Hello, I'm applying to UT-Austin for fall 2014 and I would like some feedback on my topic D essay. I'm bad at grammar and that kind of stuff but I feel my essay is decent. So please give me any and all advice. Please, Please and Thank you :) Major-specific essay (required second essay for architecture and art majors)
"Why are you taking art history?" my mother asks me in her usual somewhat judgmental way the first time I handed her my class schedule. Like most replies I give my mother I replied with a shrug and continue with whatever I was doing. I didn't really stop and ask myself until the first day of school- why am I taking AP Art History? I had never really seen myself as artistic person; I liked to doodle and make crafts but I felt that I was no more artistic than the next person. Never the less, I choose AP art history as my elective course and who knew I'd be so glad I did by the end of my junior year of high school. There would come to be several things that I loved about my art history class but a few of them included the knowledge I gained about art and artist, how my perception of art changed, and my awesome, passionate teacher.
Throughout the year I learned about what all art entailed: from why the artist created the work, the cultural antiquity, to how certain works were utilized. Though I sifted trough tons of notecards containing dates, places and names; there was nothing more intriguing to me that learning about a new piece of artwork. I learned that art has a purpose and that there is so much more to it than just paint and canvas or carved marble. Behind a painting is a story; behind a sculpture is a person. Being more of analytical person I wanted understand why art was made the way it was or why certain things were created. Hence, why my interest in art grew and grew as the year went on. I never thought that words like, chiaroscuro and contrapposto would be etched into my vocabulary. And that there would come to be so much that I would take from that class and apply it to my actual life.
It was my senior year of high school when I went to Washington D.C on a school programmed trip called Close-Up, when I really saw how much I was influenced by art in everyday life. The art and architecture I saw in D.C astounding and truly inspiring. When I first entered the Smithsonian, I was in love. Hosting mostly American art from eighteenth century all the way to modern contemporary, the Smithsonian was the first time I had seen any real art work up close. There was something about seeing all these wonderful pieces of art in personal that I say changed me for forever. That day I saw art in a whole new way; unlike looking at it in a textbook it all became so real. What I was mostly intrigued by was the craftsmanship and the skill that exuberated from every piece of work I saw. And what prided me was that I was looking at all the techniques, skills, and cultures that I had learned about in class. In all, I came away from D.C with a love and admiration for art that I had never had before and I felt more connected to my newfound passion. Upon returning to school the next week I was eager to boast about all that I had learned and all that I had seen to my AP art teacher. My teacher, a UT graduate herself, shared a passion for art that exuberated through her teaching every single day. As an artist herself, she took her own experiences and incorporated them into what she taught, which is essentially what got me interested in art as a career. Listening to her recount her time exploring art works in most of Europe and working at museums before she became a teacher, made me want to follow in a similar path. Upon entering college, taking art history was a priority for me this time. By the time I finish my freshman year of college I will have taken four art history courses and be well prepared for an art history degree at the University of Texas. Art history may be a newfound passion for me but I have never felt more connecting to something than I do this. I love art and what it has taught about the world, people and even myself. Nearly three years ago I took my first art history class and I'm so proud that I did, I have learned more than I could have believed and gained a passion that pray I will get to carry on into my future at University of Texas.
"Why are you taking art history?" my mother asks me in her usual somewhat judgmental way the first time I handed her my class schedule. Like most replies I give my mother I replied with a shrug and continue with whatever I was doing. I didn't really stop and ask myself until the first day of school- why am I taking AP Art History? I had never really seen myself as artistic person; I liked to doodle and make crafts but I felt that I was no more artistic than the next person. Never the less, I choose AP art history as my elective course and who knew I'd be so glad I did by the end of my junior year of high school. There would come to be several things that I loved about my art history class but a few of them included the knowledge I gained about art and artist, how my perception of art changed, and my awesome, passionate teacher.
Throughout the year I learned about what all art entailed: from why the artist created the work, the cultural antiquity, to how certain works were utilized. Though I sifted trough tons of notecards containing dates, places and names; there was nothing more intriguing to me that learning about a new piece of artwork. I learned that art has a purpose and that there is so much more to it than just paint and canvas or carved marble. Behind a painting is a story; behind a sculpture is a person. Being more of analytical person I wanted understand why art was made the way it was or why certain things were created. Hence, why my interest in art grew and grew as the year went on. I never thought that words like, chiaroscuro and contrapposto would be etched into my vocabulary. And that there would come to be so much that I would take from that class and apply it to my actual life.
It was my senior year of high school when I went to Washington D.C on a school programmed trip called Close-Up, when I really saw how much I was influenced by art in everyday life. The art and architecture I saw in D.C astounding and truly inspiring. When I first entered the Smithsonian, I was in love. Hosting mostly American art from eighteenth century all the way to modern contemporary, the Smithsonian was the first time I had seen any real art work up close. There was something about seeing all these wonderful pieces of art in personal that I say changed me for forever. That day I saw art in a whole new way; unlike looking at it in a textbook it all became so real. What I was mostly intrigued by was the craftsmanship and the skill that exuberated from every piece of work I saw. And what prided me was that I was looking at all the techniques, skills, and cultures that I had learned about in class. In all, I came away from D.C with a love and admiration for art that I had never had before and I felt more connected to my newfound passion. Upon returning to school the next week I was eager to boast about all that I had learned and all that I had seen to my AP art teacher. My teacher, a UT graduate herself, shared a passion for art that exuberated through her teaching every single day. As an artist herself, she took her own experiences and incorporated them into what she taught, which is essentially what got me interested in art as a career. Listening to her recount her time exploring art works in most of Europe and working at museums before she became a teacher, made me want to follow in a similar path. Upon entering college, taking art history was a priority for me this time. By the time I finish my freshman year of college I will have taken four art history courses and be well prepared for an art history degree at the University of Texas. Art history may be a newfound passion for me but I have never felt more connecting to something than I do this. I love art and what it has taught about the world, people and even myself. Nearly three years ago I took my first art history class and I'm so proud that I did, I have learned more than I could have believed and gained a passion that pray I will get to carry on into my future at University of Texas.