Sydney Kim '07, a studio art major and English minor, is currently a studio art teacher's assistant at Dartmouth.
What are you doing now?
I'm applying to art schools for my MFA -- master in fine arts. I'm looking at schools in urban cities like RISD, San Fran Art Institution, Chicago, MICA in Baltimore.
Not New York?
No, I don't want to be distracted by the city. I want to really concentrate on the art and my MFA.
What sort of art do you do, exactly?
For my TA position, I do publicity -- posters and postcard announcements, etc. I've volunteered for FNR for three years and I've just started branching out. Most of my own art is black and white, usually: graphite and ink on paper or vellum, acrylic sometimes -- white acrylic. I focus on abstraction and delicate line work, but now I've been branching out into introducing value and shadow and form whereas before I didn't really do that.
Are there lots of artistic hipsters at Dartmouth?
Haha, you find them more at FNR than in the art department.
Are you very involved in Friday Night Rock?
I was heavily involved when it first started because my closest friends started it and I was the one who made all the posters. I was in a band at the time, and I just enjoy seeing good music.
Why do you think your name is well known?
Maybe the fact that I do publicity materials and my posters have a distinct style -- I'm careful about what fonts I use -- I pick out one strong color scheme with one or two images and keep it clean. But my artwork is not outspoken at all. It's very quiet.
How does perfectionism relate to art? Can art be perfect?
There are pieces that I think are perfect, but I don't know if I can define perfect -- maybe that it makes me feel calm when I see it. Technically, I try to make mine perfect. It has to be clean -- if I mess up a drawing, I just throw it away and start over.
What is it like being an artist in Hanover?
It's a combination. It kind of sucks being here because I don't get as much exposure to the art scene. But at the same time a lot of my art is based on personal experiences at Dartmouth, in Hanover. The department has been very helpful to push me in what I can do.
What sort of personal experiences?
People that I've met. A lot of things I do are based on intangible connections to people and things.
What's your social life now as an '06 TA?
I don't really go to frats. I'm a Tabard so I hang out a lot there. I think I'm pretty removed from the "social scene" at Dartmouth. I hang out with people one-on-one instead of hopping around from frat to frat. I was never a huge fan of that stuff.
