OutWest
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Posts posted by OutWest
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Fair enough. It sounds like Josholas has a solid enough vision of what he wants in order to let claims of his paintings being illsutrations not bother him, and he sound like he doesn't need me coming to his defense. Good to hear.
Kill it guys: best of luck!
In defense to losemygrip's comment/suggestions, the artist can either use it, not use it, or at the very least ponder the questions raised and critically compare it to his own vision. I don't think anyone should read a critique and think it's imposing. To me, this is an open forum with people of different experiences and opinions and this idea should be embraced with the full acknowledgment that these comments may or may not affect the ultimate outcome of their work. While it seems apparent the portfolio of work is being prepared to send off and apply with, I don't think that negates specific critiques, as if it's too late in the game to mention. The artist has a whole lifetime to think about his art, MFA applicant or not.
The MFA is a goal, but finding your voice in your art is the ultimate goal.
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That's a good list of schools. You have a couple of good "fallbacks."
If I may be candid? Looking at the portfolio on your website, I would leave out the first seven images. They look like illustrations for articles in The Atlantic about alternative energy sources, or eco-trends. Great illustrations, but illustrations nonetheless. Identity is the best-looking painting. Some of the others look a little unfinished to me--there's this one central image, but it's not dynamic or complex enough to provoke me. I'd like to see you start to include more elements, as in Identity (but not treat them so literally that they become illustrations).
Ouch...with all due respect to you losemygrip (whose posts I have seen many times and greatly appreciate), don't you think that all of this commentary is better left to the admissions people to decide? Those that are applying have a mere couple months to do so, at best, so sending this poor guy on a mental chase of potential revisions (because you think their work looks like "illustrations") is probably best kept to yourself.
Push on with what you have right now, and if you are working on anything else you think worthy, add it in! But, don't try and do a bunch of revisions of finished peices.
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It would be a good idea to really know what it is you want to do in your WORK before comitting to an MFA...schools (especially the top ones) aren't there to make teachers, they exist to make artists. And, if you are putting into your Statement that teaching is your biggest goal, rather than your work, schools will more than likely toss you into the waste basket without a second look...by you stating that you would like to apply to any of three (!) genres of art making is deep cause for concern.
As far as Photojournalism goes, have you applied to UC Berkeley's or Columbia's Journalism schools? They support such aspirations for photo (and esp. film/video). And, yes, You can teach with Journalism Masters, though, as michaelwebster states, getting a job in any of the performing/expressive arts is a whole other ballgame.
Good luck!
Help! I am looking to apply to MFA in Sculpture or Painting or Photography
I have been a working photog since 1989 (!) but I would love to teach at college level, which is why I am seeking an MFA.
I have been rejected from a bunch of NY schools for MFA photography for the past 2 years -- schools don't like photojournalism!
So, I need advice
- I am willing to go anywhere in the US, as long as I can TA, and I can get in for one of the above concentrations.
- I need to get in for 2013! I am a non-traditional grad student, as I am older.
- And, not toooo expensive.
ANY ADVICE would be appreciated!!
Thank you thank you.
- I am willing to go anywhere in the US, as long as I can TA, and I can get in for one of the above concentrations.
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For all of you '13 applicants, check out the list I compiled for fully funded (or highly funded) art programs in the US last year. Hopefully this will help those of you that are wanting the best bang for the buck for your MFA:
Best of luck to you all.
Gavin
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I loved my SFAI undergrad experience. Although I was in New Genres which was sort of treated like the red-headed step child....needless to say we got away with a lot and it was seriously a magical experience.
I will however say this with warning. They JUST received a new President, (they've had a few in the past 10 years) they are vigorously expanding their program to include more students, and they have been trying "new things" with the graduate program. (like, lets have vernasage more like an art fair than a graduate show) I shouldn't name names, but the person who is in charge of the graduate program is a huge misogynist who really doesnt put in much time for the students like the other professors. I'm friends with a few graduate faculty, and my studio is on the same floor in a warehouse as the sfai studios...so I just want to point out that I personally think you could have a better experience at a different grad school. And I say that with all the love in my heart for my school, but seriously the art scene here is nothing but 'bro art' and I personally think SFAI undergrad is better than the grad school. (and better funded)
I'm glad you like the campus and the people, they're both great!
I'll jump in on this to agree only because a (highly regarded professional) friend of mine that helps SFAI out with (undisclosed things I will not mention) would agree with a lot of what aethiryn says...that is, it's a mess at the grad level and they have fried their own development/growth with some really shoddy management over the last decade. I'd avoid the grad school (though, the undergrad prog seems to be excellent), at least for the next 5+ years (kids of the future, check the program out again at that time!)
