Top Five Grad School Picks

1. Bard College

Why?: I've known a few people who went to Bard and I admire them for their experience, openness and creativity in their respective fields of study. I also really like the whole community feel of the college and the intermingling of different artistic backgrounds in critique.

"At Bard, the M.F.A. community itself is the primary resource for the M.F.A. candidate—serving as audience, teacher, and peer group in an ongoing dialogue. Immersion in this community ultimately influences each artist’s practice, within the program and beyond. The community promotes diversity of approach, fosters imaginative responses and insights, and develops innovative solutions to aesthetic problems in all disciplines. In interdisciplinary group critiques with 80 students and 30 faculty, discipline caucuses of 20 artists, and one-on-one conferences, our students learn to address video, writing, painting, sculpture, photography, and sound. Our summer session provides intense critical response to students’ artistic practice, enabling them to reflect upon and refine their work over the 10-month independent study period." - Bard College graduate section of website

2. School of Visual Arts

Why?: Good school, good proximity to tons of art from around the world.

"While many universities offer graduate studies in the fine arts, most programs are oriented toward training students as teachers. Our program in Fine Arts focuses on training students whose primary interest is the making of art. The Master of Fine Arts in Art Criticism and Writing examines the visual arts within a philosophical and historical framework, and incorporates intensive study in the writing of art criticism. The MAT in Art Education offers rigorous academic study, coupled with requisite teaching experience, providing graduates with the essential knowledge and tools to teach art to children."- School of Visual Arts graduate section of website

3. San Francisco Arts Institute

Why?: I love the work that has come out of the bay area, good atmosphere.

"All of SFAI's Graduate Programs are committed to creative research that investigates the relationship between inquiry and practice and how this dynamic manifests itself in contemporary and historical approaches to cultural production in a time of accelerated paradigm shifts. The Summer MFA program has the same rigor and faculty as the Academic Year MFA program except it is designed for those graduate students who choose an alternative academic schedule for the pursuit of the MFA degree. The Post-Baccalaureate program is excellent for students who want to better prepare themselves and their portfolios for entrance to an MFA program or for those who simply want to enhance skills and knowledge without plans to enter a graduate degree program. In the MA programs students are trained to be challenging thinkers within an environment of rigorous studio practice and interdisciplinary study, affording them the ability to imagine a myriad of solutions that are applicable in a variety of fields."- San Francisco Art Institute graduate section of website

4. University of Chicago

Why?: Also a good school in a city with plenty of great art.

"The University of Chicago offers a Master of Fine Arts degree through the Department of Visual Arts, located at Midway Studios. Our MFA student body is comprised of artists working in sculpture, photography, painting, installation, performance, video and new media. Students are expected to work with all faculty, whose expertise cross a number of disciplines. We admit students to the program based on the quality of their art and their interest in working in an interdisciplinary art program within a university environment. We believe that art should not be an isolating activity and that students/artists benefit from the cross-fertilization of daily contact with people working across different media and dealing with similar sets of issues.Art is a cultural product, and as such, we encourage students to explore the specific artistic concerns pertinent to their work, as well as relevant theoretical, social and historical issues."-University of Chicago graduate section of website

5. University of Colorado

Why?:I feel like it would be an inspirational place to work and learn,not as stuffy and as uptight as most city scenes.

"One of the greatest strengths of the Department of Art and Art History is its productivity. The faculty are extremely active in both research and creative work, with strong emphasis on the quality of teaching and mentoring. The creative arts faculty exhibits regionally, nationally and internationally. The Art History faculty has distinguished itself with a large number of important publications. A second strength of the Department is the accessibility of its faculty and open communication between the various disciplines. This combination of professional activity and quality instruction makes the graduate program at the University of Colorado exceptional." University of Colorado graduate section of website

Blocks of Color at The Zimmerli

When I went to the Zimmerli to look at their Blocks of Color exhibit, I didn't necessarily go because I had a prior interest in woodcuts, but I thought it would be interesting to have a look, because it's not something i would normally be interested in. But I was pleasantly surprised by it and thoroughly enjoyed it. I like how clean and well laid out the images looked even when they were meant to look sketchy. I really enjoyed the colors as well and the overall presentation of the exhibit.

Another thing I also liked about this is exhibit is the variety of artistic styles within the category of woodcuts. There were more abstract and modern cuts by Donald Judd and landscapes by Blanche Lazell and even depictions of Japanese life by Helen Hyde. Some of my favorites were Helen Hyde's Mount Orizaba because of the way that the trees in the picture kind of frame the mountain in the background. I also like the way light is portrayed on the trees and hills and the fact that you can see atmospheric perspective in the distant tree line and mountain.

