Ok now it’s time for a rant. A well needed one.
For those of you that may not know, I have recently changed my major in college from Graphic Design to Communication Arts with a focus in Theater Design and Mass Communication while continuing a minor in art. With this change, I have been drawn out of the confines of my ancient and dilapidated university art building and have been thrown into mix of the general university population. What have I found? When I tell people I am a theater student, they often immediately question my intelligence. Usually not outright of course, but it’s there. In fact, it is the general consensus that students participating in fine art programs are in them because they don’t have the intelligence to have a more “challenging” study such as science, history, or in the case of my university’s pride and joy, pharmacy. In the case of theater, I’ve heard many of my fellow college goers go on about how art-based students have it easy. Apparently it takes little or no work or smarts for us gain our degree.
What do I have to say to you people? Spend one semester, just ONE semester, doing what I do, and I GUARANTEE your mind will be changed. Try being scheduled for 12 hours a week for ONE class (you have to have a minimum of 12 credit hours to be considered full time, which is generally 4 classes) that you will only receive 3 credit hours for PLUS having an estimated 6 hours of homework DAILY for that one class. Try being REQUIRED to spend 3-4 hours nightly until 11:00 pm, 6 days a week (yes, this includes precious weekends), in rehearsals. Try doing all this plus homework that usually includes TONS of research, sketches, models, writing assignments, and the expectation that you have an endless supply of creative genius to impress professors who have seen it all. Then add on your general education classes, which usually include a lot of pointless busy work and studying for exams. THEN (in my case) add on your main JOB that you have to have to enough hours make ends meet AND your on-campus job that you need to get important experience for a future career, AND trying to start a home-based business selling handmade items on Etsy. Try doing all this while maintaining a nearly 4.0 GPA. Just try it, and see how you do.
Oh yea.. and if we EVER want to get anywhere with our art degree, we generally have to spend an extra 3-4 years getting our Master of Fine Arts degree. So, suck on that while you are at it.
But now that I think about it, this prejudice has expanded to artists in general in our present age. Gone are the days when artists were respected and sought after for their special talents. Now when people outside the art community think “artist”, they think “bum” or “unemployed” or “hippie” or something along those lines. But really think about how much it takes to do what artists do. Think about the math and basic physics it takes to make a sculpture or build a stage set. Think about the anatomy that must be learned to draw/paint the human form or to create a costume or piece of clothing. Think about the chemistry that goes into creating or mixing paints or plaster. Think about the attention to detail and quality in handmade crafts and items. Think about the research and the creative processes it takes to do these things. The truth is, an artist is not only an artist, he/she is a mathematician, a scientist, a chemist, a welder, an architect, a craftsman, a perfectionist, and some of the most passionate and involved people you will ever know, and much, much more.
Artistic careers, whether independent or company-based, are some of the most challenging and competitive. It takes a lot of hard work, determination, experience, intelligence, and talent to be successful.
So you may be wondering, what brought this rant on? Well, I work in a pharmacy and today while I was at work an acquaintance of mine came and talked to his friend who was working with me. After his conversation, he asked me what I was doing there. When I told him I work there (which was pretty obvious in the first place since I was giving out prescriptions to people) his response was (in a nutshell) that I’m not suitable to work there because I’m not a pharmacy student and a theater student isn’t smart enough to work in a pharmacy. I assume he was joking since he does a lot of work in the theater department even though he is a history major and he never showed any previous ill will towards me, but the way he said it was extremely insulting and, in my opinion, telling me I’m stupid simply because I am following my passion and love for what I do is one of the most insulting things a person can say to me.
Because I AM SMART dammit. I work my butt off every day to achieve my goals. I scored a 30 on my college ACT entrance exams, which is only 6 points away from the perfect score of 36. I maintain a nearly 4.0 GPA. I have multiple jobs and extracurricular activities. I am passionate about learning and understanding many things, including history, anthropology, psychology, philosophy, biology, zoology, and theology. I do this by constantly working, gaining very little sleep, and the constant support and simultaneous complaints about never seeing me from my wonderful fiance.
I am smart enough to be a pharmacist, I choose to be an artist.
msmegalosworkshop 