Concert Calendar New Releases Artist of the Week Classic Hits Links Listen Now Join the Workforce Promotions JC & the U-Man All Around Town Singles Connection Air Personalities Contact Info Advertise With Us Great Outdoors Clubs / Venues St. Louis Attractions Career Channel Autoworld Traffic		Visual Arts - Artists Create Something For Others to See - Do They? Career Overview The visual arts are those arts in which an artist creates something for others to see. That can mean sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, videography, or photography, but it can also mean a gallery installation featuring a ladder to the ceiling where a small piece of paper reading "Yes" is mounted. The product of the artist's work is the art. That's what sets the visual arts apart from the performing arts, in which the performance is the art. What You'll Do A visual artist creates something out of nothing, or almost nothing-a puddle of paint, a scrap of film, a hunk of clay. Such humble beginnings, combined with that certain artistic je ne sais quoi, have spawned some of humanity's most moving and important achievements, from the caves at Lascaux to the Sistine Chapel to the Statue of Liberty and Citizen Kane. Tell your parents, your friends, or a stranger on the subway that you want to be an artist for a living, and you'll probably get a bemused, raised eyebrow. The starving artist is one of the oldest clichÈs. What's worse is that it has become a clichÈ because, for the most part, it's true. With talent, technical training, time, and tenacity, it is possible to make a living in the visual arts, but it's damned hard. Who Does Well Albert Einstein once said that "true art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist." It's true that artists often speak of a need to create, as though they would die if they couldn't paint or take pictures. You're probably familiar with that need yourself. You might call it inspiration, or passion, or a calling. Art isn't something you stumble into; it's an irresistible force, it's in your blood. This career profile examines opportunities in the fine arts, as well as commercial photography. Many visual artists look to the graphic arts and design disciplines to launch their careers. If you might be interested in such an approach, look at WetFeet's Design Careers profile. Those can be fulfilling, artistic careers, too. Career Tracks Visual arts careers can be divided into "fine arts"-what you see in museums, galleries, and Art Forum-and filmmaking, commercial photography, and other arts. Each of these fields requires stamina, hard work, talent, skill, and even faith. If you're embarking on an arts career, you must not delude yourself: It will be difficult. Nothing will be handed to you. You will have to prove yourself before you'll make any money or gain any recognition. But money and fame are not why you're in the arts anyway, right? Painting, Sculpture, and Photography A life in the fine arts is often a hard life. Solitary work in a cramped studio, an endless stream of rejections from galleries, and the misunderstanding of loved ones and peers are all very real aspects of a fine arts career. On the other hand, you're doing what you love, setting your own hours, and possibly changing the world-or at least the perceptions of other people in the world. Fine artists often go to art school and earn bachelor's or master's degrees. After college, they try to make it in the art world. They set up studios or work out of their homes and devote much of their time to self-promotion-calling on galleries with slides in hand, applying for grants, entering competitions-and spend the rest of their time creating. If they win gallery representation, artists must struggle with pricing their work-work that has often been the sole focus of their passion. Galleries typically charge a commission of up to 50 percent. Art supplies and studio rents are expensive, so fine artists often work at day jobs, unless and until they gain financial success. If and when they do reach that level, they must work at keeping their style fresh and staying in the public eye. Filmmaking The word "filmmaking" encompasses a broad range of disciplines, from directing to cinematography to camera operation to production and design. Filmmakers who also consider themselves visual artists are likely to want to be in control of their art, which probably means assuming a directorial role. At the most basic level, a film director does all the work of making a film. He or she finds or writes a script, scouts for locations, casts actors, secures funding, buys film or videotape and a camera, and films or tapes the movie himself or herself. At the highest level, a director might be George Lucas or Martin Scorsese, maintaining creative control but working within a system and as part of a large team. Filmmaking is possibly the most expensive art you could get involved in, which explains why films are often funded by huge studio conglomerates. It's very hard to do all the work and raise all the money by yourself. Some of the most talented, disciplined film school graduates might try to get their works seen by Hollywood hotshots. They might enter their works in film festivals or contests. They may work their connections to try to get jobs assisting well-known directors on the set, hoping that they might agree to watch their works or hear their pitches. On the other hand, they may choose to remain outside the studio machine, making independent films funded through grants, loans, credit cards, or day jobs. Commercial Photography Many still argue that photography is not art at all-and in its commercial incarnation, it often walks a thin line. Are wedding portraits art? What about glossy fashion-magazine spreads? Documentary shots from war-torn nations? The question is supremely debatable, but in each case, the photographers would most likely say they do consider their works to be art. There are many different fields in which commercial photographers can find work. They could take photos of small children in a studio. They might be newspaper shooters, rushing out whenever and wherever news breaks. Photographers can be foreign correspondents in Third World countries, staff photographers at high-class fashion magazines, or still photographers on movie sets. A photographer may start out by working as an assistant to another photographer in his or her chosen area of specialty. Photography is one of the more technical arts, and apprenticing is a great way to learn the fundamentals of the discipline-lighting, lenses, composition, and films, for instance. Commercial photographers often do not print their own photographs, and instead turn over their film to be processed by others. When photographers are confident they are ready to strike out on their own, they may open a studio or submit work to stock agencies, newspapers, or magazines. If their work is good enough and they are quite dedicated, they could eventually find that work comes to them. Other Visual Arts Careers There are, of course, other visual arts. Some artists design textiles and create beautiful fabric art. Installation artists set up elaborate worlds in galleries or other public places. There are artists who work only with paper; there are lithographers and etchers, glass blowers and mosaic designers. In this post-Marcel Duchamp world, anything, even a urinal, can be art. Visual artists who find the going tough will want a side job to keep food on the table while they wait for their big break. There are many art-related jobs that can fill the gap. Some work as caricaturists at parties and corporate functions. Others paint holiday scenes on store windows or murals on nursery walls. Still others enter into design careers. And then there's teaching, the classic standby. One art insider says, "If you want to be an artist, teach." Showing others how to focus their talents can help you focus yours. « Return to Previous Page Career Content ©2003 The Employment Channel		What search engine do you use most? • Yahoo! • Google • Excite MO Power Ball:  27, 34, 42, 49, 52, Powerball: 23, Power Play: 2 IL Mega Millions:  1, 10, 17, 23, 35, Mega:45 results posted by 9am following day Saint Louis, MO Sunny 48°F MORE→
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