College of Art

Why do we make art?

It's a question much more inexplicable than it seems on its surface.

We were each given a gift—a unique method of seeing. This is the filter through which we interpret the world. Thought is that conduit the hands somehow translate.

Dear Class of 2020,

You have worked so hard for four years. Congratulations on all that you have accomplished! I hope to encourage you that, although it is a huge loss not to celebrate what you've worked for with your peers, you have much to celebrate ahead.

One lesson I have learned in this crisis is artists have a unique ability to transform darkness into light. We are trained to use our creativity to see the world in a different way that opens up possibility. Though I don't believe anyone needs to prove how productive they can be in this strange time, approaching each day's limitations with creativity can be transformative. I have been able to make new work from home, with a more spontaneous spirit, enjoying the discovery of simple beauty.

I hope you can find new reserves of strength, resolve, and innovation for this season and beyond. Let the art we make, and the fact that we make it, be a protest against despair and a sign of resilience and hope in the world.

Artist

Congratulations and best of luck going forward.

My message is "NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE, NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE WITH, NO MATTER WHAT OTHERS SAY OR DON'T SAY...WORK, WORK, WORK. BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU DOING-MAKING-CREATING AND CONTINUE TO WORK!!"

Artist

I graduated with a BFA in 1974. I am a full-time artist.

Making a living is sometimes smooth, sometimes a struggle. Architectural commissions have been a mainstay.  Most commissions allow me freedom to be creative within parameters, which helps develop problem-solving skills. Great art is often made within defined boundaries. My worldly success is modest. I've made public pieces, but I'm not represented by a successful gallery, nor have had profiles in Art in America. Yet I can't imagine a more successful life. I spend my days working in the studio. I live in gratitude.

My advice:

Beware of society's prevailing values.  Worship of wealth and the individual serves us poorly.

Contemplate the natural world such as the earth spinning on its axis or our complex network of neurons. It's mysterious and beautiful.

And be empathetic. This will inform your work and lead to good decision-making.

Artist

Aloha! I have been documenting da life of Wash U parents Marela and George Man. While dealing wit Corona dey having problems wit dher mask fo get ready fo gradumacation dinna shopping.

Translation:

Hello, I have been documenting the life of Washington University parents Marela and George Man. They are having problems dealing with Corona virus. They need to go shopping for their son's graduation dinner but being sharks with gills, N95 masks are inadequate.

I hope your family is not experiencing similar foibles. If so, let me know.

"Forward, my little brothers, and drink of the bitter waters, there is no retreat
(I mua e nä pöki‘i a inu i ka wai ‘awa‘awa, ‘a‘ole hope e ho‘i aku ai.)"

-Kamehameha Paiea leading his warriors to unify the Islands of Hawai'i.

It strikes me that we are slowly perhaps maybe beginning to unify the world through aloha?

Owner/Photographer, Jim Olvera Photographer

Just before I graduated from the School of Art, alumnus Jack Unruh, an illustrator of international renown, spoke to our design class. He displayed his brilliant work, asked if any of us had an interest in moving to Dallas, and asked for a show of hands. Mine was the only one that went up. He gave me his card and said to call him.

A few weeks later, I called, said that I would be in town soon, and he invited me to his studio. He looked at my work, pulled out his Rolodex, and gave me the names and numbers of six designers. I had a job the following Monday. When I called to thank him, he asked me just to do the same for someone else when I had the chance; no thanks necessary.

So here's what I learned. Don't be afraid to contact the people at the top of your field. They may surprise you with their receptivity. Above all, when you have the opportunity (and you will) remember to help others who are trying to find their way. We're all in this together.

Principal & Creative Director, WilliamPadgettDesign

Congratulations to the Class of 2020!!!

People will always remember this year. You will always remember this year. How you will remember it will be based on what you did this year and beyond.

I can tell you that you will get through this rough part of the road and be successful. How? The secret is your attitude! Always be a Perverse Optimist (thx Tibor). Embrace change. Treat all problems as opportunities. Help save the planet and all of its inhabitants. Work with strong teams. See failures as tools for learning. Practice lifelong learning. Share and teach what you have learned. Be happy: It is more contagious than this damn virus.

Also: Do what you love, love what you do. It is a very simple and balanced philosophy that allows to you never really have to "work" a day in your life! Plus you will work twice as hard because of it.

Change starts with each of you. Your class can be the catalyst for massive shifts that will determine the future of our species.

in bocca del lupo,

Hey guys!

I know it's disappointing to not be able to end your year with your BFA show with all your friends and family there, but stay strong and enjoy your time at home. This is a very important and special time in the world, and as artists, we can use this to fuel our work, to drive our projects and create meaning, to make people think. There is a silver lining in every situation.

