Art school
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- See also: Art movement
Art school is a colloquial term for any educational institution (whether elementary, secondary, post-secondary/undergraduate, or graduate/postgraduate) with a primary focus on the visual arts, especially graphic design, illustration, painting, photography, and sculpture. They are distinguished from larger institutions which may also offer majors or degrees in the visual arts, but only as one part of a broad-based range of programs (such as the liberal arts and sciences). France's École des Beaux-Arts is perhaps the first model for such organized instruction, breaking with a tradition of master/apprentice instruction. If accredited as a college, most art schools grant a Bachelor of Fine Arts, or a Fine Art B.A. in the United Kingdom, and perhaps other degrees.
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[edit] Art school culture
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Students in post-secondary art school are typically thought to have bohemian values and to seek a particular lifestyle. The pursuit of this lifestyle, which pursuit sometimes takes primacy over the production of the work itself, is characterised by a sensitivity to implicit or subtextual meanings, a contempt for mass media, attempts at sexual provocation, and strong interests in social protest and cultural theory. While the lifestyle itself may be pursued with a vigor earlier generations associated with spiritual vocations, these characteristics are also a stereotype. Professional art colleges such as the AICAD member schools maintain curricula with liberal arts requirements necessary for granting BFA or MFA degrees.
[edit] Art schools
[edit] Art and design schools in the United States
Both private and public schools can offer degrees in fine art and design. There is a notable difference between a Bachelor of Art (BA) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree. Typically a BA means that a student focuses approximately 30% of their course work in studio coursework while the remainder consists of general academic coursework. BFA degrees are distinctly different in that they offer approximately 70% studio coursework and 30% general education. Graduate degrees vary by the specific discipline, including but not limited to a Master of Arts (MA), Master of Fine Arts (MFA), Master of Architecture (M.Arch), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
Some programs in both private and public schools may offer a more general degree in art and do not require a major in a specific field but might offer concentrations. A concentration is not accepted by some accrediting or professional organizations as enough study in some fields for success as a professional.
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Rhode Island School of Design often shares the title as the most prestigious art school in the United States with two schools located in New York City: Cooper Union and Pratt Institute. Less than half the size of RISD, Cooper Union is the most selective of art schools, admitting between 4-13% of applicants per year, with every student on full scholarship. Pratt Institute admitted 13% of applicants in 2007. The Yale School of Art at Yale University offers only graduate instruction in its two-year MFA programs. The Yale Alumni Magazine for May/June 2008 reported that the School had 1131 applications for its class of 2010, and would offer admission to fifty-six students. RISD is currently highest ranked art school according to U.S. News and World Report.
In the U.S. Art and Design schools that offer BFA and/or MFA degrees break down into basic types with some overlap and variations. At the most fundamental is a small, private art or design school. Art Academy of Cincinnati, California College of the Arts, Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, Moore College of Art, Maine College of Art, Montserrat College of Art, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, the Pacific Northwest College of Art, etc. would all be representative of that model. Add to that the larger private art schools, like the Rhode Island School of Design, Ringling College of Art and Design (formerly known as Ringling School of Art and Design),Maryland Institute College of Art, Art Center College of Design, Savannah College of Art and Design, Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale(which is one of The Art Institutes, a system of over 40 art schools in North America), Pratt Institute, New York Academy of Art, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Otis College of Art and Design and The School of Visual Arts which is the largest private art school in the U.S. A large number of these schools belong to a consortium called AICAD (Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design). They can also select and send their upper-level undergraduate and graduate art and design students to the New York Studio Program for one semester of independent studio or internship, administered for AICAD by Parsons the New School for Design. These schools differ from career schools in that they require a strong component of liberal arts courses in addition to art and design courses, providing a well-rounded college degree.
There are also partnerships between art schools and universities such as the The New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University, Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with the University of Pennsylvania, the Rhode Island School of Design with Brown University, Maryland Institute College of Art with John Hopkins University, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in conjunction with Tufts University, Tyler School of Art at Temple University, or Herron School of Art at Indiana University. There is one state supported independent art school in the U.S., Massachusetts College of Art.
Many of the degree offering institutions do not offer intense training in classical realism and academic painting and drawing, although the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts is considered a collegiate version of this educational model. This gap is filled by Atelier art schools (schools located inside an artist's studio) or in separate locations, such as the Art Students League of New York, established in 1875, and Mims Studios School of Fine Art, Studio Incamminati, and The New School of Classical Art.
[edit] Art schools in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, an indefinite number of such institutions exist, differing in size, number and administration.
Perhaps those generally felt most applicable to the definition of 'art school', however, are the autonomous Colleges or Schools of Art offering courses across both further and higher education boundaries, of which there are approximately eighteen, under the banner of United Kingdom Art & Design Institutions Association. Others, whose existence ties in indelibly with that of larger, non-discipline-specific universities (such as the Slade School of Art) exist. Most art schools of either orientation are equipped to offer opportunities spanning from post-16 to postgraduate level.
The range of colleges span from predominantly further education establishments to research-led specialist institutes; the Royal College of Art with its degree-awarding arm and singular focus on postgraduate awards being a most singular exception. University College Falmouth with its degree-awarding arm is another notable exception.
Since the 1970s, degrees have replaced diplomas as the top-tier qualification in the field. In the case of wholly freestanding institutions, degree validation agreements in liaison with a university have long been the custom for B.A. (Hons) level upwards. There has been a general trend for all-encompassing Universities to offer programs in the visual arts, and formerly independent art schools have merged with polytechnics and universities to offer such degrees. A few art schools have taken on university status themselves; both London's Royal College of Art and the University of the Arts London maintain their specialist focus and offer degrees under their own banner.
Most specialist institutions in the United Kingdom can trace their histories back to the 19th century or beyond, not unusually as Government Schools of Design / Art.
