It seemed like a good idea back in the 1980s: borrow a bunch of money, go to art school, pretend you’re preparing for a real job. Ben Pranger did it. Now, four years out of graduate school, with his art attracting plenty of attention, he’s living from hand to mouth, juggling a couple of part-time jobs for rent money, wondering how he’ll ever get out from under. “I’ve got all this debt from college,” he says. “I’ll never break even.”
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This is not the life Pranger anticipated when he graduated from Oberlin (in English), decided to take up painting, and came to the School of the Art Institute for an MFA. Back then, he says, no one seemed concerned about the imbalance between the number of black-clad hopefuls flocking to art school and the real-world demand for serious artists. Except for one teacher who joked that “all you people are going to be out drywalling,” no one at the Art Institute even talked about it.
“Kinetic Sculpture and Installations,” Pranger’s show at Perimeter Gallery, 750 N. Orleans, continues through August 31. Hours are 10:30 to 5:30, Tuesday through Friday. Call 266-9473.
