NaturallyAesthetic

Thanks so much, everyone!

Hi there! Does anyone know of any MFA programs that are still accepting applications, or have a summer semester? Any leads would be much appreciated!

My significant other sent me a valentine, but decided to package it in an official envelope from the University of Iowa. Mini heart attack.

Ebonie, your Three Sisters painting reminds me of Ghanaian street art!

The tome will be gifted to the Rock Island County Historical Society, and will actually only amount to about 20 pages! The more I dig in to the research, the more I realize that the park and cemetery I am studying actually predate City Beautiful and are really more an extension of the Garden and Parks movement, which is just as fun! Both movements coincide in their emphasis on the importance of urban greenspace. Because I am also something of a scientist, half of my research will be presented in poster format and will catalog the species, approximate age, and location of each tree within the park and cemetery grounds. I'll be generating a map through GIS of tree locations, coupling the map with species and age information, and compiling a photographic catalog of bark patterns. I might also throw in some soil and slope data! That portion of my research will be gifted to the Friends of Riverside Park, to distribute to visitors who want to know more about the trees at the park. In regards to big boxes, what kind of art projects did you and your friend have in mind? You might enjoy reading Big Box Reuse, by Julia Christen! It's a fast and photographically oriented adventure that also proves pretty informative and artistically interesting. Thanks for your interest!

Thanks so much! I appreciate the encouragement. : )

Art! http://verosmithart.webs.com/

For those of you unable to seek wilderness in the coming week, I invite you to distract yourselves with my new and improved art website! http://verosmithart.webs.com/

Thank you for sharing your experience, OnceAndFutureGrad! I'm in a similar boat as jilly, and I am slightly ashamed to admit that I was once one of those GradCafers who only existed for acceptance into a program. When I began this process, I kind of got into the mindset that pursuing a PhD would be the only way to go about accomplishing my goals. This mentality is due in part to the fact that I came from a rural town where most people did not have four year college degrees, let alone doctorates. Prior to college, I had only met two people that had PhDs: a slightly addled history teacher at my high school, and an uncle whom I rarely saw but always thought of as the epitome of sophisticated. I really had very little idea what the whole thing was about, and sometimes worry that I am still too naive. I am pursuing graduate study because I need the credentials to curate or to teach or to continue my research, but also (and mostly) because I am fascinated with the world and that fascination is emphatically visual. Out of those four reasons, I only really need the doctorate to curate. Teaching is something I more or less find myself doing, almost by accident. Inevitably, I end up guest lecturing for professors across campus, leading art classes for children, or giving music lessons without really paying attention to the process that led to the situation in the first place. Research is something I can't escape either - I constantly have some project going, either to inform a series of paintings or photographs or for a journalism piece I am writing. The format of the research and the ultimate usage of the research is what might be subject to change if I end up in a graduate program for art history, but not the spirit of exploration engendered by actively seeking new knowledge. The first rejection letter I got was pretty hard to read. However, I am now more hopeful than ever. Good things will come, probably in unexpected forms. I'm beginning to think that recognizing the guises of the good is not only crucial to happiness, but also contingent on diligent practice. Congrats on becoming an EMT! And on translating Old Norse! And on giving good advice!

I'm doing the same thing for some programs! In fact, some schools require that you apply directly to the PhD, regardless of whether or not you have your masters. As to acceptance rates of people with only BAs, I haven't been able to find that information. In terms of encouragement, here are some things I've been telling myself when most discouraged: If you don't get into a program this year, you can always try again. If you don't get into a program this year, you can take a year to relax (with 60+ hour work weeks, hopefully!), gain valuable functioning-outside-of-academia-skills, and take time to dissect your intentions and life direction a little more. If you really love what you are trying to do, you will find a way to do it. You're great! Hope that helps, and best of luck!

Oh man! That makes me very sad, indeed. Congrats to you and your national juried shows! Though I didn't get serious about the studio major until my senior year, I've managed to show in a lot of local and regional exhibitions, but nothing on the national level! Interestingly, many of my peers are almost more interested in my perspective as an artist on a given art historical quandary than any art historical training I can bring to the table in my senior seminar for art history. However, those are my peers, and not the established scholars that will be reviewing my application. Only one school I've applied to has stated that my studio background is an asset to their program, so I definitely can relate to your experience! I hope to find a balance between art historical work and actually creating, but I know it won't be easy.

I really like the purity of color in your works, Hicks! Thank you for sharing!

