Out By The Corner Mailbox - Elena Pascuzzi -Art Institute of Chicago

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Elena Pascuzzi -Art Institute of Chicago

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doc
Into the 60's

Status: offline

Posted - December 27 2005 : 11:09:40 AM

Elena,

I recall you mentioning that you attended the Art Institute of Chicago. Tell me a little about it. My daughter, Kerri, has applied for Sept. so we will be heading out there this winter to visit. I know that their reputation has developed very positively over the last few years but don't know very much else except what is available on the internet. Is the "campus" spread out throughout the city like MICA, Savannah and RISD (it seems to be) or is it on a campus like PRATT and most other colleges? What were the professors like? I assume that they all work in the industry. She is looking to study graphic arts which most art schools now label media arts. Thanks!

By the way, I met your sister about a week ago.

doc

elena
Into the 60's

Status: offline

Posted - December 28 2005 : 6:16:27 PM

Hi Doc!

I just spent about an hour replying to your message and all of a sudden POOF!! It mysteriously disappeared. I wonder where it went to?

I will come back to this later.

Happy New Year!!!

Elena

Elena Pascuzzi Corsi

elena
Into the 60's

Status: offline

Posted - January 01 2006 : 7:50:42 PM

I now know why the message "mysteriously disappeared". I hit the delete button. I know that because I just tried to compose a message and I hit the ****ing button again.

Ok, here goes.

Doc, did you go to this website: www.artic.edu/saic/ which is The School of the Art Institute of Chicago's website. What area of the graphic arts is your daughter interested in, printmaking, computer graphics, film, illustration? Sandro mentioned that there is a commercial arts school in Chicago, but we both cannot remember the name.

I loved going to the art institute. I also loved Chicago, and sometimes I still want to go back there to live. It is a great city with great architecture, food, and amazing music. There are a ton of clubs and jazz and blues fests every year. The downtown is small, and is easy to get around. The public transit system is excellent. SAIC has schools spread out around the city. Every time I go back to visit, the school has acquired another building! I was a grad student in the Painting and Drawing dept. from 1985-87. There were around 1500 students, both grad and undergrad. Grad students had their own studios and you could stay there 24/7. Even though I had great teachers, my favorite times were with the friends that I
had there. We would support each other, and I learned so much from them. Some of the teachers there were part of a well-known Chicago art group called the "Hairy Who" and the "Chicago Imagists". Check out the work of Jim Nutt, Christina Ramberg, Ray Yoshida and Ed Paschke. Even though my major was Painting, I could have advisors from any dept. that I wanted. The student critiques would include also people that didn't teach at the school including filmmakers, art historians, art critics, etc. So many different points of view. The school was very experimental and open to new ideas. There wasn't one way of doing something. At the time I was doing installation work and when I spoke to a counselor about coming to the school I wanted to know if I could make holes in the wall and also paint them. He said fine, just make sure the walls are replaced. My husband started out there as an undergrad and his major was film and computer graphics. He also took classes in holography and performance art. Undergrads are encouraged to try as many things as possible. I found it very easy to focus on my work and to develop and find my own way while I was there. There is a ton of galleries and museums and a great advantage to going to the school was that it is in the same building as the museum. On a break between classes or lunch you can walk a few feet from your class to the collection.

There isn't a grading system, only pass/fail. Though this may have changed.

I hope this helps.

Elena

doc
Into the 60's

Status: offline

Posted - January 02 2006 : 1:39:57 PM

Thanks Elena. Yes, we have visited the website but human feed back and insight is always a plus. I'm not crazy about the city wide, spread out campuses (especially at 35 - 40K per year) but that seems to be how most of the art schools have developed. We will get a better picture when we visit. Thanks again and happy new year!

elena
Into the 60's

Status: offline

Posted - January 13 2006 : 8:40:06 PM

Hey Doc, let me know when you go to Chicago. I want to know how it went.

Elena

doc
Into the 60's

Status: offline

Posted - January 18 2006 : 5:05:51 PM

Elena,

Thanks! Will do. We are waiting for scholarship offers and if Chicago is in the running we will go out there. So far it is an even playing field with no favorites.

doc

doc
Into the 60's

Status: offline

Posted - April 08 2006 : 4:57:55 PM

quote:
Originally posted by elena

Hey Doc, let me know when you go to Chicago. I want to know how it went.
Elena

Elena,

We got back from Chicago Thursday night. Interesting and very clean city. Mass transit was great. We stayed at the Hilton on Michigan Ave., beautiful hotel! Regarding the school, the school administration seemed a bit disjointed and unorganized. No one came out to talk with us before or after the tour. We got as much information as we could from the students but not really enough to feel comfortable. The girls (Kerri and her buddy) felt like they would be completely on their own when selecting classes etc. There was a tremendous difference between Chicago Art Institute and Maryland Institute (We visited there last weekend) The end result is that Kerri will be attending MICA in September.

We did like Chicago enough though, to want to return one day.

doc

Bean
Still Hangin' At The Mailbox