It’s hour eight of the longest all–nighter in our lives, and the stomping feet of architecture students above me makes me rapidly hit the volume button. This is just a normal part of being an art major in the College of Art & Architecture (CAA).
The art department has done quite a bit in the community and for individuals in the last few months.
The CAA has four buildings dedicated to it on campus, and yet as a graphic design student I use the basement of the old dingy Art and Architecture Building South right below three floors of pristine architecture studio spaces.
As an art student, we never receive our own studio spaces until we are seniors and that’s only if we are on a BFA track which requires a lot more self-guidance and time. But, if you are in the architecture program, you receive a desk space your sophomore year.
I’ve found a new atmosphere in the art department this past year. This is in large part due to professors and graduate students. The art faculty has created an atmosphere of friendship within the college. They wanted us to spend time together outside of the classroom and make art an integral part of our lives. It worked.
Alex Brizee | Argonaut
Some of my best friends are side-by-side with me in my classes, and because of this we have created a competitive spirit to push each other to be our best.
This includes long nights of all-nighters, trips to the forbidden architecture floors to grab snack from the vending machine and a few emotional breakdowns. But it also has made us into amazing designers and artists.
Though trying to use a public studio space for our all–nighters was never the easiest, we couldn’t leave anything behind and it wasn’t really our space —it was everyone’s. These were the spaces where we have our classes, so the following days our teachers would see the remains of our old pizza boxes and students wrapped up in blankets.
My hope is that after our “Art Gang” graduates, other friendships will continue to form and fight for more.
Just because we don’t make buildings doesn’t mean we don’t deserve a building of our own.
We simply want to have the same opportunities the architecture program receives. That doesn’t just go for graphic design. Fine artists and virtual technology and design majors deserve just as many opportunities.
We have put in the work to deserve sufficient space and we will continue putting in that same effort.
Art students deserve funding for field trips, the space for studios and more representation, becase art students do some pretty amazing things.
I would start paying attention.
Alex Brizee can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @alex_brizee