First, thanks. :redface:
Second, don't get me wrong, obscure branch of art or not, if it's what you love to do, you should be studying it. I'm just saying you may feel like the point of everything you're taking is vague because you aren't taking a pointed major like, say, biochemistry. Art is probably one of the most subjective and vague majors you can have because it's such a nebulous field to begin with.
I started out at 17 years old as a biochemisty major and ended at 25 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. I'd have to say I felt much more grounded and purposeful working toward my art degree than I did my science degree because of where my head was when I was studying. At 17, I knew I was smart and should be in college, but I was immature and more interested in the social aspect of school than the academic one. Once I went back, I knew exactly what I wanted to do and why, and I loved it. I don't think the major had much to do with that.
One of my degrees is in the arts, and I felt the classes I took for it were generally much less about teaching me facts and much more about teaching me how to think, while the science courses were much more like a very long list of facts, and that I didn't learn how to really think about science until I started working in a lab.
This can be very true. Honestly, I was much more intellectually challenged as an art student than as a science student-- though part of it was what I was willing to put in. I found that being an art major I was much more self-directed as well as less able to bullshit my way through project the way I could bullshit my way through and exam.
Or did you interpret my use of the words "vague" and "subjective" as being a knock against the arts? Because they aren't. I wouldn't have bothered with getting a BA if I thought it wasn't worthwhile.
I took it that way too. May I spank you?
Okay, I am already proficient in the profession I am working to get a degree in, a branch of art. The reason I'm working to get a degree in it is that I have had to accept that merely having a degree in this topic will open more opportunities for me.
First and foremost, this is bullshit. I don't care how many years you've spent doing your obscure branch of art, there's always room for more education and learning. I don't know much about your exact situation, but I have had countless students and assistants come to me with the attitude that they know everything and I have nothing to teach them. That attitude sucks, and as a student I was very humbled having to learn that no matter how much I think I know, I always have something to learn from everyone.
About the "non-personal" aspect of college ... I was taught the trade I'm studying prior to college. I am better at this trade than most in college. And those who taught me this trade treated me in a very personalized way.
When I went to school, I was better and more experienced at my trade than most others as well. Instead of treating it as an opportunity to get a degree to be legitimate, I took the time to push myself as hard as I could as an artist. It doesn't matter that you're better than your peers. It matters that every day you're a little bit better than yourself. If you're truly an artist, you're going to find that it's a mostly thankless profession and the joy you'll derive from being a working artist will come from working with others in your field and pushing yourself artistically.
Maybe your professors don't care because of your attitude. Maybe they just expect you to work more independently than your mentors did. I don't know. What I do know is that they have something to teach you because they have been working artists for many years. Art professorships are hard to get because there are very few spots for many candidates. The last time the school I went to needed a professor they got 900 applications for one position. They are the best and most well-regarded in their field, and that's not the case for nothing.
It's odd that I'm doing better in my college classes than most people, and I'm doing better because I had personlized attention from experienced artists ... and yet in college they want you to be impersonal.
In other words, it's all counter intuitive. I am better than the other college students because I was taught the opposite of what they were taught, to be personal in approach. If they really want these students to be good at this, why teach them to be impersonal?
I don't know if you are better, and as I stated before, that's not what matters while you're in college. You have four years to spend educating yourself and working on your artwork with almost no restriction. It will be much different in the work world. This is your time to learn how to work with others, how to critique other work, and, as Guy-Jin said, think.
The other truth is that the art world is very impersonal. Most artists find their group of peers, but for the most part, you're on your own in terms of what you'll do and how you'll do it. Having a mentor is wonderful but it's the exception, not the rule.
In other words, I really don't think art can be taught on an assembly line. College is an assembly line. It's odd for me to "go through the motions" of being on an assembly line, all the while knowing consciously now unnecessary it is.
It's only an assembly line because you're treating it that way. I don't know what year you're in, but I know the first two years for me were difficult because I was already pretty focused on where I was going. Regardless, I took those years and managed to learn a lot that I didn't think I needed to know. There is always something to learn from every situation and every class. If you don't feel that way about a particular class, go ahead and talk to a professor about your concerns. In my experience, talking to my instructors about my education really helped me learn why I was doing something and what I could take away from it.
Yes, my experience was rare, and the thing I realized early on is that if I don't tred lightly I will be a threat to the professors. Professors have egos, and they don't want some "show off" in class demonstrating that they know as much and are as experienced as they are.
Oh come now. Like I said, these people are the best in their fields. You don't know more or have more experience than them, and even if you did, you can still learn from them. Again, I had this attitude as an undergrad and I'm embarrassed to think back at how arrogant I was sometimes. Without you giving further detail, I can't see how you have more experience than someone with a terminal degree in their field, a solid exhibition record, experience working in their field, and years teaching. In my experience I've been less intimidated by precocious students and more annoyed by them because they don't want to slow down and learn things the way I want to teach them.
Maybe THAT'S the real question here, the one I intended to ask from the start: How do I get through college without stepping on the toes of my professors, without making it too obvious that I don't really "belong" in college but am merely there for the paper (degree) that will give me more opportunities once I have it?
Stop being so arrogant and take the opportunity to practice your craft in a way that you'll never truly be able to again. In my particular field I don't need a degree unless I'm teaching, but because I spent the time making myself better regardless of what was going around me, I got better. If you want to be good, push yourself hard now while you can. College is a singular experience where you have enough independence to either do nothing, do something and get by (even with a 4.0 average you can just be "getting by), or really learn. If you don't do the latter you're wasting the opportunity, and that's a shame.
For me, it's a simple issue of economics. I need a degree in order to make more money in the field I'm in. But I can't be that blunt to my teachers. They don't want to think they have some student with this perspective, because then they'll think I don't take their classes seriously -- and my GPA will suffer because ... the unspoken truth of the education system is that there is nothing more subjective than grading, and much of it is based on teacher's personal opinions on the students -- ESPECIALLY where the Humanities are concerned.
This is total bullshit. Sit down with a couple of your professors and tell them this and I guarantee you they won't be intimidated or upset because of your bluntness. You'd be surprised, some of them may actually be able to help you resolve your conflict because I imagine many of them have been where you are right now. You're an adult, and being able to speak to your professors frankly about the education you're getting is something you should be able to do. If you have concerns they should be able to address them as long as you don't belittle them by telling them everything they do is bullshit (which seems to be what you're saying). By not taking your classes seriously you're doing no one a disservice but yourself. Your professors have seen hundreds of students who don't give a shit or feel like their classes are bullshit. They are unimpressed and unintimidated by that attitude.