Should I go to Art School?

Haha, I promised myself I wouldn't make any of these life advice threads but nothing else seems to be helping....

Minor context: I have a general studies associate degree from community college. I live in a city with a very good art school - so if I attended I would be able to keep up with my social/business network. I think my portfolio is good enough to get me in to most art schools (with the exception of European ones, or more design-oriented ones) but my budget is way below most art schools.

So Styleforum; should I go to art school?

No. It will make you no more an artist than an MBA makes a laypersons a financial genius

Originally Posted by thekunk07

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No. It will make you no more an artist than an MBA makes a laypersons a financial genius

Probably a valid criticism. I don't want to go to "become an artist" though. I want to go so I have a degree in the field and higher eligibility for salaried jobs.

The most appealing thing about art school for me right now is the access it would give me to technology and apparatus necessary for more elaborate sculptural, electronic or interactive pieces. Also the technical know-how to use such.

Could you do it without loans?

No No No No No No No No No No

Originally Posted by Jekyll

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Could you do it without loans?

No. But I could probably finish in two years, effectively cutting tuition in half.

I'll elaborate. The best reason to go to art school is to learn the valuable life lesson that art school is a waste of money. Art schools are little more than excuses to concentrate hipsters in an urban area and to collect money from their rich parents to pay the wages of faculty members whose own art can't quite make a decent living on its own.

Originally Posted by Jekyll

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Could you do it without loans?

+1 Also, how much does it cost?

Originally Posted by Magician

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Probably a valid criticism. I don't want to go to "become an artist" though. I want to go so I have a degree in the field and higher eligibility for salaried jobs.

The most appealing thing about art school for me right now is the access it would give me to technology and apparatus necessary for more elaborate sculptural, electronic or interactive pieces. Also the technical know-how to use such.

to be contrarian:

I went to Art school for 5 years and ended up w 2 degrees. the reel i developed helped me get my first interview (which i got) and i haven't looked back. I know more people in my industry because of it and have had a decent amount of success as a result. however, i worked harder while in school than most ever will in their lives. if you're not prepared to do that then don't even bother. in the end, with art/design, if you're not the best, you're irrelevant.

in the end, school is school. if you treat it as a way to gain access to machines and tech that you wouldn't otherwise have, and don't squander that, it's worth it. if you want to go have a "college experience" you will be wasting a LOT of time and even more money.

all that crap said, if you want to be a "fine artist" dont waste the effort. if you want to go into a tech/design oriented field, be prepared to do what it will take. in school and every day after.

i went to art school and it mostly gives you access to rich fucktards dedicated only to extending adolescence.

Originally Posted by Magician

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Probably a valid criticism. I don't want to go to "become an artist" though. I want to go so I have a degree in the field and higher eligibility for salaried jobs.

The most appealing thing about art school for me right now is the access it would give me to technology and apparatus necessary for more elaborate sculptural, electronic or interactive pieces. Also the technical know-how to use such.

Sounds like my kind of place kunk.

Originally Posted by Connemara

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Sounds like my kind of place kunk.

ya. lots of homos coming out of the closet at art school.

Originally Posted by thekunk07

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i went to art school and it mostly gives you access to rich fucktards dedicated only to extending adolescence.

Which one?

Also I don't disagree with anything you or Stephenhero said. I live a stone's throw from MICA and am very aware of the culture.

SVA

Originally Posted by thekunk07

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i went to art school and it mostly gives you access to rich fucktards dedicated only to extending adolescence.

That's the beauty of student loans. Non-rich fucktards can now extend it too.

Magi, if that's your passion, go for it. You don't seem to be a guy that orients around money or financial security, so why not?