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Category: Blog Posts

Are Art Universities Actually Worth It?

General

If you want to be an artist, you’ll spend a lot of your time developing your artistic skills and building up popularity in order to get noticed. One of the best ways to learn is by going into art university. But, one of the major downsides with having an art degree is that you have to pay, A LOT!So, are art universities worth it?

Art universities might cost you upwards of $25,000 in the United States for a single year just in fees. However, they can definitely be worth it if you’re focused in building up a name for yourself. Yet, you need to be making an effort to make it worth it. Work on networking, choose the right university, and network again.

There are some situations where art universities are definitely worth it for new artists! So, we’re going to be reviewing what art universities are, how much they cost, and how to make them worth it for you.

What Are Art Universities?

An art university is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts. Mainly illustration, painting, photography, sculpture and design. Art universities can offer undergraduate and graduate programs. The goal of an art university is to develop artistic skills in its students in order to make them have a personal artistic style.

The Cost of Attending an Art University

What you’ll be spending on an art university will depend on the university and country where you apply. But, there’s no way to avoid costs altogether. Here’s a brief look at some of the fees associated with art universities in United States, United Kingdom and France.

United States

  • Application fee: This fee is usually somewhere around $300 to $1000.
  • University fee: This fee really depends if you go for a public or private university, its location and if you are a resident or a non-resident. If you are a resident fees can be as ‘low’ as $12.000 per year. Therefore if you are a non resident fees can be over $33.000. Private universities can cost you over $50.000 yearly.

https://www.collegetuitioncompare.com/edu/108232/academy-of-art-university/tuition/

  • Supplies Costs: Supplies arent’s cheap in this field. Be aware that you will need to spend around $2.000 to $3.000 yearly at least, and probably more in the last year.
  • Living costs ( Accommodation +household bills +food + travel)
  • Living Costs will depend where your university is located, having NY as example, living costs can be over 15.000$ a year easily.

United Kingdom

  • Application fee. This fee is usually somewhere around £100.
  • University fee. Having University of Arts London that includes the prestigious Central Saint Martins as example, for undergraduate degree courses the fees have been set at £9,250 per year for full-time and £22,920 for International students.

https://www.arts.ac.uk/subjects/fine-art/undergraduate/ba-hons-fine-art-csm

  • Supplies Costs Be aware that you will need to spend over 2.000 to 3.000 pounds yearly.
  • Living costs ( Accommodation +household bills +food + travel) Living Costs will depend where your university is located, having London as example, living costs can be over 15.000$ a year easily.

You can get more info here: https://www.arts.ac.uk/study-at-ual/fees-and-funding/additional-and-living-costs

France

  • Application fee. This fee is usually somewhere around 100 euros.
  • University fee. The tuition fees at public universities are set by the French government and are the same across the country. If you are a citizen or already a permanent resident of a country within the EEA, you will be charged very low amounts for your tuition: 170 euros per year for Bachelor’s (Licence) programmes. However, all other international students will be charged 2,770 euros per year for Bachelor’s (Licence) programmes. Note that the values above refer only to public universities; the cost of tuition at private universities can be higher. They generally range from 3,000 to 20,000 euros per year.

More info: https://www.study.eu/article/tuition-fees-in-france

  • Supplies Costs Same as before, 2-3 thousand euros a year.
  • Living costs ( Accommodation +household bills +food + travel) Student life in France doesn’t have to be expensive. Even in cities like Bordeaux, Lyon or Toulouse you can get by with 850 to 1,000 euros per month, including accommodation. That is still moderate for European levels. In some smaller towns you might spend even less. But the exception is Paris, the capital: expect to spend 1,250 to 1,400 euros per month at the very least – and consider yourself extremely lucky if you can score a place in a students’ hall of residence

Making Art Universities Worth It

If art universities weren’t at all worth it for artists, they wouldn’t still be around today. Yet, not every art university will be good for you and your artistic style. There are a lot of things to think about before deciding on a specific art university. Let’s go over how you can make sure that an them worth the money you’ll be shelling out!

