WHY I DIDN'T GO TO AN ART SCHOOL

But decided to go for a business-oriented school instead. 

It really depends on one's own perspective and astuteness in analyzing both sides' own pros and cons. Just two months ago I was pondering whether or not to lodge an application to the Pasadena Art Center College of Design to study Bachelor of Entertainment Design. I reckoned that it will be a good opportunity for me to further my skill by being surrounded with equally or even more creative people.  There will surely be more relevant industries there, situated at the heart of LA and San Francisco. My reasoning was also preoccupied upon the notion that it just does not make sense to pursue art in a university mostly prized for its actuarial studies and accounting program. I was determined to once again set foot for my idealistic and misguided artist dream and told myself, "One does not simply go to a butcher and expect to be served hot chocolate. Go to a chocolatier instead. " 

I finished up the application, answered some of the most interesting essay questions ever and just when I was about to send it in, fate launched its clockwork on me. A series of events started to kick in. AIESEC conference, Google Ambassador, Indonesian society, and a whole lot of other works began to pour in like crazy because of the upcoming new semester. That was when I realized that it is actually a very smart thing to go to a business-focused school rather than an art school.

In a community full of people doing the same thing, basic human nature will prevent each other from promoting each other through the words of mouth. Especially in the likes of artists and draftsman, where expertise decides the thin border between life and death. Between being hired and disappearing to their own fantasy world of secreting tangible forms of ideas and feeling, there will come a time that one will realize passion alone is not enough without any sellable form of product, no matter how fleeting it is. In other words, artists needs to be able to not just make good art, but sell good art as well. 

Being in a business school prepares you the opportunity of networking. There is undoubtedly a multitude of artists far superior than each other in terms of technique and conveyance. But it is a privilege of a handful to be able to do what they love and make a decent living out of it. It is a very big assumption I am making here in terms of the selfish human nature aforementioned and the will of an artist to sell his art. Still, it is hard to believe that anybody is going to promote and recommend anybody if they know they have the capability to do it. 

That is why being the rare few graphic designers is around in a non-art school will mean that there will be lesser competitor around. Whenever a student, charity, or non-profit organization needs a new flyer or a brochure you can rise up to the occasion and provide some form of assistance. Even if it is free, I try to think of it as a mutual benefit because they are promoting my brand and work as well. Think far ahead, when these business students graduated and wanted to create their own business, iphone app, company or whatever it is. There will always be a demand for logo, user interface, website, sponsorship proposal or simply a facebook cover picture to market their service or product. And when that comes, hopefully all the long term investment sown will bore fruition. 

One might criticize this piece of rant as a testimony to how opportunistic I am in trying to commercialize art. But the reality is sadly as such and the bohemian era is now over. It is not survival of the fittest. It is merely an attempt to resuscitate the world of art by making it more beneficial to both producers and consumers of any form of design work. Such ideal might be further challenged by the fact that bowing into consumerism will reduce the creativity of artwork. My answer to that will be time management. Meaning, do design work to make a living, but do ingenious artwork to keep the artist spirit alive. 

And so, to end this, here are some marketing artworks I have done for a few student organizations that have helped me develop as a person, entrepreneur and of course, an artist: