painting in her first solo painting at Meredith Rosen before the show physically exhibited. The reviews for her work has been glowing and she is cutting a new path for Asian-American contemporary figurative art. Even though some folks complained that Columbia was falling apart and completely junked out, Ms. Chen's example is a demonstration that where you attend your MFA program can really help to build the connections and establish a critical dialogue between the work and the public. She was able to show that the NYC art world can be understanding of what she was doing. And Columbia's location, prestige and still very respectable studio classes despite the issues show that the hierachy of which MFA programs can help you into the NYC/LA/Chicago art markets are intact here.

Also I believe that ICP-Bard is ran separately with Neyland Blake as the director so this probably only applies to the upstate Bard program. I have 2 years (or so) left to apply for a MFA program and honestly, it's an ongoing battle between validation and success within the contemporary art world (the cutting-edge stuff and not the traditional art/classic) and self-satisfaction. But I will continue to be active and be supportive here while relaxing here before I have to apply in fall 2022.

Indeed... I spent last year thinking about this and decided to start my own curatorial space in downtown Salt Lake City called Office Space (officespaceslc.com). I think that artist-run galleries are the best antidote to the traditional art power structures. I don't know whether I will make much of a difference but I am hoping that whatever meager effort I put in to create artist-safe spaces is my legacy in addition to the work I create. I think that if artists decide en masse to remove power from galleries and museums back to their domains instead of leaving it up to dealers and museum officials, then perhaps we could have stronger concepts and issues in art instead of commercial eye candies.

I went to the NYU open house and really dig their laid back approach. It looked like a pretty awesome place

Ironically I am not baffled, MICA painting is a huge heavyweight program that graduated some the legends in the art world: 1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Koons 2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Sherald 3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesley_Dill 4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Baechler 5) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brock_Enright 6) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amir_H._Fallah 7) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Louis But honestly, I don't think that your question was an issue but considering that they are pretty open to interpretation, one can see how those get twisted here.

I am embedded in what you are saying about the elitist aspects of the contemporary art world and artists tend to be very democratic or caring about each other. However, the power players and art dealers are going to be elitists (and museum directors I wouldn't even comment) so if you are trying to get museum shows and gallery representation, any idealist concept about the happy little Bob Ross community about the art world will be burst immediately. The scare tactic gets to be very brutal. As I have been making the rounds in the contemporary art world, the fact that I have seen much ugliness like my art friend getting paid by his former art dealers with bricks of cocaine instead of cash or another artist getting her artwork sabotaged by her assistant because of jealousy are more commonplace stories of how the elite and non-communal aspects of the contemporary art world function.

Knowing a few folks from MICA I am not surprised especially as their painting program is tops. Without knowing what you exactly asked in your interview this is pretty much conjecture. However, asking the director that question can be read as not a good idea and to be honest as directors are not artists but tend to be the power players in the contemporary art world they will see any question which denigrates their program as a negative. To ask what their favorite part of the program exists suggests that you see some parts of their program as second-rate or even questionable in quality. So I am not surprised that she got pissed off slightly by that question. Plus you also are asking for her opinion about the program and she is acting as an administrator and not in her artist (if she is even one) capacity so that question could be seen as very indiscreet. Thus not really an over reaction but considering the elite status of MICA, I can see the flip side of what seems to be an innocent question being overinterpretated as an intrusion.

One of my friends applied twice to Yale sculpture and she got in on her second try

https://www.chronicle.com/article/art-school-confidential/

I admit that my life story is going to be the craziest one possible :D...

https://vasari21.com/the-value-of-an-mfa/ https://www.vice.com/en/article/qkwwa7/the-price-to-pay-artists-weigh-in-on-getting-an-mfa https://brooklynrail.org/2017/10/art/The-Cult-of-Creative-Failure https://brooklynrail.org/2017/10/art/The-Cult-of-Creative-Failure

Indeed, the rate of failure is very very high for artists. Most folks who get a MFA never continue their art practice. The school sees you as an investment of their resources to have you graduate from the program with a MFA degree. If you switch to working in another field not related to art then they see that as a failure. Considering the scarce nature of art related things they want to know that you will continue doing art regardless if you have to work another job or taking 1-2 jobs to make ends meet. That's their viewpoint as I see it.

I think that's common because most MFA programs are interested in mature and experienced candidates. So if you are aged 20-25ish then will examine why a MFA for sure...

Any word from Hunter or Columbia yet?

I think that your portfolio was of exceptional quality so they couldn't decline it Positive thinking here