Studio art academic adviser Nell Weatherwax said she encourages students to pursue their passions in art regardless of the discouragement they receive and the stereotypes they hear.
Stereotypes for students earning a liberal arts degree are common, and those for art students are even more so.
However, art students and art advisers say it still has many latent skills with it.
“The idea that you become a BFA in sculpting and it is a waste is saying that someone pursuing their passion is a waste,” Weatherwax said.
Even with stereotypes as a deterrent, students continue to major in the age-old profession of art.
“You want a career in your passion, so for some people that’s business, and they can do that, but for those of us who don’t have that math and science mind, art is just our best method of communication,” said freshman Joy Gray, a German major with an interest in pursuing an art degree.
Gray said she doesn’t know exactly what her major will be yet, but she said it will be art-related and coupled with her German major.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, some of the most important skills have nothing to do with technical ability.
Verbal communication, teamwork and organizational skills are all more important than experience in the field.
In fact, technical job skills are number seven on the list.
Weatherwax said the transference of skills from art classes to other jobs in a student’s future is beneficial.
She mentioned a student who has a BFA in studio art but is now making dentures.
She also referenced another student with a BFA in painting who went on to become the creative director of Hiebing Integrated Marketing and Advertising Agency. The student had no advertising or business experience, she said.
Weatherwax was an anthropology and movement theater double major, and she said she uses every day the skills she learned.
“It’s easy to think that the sciences and the STEM career fields are going to be what will most directly affect the world in general, but I think at the same time we can’t forget the humanities, because they really propel human interaction, and I think that’s important too, and we can’t lose sight of that,” sophomore history of art major Amelia Berry said.
Berry was told by many to reconsider or to add a minor or a second major, she said.
However, she said she is keeping her art history major and intends to go to graduate school.
She said she would enjoy working in a museum in the future.
A liberal arts degree teaches students to think critically and write well, and helps to make people well-rounded citizens, Weatherwax said.
Berry said stereotypes against art majors are somewhat degrading. But if someone is unfamiliar with the discipline, she said she can see why that person would believe the stereotypes.
A survey of IU’s 2014 class, done by the Career Development Center and Arts & Sciences Career Service, reported 5 percent of the students from the College of Arts and Sciences went into the art and design field.
Sales was the largest field of student employment at 12 percent.
“We fall in love with things,” Weatherwax said. “The cool thing is when you dig deeper you’re learning to learn. You learn that you can fall in love with something and dig deep and get good at it.”
The idea of pursuing passion was not exclusive to the adviser.
“If you have even an inkling that something related to art is a career field you would really enjoy, and that’s something you’re really passionate about, then I would say have no fear and go for it because, at the end of the day, you’ll be at least fighting in a career field that you enjoy,” Berry said.