Manager of Family Programs and Student Engagement, Smart Museum of Art

Dear friends and fellow artists,

I hope you're well and staying healthy and safe during this pandemic. You all have been faced with a task that is daunting but is made for artists. You're scrappy, you're creative, you can make things. Your craziest, most surreal ideas now fit perfectly with the times.

You have the chance to build a "DIY" semester—a post-apocalyptic Mad-Max kind of art school experience for yourselves. How can you build your own sort of utopia of friends and confidantes that lasts far longer than mid-June? I still meet once a year for "Reunion" with a group of friends from WashU's School of Art and their partners. Do it! Plan a date to reunite with your friends each year after you graduate.

How can you utilize your ingenuity to make the most of this very odd time? Adventure Playgrounds took off in England when mothers and kids turned bombed out buildings in WWI into playgrounds. How can we use calamity to create human connection?

You got this, you're an artist.

President, Pevnick Design Inc.

Professor Emeritus of Art and Design, The University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

The skills you learned at Washington University, understanding and applying the creative process, will serve you well in art or design. It will help you build a record of jobs and achievements that will bring recognition and lead you to opportunities. This can come as job opportunities or facilitate creating something. Be sure and keep a web presence for yourself and archive your projects so that others can see what you do and find you. If you have an art or design goal, take a job that will teach some of the skills that you need to learn to achieve that goal and work towards that goal on you own time. You don't have to necessarily be a "starving artist" to make your creative masterpiece. This might be a gallery art show or a design achievement—what you imagine can become your realization. Look for grant funding opportunities, crowd sourcing, or business alliances to keep your ultimate goal in sight. When you achieve your goal, build and expand on your creation, your vision.

Software Engineer, Pinterest

Dear Class of 2020,

While now is an especially tough time for many people around the world, I can only imagine how it feels to have your final year abruptly cut short with many of the exciting year-end activities, including graduation, canceled.

I know you've been working extremely hard preparing for your year-end milestone (I remember spending many hours in the studio in preparation for our printmaking senior thesis show!), but please don't assume your work will go to waste! Now, more than ever, is the time to use those critical-thinking skills you've been developing and GET CREATIVE. If you can't have an in-person gallery show, figure out how to show your work online—create a video to present your work or do a live presentation over Zoom or Google Hangouts!

While it's easy to be frustrated by the situation, I challenge you to flip that on its head and think about how you can create opportunity in new ways during this time!

Stay safe and healthy—wishing you all the best!

In the past couple of weeks, I have found myself referring back to times at Sam Fox much more than I ever thought I would. From creating a virtual studio to mimic days at Sam Fox, to referencing a reading I learned in a class, to pushing myself like I know one of my professors would have, I have never been more grateful for the community and impact WashU and Sam Fox had on me.

Keep that momentum going for yourselves. The value of WashU and Sam Fox transcends your physical studio space, the WashU campus, and St. Louis itself. Leverage the community around you and the tools you've been given to allow yourself to push your work and the limits of your work even farther than it would have gone during the last days of a "regular" semester.  Push your classmates and professors with the power of what you can produce in this time. I think you will all surprise yourselves with what you find is possible.

Oh, and remember. Getting dressed each day is power in itself (fashion design alum here).

Project Architect, Heitman Architects Inc.

Class of 2020, I'm mourning with you. My 15th reunion was also canceled this year, but building community with you is one way to reclaim what I lost. My BFA is in Sculpture & Film + Media Studies, & I also have a Master's of Architecture, so I love connecting with all Sam Fox students.

I know well wishes will only go so far in a time like this, so I'm going to try to give some really practical advice.

* Put photos of campus/classmates on your many screens, cuz visuals communicate!  (I jazzed up my work-from-home monitors & love it.)

* Make sure to update WashU with your current/next address and contact info. This is the best way to connect with the WONDERFUL & SUPPORTIVE alumni community.  We will be more eager to help you than ever.

* Use the Career Center.  (One of my biggest fails!)

* See if there's an alumni professionals network in your area, great networking.

* Join professional organizations, some are free to start.

* Use all your resources & ask for help without shame!

I am SO sorry your final spring has been spent like this! If I can give you all any advice it would be this: Spend the summer together with your fellow friends/classmates. Hang out in St. Louis and make art or move together to the same city. Fifteen years after graduating I still work with and hang out with many of my fellow Sam Fox alumni and those lifelong friends ground you and inspire you to keep making art in all its many forms. After this is all over, use the alumni network in whatever city/town you end up in as well.  I hear Austin's pretty great ;)

Good luck and stay safe!

Nathan Ratcliffe
Class of 2005

Hello Graduates,

I was hoping to share your celebration this May, as it will be my 50th reunion from Washington University, but as we all know, that is not to be. Unfortunately, I missed my commencement 50 years ago during the Vietnam protests and bomb threats to the campus in 1970. My parents would not let me attend. It was disappointing then and disappointing again now. It seems I am not destined to robe up and "walk." In no way has this impacted my life in the real world. I received my diploma by mail: I had my BFA from the Art School and subsequently went to NYC where I secured a graphic design job at Dell Publishing Company. When my husband (also a WashU graduate, BSBA '68) and I moved back to St Louis for his legal career, I worked with my WashU roommate for over 40 years in our photography business.