The Fees

The fees are unavoidable when it comes to art universities. Therefore, there are some ways that you can cut some costs. For example, you can choose to live in the campus or student residencies that have partnerships with universities. You can also apply for scholarships and even get a job while studying.

One of the best ways to guarantee that you’re pulling in some income at the end of the day is by doing a few calculations. Take into account how much you’re spending on fees (in total) and how many pieces of your work you’d have to sell after your degree in order to have all that money back. You can also work part-time while studying in order to make your life easier.

So, make sure you are willing to make it work. Even though you want to make huge sales right after finishing your degree, it might be a better idea to focus on build really nice relationships with art dealers and galleries. This can help you to start developing a name for yourself, making some sales, and save you some struggle in the business.

The Possible Name Recognition & Networking Opportunities

Art universities are a great way to start making a name to yourself, but have in mind that you should start networking as soon as you get in and not after. At the same time, art universities usually make a big exhibition showcasing last year students artwork. That means you might be able to connect with a gallery owner, dealer or a curator that’s impressed by your artwork. This can lead to tons of future opportunities and greater sales.

It might also be a good idea to focus on network for a little while. Focus on networking in a certain area in hopes that the same people will see your work repeatedly. Once people see you at plenty of local art shows, they’ll be much more interested and value you as a professional in your industry.

Even if you’re not making a lot of income in the beginning, that doesn’t mean you’re leaving empty-handed. Networking is a great way to build relationships with others in the art community. You can learn about other styles of art and how popular artists have built a customer base.

Conclusion

Strategically going to an art university can be a debt nightmare but can also cause your art career to skyrocket. Though you’ll be spending a lot of money, you’ll be showing your art to likely thousands of people and network with other people that otherwise you would never know. Here are some tips for making an art fair worth it:

  • Work on networking and building relationships inside and outside the university
  • Choose low-fee and local art fairs to show your work when you’re just starting out
  • Consider the number of pieces you’d have to sell to pay the fees back
  • Choose to have a part time job in order to have some cash
  • Make a strategic plane and follow it the maximum that you can
  • Make a website showcasing your work and if possible an online shop

If you liked this article check our previous post about art fairs.

What Is Contemporary Art?

Blog Posts

Did you ever look at an art piece and thought “I could do that?” If yes congrats, you were probably looking at contemporary art.  The funny part is that; if you try to do it you won’t probably be able to do it. And even if you are, no one would buy it or even call it art. So what is actually contemporary art?

When people tell me that they don’t understand contemporary art I always get surprised. After all Contemporary art refers to the art produced from the late 20th until nowadays, that is produced by living artists. But how we actually define contemporary art? Does something stop being contemporary when the artist dies? The fact is, there isn’t a hard and fast rule here.

Contemporary Art History

The notion of ‘contemporary’ art dates back to the 1930s when modern art was first defined as a movement. Just like that, much avant-garde ‘ modern’ art that had broken with tradition ceased to be ‘contemporary’.

But how far back does it reach? Historians tend to agree that a significant break point occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. With Pop Art, Minimalism and Performance with the help of new media exploded all at the same time. Artists could now use new materials to express themselves, and the result of this mix didn’t need to be ‘pretty’. Among the most stunning features of contemporary art was its extensive use of ‘theory’. A term frequently used as a talisman to ward off searching questions about artistic intention, reference and meaning.

Once Contemporary art alludes to the ‘art of today’ let’s have a look at the major movements. This will help you to know a contemporary art piece as soon as you see it.

Contemporary Art Major Movements

Abstract Expressionism

Untitled I – Willem de Koning

Many people consider Abstract expressionism modern art. Therefore, this movement was actually a kind of mini-turning point in the transition between modern and contemporary art. Auction houses as Christies and Sotheby’s include abstract expressionism works into contemporary art auctions.

