Ask HN: Does anyone here have an art degree? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone here have an art degree?

#121

Post by paulcpederson » Sat, Jan 07, 2017, 7:29 PM UTC

spaceribs wrote: post #37

BFA student turned full stack developer here. I wanted to actually share WHY artists can really excel in this space, both positive and negative: 1. We've been trained to critique, and communicate issues constructively. This is absolutely essential to working quickly, the sooner you realize there is an existential problem with what you're doing, the sooner you can work through them. I've become an absolute user story…

Art major, here, and I agree with these points. Critical thinking, communication, and creative problem solving are all very valuable skills to bring to a development team.

The 2+ years of art history is somewhat less helpful...

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone here have an art degree?

#122

Post by stefanix » Sat, Jan 07, 2017, 7:32 PM UTC

Started with CS/Space Engineering then had an intermission with two art degrees in Bay Aera and NY and then started doing open hardware projects. Initially multitouch stuff around the time the iPhone came out, then an open source laser cutter, and more recently an adaptive oxygen system for pilots.

Occasionally I also do art projects with decent sales through a NY gallery.

I have always seen art as exploratory, a frontier where you push what is thinkable and communicable. An example would be the literary pioneers that preceded space exploration. In other words playtime to widen your perception before you narrow down on a problem and solve it.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone here have an art degree?

#123

Post by zachrose » Sat, Jan 07, 2017, 7:33 PM UTC

atmartins wrote: post #71

zachrose wrote: post #68

I got a BFA from my state university in "Digital Arts", which for me was a combination of filmmaking, ceramics, and graphic design. I didn't start programming until my last year of school when I wanted to make stupid simple blinking lights with microcontrollers[1]. I agree with lots of responses in this thread about the roles of conceptual integrity and openness to criticism. The other thing I would add is that my pa…

This is like a clone of the comment I was about to write. I also had classes from that fellow, and share your sentiments almost exactly.

Cool!!!

Yeah I'm so glad there's someone doing what Hickman is doing. I hope and wish that programming education were dispersed into non-STEM programs.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone here have an art degree?

#124

Post by SippinLean » Sat, Jan 07, 2017, 7:34 PM UTC

Degree in Graphic Design, work as Sr Frontend Web Developer. The ability to take criticism and learn how to provide constructive criticism has been valuable, as well as attention to craft and detail.

I interface with designers daily and it's great to see their eyes light up when you says something like "yeah I can increase the leading, no problem".

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone here have an art degree?

#125

Post by joseph » Sat, Jan 07, 2017, 7:55 PM UTC

I have an art degree of sorts. I went to The Evergreen State College[1], which does not have majors and does not offer a BFA, so I my degree is a BA. I took art programs that they offered, mostly doing drawing and sculpture. I also did some self driven courses that were not art related, learning about boat design.

I got into open source software and programming after graduating, and it eventually led to a career. I wouldn't say the artistic knowledge does anything for my work per se. But I do view development as a creative process similar to art. You start with an idea and some "raw materials", and gradually add or remove until you get the desired end result. When developing, you can start with design documents and prototypes, which is like doing sketches or mockups. I'm also pretty perfectionistic about code aesthetics and quality, so there is an artistic element there.

1. https://evergreen.edu

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone here have an art degree?

#126

Post by adamwdraper » Sat, Jan 07, 2017, 8:02 PM UTC

I have a BFA in Photography and it has served me well for the same reasons as spaceribs mentioned above.

In my experience, if you enjoy creating art there's a good chance that you will enjoy coding. Programming is creative and code is just another medium.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone here have an art degree?

#127

Post by LargeCompanies » Sat, Jan 07, 2017, 8:02 PM UTC

Get a degree in something fun and teach yourself how to code/build cool digital technology!

That's my path... got a degree in the recording industry: Music Business from a TN state school and worked at labels for a bit before leaving. A few years later I taught myself how to code for one of my startup ideas. Fun startup journeys none monetaryily successful but had a great time riding that rollercoaster and learned an in demand skill.

Now in govt. IT and contracting which is the best place to be professionally/financially on the east coast.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone here have an art degree?

#128

Post by rifung » Sat, Jan 07, 2017, 8:11 PM UTC

stephengillie wrote: post #76

semi-extrinsic wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To a degree, the same goes for scientists. Having anonymous peer reviewers telling you the past six months of your professional life has been a waste, because this was done by a Czhechoslovakian in '73 (paper never translated) and turns out to be uninteresting, can be quite demoralising. Or like one of my first papers, when sending it to a very good journal, having one reviewer say "this is all wrong" and the other s…

Don't professional software developers feel the same way about crafting a masterful function, only to find their feature had already been implemented years ago? Somehow, this industry thrives in reinventing the wheel in slightly different ways - once a process is implemented mathematically (in code), it has to be reimplemented again, in slightly different terms (another programming language). We bikeshed in that it's…

> Don't professional software developers feel the same way about crafting a masterful function, only to find their feature had already been implemented years ago?

Although I find it weird to call myself a professional, I don't really feel the same way because I usually enjoy the process of doing it and figuring it out for myself. I suspect that I might feel differently if my compensation were directly tied to coming up with new things though.

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone here have an art degree?

#129

Post by amirmc » Sat, Jan 07, 2017, 8:20 PM UTC

tenaciousDaniel wrote: post #44

spaceribs wrote: post #37

BFA student turned full stack developer here. I wanted to actually share WHY artists can really excel in this space, both positive and negative: 1. We've been trained to critique, and communicate issues constructively. This is absolutely essential to working quickly, the sooner you realize there is an existential problem with what you're doing, the sooner you can work through them. I've become an absolute user story…

Ah yeah, the critiquing aspect is spot on. In my first programming job, my supervisor would try to be as gentle as possible in telling me why my code was wrong. I had to essentially say "dude, just tell me my code sucks and then tell my why!" I didn't realize how thick of a skin I have due to my arts background.

> "I didn't realize how thick of a skin I have due to my arts background."

Unfortunately, I think this says more about the programmers today and the culture they expect, rather than your resilience.

(that's not meant to imply that you're not resilient, by the way).

Re: Ask HN: Does anyone here have an art degree?

#130

Post by ethank » Sat, Jan 07, 2017, 8:45 PM UTC

Many of them. a BFA and two MFA's.

I started out wanting to pursue computer science, but those classes didn't fit into my schedule (I did my freshman year at UCI and senior year in high school at the same time).

The only class that fit my schedule was a Visual Arts class with a "New Media" emphasis. At this time I was also working at the local paper and putting their site online (this is around 1997).

I got hooked on the theory behind the why/how/engineering of the Internet, art, computers and how all these intersected. I liked that art was putting a mirror up on humanity as it got more and more connected.

I ended up going to UCSD in their Interdisciplinary Computing and the Arts program, then to UCSB where I was in Media Arts and Technology and doubled MFA'ed with Visual Arts (Computing Emphasis).

I did a lot of installation work, a lot of interesting programming with AI and the like.

From there I started the technology department at Warner Bros. Records, ran Live Nation Labs, and currently the General Manager - Digital at Fender Guitars.

I think the art background helped me bridge the arts/humanities and technology in an interesting way, and keeps my approach to tech grounded in the artists and artistic practices I've worked in.