NCAD Portfolio 2018 ?

Foln

okay I know this is quite late but I need advice on how exactly to piece together my portfolio for NCAD as I plan on applying in February. I am completely lost and don't know where to start any help at all would be appreciated

How many notebooks do I need? How many themes from the brief should I pick? And what exactly are they looking for?

NinetyTwoTeam

There is not an exact science to it. It's fine art, after all. In broad terms, you want to show both your process/explorations and finished work, and try your best to make work that is original/unique/thought provoking and also interesting to look at, that is an area you are interested in and have researched/would like to continue.

Just to be brutally honest (which, if you plan to get through any art college, you will need to get used to), if you aren't thinking in the above terms, and are thinking you need X amount of this, X amount of that, you will need to adjust your approach significantly. It's not about quantity unless, for example, you decide you want to do a self portrait every day for a month or a year or something. You should be exploring something and the amount of work or sketches should come organically. It will be obvious if your work is the result of serious pursuit of a creative expression or you just tried to fill a book for the sake of it.

NCAD is very competitive due to its reputation. When I dropped off my portfolio there was a massive queue. But it isn't necessarily the best art school. I strongly suggest you apply to other schools as well. They can only accept a certain amount from a large pool of applicants.

I would also suggest a portfolio prep or PLC course, the instructors often have accurate info as to what schools want in a portfolio and it will help prepare you for the workload and criticism at an art college without having to commit 3-4 years and a few grand only to find out it's not for you.

Foln

NinetyTwoTeam wrote: »

There is not an exact science to it. It's fine art, after all. In broad terms, you want to show both your process/explorations and finished work, and try your best to make work that is original/unique/thought provoking and also interesting to look at, that is an area you are interested in and have researched/would like to continue.

Just to be brutally honest (which, if you plan to get through any art college, you will need to get used to), if you aren't thinking in the above terms, and are thinking you need X amount of this, X amount of that, you will need to adjust your approach significantly. It's not about quantity unless, for example, you decide you want to do a self portrait every day for a month or a year or something. You should be exploring something and the amount of work or sketches should come organically. It will be obvious if your work is the result of serious pursuit of a creative expression or you just tried to fill a book for the sake of it.

NCAD is very competitive due to its reputation. When I dropped off my portfolio there was a massive queue. But it isn't necessarily the best art school. I strongly suggest you apply to other schools as well. They can only accept a certain amount from a large pool of applicants.

I would also suggest a portfolio prep or PLC course, the instructors often have accurate info as to what schools want in a portfolio and it will help prepare you for the workload and criticism at an art college without having to commit 3-4 years and a few grand only to find out it's not for you.

Thank you! I'm thinking artistically and have very specific areas that I would love to explore with my portfolio but am just so lost on where to start. It seems like such a process and I have no experience on doing portfolios so just had no idea where to begin. Are you studying in NCAD now or elsewhere?

NinetyTwoTeam

No, I didn't get into NCAD, many of my classmates also applied there and didn't get in which is why I just would say don't have your heart totally set on it, and apply a few different places. I would encourage you to visit colleges and get feedback from students in different years, see if they would recommend the college.

I always had a dream of studying art, but if I had to do it again I would study something more practical. I show in exhibitions and stuff but none of that is due to anything I learned in college and I rarely make any money off it. The teachers didn't teach any technical stuff, they were lazy and arrogant and disorganized and almost always crapped on all the work students made but didn't help you get better. They also expected you to do a massive workload and one lecturer told me I should quit my part time job (a job I needed to buy the 30-50 euro a week I spent on materials) And Ive heard the same complaints from other students around the art colleges in Ireland. So be prepared for that. Also, if you don't come from a family with money it is very difficult to sustain your practice after college. Which is another thing they don't teach you in art college - what to do to make it a professional career after graduation.

I would never discourage someone from following their dream and doing what they love, but just be aware that it is super difficult to get through art college, and there is NO jobs in the field. So you need to really love art above everything else and be willing to struggle financially to pursue it unless your parents are well off and willing to help you.


As for your portfolio, like I said I recommend a portfolio class. For a place like NCAD work based on current 'hot topics' might be a good idea. I can tell you what didn't work - still life, landscape, regular stuff like that. The weirder and more personal/political the better I'd say but also show a lot of research.

Also look at the top contemporary galleries in Dublin - they all have websites with lots of stuff on them. Like mother's tankstation, imma, green on red, Taylor.

Another thing that works well is taking inspiration from previous artworks/literature/biographies, etc. Not making work that is similar, but a new and interesting interpretation that is a whole different twist.

There was just a big Vermeer exhibition in Dublin, researching his life and the lives of people he painted, doing something related to that would be something art colleges would see as interesting. Not painting like him, mind, it's hard to explain but just off the top of my head you could do a drawing of like, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian posed like that Arnolfini and his wife portrait or something. They love that kind of mashup stuff.

NinetyTwoTeam

I think the Vermeer exhibition is on for another couple of weeks if you haven't seen it I recommend it even if you don't want to do a project based off it.

But if you want an idea of what is considered good contemporary art, check this out: http://www.motherstankstation.com
Look through all the different artists that are on their list, you can see how varied the practices are.

Also check out the websites of the biennialles and festivals like:
https://www.artbasel.com

KwanSwan

I'm a mature student returning to college next year. I didn't like what I studied the first time around and now I want to pursue Graphic Design. I'm going to apply to NCAD/IADT/DIT etc. Do you mind me asking which college you went to? And do you have any thoughts about Graphic Design in terms of study/career opportunities? It's meant to be one of the "safer" artistic things to study in terms of employability. Do you know anyone who's studied it and how they're getting on post-graduation?