FOR DECADES, the Slade School of Fine Art has held an eminent position both within the arts education system and the wider art world. Boasting alumni such as Richard Hamilton, Rachel Whiteread and Tacita Dean, it is unsurprising that competition for entry at undergraduate level is fierce. Studying art at HE level is without question, largely vocational; but there is no one particular career a student is trained for. The question remaining, then, is whether or not the Slade prepares its students for life beyond art school.
The Slade School was the vision of Sir Felix Slade, who wanted to form a school where art was studied as a serious, stand-alone academic discipline and not purely as a production line of students to service the needs of the industry. The functions of higher education have changed somewhat in 127 years and perhaps now the Slade’s main attention should be upon how to integrate their students into today’s job market.
Arts education went through radical reforms during the 1960s and 70s, mirroring the changes in art practice of the time. Traditional areas of study such as painting, sculpture and the life drawing class were no longer the main focus, as artists began exploring sound, performance and digital media. Arguably, the prototype for this new teaching model was the Bauhaus, Weimar Germany’s infamous school of art and design. The core ethic of Bauhaus was to create Gesamptkunstwerke- combining all aspects of visual arts to create an end product that had both form and a tangible use value. On arts education, Bauhaus director Walter Gropius stressed that creativity wasn’t something that could be taught, however, technique and to work, was something that must be studied and improved.
Since its foundation in 1868, the Slade has changed a lot to adapt to this need for art to root itself in social function. Although there is no outlet for sound, performance or design, the school hosts the Centre for Electronic Media and printmaking, film, video and photography facilities. Students are expected to specialise within a subject area of their choice and supplement studio time with tutorials, History and Theory of Art modules and trips to museums and galleries. The school frequently arranges visiting lecturers, ranging from artists to theoreticians, to speak upon topics of relevance for the practising artist.
Seemingly, the Slade does offer many opportunities to acquire skills outside simply creating objects. Alarmingly, these are not taken up by a significant number of students. Many see little point in the contextual studies, preferring to spend time in the atelier than write. The turnout to the lunchtime lectures and optional seminars too is shabby. When questioned about alternative career aims after university, provided that they could not work as practising artists, some responded with either: (a) they did not know and something would “turn up” arts-wise, after all, they’re Slade graduates and it will be ok, or (b) work in a gallery. Sadly, unbeknown to those particular students, most will be unqualified for gallery work, not having the appropriate specialist written theory areas and mandatory minimum two years working in exhibitions. And point (a) seems too painfully naïve to comment upon.
Contrary to what seems to be popular belief, acceptance to an institution like the Slade is not a fast track to celebrity. The onus falls on the student to develop a body of work and relevant skills to equip them for life after university. In many ways, an art student is at a disadvantage compared to other arts and humanities students who perhaps gain stronger writing and more varied research portfolios. However, any student wishing to pursue art or design is, or should be, fully aware of this from the outset and be prepared to do the extra-curricular work involved to secure some sort of future, in the art market or elsewhere. But maybe, as some art students claim, they were pursuing art for love and not for money. In that case, I guess there’s always the secure career of baggage handling at Heathrow.