I went. It was an interesting experience because I would go to one booth and they would tell me one thing and then go to the next and they would have a completely conflicting view. It definitely gave me something to think about but it was frustrating at times. Here is a basic recap of what happened:
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts: I met with the dean of the school and had a very uplifting discussion about where my work was headed. He took photos of my work with his own phone, wrote down a lot of what I said on the back of my card, and gave me fantastic advice on which pieces to include in my portfolio. Asked me how I had heard of the school and I told him that I wanted to work with Alex Kanevsky who teaches there. Talked about him for a while. Then he gave a very thorough description on how the graduate school runs and what they expect. Definitely sold me on the school.
Tyler: Waited in line for a good 30 minutes. I was very excited to talk about the school but the representative seemed like he couldn't care less. I gave a brief discussion on my art and he didn't have anything to add except the fact that their school is very competitive. Didn't really seem to like my work. Asked me if I had talked to Pennslyvania Academy of Art because they work more with representational subjects. I thanked him for his time and left feeling dumb.
Columbus College of Art and Design: Met with an admissions counselor who seemed to like my work. The school was interesting but didn't wow me. It didn't seem to have many students who worked with figure painting which is the majority of my work. However, he gave a lot of good advice on what to include in my portfolio.
Concordia University in Montreal: The woman that I met with was very very nice but I don't think she liked my paintings until I told her that they were 7 feet tall. She got very excited then and told me to make sure to include that fact in some way into my artist statement. I showed one of the paintings that I brought with me and she started giggling saying "Oh my god do people still sign their artwork? No one does that anymore." Obviously, I felt extra extra extra stupid. I didn't know that was a thing. She then talked about how realism is falling out of fashion.
Parsons the New School for Design: I was in a sort of "screw it" mood by this point and there was only 45 minutes left. The woman I talked to was amazing. She liked my newer pieces and mentioned that I should consider incorporating multimedia aspects to my work. I didn't know much about the school so she explained that their program is interdisciplinary and they work towards educating well rounded artists instead of artists stuck to one field. For critiques they apparently bring in everyone to philosophers to poets to mathmaticians. I asked her if there was room at the school for artists looking at a more representational approach since the style is falling out of fashion (as the Concordia woman said). She laughed and said that everything falls out of fashion and it shouldn't matter. What should matter is the work itself and the devotion that the artist has for it. She then later said to make sure and set up an appointment with the schools that I'm applying to and get in touch with the faculty-- even if it's not Parsons. I'll definitely be applying here.
Some things to note if anyone goes in the future:
-Use your time wisely. Don't stand in line for schools with ridiculous lines just because they have a big name. Rhode Island, Cranbrook, WashU, School of the Art Institute of Chicago all had big lines.
-You're studying the schools as much as they're studying you.
-A lot of what everyone says is subjective.
-Get as many business cards as you can and follow through later.
Hope this helps anyone who goes in the future.
http://laurenwest-art.com/