It's too bad, because, back in the day, that was a stellar art school. Now, places like CCA simply smoke it (and, CCA used to be the bastard child!). I hope that prog. gets its act together because it has such a storied history...
Best of luck to you 2013 peeps.
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This is, obviously, a belated reply and more for others that have a similar interest in Brown's LitArts and PhD programs (if cyriac is at Brown, then they will already know about this opportunity, but for others...):
Brown has what is called the "Open Graduate Education" program and allows PhD students in any field to get a Masters in another field if they can justify it has some connection with their ultimate research, or other goals. Literary Arts is part of this...(unsure of how the funding would work, but that can be asked). Check out this link:
http://www.brown.edu/gradschool/opengraduateprogram
and here are the participating programs:
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awthiryn: Glad you are finding worth in this List!
Also, you should apply to UCLA New Genres, since you are going for big guns like CalArts and the like. They give full rides and it's such a tremendous program and worth the effort.
Good luck!
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43. Dropped out of UCSD at 23, returned at 40 after working in everything from food service, custom cabinetry, failing as a "pro" photographer, slaving away in $%*hole companies doing (really bad) graphic design, then moving all the way up to become an award winning film editor and art director working on tv commercials in LA with some good friends.
Now, going to UCLA for my MFA in Fall 2012...you can rock and roll at any age
Best of luck to all in your future endeavors.
- Arezoo, SocialKonstruct, Andean Pat and 2 others
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This is a good question...I have heard that it is comparable to the other UC's such as UC Irvine and UCSB, which have excellent funding. I didn't see financials listed on the UCR website, but send them an email asking about funding/TAships, etc. and I'm sure they will fill you in.
Good luck!
Does anyone know if UC Riverside (west) provides funding?
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Yeah, I agree with "Duchamp", this would be a strange thing to do...especially if you ended up going to a particular school but had "scholoarship awards" from entirely different schools.
Aside from making you look "dorky", it would be completely confusing to somebody reading your resume...I, for one, would think you were lying about what school you went to and would either toss your resume out or start doing a background check...
A little off-topic but, if you are awarded scholarships, fellowships, etc but not going to the school's program, is this something that you cannot ethically add to your resume? My initial guess would be that you have to be in the program to really have 'received' the award. Just curious...
just looks like you're trying to toot your horn - may show you are insecure and you need to prove something
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WIth a Metro area of over 15 million people, it being SoCal and everyone's car obsession, and the history of LA destroying its PT (it used to have more cable cars than SF a hundred years ago), this is a few of the reasons why we SoCal-ers live with(in) our cars. Also, the city is so freakin' spread out that you NEED a car. Especially since you are there for a long haul (PhD = 5-6 some years), go out and grab one asap
The PT is getting better, but believe me, if you are living in, say, Silver Lake or Echo Park and you are attending UCLA, taking Bus 2 (I believe) along Sunset at just about ANY time of day (especially morning, lunch, and evening times), that posted hour and a half ride is going to be a lot longer.
You could also get a nice scooter, something I probably will end up doing whether I have a car or not.
Good luck!
I'm from the midwest (OH) moving to UCLA for chemistry this summer or fall. I currently have no plans on having a car at least for the first year, then maybe I'll save up and buy used or lease if I can afford to on my stipend.
With all the talk about insane traffic I don't understand why more LA people try to live car-less or at least carpool with other people going from point A to point B. It seems like a good way to save oneself from a some of the LA chaos. Well, I'll try it at first at least. With my grad school research and some public transportation I shouldn't get too bored of everything within a reasonable bus ride/walk from UCLA.
I do admit I would have a hard time existing without a car in my current location, Columbus, OH... (it is similarly a car city, but we do carpool a lot - It is common for one person to pick up 3-4 others just so only one car is used. It's more personal. I guess that's the midwest for you.) but during my first year here I didn't have a car here either. It's purely financial at this point - I'm broke and just can't afford a new one or maintaining my current one (it's about ready for the dump
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...Another to add to your list is the DANM program at UC Santa Cruz.
BTW...UCSC DANM, as far as I have researched, and a couple of friends who applied and/or went there, does not have terrific funding. But, it does have some.
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On most of the applications I filled out, they only asked about felonies. So, I wouldn't sweat it...I mean, doing something like getting a ticket for some pot or an open container is chump change...now, stealing a car, on the other hand, lol...
spinrah's comment sounds appropriate.
Good luck!
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I second the thoughts of miyamoto and Rachel...pass on it this year. Apply again next year to schools that will ALL give you excellent funding...there is NO need to go so far into debt.
