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Sugartree

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Everything posted by Sugartree

  1. Hey, man. Who can say? Their application and interview may have had little in common with the sort of work you're posting up here. But rather than focus on a minority of "bad work" could you tell us who at Yale, faculty or graduates, have excited you? You seem interested in the prestige of their school of art, and the weight an MFA might carry when it comes time to face the "politics of hiring," but what has the school generated that really gets you going? You also mention that you've heard interesting work is coming out of the West Coast. But what work interests you? Where are the artists you admire and how can you plug yourself in to work with them? I don't think that the faculty and reviewers at any top schools want to hear that your aim with an MFA is to teach. Even if it's the truth, deep down. These programs are looking for students interested in spending a few years (or a lifetime, really) with an absolute focus on their art.
  2. If you're checking out VCU try Kuba Kuba for lunch. Excellent Cuban restaurant. Two great bookstores in Richmond, too. Chop Suey in Careytown is a great all-around used bookstore, lots of great art books, strong photography section. Black Swan is fantastic, though geared towards collectible books, first editions, and fine bindings. Wonderful bins of old photographs for 50 cents apiece. Alec Soth is a fan! The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is free, beautifully renovated and open every day.
  3. Yale has an open house each November. An address to all attending from Dean Storr. The group breaks up by discipline and department heads or senior faculty chat with interested students about their programs. Some catered snacking afterwards with plenty of time for introductions, questions and finger foods. If you're applying for the photography program you should try to sit in on a critique. These are open to the public and form the core of their program. Richard Prince and the wonderful printer Thomas Palmer are newly on board as critics, though I don't know if they're pulling Fall or Spring duty. I'm sure you can get more information by giving the School of Art a call during the week, (203) 432-2600. Also see about visiting the Yale Art Gallery, their digital lab, and the Beinecke Library. http://art.yale.edu/Visiting
  4. Letters from other artistis, especially established and exhibited artists, can be hugely helpful. Former professors practicing in your field or professors who have attended the school you're applying to can be a great help as well. It doesn't hurt to have a reference from someone who knows you and your character very well but has nothing to do with sculpture, painting or photography. They can make up the difference in speaking to your work ethic and discipline.
  5. A statement is nothing to dread! If you're ready to apply for a graduate program it should be easy to write about where you began with your art, your current work and the reasons you're applying. Influences and intentions should spring freely. It's an opportunity to let the people in your program get an idea of who you are and where you're coming from, a first impression, along with your portfolio, of someone that current students and faculty might want to work with. Statements are usually just less than a page - mercifully brief. In addition to giving some background on how you've come to your art or how you work you can situate yourself in your field by writing a bit about artists who have been important to you. If there are particular facilities of artists in your program that excite you then mention them! Reading statements from other artists (especially those you like) in books or museum catalogs can be hugely helpful. And don't be afraid to leave your field when reading. Take a look at writing from painters, photographers and builders you admire to get at the nuts and bolts of a few statements. Now the FAFSA and Need Access are something truly dreadful.
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