The Mickey Mouse Fan Club

This week an envelope dropped through my letterbox. It was a certificate confirming my achievement of an OCA BA (Hons) degree in Photography. Next month I shall trot off to London for a brief moment in a hired mortarboard and henceforth be able to tick the ‘graduate’ box on surveys and job applications.

Hooray – but was it worth it?

Some arts courses might well fall into the category of what the government is calling ‘rip off’ or ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees. They want to restrict courses that don’t provide ‘value for money’, measured by the potential for graduates to earn a big salary afterwards to pay off their student loans. There are some ecclectic ones. To tee us off, at Cornwall College, you can do a degree in golf. Unfortunately, artists are often amongst some of the lowest-paid people out there, and often don’t end up working in the sector they were educated in.

In Mickey’s defence

As someone from the corporate world of IT, I think an art degree is one of the best things I’ve done. It would be an absolute tragedy if people were forced to choose between becoming a doctor, lawyer, or accountant (nothing against them – we need them all) just because of the expected salary at the end of it.

Here’s what I learned:

• Self-awareness – art school teaches you to find yourself, and to identify your motivations, strengths and weaknesses. Authenticity is an asset in any job or relationship
  
• Courage – it forces you to expose yourself (no, not in that way, unless you are modeling for a painting class) to criticism. If you put your heart and soul into a creative work it’s tough when an art critic or audience later pans it
  
• Respect – knowing this, you will see lots of other students’ work along the way. Some you love, some you dislike. It teaches you to seek out the positive, to be diplomatic and more broad-minded. Social media shows us that an increasing number of people out there no longer have the skills needed for respectful debate and open-minded, constructive engagement
  
• Attention spans – because of social media, we find it harder to focus nowadays. Sorry, what was I saying? Ah yes. Studying part-time meant it took twice as long as a normal 3-year degree course. Juggling work and family commitments, there were times I felt like giving up. But getting through that is part of the learning process
  
• Study skills – I’m more effective in gathering data, assessing, evaluating, analysing and presenting. It improved my writing (you may disagree!). All directly relevant to many day jobs
  
• Appreciation of the arts – studying any subject potentially opens up a whole new world
  
• Industry knowledge and networking – the arts are a big part of the UK economy, as highlighted here. Studying provides unparalleled access to the movers and shakers, along with how it really works. I forged valuable networks and friendships that I would never have done otherwise
  
• It’s hard work – degree courses are assessed and accredited. All require a minimum standard to be met over a sustained period. Good practice for those demanding bosses at work?

Undervalued?

In my lifetime I’ve been in a wide range of boardrooms, commercial offices, and government and civil buildings. They all have one thing in common: artwork on the walls.

I’m left with the view that deep down we know of art’s importance to our well-being, but don’t want to acknowledge its value in other ways. This could be because:

• We see it as something that isn’t ’real work’. Photographers are constantly asked to work for free in return for ‘exposure’ (my response to this is usually to decline politely – ‘exposure’ doesn’t pay the bills). But it also suggests the client doesn’t truly value it, and just needs to have it). Every day otherwise honest people steal copyrighted images off the internet (you can see if any of yours have been stolen here). Making art has less utilitarian benefit compared to, say, building a house or performing an operation, I do accept. But if we adopt that measure are lawyers just overpaid to argue? Farmers just big gardeners?
  
• We value it but can’t afford it. I had a framed photograph stolen from a gallery wall a few years ago. I suspect this might well be what happened. If they’d asked I probably would have given it to them if I knew the circumstances, seeing that they liked it so much. In a broader sense, this is why free museums and galleries are so important. We can all enjoy them. They serve everyone. Does a private collection of Old Masters serve merely an ego? Further down this road we end up judging worthiness of art by its monetary value. Does that mean all the work that doesn’t sell for millions at Sotheby’s is worthless?

Mickey’s last word

The arts have always been noble and important. Why else would cavemen paint on walls and ancient Greeks carve huge figures with hand tools in an era when life was, frankly, already hard enough? It can improve our lives in all sorts of lasting and transient ways. Art provides a social documentary for the following generations. It makes you feel a bit better when things are bleak. It’s a tonic. It unites. So it’s worth learning about.

Society thrives on creativity and diversity. Such creativity, and the ability to communicate it well, will become even more important in the world of AI when computers do the boring stuff. People being able to pursue what they have a passion for, not just what they are told to do, is key to motivation. That’s when people are at their most productive. Excitement is generated. Innovations are seeded. It’s the environment where the $178bn value of Mickey Mouse himself was invented.

It’s about time governments remembered that.

I nearly forgot…

I bet you are wondering what on earth the picture has to do with Mickey Mouse.

That’s the exhibition print that was stolen. So if you ever do see it hanging on a wall in the Glastonbury area please let me know. But they are welcome to keep it. Glad they liked it.