The name Abstract expressionism was first used in connection with Kadinsky’s abstract paintings of the 1920s. It indicates the movement’s interest in personal expression as opposed to the dominant geometric abstraction descendant from Constructivism. Abstract Expressionism was broken into two tendencies: Gestural Abstraction(or Action Painting) and Color Field Painting. While the 1st emphasised the energy of the painter’s mark, the second focused on the creation of a vast, seemingly floating areas of color.  The movement quickly won acceptance and placed American art on a footing. Major Abstract expressionists include Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Joan Mitchell, Franz Kline.

Neo – Expressionism

Georg Baselitz

A label first used in the early 1980s to describe the work of narrative-based Expressionist painters. Those artists were working principally in Germany reacting against the banalities of conceptualism and the impersonality of minimalism. Neo-Expressionists saw a return to the traditional concerns of history painting, representing narratives through the format of easel painting.

Anselm Kiefer, for example, treated his country’s recent past in to the Unknown painter 1983. A commentary on the tragedy of the Nazi period. Georg Baselitz seems to comment on the human condition in figurative paintings once he represents people upside down. Rejecting the purist concerns of high Modernism, Neo – expressionism contributed to the development of a new agenda represented by Post-modernism. Leading Neo-Expressionists include Francesco Clemente, Jorg Immendorf, Julian Schnabel and Basquiat.

Pop Art

Marilyn – Andy Warhol

Pop Art flourished from the 1950’s through to the 1970’s primarly in the UK and the USA. It found its imagery and many of its techniques from the realms of advertising, consumer packaging and popular culture. The name ‘Pop’, coined in 1958 by the critic Lawrence Alloway. It Refers to the technique used and to the audience anticipated by these artists. In the first instance, Pop art was an attempt to break with conventional notions of art. Rejecting distinction between high and low art that had in no way been challenged by the Abstract Expressionists.

As well as questioning many of the accepted norms of fine art, Pop art also explored the nature of representation. Some Pop artists seized the chance to adopt the techniques of mass production. Therefore others perversely chose to imitate them by hand, as we can see on Warhol’s coke bottles. In these pieces the ‘minimal art content’ shows them to be connected to Minimalism. Leading Pop Artists include, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Robert Indiana.

Conceptual Art

Banana- Maurizio Cattelan

A term that gained currency in the 1960s to describe a variety of ‘new’ art forms. Here the emphasis is not on the physical presence of the art work but on its ‘ conceptual’ meaning. In practice this threw up a huge variety of activities, from Performance to Body art. These works want to explore the conventional limits of art through the use of anti-art practices. Conceptual art is often abstruse, uninterested for the most popular audience, and designed to inspire indifference. The intention is that experimenting with unorthodox art forms will turn attention away from questions of representation and imitation.

Major Conceptual artists include Piero Manzione, Damien Hirst, Ai Weiwei, Maurizio Cattelan .

Installation Art

Artists Wade Kavanaugh and Stephen Nguyen at an installation at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockland.

Installation art flourished in the 1970s. An installation is a site-specific art work, created for a gallery or outdoor location. Instead of the site being simply a neutral backdrop to the exhibition, as in traditional hanging, the ensemble of elements that make up the installation are arranged so as to interact with the site chosen. This medium wants to provide the beholder with the sensation of physically entering an art space.

Practioners of the genre include Joseph Beuys, Christian Boltanski, Hans Haacke and Donald Lipski.

Minimalism

Robert Ryman – Shades of White

A movement that rose to prominence in the 1960s. Partly as a reaction against the gestural painting of the Abstract Expressionists. More common in sculpture than painting, Minimalism employed elemental geometric shapes. In the 1960s Minimalism eschewed representation and narrative in favor of representing, in the first instance itself.

Unlike the techniques of the Abstract Expressionists, Minimalist artists embraced the impersonality of industrial production as main form. In painting Minimalism is characterised by rejection of gestural painting and an emphasis on abstraction..