Even though I'm not applying to MFA programs, I LOVE this forum! Here's my photoblog that hasn't been updated in a shamefully long time: http://verosmith.blogspot.com/

I am also freaking out! However, my freak outs tend to mingle with obsessive compulsiveness. Subsequently, my apartment is really organized, and I've applied to countless jobs (everything ranging from coffee shops to DNR grunt work, as well as a lot of museum jobs) to give myself alternatives if every school I applied to is all "Oh hey, yeah, about your application - you're not quite good enough, sorry." I too am a BBC/NPR addict! I particularly like the BBC's coverage of American politics. In terms of top choices, it's really between University of Iowa and Yale. U of I has strong research happening that coincides with my interests well AND I want to focus on the American Midwest so it makes sense to, you know, stay in the Midwest. The professors I want to work with the most took time to speak with me in detail about their program, which was wonderful! Because of my background in studio art, the facilities of Iowa are very attractive! The departments have a good relationship and I would love to continue creating and exhibiting. Additionally, my significant other is about two years away from completing a doctoral program at U of Iowa, though I'm trying not to let that influence this process too much - perhaps in vain. Yale is Yale, obviously, but their material culture program is top notch, and my experience with the faculty has been extremely positive. So yes! Jitters, sleepless nights, excitement, fear - it's all colliding and coalescing!

THAT'S AWESOME, Hicks! What medium do you work in?! I've been considering doing a dual MA/MFA for studio and art history, but I am a little weary of trying to juggle multiple departments.

Because I was only able to take the 100 level sequence of German, I've made a deal with the German department at my institution. Each week, I do a translation of an article I've found that deals with art in some way. A friend of mine who works as a tutor for the department and intends on pursuing linguistics after college reads over my translation and then talks it over with me. In exchange, I've agreed to do several lectures on Gothic architecture and German Expressionism. I feel like my reading ability has improved greatly, but I still have a lot of work to do! Good luck!

In an ideal world, I would have enough money to get myself a nice bike as an acceptance present (I currently cruise on a defunct 10 speed built for adolescent girls) OR adopt a puppy! In reality, I will probably just spend a day in my favorite museum, smiling a lot.

Chuilanne and losemygrip, thank you so much for your advice! I'm happy to say that after literally months of struggle, I came up with something focused yet representative of my interdisciplinary background. Thank you again!

I feel the SAME WAY! My BA thesis is a contracted combination of two disparate fields, and I'm kind of freaking out about hunting down primary source documents in musty local archives and creating a comprehensive tree catalog and writing about all of it within the next two months. We'll both get through this, and be the better scholar for it!

Hello all! I have applied to 6 programs (3 MAs with the intention of pursuing the doctorate and 3 doctoral programs) and I am incredibly anxious! I am taking a triple major in studio art, art history, and environmental studies, and my research at the graduate level will focus on American architecture and material culture of the 19th, 20th, and 21st Centuries. I am particularly interested in global material disparity and visual homogenization and how the two relate. Art History, to me at least, is a means of activism. I hope to historicize contemporary design trends in architecture (big box stores) and agriculture (large scale industrialized farming operations) and thus draw attention to the cultural, economic, and environmental damage that is being wrought. I've finished all my apps and am only now realizing the extent of my ambition. Yale, Harvard, Columbia, University of Chicago, University of Iowa, and University of Minnesota - yikes. So yes! Aside from thinking about the intersection of culture and environment, I make art! A lot of it! I am currently working on my senior show, and I've exhibited my work about 15 or so times during my undergraduate career! And music! I make a lot of that, too. Any other musicians or artists out there? Anyone else applying to the same programs? Good luck to you all! I look forward to reading of your progress!

I applied to Yale as well! You can always call the department for specific requirements. I believe I included a CV, my personal statement, a service resume, and a writing sample, but out of all that, only the personal statement and writing sample are required. Best of luck!

fullofpink, thank you so much! Great suggestions - I'm excited to get to work on implementing them!

Hello! I am about to begin my senior year as an undergraduate and am currently attempting to assemble application materials for art history grad programs. I'm pursuing a triple degree in studio art, art history, and environmental science, and despite the fact that I have completed focused independent research in each of these fields and have a very clear idea of how these disciplines coalesce in my mind, I am having trouble articulating my academic goals in SOP format. The best I've come up with so far as a general thesis for my SOP is: "I view art history as the study of the physicality of human existence. As such, my research and my art seeks to communicate a tangible and intelligible connection between environmental specificity and human society while simultaneously shaping that society." My research interests are primarily 19th and 20th Century as well as Contemporary American Art with a concentration in urban planning and design, including material culture. My secondary interest (and what I have done the most research in!) is West African art, and the aesthetic influence of Western urban planning and material culture on developing West African nations from a social perspective. Other things really important to me and that I have a lot of experience in outside of the classroom: teaching, environmental and social activism, theater, music, digital database management, and professional experience as a photographer and painter. How can I best play up my interdisciplinary background? Is this something to be played up!?! I'm afraid of constructing a long and rambling narrative about all of my interests... If anyone has any advice on how to write an effective SOP either in general or specifically for art history, your input would be much appreciated! Additionally, if anyone reads this and thinks something akin to "Oh wow! Suchandsuch University has a GREAT program/GREAT faculty work in those areas!" PLEASE let me know! My top choice schools have extremely competitive programs (Yale, Harvard, Columbia) and it would be wonderful to have some more realistic options. Many thanks, and best of luck in your endeavors! (This is also posted in the Interdisciplinary forum!)