MassArt MFA Thesis show - Noah Booshu April 23-May 5 Boston, MA

[Noah B]

Hey all, I'm finishing up my last year in grad school at MassArt and my thesis show is coming up. It's on view from April 23 - May 5, artists talk April 26, and opening reception April 24 5-8pm. I've attached a picture of the back of the post card.

If anyone would like a post card just send me your address and I'd be glad to send you one!

My website is www.noahbooshu.com

Thanks!

113181

[tgtaylor]

Congratulations Noah! If I was still in Boston I would definitely make it for the reception but I am back home in California now and using the umbrella that I carried around NE without any rain. But we need it here like you don't need it there.

BTW, I took your advise and made the Haymarket scene on a Saturday while walking the Freedom Trail: Asparagus were 3-lbs for a dollar! I seriously thought abut stocking up but then reasoned that I wouldn't be flying back until the next Tuesday and the asparagus would then be too wilted. Because of the warm weather here in the states which resulted in an early crop, the US producers kept their crop off the market to maintain a "fair" price while the Mexican product went as usual and they really dropped the price at the very end.

Anyway, congratulations on the degree and the best of success with the career.

Thomas

[Kirk Gittings]

Good for you. That's a good school the degree should serve you well. Best wishes .

[Nathan Potter]

Congratulations Noah. I spent a lot of time at MassArt years ago when I was at the Wentworth Institute of Technology. Attended talks by Harry Callahan, Robert Frank and many others. It was a terrific diversion from the dry forum of electrical engineering. Hope you fare well with your new found knowledge and instincts.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[koh303]

Good for you. That's a good school the degree should serve you well. Best wishes .

Excuse me if i am hijacking this (and i am sure noah would agree with this questions)

How does an MFA serve anyone well?
Other then taking you on for 2 years at 100K$ (though mass art is less expensive then any other MFA program in the area)... with many thousands (last i heard 80,000 annually) graduates EVERY YEAR in the US alone, what do you do with

Why is Mass art better then any other "top rated" MFA program?

http://www.vulture.com/2013/12/saltz-on-the-trouble-with-the-mfa.html
Is an interesting view at the world of MFA and driving force behind it (though less relevant to photo MFA depts, where the problems are usually far more severe).

[paulr]

When I was considering an MFA way back in the 20th century, MassArt was one of only two programs that made the short list. Really good school, students doing interesting stuff, good teachers, and cheap.

Don't know the climate there now. Does Abe Morell still head the program?

@koh303, those are big questions, and I ultimately decided the debt would be too much relative to the likely benefits. Of course there's no way to know I made the right decision. I've never met an MFA student in any of the arts who hasn't grappled with these issues. No one goes into such a program flippantly, unless they've got money to burn.

[Noah B]

Excuse me if i am hijacking this (and i am sure noah would agree with this questions)

How does an MFA serve anyone well?
Other then taking you on for 2 years at 100K$ (though mass art is less expensive then any other MFA program in the area)... with many thousands (last i heard 80,000 annually) graduates EVERY YEAR in the US alone, what do you do with

Why is Mass art better then any other "top rated" MFA program?

http://www.vulture.com/2013/12/saltz-on-the-trouble-with-the-mfa.html
Is an interesting view at the world of MFA and driving force behind it (though less relevant to photo MFA depts, where the problems are usually far more severe).

The MFA doesn't guarantee employment right out of graduation like say majoring in law, health services etc. The art field is very competitive and to have a successful career takes hard work and struggle. Good artists sell work and make a living off of it without having to work another job to supplement their income. Serious artists exhibit when possible and get their name out there. It's the same with a musician, you go to school at Berklee or wherever and how would that serve anyone well? It serves people well because despite the financial aspects of the career path, to live a life pursuing one's dreams is one that we deem fulfilling. Not everyone can do this for many reasons, but for the ones that do it and do it well, can break a new chain in the history of art or field they're in. Art is necessary because it's about our culture, and who we are as a people. Humans always try and make meaning out of something and visual art is only one aspect of it.

The "top rated schools" chart I saw awhile back was based on how many students gain employment after. That's not the point of pursuing an arts degree, what matters is what the people do with it. Someone once told me that getting an MFA is like giving yourself a 2 year personal fellowship to focus on your work and further your ideas. People choose to go to a certain school because of the faculty that's there, and what the curriculum of the program is about. I chose this school in particular because it aligned with my thinking and I knew it would be a good investment of time and energy. Looking back now I have no regrets and I feel good about the time I spent pursuing this degree. Lots of people think they're going to be handed jobs when they get out of school but they don't, you have to work hard for it. I mean really, who wouldn't want to get paid to teach photography? Everyone who is a good photographer would! It's quite competitive and most employers require that you have a good exhibition record to be even considered for some jobs. They want to know you're serious about your art career before you can go teach a bunch of kids that.

Education is expensive, and tuition will only rise as the years progress. It's a shame because education was free hundreds of years ago. It's a smart way to make money off of other people. You tell them they need this degree to get this job and they do it. If they don't get the degree then they can't, and have to work a job they don't want, but have to pay bills. It's a brilliant scheme, but education does pay off one way or the other. When it boils down to it the MFA isn't different than any other degree. Can any degree guarantee you employment right out of school? Sure, some can but others don't regardless of whatever it is. Lots to consider on a sunny afternoon :cool:

Abe has retired from teaching, but comes back in the fall for the graduate program. I was very lucky to have him as a teacher.

[ROL]

Noah, I was quandaring myself earlier this morning on whether to respond to koh, but you have acquitted yourself well, and without valid provocation. koh seems the type to attend a centenarian's birthday celebration, remind them that by all odds they should have been dead for 25 years already, and leave with a, "Good luck making it one more year!".

Congratulations, good luck, and go get 'em.

[Thad Gerheim]

Congratulations and good luck Noah! I'm sure your life has been and will continue to be enriched by the experience gained from an education from a great faculty and school.

To see the large photographs, in a gallery, by MassArt teacher Laura Mcphee makes one a believer in the power of art and large format 8x10 photography.