The apparent simplicity of Minimalist art hides the complexity of its intellectual structure. While the work may exhibit a ‘minimal art content’Minimalism challenges the beholder to experience a layered and complex aesthetic response. In this way an art work with minimal content demands of the beholder a maximal responde. Minimalism is often seen, as a difficult and intractable movement. Practitioners of the genre include Robert Ryman, Donald Judd, and Frank Stella.

Photorealism

Egg – Tjalf Sparnaay

Also known as hyperrealism and Superrealism, the movement flourished in the 1970’s, especially in the USA. Photorealist artists, working large-format in acrylics, made paintings that resembled photographs, especially of  the snapshot kind. They employ techniques that imitated the effects of amateur photography, such as informal compositions and banal subject-matter. Leading exponents of the style include Malcom Morley, Richard Estes and Chuck Close.

Performance Art

Antonio Branco & Riccardo T.

A term describing the presentation of an event that may include music, poetry and dance. Moreover painting, sculpture, film and video can also be included. The context is usually theatrical in the sense that the performance takes place in front of an audience.

Most Performance artists will insist that it is not theatre but an event. An event where the ‘action’ takes place in real time and with ‘real’ content. There was a strong element of Performance art in the manifestations of the Futurists and Dadaists. This social dimension was continued in such early expressions of Performance art as the Action painting of Yves Klein. Those paintings where created in front of an audience, by dragging naked women covered in paint over a canvas.

In conclusion, performance art is an aspect of conceptual art. It embraces the view that what matters is not the physical art object but the idea that lies behind it. Practioners of the genre include Marina Abramovic, Frank Uwe Laysiepen, known professionally as Ulay, Carolee Schneemann and Yayoi Kusama.

Conclusion

Even if contemporary art doesn’t have a specific definition, it’s easier to understanding it visually. Art knowledge is also practised by training our eyes. Here are some main points that will help you to understand contemporary art like a pro.

  • Contemporary art refers to the art produced from the late 20th until nowadays.
  • Every art was once ‘contemporary’
  • The notion of ‘contemporary’ art dates back to the 1930s but the break point occurred in the 1960s and 1970s
  • The meaning behind a contemporary art piece is more important than the technique
  • What to know more about the best and most expensive contemporary art pieces? Then check our articles about the best lots sold on Christies and Sotheby’s contemporary art auctions.

Are Art Fairs Worth It?

General

As an artist, you’ll spend a lot of your time building up popularity and selling art pieces to new customers. One of the best ways to attract potential customers is by setting up a booth at a popular art fair. But, one of the major downsides with art fairs is that you have to pay for a spot!

So, are art fairs worth it? Art fairs might cost you upwards of $1,000 for a single trip. However, they can definitely be worth it if you’re clinching sales and building up a name for yourself. Yet, you need to be making an effort to make them worth it. Work on networking, choosing the right fairs, and cutting costs.

There are some situations where an art fair is definitely worth it for new and skilled artists! So, we’re going to be reviewing what art fairs are, how much they cost, and how to make them worth it for you.

What Are Art Fairs? 

An art fair is a trade show of sorts where skilled artists can display and sell their own artistic pieces. But, anyone with a role in the art industry can take part and set up their own art booths or secure spaces in the gallery. That includes gallery owners, collectors, and individual artists.

The goal of an art fair is to attract local customers to your artistic style. If you display your best pieces, you might be able to make some sales and secure yourself long-term customers. There’s also a pretty good chance that your work will be seen by local gallery owners and curators. This can be huge for your career. If you want to know more about the art fairs market you can find it here: https://marianacustodio.com/art-fairs/

The Cost of Attending an Art Fair

What you’ll be spending on a booth or gallery space will depend on the actual art fair and how much space you need. But, there’s no way to avoid costs altogether. Here’s a brief look at some of the fees associated with art fairs:

  • Application fee. This fee is usually somewhere around $50, though there are some art fairs that won’t cost you a dime. You can also get this fee covered by your gallery owner if you have one.
  • Booth or gallery space fee. This fee really depends on how much space you’re looking for. A smaller booth might be as low as $150, while a significantly larger booth will probably be closer to $1,000. Therefore bigger art fairs can cost up to 10.000$.
  • Travel and hotel fees. If you’re traveling a long distance, you’ll have to think about gas prices, tolls, hotel fees, and meals. This can cost you several hundred dollars for just a few days.

