Student Artists in Residence

Today was the breakfast orientation for first year MFA students at the Museum School. A little after 9 am (I am beginning to realize that art faculty, staff, and students have a very flexible understanding of time) the second floor crit space was filled with some 2nd year MFA students, the graduate faculty, and 40 first years.

Classes, community activities, studios, work logistics, safety, and many other topics were explained. One of the required courses that first years have to take, the CAP Seminar, which I talked about in an earlier post, is looking to be pretty demanding... in a good way though. There are three professors that teach it and you take each one for four classes then move on to the next. Its reading and discussion driven, covering a variety of topics including art history, contemporary artists, and conceptual and formal ideas present in working artists today.

I think that most all first years were quite excited, but all very freaked out. I for one have no idea what work I am going to start producing, which I better figure out soon as my first grad critique course is in a week and a half.

After the meeting we were all given our studio assignments which are mostly all on the second floor of the grad building. Think of it as a Hooverville'ish town of white walls and curtains. It's a pretty amazing space, which I plan to photograph to show you guys later. There is a shoot space that is right down the corridor from my studio which is great! I got to meet a number of first years; coming from a variety of ages, backgrounds, and locales its a pretty amazing mix of individuals. I am very excited to see the work to come and I think we are all interested to see what kind of works are peers have made. I am really beginning to appreciate how the Museum School's MFA program is strictly interdisciplinary, meaning that the photographers and painters are not segregated, but rather everyone taking all classes together. Think of it as a really tasty fruit salad.

I walked out of the grad building in the afternoon with a chair in hand. It was the first piece of furniture in my apartment! Luckily my mattress finally came later, but it's still a sparse and lonely place. Gotta work on that.