Check out the Forum on here that we all put together on Excellent Funded MFA programs and pick your winners for Fall 2013! Sorry to hear you got so screwed
I applied to 8 schools, got interviews with 4 and accepted at 3. One highly ranked school ( a ) that is insanely expensive and offers very little funding, one middle tier program ( b ) that offers exceptional funding (100% tuition, health insurance, and living stipend for three years), and another highly ranked program ( c ) that rejected me but offered admission into their low residency program run at a different institution. I had pretty much decided to take the amazing funding from the second school, when I got a flurry of emails from the dgs and deans office saying that the state legislature had cut their budget severely and they were retracting their entire funding offer. They said I could defer until next year and see if funding is available, but they don't know how likely that will be (outlook is bleak).
Am I crazy if I turn down all three offers and try again next year? I would love to attend school ( a ) but I really can't imagine going $100,000+ in debt at this point in my life. I don't want to do a low residency program, and waiting around for school ( b ) may not pan out.
Anyone else in a similar situation of having offers and considering turning them all down?
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Here's some info on Parsons from another post:
"For those who got accepted to Parsons. How much merit based scholarship did you receive?
Apparently it goes up to 65%
Last year someone got 75%
But of course that's like very few people get a lot - they tend to dole out a little bit of money to many people in that program, so some people might get like 20% or less - but most people get something, I think"
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Hi al_lee_cat. I think those programs are a waste of money. You should look into 2 year MA's that give decent funding (for instance, Williams College has a full ride Art History MA that is awesome, Indiana has a free-ride FIlm Studies MA, MIT has the media CMS program that is fully funded...etc)...don't waste your money on this kind of thing (sorry to be so harsh on one year Crit Studies programs such as MIC/A's, or SVA's (or, even CCA's two year program), but they strike me as money makers for these schools)...they simply aren't imbedded in the intellectual mileu of a research university and are, therefore, in my opinion, not up to "par" with two-year programs...that is, IF and only IF you want to do PhD work. I DO think they are interesting degrees if you want to couple some crit with your studio practice, but, again, money is then the biggest issue.
I say do some more research into 2 year funded Masters programs in crit-related fields and, of course, make sure you want to do a PhD in the future. Otherwise, it's hard to see how spending 60,000 on a one year Master's outside of a research institution makes any sense at all (regardless of who they bring in to teach such a fast-paced program, as they often are adjuncts or visitors from major research universities)...
Good luck with your decisions!
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Hi. Do you have awesome drawing skills at this point? Have you had any 3D training? These two things are the most basic and you can take intro courses at Comm Colleges to start out and see if you really want to do this. Also, what kind of animation are you interested in? The world of film animation is huge and you can do things such as designing the architectural elements for films (I have a friend that works for Disney doing jsut that because he orig. had an architecture background)...vary rarely is somebody going to pop into film aniimation and start doing characters...the advanced people do that kind of thing. You'd probably start out being a "rigger" (prepping the models so that they can be animated) and do long hours in the Grunt Work Department befroe you ever see anything "cool". Tons of people want to do what you do, so it takes time to break in!
You should also look into smaller houses (not just the Disney's out there) that do killer 3D work such as www.motiontheory.com , www.thisisdk.com , www.rga , www.akqa.com , and places of this nature that do music videos and TV commercials. Many people cut their teeth here (I know about this kind of thing because I used to be an advertising television art director in LA and we used to hire people such as these guys for spots)...also, don't forget about the video game industry as well.
Anyway, good luck!
P.S., as far as chools go, you can get into animation programs w/o an animation BA/BFA, but you should have at least some intermediate level in 3D programs (Maya, 3D Studio Max, etc) and be able to draw the hell out of anything...If you do this training at Comm Colleges and a ton on your own (I do NOT recommend expensive trade schools for training) for a year and work on your reel/book, you might have an excellent shot...what schools are you interested in? CalArts and Art Center in LA are, of course, top notch, but also check out USC's animation in the Cinema school (they have terrific connections to the gaming world).
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Indeed, my bad...I did mean SMFA Boston. Dyslexic fingers.
Thanks for the addition of info!
@OutWest - great list! I'm sure future applicants will find that very helpful.
Just a minor edit - in the East section you mention "SFMA", but I think you probably meant "SMFA" - School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Also, I get the impression that they give out just under 1/3 funding to a lot of people, probably some get more than that, and two people are chosen to receive full tuition.
