The Savannah College of Art & Design, Atlanta
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
My high school art teacher once said that art is a form of problem-solving. But unlike math, he said, in art there is never a single correct solution. He pointed his pencil toward the class and said that each one of us had a chance to create solutions. My interest in art and design has continued to grow since I was quite young. To me design is a language, just like music. Design is the planning and organizing of elements of art in such a way which is best to accomplish a certain purpose, following the principals of design. Other than just being an art which is commercially 'useful', design is a means of visually portraying a particular message. The message is a composition ï a unified and thoughtful piece of work that will interest the viewer. The composition must have a main objective; for example, on one hand it could convey either harmony or balance, or on the other hand it could portray contrast or even create disturbance in the mind of the spectator. However, the goal of the design is to be the best solution. Thus the intention of a designer is to be the best problem-solver.
I want to pursue undergraduate study in visual arts, majoring in the Graphic Design course, particularly in the Savannah College of Art & Design, in Atlanta. What appeals to me about the Graphic Design course offered at Savannah, is the range of flexibility to suit my interests. It would help me to pursue my career goals in this field, and emerge as an artist. Savannah would act as my guide, not only giving me a strong design-oriented foundation, but also give me the chance to hone my skills and develop in me the characteristics required for a design success. It would be an important opportunity to study in a hub city like Atlanta, where I would not only gain first hand experience, but a major plus point would be the rich cultural and ethnic diversity. This would provide a further educational aspect in terms of intellectual exposure. Cultural variety would supply a number of extended angles to each social and sociological issue represented in my artworks. Since material conditions are unavoidable, the obvious mercantile value is bound to enter the various means of media and communications. However, logos, ad-films, web pages or even radio jingles, are ultimately enforcing ideologies which then hit the thinking sides of people. Therefore, design and communication make it possible for each person to recognize him or her self with something that he or she believes in.
At the school level, particularly in grades 9 ï 12, i.e. the GCE O and A Levels, I was taught Art and Design. Our main area of study was fine art ï painting in various media including watercolor, acrylic and poster, drawing and sketching in pencil, charcoal and contï crayons. Our works stretched from copying Old Masters' Paintings to still life to live human figure drawing and even extended to our school educational trips. We went to Vizag, (Vishakhapatnam) in Andhra Pradesh in India, and another year we went to Panchmari in Madhya Pradesh. Both places are very different, as the former is a seaside spot and the latter is a colder mountainous region. Our art teacher accompanied us and it was our job to constantly carry a notebook for our recording purpose. It became a journal where we made sketches whenever possible. This became one of our most important exercises and we were later asked to submit a paper with supporting visuals. This included references to the enticing Rishikonda Beach, the temples, the Borra Caves and also the Vishakha Museum at Vizag. Photographs acted as our most important visual documentation.
Preparing for our lengthy 16 hours exam was always very demanding in patience and tested our persistence. The module was concerned with developing the student's visual stimuli and encouraged the process of direct observation from primary sources, recording, analyzing and two/three dimensional development. Studies were expected in any suitable color, medium, process or technique. My work included studies of Andy Warhol's paintings and silk screens, concentrating also on the impact of music on visual art and vice versa. This included the effect of music icons as well as the music itself, reflecting on the dilemma and trouble which lie underneath the surface of human skin. Besides all that mentioned above, I have also experimented book jacket covers, posters collages and linoleum prints in multiple colors.
Depending on the intended crowd, graphic designers must plan and analyze in order to reach out successfully with their visual solutions. I believe that studying at Savannah would automatically provide me this platform. It would infuse the knowledge needed to cope with ever-changing social and environmental factors, and creative departments which are starving for competing designers who are capable of upholding brand identities. Savannah would direct me to the canvas, where the empty space will represent my identity. And any marks I make on the canvas would be a part of me, as taught by Savannah in order to survive in this field as an artistic style which works with the audience. That would be my means of expressing the views of "the people" to the people themselves ï the viewers and the listeners ï the target.
Greetings!
You have written an excellent essay -- congratulations! I have just a few suggestions to make it even stronger.
You could strengthen your opening by making the reference to your teacher more immediate, like this:
"Art is a form of problem-solving," my high school art teacher said. "But unlike math, in art there is never a single correct solution." He aimed his pencil toward the class, pointing at each student in turn. "Each one of us has a chance to create solutions." My interest in art and design has continued to grow since that time.
See how making it like a story draws the reader in? And the sentence which follows the action flows naturally from the story, rather than abruptly switiching gears to say "My interest in art and design has continued to grow since I was quite young"
A couple of editing suggestions, too:
"planning and organizing of elements of art in such a way which is best to accomplish a certain purpose" - would be better as "planning and organizing artistic elements in a way which best accomplishes a certain purpose"
"majoring in the Graphic Design course" - say "majoring in graphic design"
"characteristics required for a design success" - take out "a"
"not only gain first hand experience, but a major plus point would be" - when you say "not only" you should follow with "but also" -- but since you did that in the previous sentence, you could just say "I would gain first-hand experience and benefit from the rich cultural and ethnic diversity."
"carry a notebook for our recording purpose" - better might be "carry a notebook to record our observations."
"16 hours exam was always very demanding in patience and tested our persistence. " - should be "sixteen-hour exam was always very demanding of our patience and tested ..." although it might sound better to say "our demanding sixteen-hour exam tested our patience and persistence ..." Using "lengthy sixteen-hour" is redundant.
"I have also experimented book jacket covers" - I think you left out "with" after "experimented"
"It would infuse the knowledge needed to cope" - Avoid the passive voice. Consider instead saying something like "I would gain the knowledge needed to cope"
"as taught by Savannah in order to" - put a comma after "Savannah"
"the people themselves - the viewers and the listeners - the target." This is something of a judgment call, but I think it should be "the people themselves -- the viewers and the listeners: the target.
Very good job. Good luck with your studies!
Thanks,
Sarah, EssayForum.com
