Do artist need to academic study?

Do artist need to academic study?

​Do artist need to academic study?
Wouldn’t it be enough to just be good at drawing?
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Artists express their world of work through the moderator of ‘art’. If you have the means to go to art school, it will be a great opportunity to learn the fundamental theory of art step by step. However, some artists learn to become artists without graduating from art school. So then, wouldn't an artist need to study at all? This is also a case where I learned to become an artist on my own without graduating from art school. However, if someone wants to do something like me and thinks they should study another field and debut as an artist someday, I don't want to recommend it. Because it's easier to just go to art school than to do that. Considering the many repertoires I have experienced since I did not go to art school, I would like to recommend you not do like me and take the easy way. It took a lot of effort and I had to fight a lot with myself in return.

​But just because you didn’t graduate from art school doesn’t mean you can’t become an artist. Looking at other artists around me, I can clearly and confidently say that the paths of art school and becoming an artist are completely different.

Rather, I would like to say that it is more helpful to live as an artist to fight with yourself and build your own style than to imitate and follow the styles of others while attending art school. Therefore, if you are reading this and wondering, “Can I become an artist even though I didn’t go to art school?”, I would like to tell you that there is absolutely no need to do that, so just start drawing right now. When you're thinking about something, it's very helpful to draw a lot first. It improves your odds as an artist.

In this sense, I don't really like hearing people look at my work and say, 'You're very talented.'  I did not become an artist because I had talent, but because I worked hard and struggled. It's like a swan floating leisurely and beautifully on a lake, but constantly moving its feet to maintain this position inside the lake. My life as an artist is like that.

​I have worked hard and am still working hard to be recognized as an artist. Study techniques, learn from the paintings of your peers, visit art galleries and read books on the subject. When creating a work of art, nothing is just created. I study and research because each piece of work requires a lot of practice and the basic ideas and philosophies to design and plan it.

When I was just drawing, I didn't feel the need to study much. But my mentors, German artists, taught me how to break through my limitations as an artist. German artists study a lot. Their drawings look simple, but they read a huge amount of books and think deeply to create those simple drawings. Even now, I can't forget when I visited my mentor Joachim's art studio, he opened a wall bookcase and showed me a wall full of books. From then on, I tried to follow to him.

And when the opportunity came, I learned the necessary skills and knowledge as an artist through graduate school at Adelphi University in New York. This is helping me a lot. Before studying this, I had a hard time writing artist statements. My thoughts were not well organized and I did not know what to draw and organize the contents. However, in the course I took, I learned various types of statements and expressions, such as Shakespeare's poetry, play and rhyme, how to organize my own invisible philosophy, and how to accurately express my thoughts about a work.

​This was a study for me at first. I learned this because I thought it was a necessary certification to teach commissioned students and as a studio artist. But after I graduated, I knew that what I learned would be very helpful in my life as an artist.

Because art itself is a statement.

The world of art without a statement is just paint on paper. As it turns out, just as the Bible says that this world began with the Word, art also begins with a statement.
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So, I think that as an artist, I need to constantly grow and study.

Currently I am studying the concept of open studio. This is another challenge for me. When I was in Germany, I was fascinated by German artists' cooperative spaces and open studios. By linking their work with various activities in the local community, they helped the public become more familiar with and enjoy art. There were many opportunities for artists to meet, talk, and introduce their work to the public. I hope to see more co-working spaces and open studios like this in my community. I plan to post articles related to this often in the future.