So, you might be spending around $1,000 for all the combined costs of attending an art fair. But, you also need to think about the possibility of paying commission. That means you’ll be giving a cut of each sale to the art fair creators. Sometimes, it’s as much as 50% of the final sale price.

If you’re spending a grand to take part in an art fair and not making sales, then it’s definitely not worth it! The good news is that there are ways to make art fairs worth it financially and career-wise.

Making Art Fairs Worth It

If art fairs weren’t at all worth it for artists, they wouldn’t still be around today. Yet, not every art fair will be lucrative for you and your artistic style. There are a lot of things to think about before deciding on a specific art fair to display your new work. Let’s go over how you can make sure that an art fair is worth the money you’ll be shelling out!

JD Malat Gallery – Contemporary Istanbul 2019

The Fees

The fees are unavoidable when it comes to art fairs, but there are some ways that you can cut some costs. For example, your gallery owner might pay the application fee for you if you’re currently with a gallery. That’s about $50 that you get to keep in your own pocket. You can also stick to local shows to avoid the fees that come with travel and hotel stays.

One of the best ways to guarantee that you’re pulling in some income at the end of the day is by doing a few calculations. Take into account how much you’re spending on fees (in total) and how many pieces of your work you’d have to sell to get income. If you have to sell dozens of pieces to break even, you might want to wait a few years before trying that specific fair.

So, make sure an art fair is within your budget. Even though you want to make huge sales right now, it might be a better idea to focus on smaller fairs for right now. This can help you to make a name for yourself, make sales, and save money.

The Number of Visitors

You want to be sure that tons of people will be exposed to your art and style at an art fair. Spending $1,000 for a few days sounds like a lot right now. Yet, some art fairs recruit thousands of unique visitors every day. That’s a much greater chance of exposure and art sales.

The goal is to get as many pairs of eyes on your artwork as possible. Remember, you’re somewhat competing with the other attendees of the art fair. There’s a better chance of getting some bites with 10,000 visitors a day rather than just 80.

You need to also think about the qualities of the local community. Try to choose art fairs that lure visitors that are interested in your particular style of art. This is a great way to guarantee at least some interest in your pieces.

The Possible Name Recognition & Networking Opportunities

Art fairs are a great way to sell your pieces to the public and art aficionados. At the same time, art fairs are often visited by some of the biggest names in the industry. That means you might be able to connect with a gallery owner or a curator that’s impressed by your artwork. This can lead to tons of future opportunities and greater sales.

It might also be a good idea to focus on a certain area for a little while. Focus on art fairs in a certain state or states in hopes that the same people will see your work repeatedly. Once people see you at plenty of local shows, they’ll be much more interested and value you as a professional in your industry.

Even if you’re not making a lot of income at your first art fair, that doesn’t mean you’re leaving empty-handed. Art fairs are a great way to build relationships with others in the art community. You can learn about other styles of art and how popular artists have built a customer base.

You might even make some friends and learn about some upcoming art fairs. You might eventually be the artist that newcomers turn to for a little career advice! So, take the time to talk to the other attendees.

Conclusion

Strategically showing your art at art fairs can cause your art career to skyrocket. Though you’ll be spending a lot of money, you’ll be showing your art to likely thousands of people and making some sales. Here are some tips for making an art fair worth it:

  • Work on networking and building relationships at the fair
  • Choose low-fee and local fairs when you’re just starting out
  • Consider the number of pieces you’d have to sell to break even
  • Choose art fairs that bring in a ton of visitors

Sources

Lisbon
London
Istanbul

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