Cal
Arts does not coddle you - you have to think
and create on your own. This isn't high school art:
you won't be getting praised for exposing negatives correctly or
drawing nice still lives. You will be making art for
the real Los Angeles art scene, which means you have
to think fast and develop a thick skin. Yep, most
of the teachers are arrogant and so are the students.
That's how the art world is. Also, if you're
not from Los Angeles, get used to the idea that
you'll be living and working with people who have famous
parents and grew up in the Hollywood Hills. They
are used to being treated like they're special and it
will be much easier for them to get shows and
jobs. It sucks. But their work will be judged as
harshly as anybody else's in crit, so you can take
a little comfort in that.
That said, Cal Arts is
a great place to start if you want to try
to make it in the art world. Not that all
the graduates do, but if you look at the most
famous artists in the country right now, you'd be surprised
to find out how many of them studied or taught
at Cal Arts. And L.A. has an great art scene,
with more opportunities than anywhere besides New York and much
lower cost of living.
The recession has definitely hit the
art world hard but it'd be just as hard to
find work as a lawyer these days. Why not ride
it out doing something you love?
Articles
