My Dad and I used to listen to
motivational audiotapes in the minivan on the way to school in the morning. Jim
Rohn, the promotional speaker on the audiotape, stated, ÒLeadership is the
challenge to be something more than ordinary.Ó[1]
That statement played like a record through my mind when I first walked through
the UT campus and was ambushed with the depressing realization that I was
anonymous. I was one of
fifty-thousand students at UT with
no distinguishable characteristics that separated me from the crowd. In high
school I was the artsy, curly-headed hippie whose soul ambition was to become
an art historian. I was an individual; I prided myself on that categorization
of my personality. After the initial shock of considering myself as Òordinary,Ó
my trepidations were eased when I realized that I contain something that is
indestructible, something that will pave the road to my future as a leader: my
bulldog tenacity and perseverance. These unique personality traits will be my
armor through the war of life and will encourage me to overcome lifeÕs
obstacles as I accomplish my ultimate, unordinary ambition: to become an Art
Conservationist and preserve the history of the world, especially unstable
nations plagued by war, through the restoration of art.
There are many
steps I must climb on the stairway to becoming an Art Conservationist and
eventually protecting the culture and history of the world for future
generations. These steps include
being admitted into the School of Fine Arts at UT, working as a docent at the
Blanton Museum of Art, studying abroad, interning at the Metropolitan Museum of
Art and going to graduate school to get a MasterÕs Degree in Museum Studies. It
is obvious that the path I will follow to become a leader is centered on
receiving an education. Although these goals are seemingly insignificant in
juxtaposition to the ÒtypicalÓ leader who directly affects the lives of others
through hands-on interaction, I am
reminded that Òlittle successes build up just as quickly as little failures.Ó[2]
Each minor, indirect success or obstacle I overcome draws me one step closer in
becoming qualified to help others through my knowledge of art. By entrusting my faith and energy to my
education, I am taking Thomas JeffersonÕs advice when he bluntly states,
ÒWhatever you are, be a good one,Ó[3]
and to that extent fulfilling the UT mission statement that asserts, ÒWhat starts here, changes the world.Ó[4]
As
I begin to accomplish these education-based objectives, I must not forget that
my own personal development and growth are crucial to my ultimate goal of
preserving the history of the world. Bartlett Giametti, reminds me that Ò it is
not beyond you to know that a life of decency, justice and dignity for us
should be your goal as a human being; it is not a mere abstraction to urge you
to approach the powers of your mind in all their rousing strength and reach for
what is noble .Ó[5]
Art reflects the culture that produces it. Through art,
one can understand and interpret history and past societies.
The
first palpable obstacle I must overcome in college to fulfill my leadership
role as an Art Conservationist is to be admitted into to the College of Fine
Arts as an Art History major. Studying Art History will prepare me to protect
the art of the world. I will be able to use non-verbal entities as evidence of
historical transformations and in turn be able to accurately describe and
protect past cultures through my insight. To accomplish this goal I must focus
on keeping my GPA above a 3.5, having a well-rounded resume, writing two
mind-blowing essays for the application and showing my determination to become
an Art Historian. I will have to accomplish this goal before the end of my
freshman year, or be forced to transfer to a school that will allow me to study
Art History.
In the process of
applying to the Art School I would like to become immersed in the education of
art through the Blanton Museum. I am training to become a docent and would
eventually like to become the president of the Student Art Guild, where I will
have an influence on my community and have more freedom to implement my ideas
and pass on the values of art onto others. I would like to convey the
importance of art education while learning myself about the structure of
non-profit organizations and familiarizing myself with different kinds of art.
By taking an active approach to my education I am Òsupporting the belief that
knowledge can be constructed by [me] rather than received from a higher
authority and engaging in the fact that education is a process, not a set of
facts.Ó [6]
In my journey to
become a leader, I would like to free myself from the limits of the University
of Texas and experience what the world has to offer in hopes of becoming a
well-rounded, cultured individual. Andre Malraux, a French historian, stated
ÒCulture is the sum of all the forms of art, of love and of thought, which have
enabled man to be less enslaved.Ó[7]
In my attempt to pursue the idea of the inscription ÒYe shall know the truth
and the truth shall make you freeÓ [8]above
the entrance to the UT tower, I hope to be liberated by the amalgamation of
art, history, culture, society and tradition that Art Conservation epitomizes
and defends. I want to live what I learn. Instead of idly viewing slides of the
Sistine Chapel from my wooden desk in the back of a rectangular, prison-like
classroom, I want to be standing in the center of the Sistine Chapel,
physically and emotionally becoming connected to Michelangelo. Instead of
recognizing the same architectural entities and sculptures as I walk through
the UT campus, I want to recognize and be overwhelmed by the intensity of the
Parthenon or the Louvre as I walk through the cities of Rome and Paris.
Furthermore, I want to be out of my element. I want to feel uncomfortable not
knowing the language or customs of a different country. I want to be challenged
to view life from a different standpoint. I hope to spend my junior year
studying in France, Spain or Italy and take classes that will transfer back to
UT so that I can graduate on time. However, my desires to study abroad do not
cease with only studying Art History; I want to travel or backpack throughout
Europe and experience I would like to be immersed in a different culture;
perhaps France or Italy and finally see the art IÕve spent years studying.
what
it means to be cultured. I do not want to be a typical, obnoxious tourist; I
want try new foods, stutter while trying to learn the language; I want to grow
as a
person and open my mind. These hurdles will not only affect
every aspect of my being, but will also prepare me to travel and relate to the
citizens of different countries as I protect and restore the art of the world.
