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Josholas

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Posts posted by Josholas

    Publication Opportunity

    in Visual

    Posted

    Hey guys, for those of us looking for opportunities to publish our work, I thought I'd share this open call. The deadline is fairly soon...April 20, 2015.

     

    This is a publication run by artists. The purpose of the publication is to expose the work of talented artists to galleries that might not otherwise be exposed to them .

     

    http://www.exposeartmagazine.com/publications.html

     

    For those who haven't found out about their applications yet, good luck! May the odds be ever in your favor.

     

    -Josh

    Need a publication item on your CV?

    in Visual

    Posted

    To my understanding, both artist interviews and scholarly articles are accepted at any point and will be considered for publication online or in the printed magazine. If you already have some of both, I would go ahead and submit them!

     

    If you want to submit artwork, however, the deadline is Nov. 10th for the 2014 magazine.

    MFA as a Parent

    in Visual

    Posted

    I was worried too, but so far, it hasn't been a major problem. I am currently a 1st year grad at Southern Illinois University, and I'm glad it's a three year program. The two year programs are more time-intense, while the three year programs are a little more spread out (obviously). This comes in handy when you have a child. I would also suggest applying to schools that give full scholarships (and stipends) to MFA students. (There are several out there, including mine.) This will help to alleviate childcare costs, and has been incredibly helpful. You're not doing yourself or your child any favors by going into mountains of debt for an MFA degree, so be sure to apply to the more generous ones.

    Also, treat being in the studio like any other 9-5 job. I spend the weekends with my child, while almost all of my free time during the weekday is focused in the studio. I would give this advice to anyone, but especially to parents.

    MFA programs in the USA with Excellent Funding (as of 2012)

    in Visual

    Posted

    I spent the last two winters GLUED to this forum, and ultimately ended up right where I wanted. I am currently an MFA student at Southern Illinois University - Carbondale. They give MFA students a full tuition waiver and stipend with all of their assistantships, (starting the very first semester). I currently teach two classes for my assistantship. The faculty are very helpful and approachable. The studios are massive, and the students form a very close creative community. The programs are separated into 2D (painting/drawing/printmaking), Blacksmithing, Sculpture, Glass, Ceramics...etc. but still allow for some level of interdisciplinary exploration for the particularly motivated and/or experienced. It's a 3 year program and the first year is all about creative conceptual and technical exploration without the pressure to make a cohesive body of presentation-ready work. This format has allowed my work to grow at a much faster pace.

    It's only 2 hours away from St. Louis, 3.5 hours from Nashville, and 5.5 hours from Chicago. The cost of living is fantastic, my wife and daughter and I live in a 3 bedroom rental house for less than $800/mo.

    Also, it sounds precisely like the type of program Jerry Saltz is recommending here...

    http://www.vulture.com/m/2013/12/saltz-on-the-trouble-with-the-mfa.html

    MFA 2013 All Art ADMISSIONS freak-out forum!!!!!!!!

    in Visual

    Posted

    Is anyone out there going to Southern Illinois University - Carbondale (SIUC) this fall?

     

    If so, let me know!  I am still waiting to hear a final offer from West Virginia U., and I just declined an offer from WashU, so SIUC is probably my most likely option.  If anyone else has thoughts about the school/program, please let me know.

     

    Either way, if anyone is considering applying to schools next year, I definitely recommend considering SIUC, as most (all?) of the MFA students receive full funding and stipends with a TA/GA position.

    MFA 2013 All Art ADMISSIONS freak-out forum!!!!!!!!

    in Visual

    Posted

    Further, I detest this polemic that real artists only make works to exhibit, struggle to show alot and become art stars. That's more romantic mythology. Art is resistance. Art is activism. Art is engagement. That could look like a community organizer, an educator, a performer. It could look like a lot of things. Success in this field shouldn't be confined to the commodification of what you sell or your popularity. Teaching doesn't mean you are less of an artist. Being radical doesn't mean you have to act like a duchebag or discourage people who are trying to add to the conversation on this board.

