An Educator’s Guide to Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse
Banishing the starving artist: how arts education leads to viable careers in conversation with Michael Giles, artist and professor at Lincoln Memorial University. Interview led by Jody Collins with commentary from Hellmouth:
An art degree is a useless waste of time.
This is the old adage that we’ve come to know. Despite the support of family or friends, it secretly smolders in us, that we wonder if the path of an artist is worth it at all. How will we survive as a starving artist if there are no transferable skills that will lead to a job?
As a college student shoving in as many art courses as I could, one of these was a self-led project in digital media. My task was to research, then present via animated video, all of the different careers an arts degree might lead to. (You can find said video on my portfolio, but I can’t promise it's good, in fact it’s probably quite bad). As I dove into the possibilities, this tired argument of how useless a college education in the arts might be, drifted away. Motion design, package design, apps, storyboarding, merchandise, marketing, print and digital, creative direction, art historians, curators, gallerists, aestheticists, non-profit, commercial, graphics, ad campaigns, freelance projects, television, engineering corporations–visual communication is requisite across all industries.
“You always think of a job as being something that you see around you. All I knew was people who worked in offices […] I never even considered that [art] education was a way for me to make a living in the future.”
The so-called ‘usefulness’ of art in our world is manifold, from the desperate cultural need for expression which holds a mirror to our society to the joyous celebration of creation which uplifts our communities in darkened times. As for more literal use, art and visual communication are the bedrocks of literally every industry. Visuals, graphics, storytelling, rendering, a well-practiced compositional eye, and creative problem solving are what makes the world go around. From major city-scale performance pieces in the Olympics, championing a global tradition, to inane trends blending humor and art into gripping political campaigns. Every package you hold,, as well as every urgent distribution of new data requires people who hold these skills.
Although pursuing a BA, MA, MFA, etc. probably won’t help you survive a zombie apocalypse, it might help you eke through the capitalist dark age in which we all live. Of course, maybe if you get really conceptual with it, or spend enough time in the woodshop, your degree may help you survive a zombie apocalypse as well.
Balancing the primal urge to create art with the basic facts of needing to eat and shelter yourself, one can find ways to apply the art to a more profitable job which can lift you out of the starving artist trope. You don’t have to suffer for your art in every aspect of life. Hellmouth spoke with local arts educator, Michael Giles, to seek further insight about how to survive as a creative mind in corporate times.
Michael Giles
Giles, professor of art at Lincoln Memorial University, grew up as a Venezuelan-American living in small-town Ohio. Like many, he had the creative itch from day one, creating sculptures and doodling constantly– a classic warning sign of an emerging artist. As a teenager and through college, his interests turned towards comic books, which settled his decision that he wanted to continue making and eventually to teach art.
Like me, he was surprised to find out that you can actually make a career by teaching art. It is a valid vocation, but he had never even considered that you could actually teach and make a living from it. The engagement and respect one of his own college professors, John Thrasher, showed the students led to Giles’ revelation. His professor explained the academic process of obtaining degree credentials for such a job, then Giles went headlong into the arts. He received a BFA from The Ohio State University and an MFA from the University of Tennessee.
On his journey, Giles notes, “I think one of the important aspects of the story is that I had no idea this was an option. You always think of a job as being something that you see around you. So all I knew was people who worked in offices, people who worked at companies. I thought that's what a job was, and I never even considered that education was a way for me to make a living in the future. I'm very glad that I asked the question, and I'm very glad that I pursued this path.”
As a teacher, his philosophy is one of exploration, balancing technical skills with unhinged creative energy. Giles encourages the confidence young artists need to let their creativity flow, and then reigns them in so they can analyze how the basics integrate with their overall vision.
He aims to inspire students who are both in it for the long haul, as well as those simply fulfilling a college requirement. “Art is fun!” Giles says. “I want the students to have fun and really engage with the material, with the process, and finding out something about themselves. I want them to have that freedom to express themselves and find that there is a possibility in art to do that.
