Benchmark for art supplement's "substantial talent beyond standard high-school level"?

jzducol
Wed, 09 Jan 2019 00:50:06 +0000

Its logistically impossible to review all submitted supplements by faculty experts. Only when requested by AOs do these supplements get reviewed, and only when the applicants are being seriously considered do those requests arise. The question most non-art applicants face is that what if the quality of art is not on par with the national awards would submitting the work help or hurt their application? IMHO, if an non art applicant is on verge of being admitted and AOs want to see his/her art work because its part of the many ECs, they will likely ask for it. If the art work is already there and its sub par it is likely going to hurt the cause. So, either way, if you are unsure about its being top notch it seems that the better strategy is not submitting it.

But compmom raised an interesting point: would the same artwork coming from a student “working at the local ice cream stand versus some impressive volunteer stint in Africa” be viewed differently? I don’t know the answer to that. It seems that an art work like a piano concerto is a pretty clear cut case to evaluate. But photography? hard to say.