My message to you is move on, make plans, do something you love, and take the memories and friends you made along when you can. We are all counting on you to make this world a better place.

I received my MFA in 1974—a very different time than now. Our class was probably one of the reasons the University decided to have individual diploma ceremonies because we all came in costumes: art angels, hillbillies from NY, clowns, beauty pageant participants, etc. Those were the days when ceremony was not taken seriously. That said, I will say that my years at Washington University School of Fine Arts prepared me to take my intended career as painter with a day job, university professor, very seriously. For art students, it is a disappointment not to have final exhibits of work, but what you do have is a wonderful education that has provided you with the ability to think intelligently and creatively, as well as the collective energy of your peers and professors to follow your passion.

Dear Class of 2020,

I wanted to let you know that I'm thinking of you, even though we've never met! I can't imagine how tough this semester has been for you with the state of the world. Keep pursuing your goals even when it all feels impossible. As someone who graduated in the last economic downturn, I know it won't be easy, but you can do it. Help each other and stay in touch—you're part of a valuable network. Our hearts go out to you.

Sincerely,
Allison Rinaldi (Class of 2009)

I graduated from FA way back in '58. My daughter, Amy Riseborough, is also a WU alum, FA '88. Here are the two of us at the opening of my one-person show 20 years ago. It took a long time, a lifetime, for me to produce a mature, powerful body of work—a lot of introspection, a lot of looking at other artwork, a lot of life experience.

Seize this opportunity of quiet to make work, to experiment, to risk failure, to discover something new—maybe even about yourself. You may come out on the other side of this a stronger artist.

Curator, Rockport Center for the Arts

Hello from the Class of 2007! Congratulations on graduating from one of the best art schools in the country.

Your chosen career is so important during these types of crises. Art gives us hope, purpose, and meaning in our lives. As we are forced to be apart, it's art and creativity that keep us together as a community. And when this is all over, it'll be the artists who distill and make sense of the shared trauma of the COVID pandemic.

I graduated right before the Recession of 2008. I know that now is not an ideal economy to enter, but everyone I graduated with turned out okay. We're WashU bears, we are resilient.

ODE to WUSTL Art Class of 2020

Color, shape, type, art, design,
Your art school years at Fox were fine
You learned to work with form and line
And turn your projects in on time

Unique artists at Museum
Hot exhibits, got to see ‘em

Learning all about art history
Helped explain some artworks’ mystery

Long walks out in Forest Park
Bixby, Kemper, after dark

A secret most art students know
is night life in the studio;
sharing treats, ideas and winks
opinions, dancing, laughs and clinks

Staying up for nights each week
preparing work for your critique
and if a crit gave you the blues,
Forgetaboutit with Ted Drewe­s!

LOLs and OMGs
and BFFs at galleries
The friends you made, a few’s enough
May help you out when life gets tough

Please know that art alumni care
of disappointment that you bear
it’s creativity we share
I hope you’ll get your work “out there”

Go Illustrate, or Animate
Paint that portrait now, don’t wait!

Design an outfit so unique
to be a hit at fashion week
and Photograph so we can see
your brand of creativity

Or focus on Typography
or Etching or Lithography
or Sculpture, Book arts, Collagraph
a Comic strip that makes us laugh

Render plans for buildings grand
structures, houses, all on land
that shows the earth you understand
with fauna, flowers in a range
to help diminish climate change

Be sure to get your own website
that folks can look at day and night

The world right now is open to
Creative people from WashU

So get some paper, pen or pad
and draw your cap, cause you’re a grad!

Congratulations Class of 2020!

©Karen E. Roehr, MFA ’84
Olin Fellow in Art
Creator of Gymratz

To the Class of 2020:

Congratulations! Be proud of all of that you’ve accomplished, and celebrate this success in each and every way you can. The world feels unusually bleak these days, so claim this joy and pride. It’s yours. You’ve earned it. Revel in it.

You’re entering the post-collegiate world at such a strange and unusual time, and it’s going to take courage, resilience, and self-compassion to make this transition. Luckily, if you’ve learned only two things in art school, it’s to be resourceful and to think creatively. I can’t think of two better skills to have in a time of great uncertainty. You’ve got this.

Each graduate leaves Washington University with a unique body of knowledge and ways of thinking that are their own. Everyone is different. You have to find the path, in your career and in your life, that is right for you. Your path may look very different from what others around you are doing. This is especially true in the arts and professional creative careers. Trust yourself; trust your own journey. Don't put any limitations on what your own “body of knowledge” can become; work hard and let it unfold. Let yourself be surprised by what you do as you discover your direction.

