I Sold Out

I have been consistently in the education system for the past 3 years, only just emerging from it this past August when I finally graduated with an AAB in Graphic Design. Now, I have the AAB in Graphic Design, a Certificate of Proficiency in Graphic Design, a semester of studio art work and a semester of graphic design work from Cleveland State under my belt. Plus, a lifetime of drawing experience.

Though professionally I am a graphic designer (by degree) I have always considered myself a member of the artists community. When I first started college, I enrolled as a Studio Arts major, with a concentration in drawing. I had a fantastic vision for myself, and feel that I fit in fairly well to the community of artists that I was learning with and under; I went to galleries, went to museums, basically enriched myself with the culture and artistic experience. But it was towards the end of my first semester in college, after scraping to get by on my own, that in a panic, I sold out.

Yes, unfortunately, that is what the process of switching your college major from Art to Graphic Design is considered among the students of fine art. I remember it being referred to as "going to the dark side". (Jokingly, but with an edge of resentment). I lost contact with a lot of people in the fine arts at school that I had connected with through our common interests. I had evaluated myself, and I had a picture of myself in my head, five years from now, with a degree in art, with nowhere to go but to continuously enroll myself in more and more school, because I couldn't face the fact that I could graduate and not find work. Not that a degree in the fine arts is necessarily a sentence to a life of poverty and joblessness. By no means; I know plenty of successful artists who have paid their bills with their art. But the difference for me was, I wanted a quicker fix.

I consider myself a hard worker. I have paid for college on my own, and managed to live on my own for almost four years and always pay the bills. Yes, I did work crappy waitress jobs, and yes, I realize it was not creative, but it was because I didn't have an option. I got where I needed to be, though I was on the verge of quitting many times. I wanted to go back into the fine arts. I wanted to see my work hang in galleries, not on a dirty, stained easel in my apartment. But I went on what artists call "the commercial route". I took what is considered the "easy" way out. I sold out. Feel free to look down on that.

I still draw and pursue my artistic skills, and I hope that one day, I'll maybe find myself in a position where I can go back to school and hone those skills. But I want to do so with the security and peace of mind of someone who took the fast route to a steady job and income. Yes, many artists can get lucky and become recognized and generate great feedback and revenue when they graduate with a degree in art. But, many can't. This is the digital age, so artists, please do not judge those who choose to connect their creativity to that and use it to their advantage.

I will never stop my pursuit of the fine arts. But why is there this animosity between artists and designers? We are both creative people in our own way. I am an artist and a designer, through many different outlets. So call me a sell-out if you will. Artists, look down your nose. But the fact remains that artists are designers, and designers are artists. A pencil, a paintbrush, or piece of charcoal--those are just a few tools that we can use to utilize our talents. In my opinion, all of these things are legitimate and justifiable.