Indiana University Southeast is home to many majors for its students to strive for. These majors are capable of getting them one step closer to a full-fledged career of their choice, in turn making them a successful member of our society. However, there is one major that draws attention, as it holds power to some of our greatest advocates for creativity. Our fine arts program at IUS has produced amazing artists in all of its different forms of media, including painting, film, photography, graphic design, and much more.
Creativity is a fundamental human trait, and that has been something that educators provide courses for all the way back to preschool. Children of various ages show promise of new ideas as they are given chances to play with coloring materials and building blocks. This form of creativity is offered at higher levels of education, but it can be diminished, or brushed off as “electives” which in turn makes them sound like a less important form of education. Art is an important career, and for a multitude of reasons. The most commonly known is entertainment. Art is everywhere, even natural events such as the clouds in the sky can be considered a piece worth looking at. The movies and TV shows you watch, also art. Including, you guessed it, paintings and other historical murals can be depicted as art. We human beings take a keen liking to art as it helps us escape from the reality that can sometimes be harmful to our mental health, and the students at IUS are able to find peace when creating. Kim Caufield, a digital art major, said that she tries to influence her viewers to see things in a different perspective, ultimately striking up conversations about what her pieces stand for. Being able to think about the different messages a work of art could stand for is one of the greatest things about being a creator, as the viewers try to figure out what kind of story the artist is trying to tell. This is not only applicable to the students, but the faculty as well. Although they spend most of their time teaching the students of IUS, some professors, like Tiffany Carboneau, Donna Stallard, and Amy Seibert all continuously produce their own artworks. Sometimes, they even get their own faculty show to display said world for students to view. These shows, however, are not advertised as much as the ones for our students, which feels counterintuitive, as the professors are the ones who teach the students how to create various works.
When asked about the importance of creating something through art courses, Jaxon Rissler, a multimedia journalism major, stated, “It’s a way for us humans to express ourselves in our most raw natural state, without any stigma or connection.” Rissler also explained that creating content through the use of art at IUS has helped his mental health, as art helped him find a way of letting go of certain pain. This however, is not true for all students. Emily Coval, a nursing major, said that the amount of classes available for students who need what would be considered electives in their own major are difficult to find, especially the timing schedule for each course, as it can conflict with pre-existing timeframes. Coval was able to attend an online course for introduction to 2D, a painting class offered at IUS. They said, “It felt hard to understand what was expected of me, as I was not able to speak to my professor face- to-face.”
Although a major step to helping students in other states learn the power of art, online courses that require students to get hands-on experience with the art that they are learning about can have its conflicts, especially if the student lives less than 10 miles from the campus. There can be multiple issues that derive just from online classes alone, but more are found with the in- person experience. Emma Keeney said, “Most people don’t understand how expensive art materials are. We’re lucky if the professor has enough canvas for our paintings.” Keeney also stated that she consistently has to go to Louisville, Ky just to get the correct paints or brushes when she needs them in a short time frame. The kits that are sold at IUS alone can cost up to $100, which is not included in course tuition. This means students pay out of pocket for the majority of their art supplies. IUS, like many other schools doing their best to accommodate art courses, are struggling to keep up with the demand that comes to educating future artists.
