11/18 - CATCHING UP Tom Igoe

I really love what Tom Igoe has to say in this interview, particularly the bit where he talks about his ex-students. He is asked if they manage to live from their art and what paths are available to them after graduation and he responds that he does not want his students to "think of their careers in such a cut-and dried way." Basically, he says that "pure" artists who work solely in the art world are missing out. He says that those who work at art and commercial work create much more interesting work because "you learn so much from working for and with others that strengthens your artwork" and that "you'd be a fool not to collaborate to work for others from time to time."
This really resonates me because our field is so interdisciplinary. Many of us want to have careers that don't really fit in the art world but would also prefer to not be cookie-cutter commercial workers. I think it is heartening to know that someone else agrees that the most interesting work comes from those who do not think so black and white. I hope to have a commercial job someday in which I can utilize all that I have learned from studying art and hopefully,t hat will make me that much better.