<p>Hey ttffnet,
I just graduated from SAIC with a bachelors of fine arts, and I lived at the dorms for the whole 3 years I was there as a transfer student. Because I transferred into the School, I can’t give you a personal experience of what the foundation program is like at SAIC, but living at the dorms with a ton of freshmen for three consecutive years gave me some insight into the program there.</p>
<p>The foundation year at the school is designed to teach you a broad range skills in various materials from a conceptual or idea based intention and focus. There are two main classes you have to take called Research and Core. I believe Core would teach you various skills such as handling wood and machinery in a workshop or learning the basics of color theory in painting. You can choose which first year classes you take by the teacher who teaches them. Every teacher is different. Research is self explanatory in that it would require you to research successful contemporary artists and at some point work on a self directed project designed to emulate a specific artist that you would find most interesting. Research also would impress upon its students the value of idea based art rather than mere technical proficiency.</p>
<p>In a lot of conversations with freshmen, I would find a commonality of displeasure with the first year program because students would rather explore a specific medium of their choice. But in the first year program you are also required to take a studio course in any department of your choice, so it is not like the foundation year deprives students of their favorite material discourse. </p>
<p>It sounds like SAIC is a good school suited for you because of your varied interests in art (sculpture, film, industrial design). Once you pass the first year program, you can explore the departments of the School and tailor your education in a horizontal and generalist manner that explores the various departments, or you can pursue a specialized education in a vertical fashion that becomes increasingly complex. There are few restrictions between which classes you can choose to take between departments so long as you pass the introduction courses of the department and the first year program.</p>
<p>P.S. The film department is largely exploratory. You won’t learn camera conventions that are found in the commercial film industry. Regarding sculpture, there is a great variety of resources. The School has a foundry, and a ceramics department as well, which I think bleeds into sculpture. The wood shop is contiguous to the sculpture department. Not everyone is conceptually inclined at SAIC like myself, but the cliche of the School being ‘conceptual’ is pervasive. It comes from ignorant undergrads without a historical understanding of the origin of Conceptual Art from the 1970s. Last BFA Exhibition, someone had cast their nude likeness in a life size metal sculpture; so however he did that, it obviously took craftsmanship and skill. …oh and speak of the devil, as I write this, I just received my BFA in the mail! So excited!</p>
<p>This last semester, I have found across the board that writing skills and knowledge of philosophy is being stressed and emphasized. SAIC would like its students to be generalists and polymaths. At SAIC, I equally distributed my time between the Painting/Drawing department and the Fibers/Materials Studies department until my final and senior year when I got accepted to the Advanced Painting track which you have to interview three faculty members to be admitted. So, you obviously can take many routes at the School. Just don’t be an air head by not knowing anything in poor support of a concept behind your work. It’s not fun to sit and critique a work of art that has little material presence from a student who doesn’t want to explain their conceptual ideas behind the piece. Thoroughly discipline yourself in whatever you do if you choose SAIC.</p>