Would you go to Art School?

How should artists be educated? And is it worth attending a $35,000-a-year art school so that one graduates in debt into an uncertain market?

The last major change in art education came nearly a century ago, when the German Bauhaus was formed. Today, dramatic changes in the art world, combined with a revolution in information technology, raise fundamental questions about the education of today's artists. Nevertheless, an estimated 30,000 Master of Fine Arts degrees are granted each year.

Those in New York can join a discussion about the future of art schools with the editor and contributors of Art School, a book that looks at these issues. All are invited to join the conversation this Sunday, November 15, in the Rose Auditorium at Cooper Union's incredible new 41 Cooper Square building.

Three conversations will take place, discussing the most pressing issues facing the transmission of cultural knowledge today and for the future. Speakers and moderators include Dennis Adams, Thierry de Duve, Shirin Neshat, Hans Haacke, Boris Groys, Liam Gillick, Saskia Bos, Steven Henry Madoff, Ernesto Pujol, Ute Meta Bauer, Paul Ramirez Jonas, Jeffrey Schnapp, Anton Vidokle, Matthew Higgs, Charles Renfro, Dana Schutz, and Brian Sholis.

Schedule:

1:00 p.m.
Flows of Knowledge, Infections, Temporary States
Steven Henry Madoff, moderator
Ute Meta Bauer
Thierry de Duve
Boris Groys
Jeffrey Schnapp
Anton Vidokle

2:15 p.m.
The Usefulness of the Academy, Learning and Doing—or Nobody Asked You to Do Nothing
Brian Sholis, moderator
Paul Ramirez Jonas
Matthew Higgs
Shirin Neshat
Dana Schutz

3:30 p.m.
Social Context and the Role of the Academy in the 21st Century
Saskia Bos, moderator
Dennis Adams
Liam Gillick
Hans Haacke
Ernesto Pujol
Charles Renfro

Free and open to the public.

Frederick P. Rose Auditorium
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
41 Cooper Square
New York, NY 10003

Comments

[S Moody]

30,000 MFA graduates per years sounds very high. Is this in the US, or worldwide? What is the source for this figure?

[seth kaufman]

i was raised in the arts, did not go to school, i am a professional artist, i teach art at the college level... whether you go to school or not you pay either way... people get hung up on the money, it's not about the money... school will not make you an artist any more than the school of life experience... one of my favorite quotes is "children make friends, adults recognize them"... this could apply to becoming a professional artist, you either are or you are not... if you are truly an artist then the path doesn't really matter it's just whatever is best for the individual - school is direct and hard and fast or life experience is deep and hard and slow... and what's so bad about thousands of people paying tons of money to be educated in the arts, who will never become life long professional artists - at least we are filling the world with people who not only love but are trained to understand art and now society is finally willing to support an industry which has historically been marginalized as having little importance - how can this be a bad thing... arts advocates have been fighting for generations to make arts education valued and relevant and now that the fruits of this battle are finally coming to fruition, the people who have benefited from that struggle are turning on themselves and fighting to cut back arts education... yes of course there are excesses and yes a small percentage of people who pay to go to school for art end up having a career in the arts but what's so wrong with living in a world where doctors, lawyers, accountants, athletes, moms and dads, etc., all have a robust appreciation for the arts... i was lucky to be raised to honor the arts and so was my brother but unlike me, he went to college and owns his own business and guess what, he loves collecting art. i do not regret my path and would not do it any other way yet i do envy some of the skills and formal knowledge bases my peers who went to college possess. i respect my students commitment to expanding their artistic gifts and in doing so help to support my life's work in the arts - beyond that, i give them as much of myself as i can because i know that some of them may actually help me open my eyes to seeing the world in new ways.