I also really enjoyed Arthur Wesley's Bridge Over Stream, Ipswich because of its vibrant colors and loose painterly style. I especially like that the water in the photograph has reflections from the scenery around it. The fact that he even bothered to pay attention to that detail and render it so nicely really makes the print beautiful. The complementary yellows and purples make the picture stimulating, especially the yellow reflection in the water.

I enjoyed Donald Judd's woodcuts as well, particularly his Untitled 1994. At first glance I thought it seemed kind of boring, but then I looked closer at the lines in the prints and followed them to the edges and noticed that some prints in the series connected with the blank edges of the paper and other lines remained completely inside of the red block, while others still cut completely through. It doesn't seem too exciting, but it is visually stimulating and kept my attention. There is something slightly entrancing about looking at the lines and following them to where they lead. Its almost how your eyes and mind feel when they are looking at a puzzle or maze.

Last but not least I looked at the work of Polly Apfelbaum, whose use of color, to me is very appealing. I've always really enjoyed art with a lot of colors in it, but I'm kind of particular on how color is used. I like how each frame in the series is based on mainly one color or combination of colors, but in the strips that make up the square are variations of that color or colors similar to it. The imagery is really pretty simple,but I bet the process of creating the print was not.

Dan Flavin at David Zwirmer Gallery

I recently took a trip to the David Zwirmer Gallery in Chelsea and saw the work of Dan Flavin. I remembered seeing his work from freshman year in my Seminar in Contemporary Art class and finding his work to be simple, yet exciting and different. The whole concept of using light as art was a really fascinating idea with almost limitless possibilities. But Flavin often keeps his work simple and I appreciate that fact. It seems that in this case that a little goes a long way.

In the first few rooms that you walk into, Flavin only places a few light bulbs stacked in the corner. The first room has lights in the colors of yellow and red, the second is lit with red and blue and the third room is lit with green and red. As I headed towards the other side of the gallery, there was a room with windows in the ceiling letting sunlight in, but pure white fluorescent bulbs also illuminated it. I was curious why Flavin chose this room to set up the pure white lights because it didn’t have much of an effect against the daylight coming through. Perhaps that was his plan all along.

When I went into the next room I found blue and red lights lined up along the wall with some jutting out like prongs off of them. There were three set up in a row and one on an adjacent wall. The prongs sticking out were offset at different heights. Something about it made me want to be able to fly and just travel through those outward sticking prongs like a football through a field goal post.

My favorite thing in the installation was a bright blue railing of fluorescent bulbs that completely divided a room in half. When I first saw it from a distance I thought the railing was next to a dropped lower level and was preventing people from going down, but then I realized the light from the railing was creating this effect. The light shining on one side was illuminating the side of the room where observers could stand, but the other side was dark, giving it the illusion that the ground was actually lower.

Flavin’s work has a very interesting way of creating a special atmosphere. The fluorescent lights transform each room into its own special dimension of color. I definitely sensed a lot of energy when first stepping into the installation and it seemed to change with each room. It was especially obvious how unique each set of lights made a room when you would stand in one room and look at the glow created by the other adjoining rooms. I feel very fortunate to have gotten to see such a unique art form from such a legendary artist.

The New Museum

When i finally got a chance to make it to the New Museum I was actually quite disappointed. It was like meeting your hero and then finding out they are a phony. I had seen advertisements for the museum in the paper years earlier and had always wanted to go and have a look at it, but hadn't ever gone until recently. I was pretty excited to finally be going and even as I saw the tall offset box stack structure in the distance I was dreaming of what i might ind inside.

But when i finally got to about across the street from the building itself i was kind of shocked. To me it looked like some kind of New York City store front rather than a museum. I walked in and was even more surprised to see that it basically was a store front with a book/gift store right up front and a cafe towards the back.

I didn't think much of it because i was more interested in seeing what art there was to look at. Unfortunately i was disappointed there too. The lady at the desk informed us that they were setting up installations and that we would only be able to see work on the fourth and fifth floor. We decided that we would do it since we had come all this way and wanted to see something.

So we trudged our way up the small staircase passing signs on doors that said, FLOOR CLOSED. When we got to the fourth floor i opened the door and saw white, turned the corner and saw the fascinating sculptures of Urs Fischer, which reminded me of giant metallic looking pieces of coral. I walked around them imagining myself as a fish and even hiding under one of the pieces nooks. It was really interesting how they fit into the space of the floor, it had such presence and encouraged you to look at it from all angles, but i didn't quite understand the other parts of the sculpture which looked like a bus seat with a duffel bag and a cake or something. I really don't understand how they tied together to be honest.

On the fifth floor there was the exhibit on Museum as a Hub: In and Out of Context, which is exactly what the installation was about, the museum as a hub for experimental ideas in creating and displaying art from around the world to New York City. There were a few speakers on the wall where you first come in. it was titled INTERROGATIONS 1-5 When they ask me I'll introduce them to you from 2008-09 and it was created by Rana Hamadeh It was from Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporaneo in Mexico City. The way it was set up was interesting being right by the stair entrance it kind of takes you by surprise but it's a little confusing to look at and listen to.

