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Back to School
Don’t dismiss NIU
Arts, design stands up to competing school programs
Griffin Thorne Senior Illustration Major
Honestly, a lot of people looking to study art dismiss this place. It’s a state university in the corn seas of Illinois. Surely this place couldn’t measure up to a big city, this is no place of culture, right? Well, I can’t lie to you: it doesn’t compare to Chicago, but it sure competes with its art schools. I’ve known plenty who went to “prestigious” art schools in big cities with fifty-grand a semester tuition, fancy looking classrooms and teachers who feel more like art sorcerers and grand alchemists than painters and draftsmen. I’m not trying to sell you a Mighty Ducks story here; it’s not that there aren’t great art schools with great history and faculty. But, I’ve met more than a few people who went to what they thought would be a great experience in an urban art school and discovered the truth behind their training as an artist: it’s all about
Northern Star file photo
Paradegoers walk down Lincoln Highway for NIU’s first Artigras parade on May 2. Artigras is an anuall arts festival that takes place in Downtown DeKalb and NIU.
how good your teachers are, not the address of your school. As an illustration student here, I’ve gotten to study under some absolutely great teachers, and I’ve met some intensely creative, smart and kind colleagues. Together, the people I’ve met and worked with and been surrounded by have been a really big part of who I am now, as an illustrator and a person. And I can’t help myself wonder sometimes, “what are these people doing in DeKalb, Ill.?” You’ll find that everywhere around here. This is not an American cultural epicenter, but you’ll be surprised how much beauty and fun can be unearthed hiding in unlikely places.
Now, this is no new idea, not exactly groundbreaking, but it’s true: I’ve found out that pretty much the biggest inspiration and the best things in life are found when you’re not looking for them. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve snapped out of a creative block, walking around my neighborhood at night, listening to the freight trains rolling through town; how many great experiences I’ve had in houses and rooms and buildings you’d never expect anything from; how much I’ve learned in an art school in a corn field. It’s amazing what you hear if you stop thinking about what you’re hearing and just let yourself listen. Don’t write off NIU.