Don’t go to art school (2013)
I graduated from art school.<p>I didn&#x27;t go to art school to pursue a career in art. The art school I went to basically said, &quot;don&#x27;t&quot; - it&#x27;s a lottery anyways. The people who can make a living as an artist are a few dozen worldwide.<p>I went to art school to think laterally and critically. I went to have my own ideas of what creativity is exhaustively challenged.<p>You can also go to art school to make those social connections to the larger art world - the art world is nothing but a huge web of social ties. I found that part of it pretty dark and disgusting, really. I just wasn&#x27;t willing to stab so many people in the back to get ahead.<p>My curriculum was not centered around skills and technique - you were to learn that yourself. It was centered around your ideas - get your ideas out of your head and onto a stage basically. The school and my program were influenced by the Black Mountain school in N. Carolina where individuals like B. Fuller, Merce Cunningham, and John Cage taught. Interdisciplinary. It was all a living experiment, and all my higher level courses had, &quot;Experimental&quot; in their name.<p>I don&#x27;t regret one second of art school. You get out what you get in. I still would never, ever pursue a career as an artist. I&#x27;ve done lots of creatively amazing projects, but it wasn&#x27;t for the money - this country I live in (USA) at least really doesn&#x27;t find monetary value in the arts.