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Here's a repost of info from another Forum member on what they were getting from a few schools:
"Hi everyone, here's my choices instead of writing scholarship etc I've just basically put how much of a tuition reduction and how much extra I'd need for the rest (other fees living stipend) these are rough figures and just 1st year!
Calarts - 25% tuition reduction - approx $49K
SFAI - 50% tuition reduction - approx $37K
SVA - 5%ish Approx $55K
ASU - 75% ish Approx $20K
..."
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Poppy...
Congrats! And, please post your funding/program info to that Forum I put together:
mfa-programs-in-the-usa-with-excellent-funding-as-of-2012
Thanks!
I wanted to let current and future artists know about UC Irvine. I was interviewed March 6 and just learned of my acceptance yesterday for their MFA in studio art. They do not divide by genre, although I am a sculptor working in a variety of media. Their 3-year- program is very inter-disciplinary. I received full funding for 3 years (based on in-state tuition as I am a California resident), a TA position for all 3 years and a living stipend. So.. debt free! My other options were private schools without this level of funding so I have decided to attend.
Good luck to everyone; this forum has been really helpful to me during the 2012 mfa sweepstakes !
This info on uc irvine should be added to the mfa programs with great funding list!
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Univ of Maryland looks like a high quality program with excellent work coming out, I'd agree! And, wonderful funding to boot...
But, why would you say the work being done at Yale is "terrible"? One of my favorite people to come out of there (last year, I believe), is Myeongsoo Kim, and this particular grad's work is the furthest thing from "terrible" (i.e., impressive subtlety of materials choices and usage...it's fantastic!)
Website:
Brianny, what discipline are you in?
My standard reaction is: go for the best financial deal (which is probably Maryland). While Hunter has well-known faculty, I've seen terrible work from their grad students. Worse than Yale. I honestly know almost nothing about UMD's MFA program, but it's probably about as good as any state school.
Think twice about going WAY into debt just so you can live in New York and go to Hunter.
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All,
Thanks for the clarification on the Direct/Stafford etc Loans! Looks like I need some brushing up on what-is-what...
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The 8,500 that was subsidized was a PART of the 20,500 that is (potentially) allotted to Grad's, so the interest on the 8,500 (if you took that amount) will accrue while we are in school (instead of being covered by the government).
And, yes, the cap is that low
That is why I have been harping and posting about well-funded programs on these Forums because having to take out private loans AT ALL is a financial nightmare. So, just to clarify - the $8.5k of subsidized, that was taken away? Meaning that amount would have been in addition to the $20.5k of unsubsidized? I mean, if that's true, that $8.5k would have made the difference between whether I can go to certain programs that would have offered me SOME funding, but would have been a better advantage for location. That's almost 10 grand, it can go a long way.
I don't know about anyone else, but I had no idea that there was such a low cap on loans for graduate students. Granted, part of that was the fact that I went to a relatively cheap undergrad institution so I never had a problem. But it just boggles my mind that just about all of the schools in the top 10 for MFA students would be unreachable to me, simply because of cost. I'm facing that problem with Cal Arts. Someone on this forum told me that I should come up with the money to go should I ever want to be a showing artist. Well, if anyone can tell me how to come up with 20+ grand (legally) before August, I'm all ears. It's probably my own fault for not researching it more, but I feel totally blindsided by the fact that I won't be able to take out more federal loans.
And I've listed to too much Suze Orman to take out private loans.
I agree with you that it could be worse, and I also agree that it shows the lack of commitment to higher education of this country. In a climate where undergrad degrees are about as good as an associates, it's amazing to me that there isn't more emphasis (and funding) for the training of people talented enough to get into these top programs - especially when it's only the elite few who actually are able to make a living off of it.
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Hey there ol spice...Not sure what this is referring to? I'm not sure it has to do with the Stafford loans...Direct Loans sound different than Staffords (I'd have to look it up)???
Hmm Outwest,
thanks for trying to find something positive over the bad news...
Unfortunately there is more bad news, see below, from the FAFSA website, this is a paragraph or two below the announcement of end to the subsidized Stafford loan:
The U.S. Department of Education can no longer offer borrowers repayment incentives.
- Effective for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2012, the Department of Education is prohibited from offering any repayment incentives to Direct Loan borrowers, except interest rate reductions to borrowers who agree to have payments automatically electronically debited from their bank account).
- Effective for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2012, the Department of Education is prohibited from offering any repayment incentives to Direct Loan borrowers, except interest rate reductions to borrowers who agree to have payments automatically electronically debited from their bank account).
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Don't overlook downtown Long Beach (and nearby)...really fun vibe, and well priced rent. I lived there for a bit and loved it (First and Atlantic avenues)