In building a
strong foundation in Art History, volunteering at the Blanton Museum of Art,
and studying abroad, I will increase the probability of being hired as an
intern at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a junior or senior in college. This
will not only give me experience at one of the most prestigious art museums in
the country, but will also aid me in my attempt to study Museum Studies at the
University of Texas.
My ambition to
receive a Masters degree in Museum Studies will facilitate as a transition into
a tangible career that will allow me to pursue my passion for Art History and
Art Conservation. Receiving a Masters degree in Museum Studies is taking an
enormous leap from the baby-step of volunteering at a museum. I will be directly involved with
educating our generation about the importance of the arts while simultaneously
becoming financially stable so that I can afford the training to become a
Conservationist. I am straying away from the typical path of becoming a
Conservationist by receiving a masters degree in Museum Studies as opposed to
obtaining a masters degree in Conservation. IÕve decided to pave my own path in this regard, for I want
a broad education that entails education and restoration. Essentially, I want to make a subtle difference in
my community by becoming a walking billboard in informing our society about the
importance of art education. I feel that if I did not fulfill this goal, I
would be Ògiving greater weight to
one aspect of [my] identityÓ and because of this, I would eventually begin to
Òshortchange what [I] have to offer one another.Ó[9].
Art Conservation is not restricted to one area of study or one way of thinking.
I donÕt want to be the type of person who only focuses on one area of study,
and I feel as though if I were to only focus on Conservation as a career I would be gypping myself from a
world of endless possibilities.
Similarly, I believe Art Conservation and Museum Studies are
interchangeable: one cannot exist without the other. Respect for art comes with
education. If I were to spend my life protecting art from a world that does not
care, then my intentions would be useless. My ambition is to save the history
of the world through art, but to accomplish that goal I want to influence and
expose others to importance of art and its history, which is what a MasterÕs
Degree in Museum Studies will allow me to do.
With the
accumulation of the education-based successes and goals I have mentioned
throughout my paper, and with the talents God has blessed me with, I ultimately
want to be someone who knows Òthat we donÕt live in the best possible world,
but who thinks we can do something to make ours better.Ó[10]
Knowing my talents and my personality, my perfectionist tendencies and the
virtue of patience I have come to accept, I feel as though I can eventually
benefit the world through Art Conservation. To follow this aspiration I want to
take a classical approach to learning and become an intern: traveling the world
and gaining hands-on experience as a Conservationist. I want to be immersed in
art and I feel as though it will be a detriment to my abilities to be confined
to a classroom learning the procedures associated with conservation instead of
experiencing and practicing the techniques needed to be a leader in my field.
Bamiyan Buddha Al-Askari Mosque before and after picture.
My
ultimate ambition does not cease and desist with receiving the official title
of ÒArt Conservationist.Ó I want to accomplish something more substantial and
more fulfilling than an education accompanying a title. I want to be a leader
in my field and for the world. Cecil Beaton stated, Ò A leader should be
daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of
purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the
commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.Ó [11]My
most improbable goal is to travel to unstable nations and protect the art that
is destroyed through war and terrorism. I want to become a beacon of knowledge
and a connection between different cultures, and between different generations.
I want to restore art such as the Al-Askari Mosque that was bombed by Al-Qaeda
in Iraq. I want to protect and conserve statues of culture such as the
fifteen-hundred-year-old Bamiyan Buddha that was destroyed by extremists. I
believe that I am saving the world through rearing our generation and future
generations to consider and incorporate the past in the building of the future
through the knowledge that art bestows upon us.
Word count: 1530
New word count:
1875
[1]
Lewis, Jone, ÒWhat Is a Leader,Ó Wisdom Quotes From Leaders, 2006, <http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_leadership.html.>
[2]The University of Texas at Austin. ÒÓOvercoming ProcrastinationÓ in Explore Texas Anthology, ed. Jerome Bump, 176.
[3] Lewis, Jone. ÒLeadership Quotations,Ó Wisdom Quotes, 2006.
<http://www.wisdomquots.com/cat_leadership.html>
[4] University of Texas at Austin ÒThe University of Texas at AustinÓ, 2006.
<http://www.utexas.edu>
[5]Giametti,
Bartlett, ÒThe Earthly Use of a Liberal Education.Ó In Explore Texas
Anthology,
ed. Jerome Bump (New York, 1988), 321.
[6]Lewis, Albert. ÒDiscovery LearningÓ in Explore Texas Anthology, ed. Jerome
Bump,
334).
[7]Lewis, Jone. ÒQuotes of Culture,Ó Wisdom Quotes, 2006,
<http://www.wisodmquotes.com/cat_culture.html.>
[8] Morris,
Cecilia. ÒCecilia MorrisÕs AutobiographyÓ in Explore Texas
Anthology, ed. Jerome Bump, 996.
[9] Dass, Ram and
Gorman, Paul. ÒHow Can I Help?Ó in Explore Texas
Anthology, ed. Jerome Bump (New York, 1987), 94.
[10] Morris,
Cecilia. ÒCecilia MorrisÕs AutobiographyÓ in Explore Texas
Anthology, ed. Jerome Bump, 998.
[11] Lewis, Jone, ÒLeadership Quotations,Ó Wisdom Quotes, 2006,
<http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_leadership.html.>
[12]Monroe,
Lauren. ÒKlimt-The KissÓ, Famous Artwork, 2006.
<http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~magerko/images/klimt-kiss.jpg>
[13]authors own
photo
[14]ÓBuddhas of
BamiyanÓ, Wikipedia-The Free Encyclopedia, 2006.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhas_of_Bamiyan>
[15]ÓAl-Askari
MosqueÓ, Wikipedia-The Free Encyclopedia 2006.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Askari_Mosque>
https://webspace.utexas.edu/ces2262/P2A.htm?uniq=fltauc