Lecture Today

Todays lecture was about painting and photography majors. Even though I was up all night last night and the thought of getting an extra hour of sleep was so inviting, I knew this lecture in particular was very important to me so I forced myself to go. Once upon a time before I came to art school, I was convinced that I was going to major in painting and minor in photography. They were my two favorite subjects all throughout high school, and I had my mind made-up. However, after coming to Tyler and seeing all the things the school had to offer, and all the things I had never even tried/heard of, I decided to keep and open mind. But today I was drawn back to my old interests, and I realized how much I truly love painting. I'd never really forgotten, I just figured that it may not be the most practical major, or the most daring. I felt "boring" for not wanting to be a glass blower or a sculptor, but now I understand that painting is the major for me. The way that the painting teacher Mark Shetabi talked about painting made it seem just as good as I had always thought of it. He described it as the only thing in the world that hasn't changed over millions of years. He also described Tyler's painting department as "painting's last stand". That made me so happy to know I was at a school who thought of painting in such a way. I feel somewhat relieved to know I'm in the right place and on the right track to what I've always wanted to do. Painting may not be the easiest major to get a job out of, but it will always be my passion, and I feel if I strayed away from that I would regret it forever. As for photography, to women who spoke to us said we should all take at least one photography class as an elective because it will be useful later in our art careers. I agree with that, and although I probably wont end up minoring in photography, I want to take Photo 1, just for fun next year.