Studio art seniors have an edge up on most students - they’ve gotten a taste of what it’s like to be an artist in the real world.
Already artists, these students have been focusing on what it’s like to be professional artists. Their interest in the arts as a profession has been helped along by art Professor Peter Glendinning’s STA 492, Senior Seminar and Professional Practice.
“It is our goal to educate you in the practical and creative skills necessary for survival as a professional artist,” Glendinning said.
The seminar, which is required for studio art seniors, serves as a tool for students to move on in the world and it helps explain the practical and business aspects of art. The class teaches students what agencies to target and what employers want, and it helps introduce them to self-promotion. In addition, the class requires students to put their art on display at Kresge Art Center’s Gallery 114.
Studio art seniors Jose Romero, Troy Miller and Roy Gambrell displayed their art last week in the gallery. They said this was one of their most rewarding experiences at MSU. Each student has a different specialty: Miller’s is digital multimedia art, Gambrell’s is sculpting and Romero’s is painting.
The gallery exhibit is essential because it is supposed to prepare students for the business of art. Contrary to what some think, art is a business, Romero said.
There’s a lot more than choosing which art to put in the exhibit for these students. They had to market themselves, make and distribute press releases, make calls and do everything they could to make their exhibit a successful one, if not only because they love art, but also because they’re still getting graded.
“This class gives us the tools we need to succeed in life,” Gambrell said. “Without this class we’d be thrust into the art world without a clue.”
The students believe that the class is more about life than finding a career.
“This is the most essential gig that I’ll do before I go out on my own,” Miller said.
For artists, finding a job is not as easy as it is for people in other professions.
“It’s different from a career fair for business; it’s more involved than a résumé,” Gambrell said.
Hoping to use these tools in the future, the trio plan on becoming professional artists. As an artist, Miller said he doesn’t want to conform, he wants the opportunity to do what artists do: Express themselves.
“I don’t want to work for someone that won’t let me be imaginative and express myself from the heart,” he said.
The class intends to make students’ lives easier by introducing them to some of the problems that they may experience in the professional world.
“No matter how successful one is in the creative and technical aspects of their chosen artistic expression, talent is not enough to assure success in the real world of the profession,” Glendinning said.