Around the corner was a wooden bench area for viewing movies. On the left was the Cairo Residency Symposium March 25-27, 2009 which was from the Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art in Cairo. On the right was John bock's PARA-SCHIZO, ensnarfed, 2008 which was a two-channel video, color and sound and was 40 minutes long. This was from Arko Art Center and Insa Art Space of the Arts Council Korea. I just remember seeing this man and woman battle with this string contraptions made from everyday household items turned into some strange useless machine. I don't even know if they were really battling to be honest but the whole idea was really interesting and comical to me.

The third thing i saw in the installation was a small model made of cardboard and wood set on interesting tables with chairs that appeared to be custom made. This piece was by Young Whan Bae and it was titled Tomorow. The models were to propose ideas for a public library design and were from the Collection at the Gyeonngi Museum of Modern Art. in my opinion they were pretty interesting and colofrul conceptually and it would be neat to see something like that actually be built. unfortunately I think some people thought it was ok to touch the models because they looked a little damaged and torn up.

Overall the museum was slightly disappointing and a little pricey for what they have to offer in my opinion, but i did get a free pass to go in again before some time in February because i got there while they were setting up installations and got gypped, so hopefully my next visit will be a better experience.

Bucket of Blood Video

The Bucket of Blood Video definitely brings to mind questions about what qualifies as art, what it means to be an artist and what people will do or how they will act to fit in. There have been some pretty crazy trends and eras in art that involve some pretty extreme things, but Walter takes it to a new level. He's obviously not all there, as you can tell from how he acts, but it adds to the humor. His beatnik friends seemed very self absorbed and in their own little world, which was also pretty funny, but also brings up a good point, to not get too serious with yourself and become submerged in your own little world and instead stay open and realize that art is just one aspect of life, not its entirety. I really enjoyed this video, because i feel it was a satirical lesson that was easy to laugh at.

Alex Bag Video

Although the Alex Bag video depicts the cliche art student of the 90s, the struggles and changes she goes through are pretty relevant. As I watched the video I tried to relate her experience as a student to my own and to the experiences of my peers and found that often it wasn't much different. It was an interesting way to put things into perspective. Watching this video of a scatterbrained art student with an attitude ramble on about her experience about art school and life in general is a reminder that this could very well be me, or you!

It is an eye opener to the snobby ignorance that her and many other art students often display when they feel that they are above it all or want to do their "own thing". This video seems to me to satirically give relevance to the struggle and learning processes necessary in becoming a truly educated and well-founded artist. What i mean is that i think through all of the acting and joking and references as to how useless or hard some classes were, was really a way of showing how we mature and find that all of the things we felt were not important or did not want to do, really do matter.

The set pieces in between her little talks are relevant too,because they do act kind of like the ridiculous background noise in our heads, popping in at times when you least expect it. I feel like we all probably have silly scenarios in the back of our minds somewhere and they were kind of entertaining.

Overall the video was actually quite annoying, especially when she would use the word like, and drag on forever about nothing and use that stupid voice. I do realize it was done on purpose, but it did get really annoying. The set pieces were a relief for me because it was kind of a break from her monotonous droning voice and they were kind of funny, but the video did bug me a little. Especially since it was nearly an HOUR LONG!

Interview with Luis Merced

Me:

So what is your major and how did you become interested in what you do?

Luis:

I came into Mason Gross intending to do graphic design, which I started getting into during my junior year of high school. I got more involved with Photoshop and 3D rendering applications like Poser and Vue D'Esprit. But when I found out I couldn't get into the design program until sophomore year, I decided to take a lot of painting and drawing courses. So... I paint, draw and design.

Luis:

When did you decide you wanted to concentrate in graphic design here at Mason Gross?

Me:

Well, I came to Mason Gross as a graphic design major also, but I didn't have any previous experience and I mostly painted and did prints in high school. I didn't realize that you couldn't get into the program until sophomore year. I remained a Mason Gross student, but started taking courses in the sciences because I was debating switching my major to follow in my father's footsteps as a vet. I took science courses at Rutgers fall of my sophomore year and didn't do so well. Then in the spring I went to County College of Morris and took some more science courses and did better, but I realized that following in my father's footsteps wasn't for me. I found it interesting and don't regret taking the courses but I felt like I needed art. I went back to Rutgers got into the graphic design program and started taking courses related to my major. But I still continued painting all through college and last year started to really enjoy it. I think that my concentration is in painting and graphic design and I am doing my thesis in painting.

Luis:

Interesting. Have you found yourself integrating your interest in science with your passion for painting? For example, painting science-related scenes or figures, kind of like Joseph Wright.

