Rejected from the Ruskin School of Art Oxford

Have you done the Foundation Course ?
If not then that's probably why, its near impossible to get in without it.

Same here

You really need to do a Foundation course, its about a 20-30% chance of being accepted without one.
They do state that they really only consider students who have done it, as generally when you come out off school/college your work is not of a good enough standard.

You really need to do a Foundation course, its about a 20-30% chance of being accepted without one.
They do state that they really only consider students who have done it, as generally when you come out off school/college your work is not of a good enough standard.

I just got my rejection email today. I am a traditional painter, i spend 6 months on one painting, i paint through the night and in the early hours of the morning. i go to galleries every weekend, run socities, currently discussing logistics of being exhibted. i have won competitons, i have done more. but hopefully others will find comfort in reading this that succesfull candidates just fit a 'criteria' but are by no means a measure of how succesful you will be or are as an artist, how passionate you are or how much extra you do.

i have learnt the hard way: art schools not only oxford, want conceptual, fighting against establishment trendy artists. the real 'artists' who fight against the establishment are the traditional ones, far too uncool to be recognised.

you have more balls and breaking more conventions, in doing an oil painting than throwing some rubbish on the floor and calling it art.

everyone is willing to call anything art, except, god forbid, something that bares resemblance to any art at all.

Not that I know anything about Art but isn't a 20-30% chance pretty good? That would be a higher chance than most other Oxford courses...

I just got a rejection email but for strange reasons: They suggest I should be applying for a MFA rather than a BFA, but everything on the website implies you need an undergraduate degree before applying for a masters so I'm a bit flummuxed. Also I can't fund a Masters degree and the University website implies they only fund graduates who are progressing to a Masters, so it feels as if I am yet again being denied an education.

Word up dude! I too win competitions and have been exhibited (abstract oil painting was my thing im now on video art) but unfortunately I'm conservative by nature (I don't vote conservative (god forbid)) so wasn't invited for an interview. As I have outlined in another thread you have to be anti-establishment/left wing and have died your hair pink to prove it to get into oxford (and probably all the UAL schools of art). You can either play the game and get in or rebel (or are you rebelling?) and be punished.

The thing is I understand conceptual art, what it means and why its relevant to our society etc. its just my middle class upbringing makes me feel ashamed whenever I make it. What will my friends and family think of me when I s*** in a can and video myself throwing it at a wall? I mean in my eyes that action could easily be interpreted as representing our generations deep mistrust towards the police and I, along with many contemporary artists, could understand that, but to joe bloggs it is what it is; its s*** on a wall and they will hate you for it. Besides what sort of waves would that make in the art world? Nothing more than a pindrop, that sort of stuff has been going on for 50 years now and frankly its getting old.

I expect at some point we'll briefly return to a movement centred around 'beauty' in response to this bland conceptualism like we did in the 90s but its entirely futile as I suppose all art is now we've reached the end.


When people load their art with deep philosophical metaphors etc couldn't they at least inject a degree of talent into it as well. If you're painting your body blue with poster paint could you at least do it on a grand scale with a large brilliant white canvas rather than just roll around the floor weeping. I mean the idea is good and everything but the actual act reeks of inadequacy and failure (perhaps this is the message but, who knows? or more importantly who cares?).

The subjective nature of Art is both its greatest strength and as we have learned through rejection; its greatest weakness.

You need to learn how to deal with rejection.

I just got my rejection email today. I am a traditional painter, i spend 6 months on one painting, i paint through the night and in the early hours of the morning. i go to galleries every weekend, run socities, currently discussing logistics of being exhibted. i have won competitons, i have done more. but hopefully others will find comfort in reading this that succesfull candidates just fit a 'criteria' but are by no means a measure of how succesful you will be or are as an artist, how passionate you are or how much extra you do.

i have learnt the hard way: art schools not only oxford, want conceptual, fighting against establishment trendy artists. the real 'artists' who fight against the establishment are the traditional ones, far too uncool to be recognised.

you have more balls and breaking more conventions, in doing an oil painting than throwing some rubbish on the floor and calling it art.

everyone is willing to call anything art, except, god forbid, something that bares resemblance to any art at all.