art major?

I have been busting my butt (almost literally, I've been sitting on my butt for 4-5 hours on end and I can feel it molding to the shape of the chairseat) this whole week studying for my art history midterm.

...OKAY GUYS IT'S NOT AS EASY AS IT SOUNDS. Right now I am going to get SUPER annoyed at ANYONE who says art is super easy BECAUSE IT DOES TAKE BRAINS, YOU KNOW. You can't just go to class and sleep through it and BS something for your art project the night before it's due. You just can't. I hate it when people go, "Oh, you're an art major? Well, you'll be relaxing a lot, won't you?"

Okay, they've got it right on some levels.

1. No exams, no homework.

Yes, yes, yes, that's certainly true for the most part. You know what my midterm was for Color Theory? It was like a job interview thing where I just brought in all my work for the class, had a 1-on-1 sitting with Terry, and we talked about my progress and strengths and weaknesses. And then after evaluating the work, she'd assign a grade for the entire midterm. I had several B+'s at the beginning of the semester with A's and A-'s for the rest of the projects up to then. She decided then that my overall grade would be an A instead of a B+ or an A-, just because I showed up to class/had a "persona" in the classroom, and participated frequently in critiques. That was the midterm. For 3-D Concepts, we just had like maybe a 30-question quiz on vocab and the required readings and such. I mean, yes, these ARE introductory-level classes so I don't know if the upper-level classes have exams and such. I don't suppose they do.

2. We can freely interpret the assignment.

Okay, I wasn't really sure how to word this one, but I'm sure you can figure it out. What I mean is that our assignments aren't cut and dried. They aren't like math, where you have to get a certain number in order to get the assignment done correctly. It's like 3-D Concepts--just have a form, asymmetrical balance, implied movement, no discernible base, etc., and you'd have at least a C or B. I think this is where most people get the idea that art is super easy because anyone could just BS it and do it in an hour or something, right, instead of being all precise? And if there's a mistake in the composition, the artist can just be all like "OH THAT WAS INTENTIONAL, *blahblahblah about why the mistake actually works in his/her favor*."

3. We "don't have to study."

Dictionary.com gives these definitions of the verb study:

1) to examine or investigate carefully and in detail

2) to apply oneself to acquiring a knowledge of (a subject)

3) to think out, as the result of careful consideration or devising

4) to endeavor to learn or memorize

Yes, I know there are some very hard majors out there that require lots of studying. Diane, as an example. Her butt is permanently molded to her chair (heh heh) because she does some biochem/organic chem or some science-y thing that she hasn't decided yet. I know chemistry is hard. I know, I hate it because of that reason. I know it makes people in those majors study hard, because there's a lot of information they have to take in. They're certainly applying themselves, examining the material, thinking out the subject, and memorizing the vocabulary terms and whatnot. I'm not going to deny that it's hard. I mean, if you go into a science-y major, you're going to be learning a lot of new stuff, stuff that you never know. Compare that to going into an art major--art is all around you. You've seen colors and color comparisons before. You've seen paintings and sculptures and designs and everything. You've seen art before.

While all the above statements have truth in them, I'm leaving out some major things.

1. ART HISTORY ANYONE?????? and Extended projects.

If anyone tries to tell me art history is easy...

Try memorizing the names, artists, locations, dates, mediums, historical background, and contents for the various paintings/sculptures/buildings depicted on these notecards. That's not to mention the 3-hour long lectures, one 5-minute break each lecture (I once got reprimanded for accidentally coming back to the lecture hall after 7 minutes, instead of 5...but hey, I was getting some iced tea, man!), and frantic, frantic, frantic note-taking for the entire time. Like, non-stop scribbling.

Okay, I just went and counted all the images. There are 90 in all.

Oh before I get any pity... I checked my e-mail tonight and discovered a beautiful little wrapped present waiting for me.

OMG, I seriously thought he was going to reschedule the exam. I seriously did. I was all O____O OMG THE HEAVENS HAVE ANSWERED MY PRAYERS, and I opened up the e-mail. (At that precise moment, the computer and internat lagged, so I waited five minutes for the e-mail to open up.)

Oh well... better than nothing. lol. I guess he realized how incredibly tough the test was going to be, so he shortened it. Now we are down to 47 images. Thank goodness. (If those images are too small, sorry.)

Anyway, I digress.

We art students do get minimal amounts of homework. This homework would actually fall into the category of projects...but these assignments take a lot of energy, effort, and thinking. Which brings me to #3.

#3. Yes, we do study.

Studying isn't all memorizing vocabulary terms and molecular structures and formulas. Studying is also defined as "to think out, to investigate deeply and in detail." (Okay, something like that, but I can't really be bothered to scroll up and check.) For example, in Color Theory we learned about Itten's 7 Color Contrasts. To see the concept behind how colors contrast, we really have to understand the logic behind them, i.e.: saturated colors pull their parent hue from a color that's been juxtaposed with them, warm and cool, afterimages, the eye's natural tendency to see complementary colors, etc. I find this stuff incredibly fascinating. In class, we have to make/paint compositions that show we understand the material. It's not just like, "OKAY, this blue looks different from this yellow, I'll paint a funky-colored flower!" We have to know how they'll offset each other to really emit a vibrant, luminous effect. We have to think carefully about the composition and make sure that craftsmanship is perfect to keep the illusion working.

I think someone else could have explained that better, but oh well. Just an example.

#2. Yes, we can BS the assignments, but it won't look good.

It is painfully obvious who spent a few hours/one night on the project, versus someone else who spent the entire week perfecting it. That's really all there is to it.

Anyway, I wrote the above for a few reasons.

1. It is so freaking annoying to have someone tell you that you don't have to do anything because you have an easy major. Um, I think I (not anyone else) know the amount of work that's given to me. If I want a perfect project, I will spend days/weeks on it, if necessary. If I want a shabby piece that looks like it was done by a kindergartener wielding a box of dry Dollar Tree crayons, I will whip through the project in an hour and call it a day.

2. I had just read the e-mail about the art history midterm being shorter and I decided to take a long break... lol.

3. Hmm. I had another reason in my mind, but I completely forgot it now.

On to happier things!

^ my five beloved $3.00 bottles of Cool Citrus Basil. GOD!! Love. Thank you ThannieX1000000000 for telling me about the B&BW sale, otherwise I would not have these bottles to cherish. And Diane, I'm so glad I decided not to listen to you when you said two bottles were enough :P

^ this is why I always have bangs. I just look weird without them.

Back to some happier studying!