     

    I really appreciated your post @littlenova.  I definitely could use a reminder from time to time that there are SO many ways to be an artist. It's so easy to fall into the trap of imagining only one possible road, which requires extreme fanatical dedication and/or a boatload of luck.  For the rest of us who don't care so much about the spotlight, and who want to have a more balanced and stable life (and income), we have to remember that all artists and art educators are just as (if not more) valuable than the blue-chip artist that gets appreciated by the top 5%. If there wasn't some sweet art teacher out there who cared enough to share their love of the arts with students, all those blue-chip artists would be out of a job. And on a side note...personally, I'm ready to start seeing more artists seek to serve as tangible a purpose as a doctor, lawyer, or any other respectable profession that seeks to serve the population.  Obviously, it is difficult to quantify the benefit that the arts have on society, but that doesn't mean that artists shouldn't at least try to have a positive impact.  We can focus on developing our ridiculously complex metanarratives and impressive artspeak all day long, but it still doesn't make the slightest bit of difference to the majority of society, who are meanwhile going through withdrawals, desperately craving our talents and creative insight. The population is forced to seek inspiration from the artists of the past, because this generation of artists has forgotten its calling. We are too busy to bother with benefiting and changing society, as we are all trying to be famous artists instead.  In an ironic twist, it seems the most creative people in the population have all suddenly found themselves trying to squeeze inside the same little box. I say we go find another box.  Or better yet, break free.

     

    Anyway, thanks for the reminder @littlenova.

    MFA 2013 All Art ADMISSIONS freak-out forum!!!!!!!!

    in Visual

    Posted

    SIDE NOTE: I know I'm not the first one to complain about this, but seriously- why can't there be a universal standard to this whole process???? All this checking and triple checking of what each institutions requirements are is maddening. How amazing would it be to fill out one slideroom app with a checklist of all the school you would like it sent to, pay a fat bill and be DONE.

    Yes, please!

    Questions!

    in Visual

    Posted

    Sorry, apparently I can't go back and edit the post.  But to clarify on #6, I was referring primarily to the general populace, lower socio-economic classes, or people who generally have less familiarity or interest in "high art" discourses.  For example, one might argue that artists like Kehinde Wiley and Takashi Murakami have a strong interest in communicating with the general population, while many other artists, such as Gerhard Richter, have a strong interest in engaging art critics and current artistic discourses, while the vast majority of the general population may not have a clue who they are.  This is not to say that one is better than the other, or that they are mutually exclusive. I would assume most artists are a mix of the two, and I am curious to see what the mix is in this forum.

     

    And you can answer #7 however you wish!  :)

    Questions!

    in Visual

    Posted

    So, to get away from some of the application stress, I thought it might be fun to do a survey of sorts. This community is, in my opinion, a very interesting mix of people, and I am personally very interested to see what you have to say.

    1.) Why do you make art? What do you feel is the purpose of your art and art in general?

    2.) Who do you make art for? Is it for the population as a whole, yourself, the artistic elite & critics...etc.?

    3) What/who inspires your work?

    4) Do you feel the (MFA) grad school process is as it should be? Or do you feel like the system is broken?

    5) Do you feel that artists have a responsibility to society? If so, what does that look like?

    6) Should artists dialogue with to the "bottom tiers" of society as well as the sophisticated elite? Should we concern ourselves with "social good"?

    8) What is your favorite and least-favorite thing about the state of the art world today? If you could change anything, what would it be?

    9) Does art have a responsibility to dialogue with artists and movements of the past?

    10) If you had a giant megaphone that could reach the whole world, what would you say?

    MFA 2013 All Art ADMISSIONS freak-out forum!!!!!!!!

    in Visual

    Posted

    OMG!!!!!!!!!

    I just got an email from Ohio University....accepted!!!!!!!!(painting/drawing) yay!!!!

    I can't believe it because today i was feeling so crappy and pathetic. They also said they were "extremely impressed" with my application. I don't know if they tell that to everyone, but it sure made my day. :) They also said I would get another letter in a few weeks with funding info., which I'm really hoping will be good, because on their website they say they have "over 3/4 of a million dollars" for Grad students in the school of art each year.

    Congratulations!

    MFA 2013 All Art ADMISSIONS freak-out forum!!!!!!!!

    in Visual

    Posted

    I also found that at the information sessions that I attended the schools said their acceptance rates were lower than this list - for example I recall Pratt saying they had like a 10% acceptance rate and also SVA saying they had a lower acceptance rate... sorry I don't have the exact numbers, but just fyi.

     

    Yeah...you have to be careful with Petersons, because you can often search by the whole department (Art + Design...etc.) OR by program/concentration (Painting, Sculpture...etc.), and the numbers are often dramatically different. 

     

    So, yeah, VCU's acceptance rate for painting is actually much lower than the overall department rate of 18%. I expect that Cranbrook's acceptance rate for the most competitive concentrations are also much lower than 30%. So, If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. I would obviously trust the program's website over Peterson's if there is a discrepancy between the two.  With that said, I am extremely glad that websites like Peterson's are out there, as it certainly helped me narrow down my list. 

