Exhuasted

I'm currently starting off week 13 (out of 15) so the end draws near for this semester. I've been at the Academy for 1.5 years now (err, minus 2 weeks I guess), and I am beat.

Weekly nights of 1-3 hours of sleep, still getting my ass handed to me by classmates, and just the wear and tear of trying to hold down 3 studio classes and work and start up an Etsy site are really taking their toll on me.

I pay ~$7200 a semester for tuition alone, and I'm pretty sure it's worth it. I checked out CCA's website, and their tuition is $14000 a semester. Whoa. Definitely makes it seem worth it now. Well, I then checked out SF State's program (which has painting/printmaking, but no illustration degree) and their tutition is $1700 a semester. Wtf? Now I'm starting to doubt it.

I think part of the exhaustion comes from the constant commercialness of our school and the mixed messages it sends. We're constantly bombarded with messages on the financial feasibility of our ideas and the business side is used to excuse/promote the same old tired stereotypes and bullshit that our shitty society feeds upon. We're also told to experiment, but of course, those that stick with what they know and what they do best are rewarded. Sigh.

It's hard to find role models in this school.

I'm looking for an artist that cares more about saying something meaningful in their art rather than making money. I'm looking for an artist that subverts the mainstream and tells large corporations to go fuck themselves. Egads. Anyone out there?

I'm currently really hooked on James Jean and Tomer Hanuka. Both pretty high up in the illustration world, JJ is pretty much dominating the scene right now, winning all sorts of awards for his editorials, comic book covers, ads, etc., etc. And as much as I admire his draftsmanship and his awesome illustration powers, the dude does ads for Nike. How much more uncool can you get? Well, maybe if he did ads for Nike and was also shitty at his job. But yeah. At least Tomer does some pretty radical stuff in his illustrations that critique everything from the war in iraq to socialite life to mutant zombie surgeons...well, everyone's gotta have their weird illustration kicks here and there.

But alas. I guess people like Bansky and Shepard Fairy are still holding it out, making a living our of art while giving the Man the finger. I just wish my school was more into that sort of thing.

Any state or CCA students who might happen to read this: is this bullshit the same at your school?

Anyhoo, I would love to collaborate with some environmental/feminist/vegetarian/vegan/super liberal artists, so if you're down to say something positive (or at least critique all the negative) about life, hit me up. Please!

Anyway, E and I started a team blog for our bi-weekly "kami-jar" (E's name) challenges, over at midnightcarriage.blogspot.com. We've been pretty bad at even keeping up to the biweekly schedule with our crazy amounts of hw, but at least the first topic is up. It's more of a breeding ground for future finished illustrations, as I doubt anything finished will go up there, but if you like it rough, midnight carriage is for you.

So I'm going to try and get some sleep before my 8am class tomorrow. Night.

PS- New art should be coming fairly soon. Otherwise check Risk.Etsy.com for art you can buy.