So I'm graduating an art academy in 4 days...
I'm defending my master's thesis on Tuesday, 11 am. It's been five years since I started this college (technically it's an academy,not university, not art school, it's an art academy), and thought I'd share my thoughts on my time there in a sort of written blog-ish format. I had written blogs as a teenager and younger adult, there were three, and the last one is still there for people to read. (It's mintwmb.blogspot.com, it's in Polish + I was still younger, slightly more cringe and much less bitter when I was writing there. Still love that blog tho.)
I started uni (I'm gonna call it that, it's easier) in 2019 in October. In Poland, academic year has two semesters - a winter one which runs from October to January/February and a summer one, from February to June. I started as a graphic design student, but graphic design was only available as an extramural studies course, which I was ok with... until I learned that it wasn't free, which in a standard in Poland. It was 600PLN/150USD per semester, so 1200PLN/300USD per year. Not really that bad, but still I wasn't having any of it. It was too late to move to general graphics, which is free, so I payed for a year and moved for year 2.
The design course was awful for me, I hated it. We mainly learned how to use Adobe programs, basics of typography, basics of graphic design history etc. There was almost no drawing or painting - duh it's a DESIGN course, but it wasn't that obvious for 19 yo. me. Also I didn't really like the people there, but I think it was also a me problem, not a strictly them problem. I was incredibly depressed during year one, but it's not like they were saints. I knew that they talked shit about me behing my back when I wasn't in the room, but that wasn't really a problem for me? I've been goth for 11 years ffs, I'm used to that! Also I didn't value them as people and I still don't. It's not like we could really get along. I had one friend, her name was Hanna, she liked a lot of stuff that I did. She became friends with the other girls from our year at the end of the summer semester, which I saw as betrayal, but I don't think it's the case now. I wasn't exactly likeable during year one.
The lecturers were weird. One lady, who we'll simply call A., was a nightmare. She glamorised being overworked to an extreme deegree, she even asked people from my group to tell her the time they were going to sleep. She was only impressed with people who had unhealthy sleep schedules because of work and treated it like competition.
I moved to general graphics for year 2. The course includes printmaking (like eatching, linocut etc.) and graphic design. Why put these two together you might ask? Well, in Polish they're both called "grafika". That's the reason. A castle and a zipper are both called "zamek" and nobody confuses these two, so why put such different things into one course? We'll never know.
Me and Hanna during class, year one of Academy
To this day I think I chose my uni course (both of them really) poorly. As a 24yo woman I'd choose something like ethnology, history or cultural studies on Wrocław University, but at that time, a dumbass, late teen version of me thought that a fondness for drawing is enough to go through a Fine Arts Academy without major mental health consequences. It's really not. You need a real appreciation for modern high art (no, not furry fanart), some understanding of it, and most importatnt, a need to create it. I have a need to draw whatever I like at that point, be it a historical era, classic gothic horror icons or even some anime fanart, but no need for fine, modern art. But also, ngl, I feel like painting something pretentious after I learned about it...
Anyways, years 2-4! I moved to general graphics. I was on the same course as my boyfriend. I had a bit of catching up to do... or I could have, but COVID happened. I was so happy when it did, I could finally isolate myself from these people without consequences. I already hated this uni and considered to drop out, but I actually really enjoyed online classes and lectures.
But. I had one particular subject that I hated with burning passion - creative drawing. In this academy you choose two main workshops alongside other classes like photography, typography etc. Workshops are divided into prntmaking workshops and design workshops. At that time we were choosing multiple design workshops but only one printmaking - mine was creative drawing, which is basically a very pretentious mix of modern art, drawing, painting and prontmaking. I was really shit at that ngl. But I wasn't alone there.
There was another girl who moved from graphic design to general graphics and ended up in creative drawing - my to this day bestie Pamela. We are polar opposities, she wears 99% pink and is a dancer, I'm a goth and currently a museum lecturer. At that time neither of us had a job, but I was interested in history and she liked K-pop.
I chose to change my printmaking workshop for Intaglio (mixed media but in the printmaking realm, the professor is a great artist and besides being VERY demanding, a nice man).
An acid etching print that I made in 2022, the plate measures around 100x60cm I believe.
I made a very bad decision called "artbook design workshop" during year 3. The lady leading the workshop was A., with all of her overworking yourself to death bullshit. Our assignment for the semester was making a pocket calendar inspired by the Academy (so they can sell it and never give us a penny). I made one inspired by the Academy's iconic neon sign, known widely in the city. I was getting standard critique sessions every week and showed the so overworked A. and her two assistants, K. and M. my progress. It was all online, so I shared my screen with Adobe Illustrator every time. People who do graphic design will probably be suprised - Illustrator is for designing vectori shapes, like logos. InDesign is for books, you can't make a book in Illustrator. Well, it was my first time making a book and I didn't know. When they realised what I was using, AFTER AT LEAST TWO MONTS OF SHOWING MY SCREEN WITH ILLUSTRATOR OPENED, they lost their shit. And it was all my fault. For not knowing. I re-made it in InDesign but it did cost me a lot of stress and I hold a massive grudge to this day.
The neon calendar made it to an exhibition called Bookmakers 2022, but at what cost.
During year 4 I got into a final leg of an art competition, which required me travelling to Northeast Poland aka Podlasie. The place was nice, but the organisation of the final exhibition was hell and again, made me incredibly stressed out. Also the organisers were almost allergic to listening waht others have to say.
Year 5, doing my master's.
The genral graphics course doesn't give you a bachelor's, it gives you a master's. Extramural graphic design is divided into bachelor's course first and then master's, but for genral, you just make master's. Actually, two of them, in design and printmaking, so I'm gonna be a double MFA in four days. BUT AT WHAT COST. During year 5 it was normal for me to work 15-16 hours per day with one meal break + tiny bathroom / making tea breaks. Also I started my museum job, so sometimes my workday lasted about 20 hours at worst. For a year. When I wasn't doing my museum lectures, I made prints and worked in Illustrator and InDesign. The stress was insane with all of that + paperwork, I have many physical health problems to deal with because of it too. But it's over now! Almost. I spent $400 on printing my design diploma and $70 on chocolate for my promoters (it's a thing you don't technically have to do, but practically, you have to. My bf was the only person who didn't give chocolates to the promoters and he's the only one who got a lower diploma grade <3 Still a 5 - we have a scale from 2 aka failed, to 5,5 aka best grade - but everyone who had gifts got a 5,5). I hope my defense will go well.
My last uni photo, made in the Academy's garden. Had to fill in my thinning-from-massive-stress hairdo in an app, so that's fun :))))
So yeah, that's my uni. I'm so happy to graduate and just work in the museum <3
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