    2013 Applicants: Post Your Work

    in Visual

    Posted

    I feel like "Revealing," the last under your works on view, has a level of ambiguity and subtleness that all of the others lack. By comparison, the others are literal, moralizing and boring.

    Thanks for the feedback! I left that one in there because of that ambiguity. I can understand how you might view the other work as literal or one-sided, but they are only masquerading as such. In fact, almost all of them were made with the intention of depth and conceptual ambiguity. With most of them, I am purposefully choosing to avoid making any single point other than to present grey areas between two concepts or perspectives. So if they seem flat or boring, I encourage you to look a bit deeper. Either way, I still very much appreciate your feedback.

    I would love to hear other perspectives on this as well, if anyone wants to chime in.

    Career change a hindrance??

    in Visual

    Posted

    Just from a Resume/CV perspective, I'd venture to guess:

     

    TWO jobs w/Teaching experience > ONE job w/Teaching experience.

     

    But I'm nowhere near qualified to say for sure!  At the very least, you would have that many more potential sources for letters of recommendation.  You could even let it grow you as an artist, if you are so inclined...and weave whatever you learn from teaching elementary school into your own work.  And I agree, what better inspiration than the artwork of children!

     

    "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." -Picasso

    MFA 2013 All Art ADMISSIONS freak-out forum!!!!!!!!

    in Visual

    Posted · Edited by Josholas

    So U. Iowa's MFA painting portfolio requirements state:

    "A CD containing eight images in the major studio art area and two in a second studio area; intermedia works may be submitted on DVDs."

    So, while I have some images of works in other media, I don't think know that they are as strong as my paintings. So, would you suggest submitting 10 paintings, 8 paintings (and that's it), or 8 paintings and 2 additional works in other media?

    The other work would be printmaking (aquatint) and sculpture (bronze, paper, wood). Perhaps one of each.

    So I guess what I'm really asking is...do you think I would be penalized for submitting ten images of work in the same media?

    MFA 2013 All Art ADMISSIONS freak-out forum!!!!!!!!

    in Visual

    Posted

    I've been too busy to think of a backup plan.  

    I  wish I was applying to more schools, but I'm so broke right now, and have 3 kids, so.....

     

    Amen.  It's nice to hear I'm not the only one who is trying to do all this with a child (or three in your case!)  Good luck!

     

    Also, in response to a much much earlier post of yours, I actually contacted Erika Osborne back in August, as I see many similarities between our work. She was incredibly helpful, which further confirmed my decision to apply there.  Out of curiosity, why have you chosen to apply elsewhere?  Is it simply because you want a varied experience between undergrad/graduate school?

    2013 Applicants: Post Your Work

    in Visual

    Posted

    Just looking for some feedback.  Any suggestions?  

    http://sullivanj087.wix.com/jackiesullivanart 

     

    Also, currently I'm looking to apply to: 

    • Boston University  **
    • MICA
    • Cranbrook
    • UAlbany

     

    I love your work! The most interesting aspect to me is the way you handle the color in such a rich, yet non-ostentatious manner. I find my eyes flowing through the paintings, enjoying areas of them in the same manner as I would enjoy a richly prepared dessert. You certainly have a boatload of talent. The only future advice I might give (which could very well be worthless!), is that you might want to avoid images of what seem to be a college studio environment (as a general rule).  Unless your work specifically addresses such an environment on a conceptual level, I think it might be too common of a choice of subject matter for students...thus implying "college coursework" rather than personal art practice.  Does that make sense? However, if I were someone reviewing portfolios, I still don't think that would matter too much to me...considering your obvious talent and skill level. Either way, I think your work is yummy. :) Good luck!

    2013 Applicants: Post Your Work

    in Visual

    Posted

    I'm embarrassed to say I don't currrently have a website, took mine down a year ago or so. Just made a quick tumblr page with my work for feed from ya'll. Any criticism is accepted and appreciated. Keeping my expectations and hopes low for getting into a program, also applying to residencies. There are two pages of work, with the next link at the very bottom of the page. What I included were only pictures I submitted for my portfolio. I just recently realized I should've taken some close ups of the resin with the bees, but I didn't think of it.

    http://crisschayer.tumblr.com/

    Very visceral. It certainly makes me feel something in the pit of my stomach...which I generallly see as a very good thing. Where did you get your undergrad degree?

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