I want my students to grow as artists. I want them to feel like the expression they're making is valued and important.”
It is said that there is a difference between your career and your calling. With artists, the desire is usually to follow your calling but the issue is having to settle for an occupation instead. Finding joy and purpose in your job is vital. People may say that work isn’t your entire life, and no, it shouldn't be, but the reality of the situation is that we spend eight of our waking hours at work almost every day of our lives. There should be some kind of enjoyment and fulfillment in it!
Giles emphasizes this balance, not only does he teach the enjoyment of art, but also describes to students how artistic skills blend seamlessly into a variety of professional needs. Art affects solutions, problem-solving, and creative thinking, that creative thought goes far in the world beyond the studio.
“It's about making students, and folks that perhaps don't look at art as a way of making a living, realize that artists have to combine information from various facets of their interests and of their messaging to form some sort of an expression that can be shared.
“We have to fight the fight of advocating for the arts and for the value that it gives the student and ultimately the world.”
“This is exactly the same kind of thinking that scientists use when they pull data from different places and spaces to come up with new ideas and hypotheses.
Being able to see these different ways of thinking that you find in the arts will help a veterinarian or a banker or any other person who's looking to move things forward in whatever field they have chosen. This same sort of thinking has to be brought out into the community as well. The community needs to see the importance of creative thought, how it enriches all facets of life.”
Looking for faith at the party. Oil and spray enamel on canvas, 40" x 30"
Even as an educator, hired in the arts by a collegiate institution, Giles still faces difficulties of proving the value of his field to the administrative world. He notes, “Art is not often looked on as a valuable skill or valuable thing to do in an organization or in an educational curriculum. So sometimes we have to fight the fight of advocating for the arts and for the value that it gives the student and ultimately the world.”
“It is the teachers responsibility to steward young creatives towards successful lives with wide horizons ahead of them. Speaking about art in terms of professional applications is vital.
“You can see it on any job application, ask applicants if they are ‘out-of-the-box thinkers.’ Who thinks further outside the box than artists? We would be much better served in all facets of life if everyone took art courses, and really developed our creativity.”
When the question of boosting support arises, Giles is honest. The answer comes down to money. It is a simple need and one we all have, so there’s no need to shy around the truth.
“I think investment in arts education, in after-school arts programming, in professional development for doctors and financiers that includes the arts, and for the elderly and the retired, would go a long way to making us all much happier and better at what we do.
We have to acknowledge, as a culture, that this kind of creative thinking is what makes us move forward. Then we will see a greater investment in harnessing creative thinking from people. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that there is a quick enough return on investment for us to take that seriously. But we'll try!”
Giles works with different organizations in East Tennessee that advocate for the arts: building new art spaces and encouraging creative thought processes for both young people and community members at large.
In parting, Giles said, “The advice I would give someone considering an arts education career is to go ahead and do it. You can make a living as an arts educator. What better way to spend your time than making art, talking about art, and sharing art with people?
I would also advise them to be prepared for challenges. Most people don't look at art, and at artists, as a viable way to exist and to live. But I think that if we look around we'll see that there are artists everywhere.
They're not all going to be famous New York superstars, but the person crocheting during their break at work is an artist. The person selling ceramics at the farmer's market is an artist. The person teaching the after-school YMCA program in the arts is an artist. There are many ways to be an artist. I find that being able to teach art, talk about art, and make art is one of the best choices I ever made in my life.”
Contact:
Michael Giles received a Bachelors in Fine Arts from The Ohio State University. He came to Knoxville in about 2004 for his Masters in Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee. He teaches drawing and painting classes, along with watercolor courses, basic photography, graphic design courses, art appreciation, and art history at Lincoln Memorial University (LMU), a small private liberal arts and research university based in Harrogate, TN.
You can find more about him @fieldhatstudio and https://www.fieldhat.com.
Interviewed by: Jody Collins
Jody is the host of Ramblin’ Man Podcast and owner of Feral Giant Media. He has served on 30 non-profit Board of Directors and Executive Committees.
