Undergraduate / SAIC Art School admission Essay; winner of several awards [4]

Prompt:Writing is an important component of being an artist. As part of your application, you will be required to upload a statement of purpose, which we will use to assess your ability to compose an essay, as well as the manner in which you use text as a tool.

Use your statement as your way to represent yourself and your work. We are interested in finding out more about you, your art-making practices, and why you are a strong candidate for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago's (SAIC) undergraduate program. Please also include information about community service projects, exhibitions you have participated in, or any other activities that contribute to the making of your work.

ESSAY:
Participating in many community service projects and giving back to the community has always been an important part of who I am. I have taken on projects ranging from restoring broken and weathered homes in Detroit to feeding the poor in Pontiac. Giving back has really broadened the capacity of my mind to a much grander scale. Figuring out how to tackle problems of the community led me to ponder how I could convey this in my art. I started thinking on a global scale about the issues that I felt concerned me the most. I began creating art relating to the environment and how humans are affecting it. I felt very accomplished because of the amount of depth these pieces had as a result of this influence. I put more effort into my work because it truly meant something to me and the art conveyed a message. I realized that I can use my skill to make an aesthetically pleasing piece that draws the viewer in. Watching them take meaning and emotions of the piece away was invigorating. I learned I can use my art to influence my viewers thought and hopefully invoke changes in their behavior and thought.

I believe that I am a strong candidate for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) undergraduate program because I am energized to take my creativeness to the next level. I am ready for the immense work load and time investment that a school like SAIC requires. I have always gone the extra mile in both my academics and artistic endeavors. I have been recognized in many high school programs such as the National Honor Society as well as outside artistic programs including the winner of several Scholastic Gold & Silver Key awards. As the winner of two art camp scholarships, I spent three weeks this past summer in the college atmosphere creating many new projects. I am not afraid to work hard to meet my goals. I want to continue to uncover my artistic potential and push the limits of what I am capable of doing. I am excited about having the Art Institute of Chicago as a resource. This museum and all its collections and resources will be an added bonus. This combined with the collaboration of the other top art students will help me to take my artistic skills and career on a successful path. Additionally, I have always enjoyed large cities and cultivating my art skills in a city like Chicago is very appealing to me. This thriving city with its wide array of citizens, buildings and cultural activities will be a great spot develop my craft.

I have considered many art schools but feel that the School of the Art Institute of Chicago is the best fit. I will bring a thoughtful and creative passion to the school. I will continue to explore societal and environmental issue and incorporate them into my artwork using it as a tool to evoke change. I will use all the resource provided by SAIC to expand my knowledge and develop a career path that will lead to a successful career.

Undergraduate / 'Salvador Dali' - MICA Art School Essay- [2]

PROMPT: Choose an artist or art movement that interests you. Describe how that artist or art movement relates to your work.

ESSAY:
Salvador Dali was an amazing artist whom I enjoy. Salvador's mind and imagination are unlike any other artist I have studied. His ideas, actions and motives are all completely unique to himself. His imagination is vast and filled with creatures, strange ideas and forms that he can reproduce into the real world beauty. His embrace of the surrealism movement makes Dali stand out as an extraordinary artist and a primary influence on my style.

Imagination to me is the most vital and crucial part to my artwork. As an artist, it is my place to explore and develop new ideas that shape my work. I like to use creative images that indirectly support an idea. Dali's imagination defined his artistic method. Any idea he had in his head he made possible through his work and even his quirky lifestyle. I envy how committed he was to his artwork and style. Sometimes when envisioning an idea or concept, the execution of that idea can become cloudy. Dali kept reality and his imagination linked and could seamlessly and vividly portray his surreal images.

Salvador Dali influences my work as an artist in many ways. I love his aesthetics. I find his work visually appealing. His use of color and shapes to create a piece of art is very intriguing to me. A lot of my work is based on surrealism including use of bright color and non-traditional shapes that I have learned from studying Dali. Dali's use of surrealism allowed him the freedom to escape defined boundaries and enter a subconscious world. While creating art I am very imaginative and I try to channel my inner Dali during the creative process. Thousands of artists can paint a picture of an object but Dali has inspired me to look beyond the physical and add creative elements that are interesting and evoke thought. This has made me a better artist and helped me to develop my own unique style.