Ron Jones
I used to believe that my role, and that of my teaching colleagues, was to ensure that we gave to our art majors our full measure of knowledge, skills, and understanding. I like to think that we took every opportunity to sharpen their critical eyes and guide them to more enriched sensibilities as they aspired to be artists, art teachers, and art historians.
That was what college was all about, and I thought that if they worked hard and gave it their “all,” then we’d applaud them at commencement and wish them well (while, among ourselves, we knew full well that many, perhaps most would not “make it”).
While I don’t think I ever said it straight out, I do believe that my message to graduates at every commencement was, “We’ve done our part; now it is up to you.” I now am embarrassed to say that implicit in this thinking was the notion that we in higher education need not assume any responsibility for what happens later, after our students leave. After all, we gave 100 percent to all of our students—so we thought—who were with us for those four, five, or six years. What they did after graduation was unquestionably up to them.
The national discourse about the value (or lack of value) of higher education is making it quite clear that there is a greater (or new) expectation that we in higher education now provide a bit more—perhaps a lot more—than a “discover yourself” curriculum that results in nearly half of arts graduates dropping out of the field before the second anniversary of their commencement (see Strategic National Arts Alumni Project that has been tracking the lives and careers of arts graduates in America). This, of course, is not a desirable result; therefore, we must change the way we’re doing things or we will continue to get the same result in years to come.
What has become obvious to me is that artists are entrepreneurs too. Artists have to network, have to market themselves as well as their work, they have to take risks and have to profit from failure not unlike those we recognize as the most successful entrepreneurs. Whether a designer or painter or sculptor or even art historian and art educator, there is a benefit to being additionally prepared with the tools to manage one’s career and apply one’s creativity to ensuring success.
No longer can we simply wish our graduates a good life and forget about them. (Interestingly, when those very few are successful, we put them on our website, brag about their accomplishments, and quickly take credit for their success while never mentioning the vast majority who are finding it difficult to ”make it.”)
We should do better, we could do better, we must do better—and we can. What is important to me is that we not turn our backs on what we have done so well. We must continue to commit ourselves to the notion that every one of our students should graduate with the skills, knowledge, creative acumen, experiences, and spirit to flourish as an artist or designer. And to this we must add those appropriate additional skills, knowledge, and business acumen to ensure that what we have done truly does empower our graduates to have a life of options and an unquestionable ability to act upon their world.
One class at the senior level is insufficient to empower our students with a level of professional proactive that is sufficient; for there to be systemic and beneficial impact, we must build professional practice into the entire curriculum, into every course, establishing strategies that will sequentially and holistically instill in every aspiring artist those understandings and behaviors (i.e., strategies that will dramatically increase the probability of lifelong success in art)!
Dear Ron Jones,
I never reply to a post on the internet but what you have said here struck a chord. I have said the very same thing for a long time. I am a artist with a sculpture degree. The degree did not prepare me at all. In a university setting there was little focus on craftsman ship and more focus on content of the work. I believe this is mostly due to the faculty being a off spring of the conceptual art movement leaving art education with less means of judging. I sat through many of critiques where there was never any discussion of design concepts and whether the work was visually working. Instead of looking at visually we listened to the students explain one abstract meaning after another, symbolism was used everywhere. At no point did anyone explain that symbolism is not really useful if the artist is the only one who gets it. Essentially we have students going to school to be artist and make art that only speaks to other artist. No wonder so many artist do not make it. By no means am I saying that art needs to be dummied down. If a fellow artist says to me that they can’t sell their work I immediate ask who are you trying to sell it to. They will look at me like I am crazy.
In my junior year I examined my life and realized that I was a year from graduating and was no closer to being prepared to be a artist. My education was spotty. On my own I studied marketing, I learned about the different avenues in art in which to make a living and what it meant to be a professional artist. I decided to pursue public art. I purchased every book on the subject at that time there were about eight and only one was about creating artist packages. I partnered with a older artist to learn the field, in trade I helped her with computers and technology. We became great collaborators and friends. Every morning I spent a hour looking for calls for art that were annual and I began making a calendar of calls. One of the most important skills I have developed is the skill to communicate and teach. I find that success in art greatly depends on your ability to educate others. I teach all the time. Some of my biggest commissions were based on my ability to not only sell the idea but to teach along the way. I mentor others regularly. I work in all materials and I research and teach myself something every day. I would be disappointed if my university was to take credit for the things I taught myself. I wish that school would have prepared me better but I made the best of the situation.
I have many more ideas as to ways to help students but I have to get back to work. I am currently working in encaustic and designing my own fabric. Best Wishes