Blog - The expenses of art

In my last blog I talked a bit about the inaccessibility of concert tickets. Now, I want to dive into the art world a bit and talk about some of my own experiences. To begin, I started taking art classes when I was in elementary school. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it and decided I was going to be an artist when I grew up (that, obviously, has changed). I was put in what my school district called “windows art” which was essentially gifted and talented art classes. That track started in elementary school and what I did not understand at the time was how difficult it was to get into those classes any time past elementary school. I kept on this track into middle and high school and also took some studio-based art classes outside of the classroom. Eventually, in high school I stopped taking these classes because I no longer wanted to go into art and wanted to focus on other areas of study, but looking back there is a lot I didn’t understand about these classes and the pressure they put on students.

National Gallery in London, England | Source: Caitlin Holtzman

So what does all of this mean? The art world can be incredibly difficult to break into. For starters, some of the old masters in art (think Michelangelo) were classically trained and went to school for years and years just studying different forms of art and how to make them. These schools were mainly filled with men and were expensive. Today, art has definitely become less male dominated but that’s not to say it’s totally fixed. Additionally, art classes outside of school and art schools in general are immensely expensive.

It’s my belief that art should be more accessible for everyone. There is definitely still a belief that exists that art is only for those with money and is high class. Art is for everyone and it comes in so many different shapes and forms. Not all art has to be hyper-realistic, renaissance-style paintings. It can be modern or abstract or colorful.

Through my art history classes for my Art History minor, I’ve also learned about the pretentiousness of art. Sure, there are many works that may require higher thinking or knowledge of different artistic concepts but that doesn’t mean that art can only be for those who have prior education. I think art is open for all kinds of interpretations and anyone should be able to appreciate and create art in their own way.