Art Schools Are On The Road To Extinction

I probably should have named this article, ‘Colleges Are On The Road To Extinction’, as most of the things I’m going to say here also apply to the basic idea of colleges as a whole in 2020. I’m zeroing in on art schools though because that’s my personal experience. I am a 4 year art school graduate and I have taught art in colleges for the last few years, so I have enough personal experience from both the student and teacher perspective to have formed an opinion on this topic and I feel like it’s the right time to share it.

I had a very positive experience as an art school student and I do feel as though it benefited me in many ways. And when it comes to teaching, I love it! Having to articulate how and why I do something has forced me to understand my own process in a deeper way and in turn has made me a better artist. I’ve also enjoyed helping my students develop their skills, it’s fulfilling to see a student’s ability evolve throughout a semester. And even though I no longer teach in a college, I do miss those experiences in many ways.

So, why do I think art schools are going the way of the dodo bird? Well, before I give you my opinion on that, let me put things into a little bit of context first. I mentioned that I’m an art school graduate, specifically I studied at SVA, in NYC. I started there in 2003 and graduated in 2007. I think it’s important to mention those dates to help put things into context. Let’s think of what the world looked like between those years. There were no smartphones (I saw my first iPhone the summer that I graduated), Facebook was still in a very early stage and was mainly used by only college students, YouTube was around but didn’t nearly have the amount of influence and variety of content that it has today. There was no such thing as Instagram and Twitter was in a very infant stage. Of course the internet was a major player in everyday life during that time, but most of us still checked our emails on computers and didn’t yet understand the idea of scrolling aimlessly for hours on a pocket sized device. It wasn’t that long ago, but since 2007, the world and the ways we interact have changed dramatically.

Why do I mention all of this? Well, when I was a teenager thinking about going to art school, the selling point was that the only place I could learn the ‘secrets’ were at any one of these established institutions. After all, so many successful artists came out of these kinds of schools and went on to become rich and famous. The allure of the faculty which were made up of working professionals was also a big draw. Within the four walls of these schools, held all the knowledge and weapons to arm me with what I needed to know in order to become successful in my field. I thought at the time, if I didn’t go to art school, my only source of information and guidance would have been from the art books and magazines I was already reading. In my mind back then, that just wasn’t going to be enough. The heavy price tag made sense to me, almost validating my idea of how valuable that kind of an education was. In retrospect though, I was 17 years old when I got accepted into art school and my concept of money was still very underdeveloped, let alone my foresight for having to pay back large amounts of student loans after graduation. But my mind was made up regardless and I happily started my art school education in the Fall of 2003.

Over the next 4 years, I learned a lot about my particular field of study (illustration and comic art), was exposed to art that I wouldn’t have otherwise come across on my own and met a lot of professionals who were working in the very field I wanted to work in, some of whom I still maintain relationships with today. In addition to that, I also had a girlfriend, played in a band, partied and did my fair share of neglecting my school responsibilities. I guess that’s par for the course when you’re a young adult aspiring to live up to the stereotypical role of the NYC brooding artist. I still consider myself to have been a good student, but in retrospect, I kick myself for not taking greater advantage of the resources and faculty that my tuition money was going towards. All that being said, I think I got a solid education and was in an environment that nurtured my desire to become an illustrator and comic book artist.

If my overall experience in art school was pretty solid and positive, why don’t I suggest it to young people anymore? Well, remember I mentioned what years I attended art school? There weren’t really too many alternate sources of education for an artist during that time. In NYC, there was the Art Students League which in retrospect would have been a much cheaper alternative, but they weren’t an accredited college and I thought that I wouldn’t get the same quality of education that I would at a ‘real’ art school. There were art classes at local community colleges, but again, there was that legitimacy problem. That’s the trap that I got caught up in and a lot of young people get caught up in. This idea that getting a diploma from an accredited art school, preferably one with a familiar name and a good reputation somehow makes you a better artist, or will get you hired faster when you get out into the real world. I’ve had to smash this misconception to many students over the years and I will gladly do it here as well. As a full time freelance illustrator, I have never been asked if or where I went to art school, or what grade I got in my drawing class. No one ever asked. Probably because they don’t care and mainly because it is not a requirement for getting hired on a project. An art director, creative director or editor wants to know that you have the style they’re looking for and the ability to get work done on time. That’s it. If you don’t have the aesthetic they need for a particular job and you are bad at meeting deadlines, the A+ you got in your senior year portfolio class doesn’t mean anything.

