art after undergrad -- a panel discussion

It wasn’t a discussion meant for me, I sat in back. Saw it announced and was curious about roads not taken, the academic ladder never climbed. One instructor spoke with passion about devotion to studio, and inspiration was there, but it would be so helpful to see the work. Letters after a name indicate standing, accomplishment, and expertise in the professional world, but have no meaning when it comes to art. Credentials for an artist are on the canvas, figuratively speaking, in a form much more revealing than framed diplomas.
 
Picking the right grad school was first considered, price, location, such as that. Related occupations, mostly teaching art, were mulled, although vaguely. The world of paying rent, filling a refrigerator, had the odd feel of foreign territory, the dark premonition of approaching exile. The more mature museum director, invoking broad combat experience, gave all the cadets the word that the civilian world really won’t give you a chance, best not try. Consider something less ambitious, grab a broom, drive a nail. We can all find a place with a state paycheck, climb aboard. 

They exist on an island and operate with a different system of value and meaning, loftier than out in the tract-less barrens of fast food and pickups, beyond campus. No one spoke about studio life on your own, how to buy supplies and squeeze every drop, how to establish a presence without institutional support, because no one they could find has ever done it. It didn’t come up. Even the occasional faculty member with commercial success, any outside income, services a rarified boutique sensibility, and better never appeal to anyone ordinary.

Oh bachelor candidates with broken wings, who could have spent four years learning the tools of visual communication, but instead sought subtle nuances in man-made materials, received pointless praise for third-hand social commentary, and were given the very best grade for totally unfathomable obscurity, where do you think you’re headed? Farther away from the folks back home, that’s for sure, but closer to the cliff, zipping through a field of rye. Seek a better deal. Make art that reaches back and pulls the viewer forward, and maybe they’ll support you, buy your art, even spring for a meal or two. Find alternative spaces to show your work, in salons, restaurants, and even if you never sell a thing, you’ll be contributing to a climate of art awareness and acquisition, supporting fellow artists and causing change. Take a chance.