Fine Arts and Studio Arts

What it’s about:

Students majoring in the fine and studio arts learn to create images, objects, and environments using a variety of techniques and media. As you work on a number of structured assignment and independent studio projects, you sharpen your visual understanding and enhance your critical-thinking skills. Most likely, you will begin with an introduction to design and then choose a medium, such as photography of ceramics, for focused study.

What the study of this major is like:

Art classes in this major take place in studios outfitted with the equipment you’ll need for a particular medium, such as charcoal drawing or woodworking. Your instructors are practicing, exhibiting artists and designers. In most programs, a basic design course is a prerequisite for upper-level courses. You will probably be required to take a series of art history courses as well, although some colleges emphasize art history more than others. By designing and producing artwork of your own and by studying the work of others, you learn to understand the ideas, values, motives, and vocabulary of artists, and you develop an appreciation of the way art was, and is, created and the important social and cultural role it plays.

Art schools offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, while liberal arts colleges usually offer a Bachelor of Arts. Both degrees have their strengths. A B.F.A program allows you to become immersed in art. Classes tend to be three or four hours long. After completing foundation courses in your first two years, you focus on your concentration (for example, painting, sculpture) for two or three years before graduating. In contrast, a B.A. program allows you to maintain a focus on art but also explore other serious interests-which are likely to serve as inspiration for the images and objects you will create. B.A. classes are generally shorter, around two hours. When you graduate, you might have done only one or two years of independent work (less than in the B.F.A. program), but you have benefited from and exposure to a multitude of issues and ideas.

Not all studio programs offer the same choices of media. Even in a single medium like painting, the philosophy of programs can differ greatly. Some colleges stress conceptual or contemporary references to shape the curriculum. Others might emphasize the traditional materials and techniques. It may be useful to review images of student and faculty work, which are often available on a college’s Web site.

As a major, you balance structured, in-class assignments with independent, outside work. Instead of term papers and exams, you receive feedback through individual and group critiques and portfolio reviews, in which you learn to take and give criticism. You are encouraged to read art magazines and be aware of current exhibitions in galleries and museums. A good student learns to work steadily throughout the semester. In the studio, don’t expect to cram to make up for lost time; creativity cannot be rushed. You spend long hours and many late night working. In effect, the studio becomes your second home and part of your social life.

While in the program, you can seek employment in galleries, studio apprenticeships to artists, and internships in architecture firms or museums. Both the B.A. and B.F.A. prepare you for continuing work toward a Master of Fine Arts. The major also provides preparation for a fulfilling career as a practicing artist or commercial designer.

Career options and trends:

Art teacher*; commercial artist: museum curator; architect; gallery preparatory*; art therapist; studio artist; art editor or critic; art restorer/conservator, art director or administrator*.

A master’s degree is generally required for employment in museums and galleries, and a Ph.D. (usually in art history) is required for positions as museum curators and directors. A master’s in art education is the usual requirement for teaching in high school, and a master of fine arts (M.F.A.) for teaching at the college level. Art restoration and conservation usually requires specialized training and knowledge of chemistry.

Making a living solely from producing art is extremely difficult; most working artists have a side-line. One source of employment is the growing number of city and country arts councils that need staff for a variety for position, including management and teaching; art therapy is also a growing field, but it required further specialized education.

The interface between computers and art is the most important trend, for both creating art and teaching art. Illustrators are increasingly using technology, which has created new opportunities to work with animators, game designers, and in broadcast media.

Source: CollegeBoard 2012 Book of Majors