What’s it like studying fine art at uni?

2

Hi!
I’ve been looking into fine art courses and visited my first open day which is when I realised that; wow, all the art seems so abstracted and contemporary. Although I can appreciate this style, it’s really not what I enjoy as an artist. As someone who loves realism and perhaps more traditional art styles, it made me realise that maybe fine art isn’t the course for me to develop my skills. I do want to experiment with different mediums and styles but the overwhelming amount of abstract art made me question if I would fit in. However this was only one uni I visited and was wondering what other experiences some of you have had. Any information about how your fine art courses have been structured and what kind of work you were encouraged to make would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

This probably varies a lot depending on the uni. Some may skew towards more conceptual and/or abstract art. Others may have less of this, or a mix.

Note also that doing e.g. conceptual painting doesn't necessarily mean you wouldn't develop skills needed for e.g. "realist" paintings. They may just be applied in a different way to meet the requirements of the course assessment.

Reply 2

Kingston Reps

Official Rep

15

Original post by Issy_ea

Hi!
I’ve been looking into fine art courses and visited my first open day which is when I realised that; wow, all the art seems so abstracted and contemporary. Although I can appreciate this style, it’s really not what I enjoy as an artist. As someone who loves realism and perhaps more traditional art styles, it made me realise that maybe fine art isn’t the course for me to develop my skills. I do want to experiment with different mediums and styles but the overwhelming amount of abstract art made me question if I would fit in. However this was only one uni I visited and was wondering what other experiences some of you have had. Any information about how your fine art courses have been structured and what kind of work you were encouraged to make would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi there @Issy_ea , I think the focus of each fine arts course depends on the university, some may prefer more traditional methods while others are more conceptual. At Kingston School of Art, one of the best things about the facilities are the open access workshops. That means any student from any course can explore different mediums such as metal, wood, ceramics, animation or printmaking within the workshops. This is especially useful for a fine arts student as they are given the freedom to explore a variety of mediums to develop their practice.
If you are interested to find out more, I highly recommend attending more Open Days to get a better understanding of the course structure and speak to prospective students. You can also check out graduate exhibitions or social media platforms to look at the works of past graduates. This may give you a better idea on the work the university is known for and produces. Hope this helps! 🙂

Zhi En
(Kingston Student Rep.)

(edited 1 year ago)

What’s it like studying fine art at uni?

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