Career in Fine Arts: Dr A K Puri

In keeping with the Indian tradition of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram; the field of arts is appreciation of beauty- beauty that is universal and eternal. Going beyond, the artist creates beauty that is eternal and truthful. This quest for beauty is all around and has followers and seekers who are willing to pay a fortune for the objects that depict these features. At commercial level the feature of beauty added to products, designs and displays enhances commercial value and prospects of its acceptance and sale for any product- physical or abstract. Artists add this dimension to business in commercial arts form. At stand alone level it takes the form of fine arts with art appreciators valuing the work in money terms that may run in millions. 

The field of fine arts includes art forms that involves painting, drawing, sculpting, dance, drama, music and all possible combinations that creates beauty in any form including programming in web design and computer gaming. Fine arts deploys the aesthetic in one or more of these formats in combination to create something innovative which appeals to senses of the viewer. In a way, artists are poets at heart creating visual form of poems that conveys meaning in a different format. This approach opens windows for work that has endless possibilities of employment.

In commercial art sensibility of appreciation of beauty is used to create displays in signage, billboards, advertisements, illustrations, cartoons, book designs, posters, exhibitions, window displays, interior designs, catalogues, brochures, magazine, slides, packaging, animations and web displays and designs of products. The applications are endless and seamless for the creative mind.

Painting as a fine art has the prospects of creating something new in the form of picture as portraits, landscapes, scenery, still life, abstract designs, murals and illustrations. Painters use water colours, paints, acrylic, charcoal or computer programming as a medium to give shape to their visual perception or physical format on anything that ranges from canvas, clothes, pottery, ceramics, walls and paper. Sculpting as ant art creates shapes that can be a replica of humans, animals, objects or anything in abstract form. Sculptors use clay, plaster of paris, metal, stone, clothes, plastic, fibre, wood or stone as the medium to create the physical object di arts. To add value to displays of sculptures artists illustrate and add dimension of taste through music, lights and lasers. Sculptors use hands and computers to give shape to their thoughts of visual perception. Another emerging field of specialized sculpting is the form of pottery. It uses ceramics and clay as the material and creates shapes and products in a unique artistic way. The products created by artists be it paintings, portraits, sculptures or pottery have value of the thought behind and fetches large amount of money for free lancers. Exhibitions and auctions are the channels through which they find customers that assign value as art appreciators- usually rich and famous in their own fields.

The career in arts needs the attributes of creativity, patience, appreciation of art form and a deep sense of aesthetics. Artists need to be tolerant of ambiguity, willing to experiment and be able to accept criticism and failure at times willing to discard their own creation. They must have a deep observation power and ability to catch and internalise ideas from daily life. They should have the knowledge of trends in the contemporary circuit and keep abreast with the work of their contemporaries to develop and display through their work an ability to stay ahead of the times. It’s a highly creative field with its own share of frustration, rejection and tribulations. Self confidence and ability to market helps the artist sustain in life. In commercial space fine arts career requires additional qualities of working in teams and ability to communicate effectively. 

Commercial art is application of art form for furthering business interests of enterprise. Commercial art as a career has openings in advertising agencies, design studios, printing, textile, website designing, publishing, theatre, production houses and media houses involved in publication of newspapers, magazines and journals. There are career avenues in teaching, professional art critics and professional art writers also in each of the segments. Free lancing is also a distinct career choice. Setting up and managing art galleries and joining auction houses also offers opportunities. Conducting art appreciation workshops is another field.

Bachelor’s and Master’s courses are conducted in fine arts by universities as entry level qualification. Courses in design and programming are also available. More than the academic qualification it is the ability to perform and deliver that matters in the field of arts.

For all those with an innate ability to recognize and appreciate form, colour, presentation and a sense of visualization of anything that signifies beauty in objects or abstract thoughts, there is a lucrative career in fine arts. 

(Author is Director General at Institute of Technology and Science and a renowned Career Counselor. He can be contacted at [email protected])