Me:

No actually I haven't surprisingly. I think I like to keep those parts of my brain separate. My paintings are usually very emotional and deal with dreams and memories. Although I do find that anatomy and physiology was helpful in understanding how to draw the figure I guess, but I’m still not very good at it.

Luis:

Nice! That sounds very interesting.

Luis:

Is there a period of art that inspires you, a time to which you would compare your art? When you said your art deals with memories and dreams, I immediately thought of painters like Fuseli, who dealt with a similar topic.

Me:

Well, I’m not sure which period of art really inspires me but my work tends to mimic the symbolism of artists like Munch or James Ensor.

Me:

I noticed your Courbet redux and that some of your paintings have that similar feel, is he one of your favorite artists?

Me:

I mean as far as texture and how you put down the paint is similar to his style. Not necessarily the subject matter.

Luis:

I think it's safe to say that I greatly admire both Courbet's painting technique and choice of subject matter. His portraitures are impressive, but I think his landscape paintings are what really did it for me. When I saw "The Wave" and his Jura Mountain painting, I started imitating his style. There is definitely an emotive quality to his landscapes that speaks to the viewer.

Me:

Yeah I agree that his landscapes tend to really make the viewer a part of them and I definitely see that in your Dark forest painting. There is something very personal about that without really revealing too much. It makes me feel like I am the person walking through that forest. There is a great sense of movement. There is a very active yet dream-like quality to it and I think its hard for it not to speak to the viewer, I really like it. The closeness to the wave in the wave painting is really intense too. It’s really in your face like its about to come down on you.

Luis:

Wow, thank you. It's kind of funny that you mention that because I based that painting off a photo I took in a forest near Monterrey Beach, I think. I was walking through in California. It was my first time in California visiting someone I was dating at the time, so it was a different world for me, growing in Jersey all my life. Walking through a forest just to get to the beach was a little strange for me at the time. You mentioned that your paintings mainly involve dreams and memories. Would you say your work is more fantastical and "airy", like a child's dream, or more sublime and dark, more associated with a nightmare?

Me:

I basically just started making paintings like these last year, and the ones I based off of dreams were actually pretty dark and sad, they were more like nightmares. Probably one of the saddest dreams I’ve ever had. But then again I also painted a memory of a Christmas party that I had with family and friends and it was a very good memory and was more fantastical than my dream painting. What got you into doing graphic design and animation in high school?

Luis:

I think around my junior year of high school was when my passion for art converged with my interest with computers and technology. I started using Apple computers, tablets, and such. When I first used Photoshop, I was hooked. It immediately became my best friend, as sad as that sounds. Graphic design became my answer for creating art by a combination of means.

Me:

I know for me that painting or drawing is like an instantly gratifying thing because of the way it feels. Of course it all takes a little work before feeling truly satisfied. Working in these different mediums, what is more satisfying for you? Do you prefer the physical feeling of painting, drawing, or do you feel more satisfied working on say a poster design, or web site for however long you might work on that. Because I know for me they make me feel very different ways although both satisfying they both cause certain frustrations at times.

Luis:

That is crazy because I just had this conversation with Toby yesterday. I would agree that there is a particular experience of painting and drawing that is distinguishable from designing on a computer. The texture of the paper, the feel of charcoal in your hands, or the smell of paint. All these combine to create this sensory experience of some sort. And that is somehow integrated in the actual work, I feel. On the other hand, there is something about graphic design that is different yet as equally gratifying. For me, having all these tools like filters, lasso tool, clone stamp, etc. at my disposal is like having a clean paintbrush readily available next to a palette of paint and a fresh canvas. The possibilities are endless, as cliched as that sounds. Oh one more question. As of now, do you have any ideas or direction for your thesis exhibition? What do you see yourself working on this semester?

Me:

That is a good question. I am thinking that I will stick with the idea of focusing on dreams and memories and maybe linking them to the way they make me feel and portray that in the paintings. I think that dreams and memories are such strong things and are incredibly interesting, they give a lot of insight to the subconscious mind and how it relates to what we do on a daily basis and in fact there have been instances where I feel like my dreams have in some strange way warned me or gave me insight into things that were to happen in the future.

Luis:

Well I’m definitely excited to see what you create. It's an intriguing subject matter

Me:

Thank you. Can I ask the same of you? About your thesis?

Luis:

Well, my idea was actually inspired by the Realism class I'm taking this semester along with Mary Imgrund and Daizo Bamba, who actually talked me into doing it. I want to integrate painting, fashion, photography, and design in my exhibition, a task that seems slightly daunting. It will have multiple layers of meaning and references to past art works while maintaining a contemporary flare to it all. It should be interesting... I hope.

Me:

Wow that’s intense. I wish you luck with that.

Luis:

Same to you.

Me:

Awesome thanks.