My heart goes out to all of you who have had your college experience cut short. Yet this unprecedented moment may help you truly cherish all of your amazing opportunities over the past years at WashU. In hindsight, I didn't fully value my time there and see what a privilege it was until long after I graduated. As you go forward, remember: Art creates change, art connects hearts, art heals!

Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Massachusetts College of Art and Design

You are right to grieve; to be upset about what you're missing; to mourn the loss of the experiences you were envisioning. Graduation is one of those rare, beautiful, important moments when we, as a culture, stop and formally recognize—a signifier of your transition from one part of your life to the next. It is special. And while the ceremonies may be different or delayed for you, it is no less significant. Those who have supported you to this point of celebration are incredibly proud of you. This includes all of the alumni that preceded you. We are very proud and will celebrate with you from afar. Keep in mind, you are about to enter a global network of creatives that you can count on for support. My winding journey has taken me into art and design higher education administration. At my institution, I work with several professors who are also alumni—spanning at least three decades. Your WashU family will always be there for you. Congratulations and hang in there.

“If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment.”
—Henry David Thoreau.

Grads—give yourself the gift of disappointment that your time at WashU did not conclude with commencement ceremonies. You deserve that. But then let it go.

Your time at school is not defined by this ceremony. It is defined by the wisdom you gained, the friends you made, the experiences you had, and the amazing opportunities that await you.

You now have the privilege of being able to say that you graduated from one of the best universities in the world.

Congratulations to all the WashU 2020 grads! YOU ARE AMAZING!

Integrate what is happening now into your art. Life is drastically different for you & for the rest of us. Let us know through your art what this time is like. Sending you my best wishes for good health now & for a fabulous art career ahead of you.

Founder/Creative Director, Lions Gate Companies LLC

Good afternoon, Class of 2020,

I wanted to drop you a note from Scottsdale, Arizona. I am a BFA 1973 and wanted you to know what an honor it was to become part of the Washington University family. It is a great institution and, for those who apply themselves, your degree from WashU will offer you limitless opportunities.

My opportunities at WashU gave me the knowledge and confidence to start my own advertising agency immediately following graduation. I have enjoyed a great career and continue to work in the field I love so much.

So work hard and have fun. And remember to take advantage of the world-class learning opportunities by being a part of this incredible institution/family.

Charlie Stricklan
Lions Gate Companies, LLC
Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Partner + Creative Director, Wall-to-Wall Studios

Dear Class of 2020,

Congratulations on your amazing accomplishments!

It breaks my heart to know that you and thousands of other graduates are being robbed of the customary celebrations and hoopla that you so richly deserve.

While there is no doubt that these last few weeks have reshaped your perspective on your path forward and the world around you, please do not let this abrupt shift in the paradigm diminish all that you've achieved thus far.

You have already proven that you are capable of provoking thought and creating beauty from nothing but raw materials, vision, and your own two hands. That is your gift. I have no doubt that you will channel this time of pain and uncertainty into creating beauty and opportunity where none seems to exist. If you let hope lead your heart even in times of darkness, you will make it through.

Sending much aloha from Hawaii!

Let your work be a means to see the world more clearly and reach new understanding. Amid so much loss, this is a moment for putting into practice all that you have learned. You are reaching a new level of ability to care for yourself and others. There are countless ways.

Director of Research & Technology, Senior Lecturer, Washington University in St. Louis

Artists, architects, and designers are trained to work with constraints. It is in your DNA and how you have been working even if not always overtly so. I know the constraints of today far exceed any prior ones, but I know you will be resilient and innovative. You are entrepreneurs and will make it through this time. Help each other and do not hesitate to ask for the help of others.

Owner/Designer, MarLa Studio

You are better positioned and more technologically skilled than all preceding classes. Use your immense powers of creativity to unleash the elegant ingenuity our time calls for and deserves. No matter the challenges, this time will be what calls you to fully utilize your proven emotional and intellectual capacity beyond what you believe possible. The privileged gift of your experience will be your infinite treasure, a reservoir of resourceful strength to tap for the rest of your lives. You are the now and the future. There is never a good time; there is never a bad time. All there is is time and how you craft it. All my best to all of you dreamers: Shine on, you crazy diamonds.

Congratulations, Class of 2020. Take all you have learned from WashU and go make our world a much better place. We need you more than ever. You are our future. Take your dreams and make them happen. You got this!!

Wash U alums will always have your back!

Art Specialist, Boston Public Schools

You have created, you have grown, and now you begin again, upside down, backwards, and stronger than ever. Remember that your art education is all about problem-solving. There is nothing you can't figure out, work your way through, and make something new out of. You are new, your community is new, and your world will be new. Be birthed into what will be a blinding light of new opportunity and life. Congratulations.