If only I knew that to be true when I was 17 years old. I could have saved myself a lot of time and a whole lot of money. It would have been great if I could have just gone on a website called Skillshare to take a class focusing on a very specific skill (like inking), taught by a real professional in the field, or watch my favorite artist work, in real time on something called Instagram Live or Twitch. If only I could have subscribed to one of the thousands of well produced art channels on YouTube to learn a new technique every day. If only I had the ability to follow my favorite artists on social media and have an actual conversation with them, asking about what tools they use, etc. I couldn’t then, but today, in 2020, we can do all of those things! As someone who shares a lot of art education videos, tips and tricks online, I will say that whatever I teach to my art students in college, I also share online, mostly for free, or at a minuscule fraction of what an art school tuition would cost. I know others do the same as well. Because of these alternate sources alone, I believe the allure of art school has taken a hit in recent years.

Up until very recently, I used to make one exception for art school. And that was the in-person relationships you build while at art school, or any college for that matter. Being in a room with other people who also want to get better at their art-making skills, getting to peak over a fellow student’s shoulder to see how they work, having an instructor take your pencil and draw over your work to demonstrate a better way, all of those intangibles counted for a lot of why I wouldn’t completely steer young people away from art school. Like I mentioned earlier, art school wasn’t only where I learned art stuff, it was where I made friendships, starter a relationship, socialized, and made memories that last to this day. I consider all of that to be invaluable and (on some days) even worth the money I spent on tuition. But now, with everything that has gone on globally this year, many colleges are talking about starting the Fall 2020 semester online, via Zoom or the like. Harvard even announced that it will conduct classes exclusively online to start the new school year, while charging the same amount of money for tuition! That’s ludicrous to me. I know some schools are planning on dropping their tuition by a percentage, but to completely remove those invaluable intangibles? I don’t think any tuition is worth it at this point, especially when you can learn incredibly valuable information for free, or for an incredibly small fraction of an art school tuition with all of the resources we have online today.

Never has there been a time where you can satisfy your curiosity, learn a new skill, or work towards achieving a life long dream without having to pay top dollar for it. It’s pretty amazing when you stop and think about it. I guess that’s all I’m really trying to do with this article, shining a light on alternatives to art school that actually make a lot more sense in 2020 and also cost a whole lot less! So if you’re thinking about going to art school or perhaps you’re already enrolled, maybe this breaks up some misconceptions you may have had about art school and can help you think about some cheaper alternatives that can gain you just as much knowledge and skill, while saving you a ton of dough.

Regardless, an art education is no different from any other kind of education, you get what you put into it. Meaning, take the time, do the work, be open minded and experiment. Luckily you can do that on your own schedule, from almost anywhere in the world right now, which is pretty awesome. The only thing these alternatives can’t substitute are those intangibles that I was mentioning earlier. That’s on you though. Make sure you step out of your bubble (sometimes hard for us artists to do), connect with others, surround yourself with people who will challenge you in positive ways and share similar goals. That’s probably what we should all be doing regularly anyway though.

So, for those of us who aren’t going to study to be doctors, lawyers or pharmacists, let’s bid farewell to the traditional college model. Maybe our kids will one day read about what a ‘college’ was in their history books. But for now, pull out your phone, download an app and get learning!

Thomas Pitilli is an illustrator and comic book artist most known for illustrating the graphic novel, Gotham High for DC Comics and the Riverdale comic series for Archie Comics. He also shares plenty of art tips and teaching on both his Skillshare account and Youtube page.