Destigmatizing the art major with student artist Maeve DiSandro `24

While most of the focus at the College tends to fall on academic life and the liberal arts experience, the art on campus often goes unnoticed. For art student Maeve DiSandro `24, the hours she spends painting and working in the art museum are sometimes overlooked due to the stigma of being “just an art major.”

Double majoring in art history and studio art with a concentration in painting, DiSandro puts in long hours both in and out of the classroom to create beautiful paintings that are typically-centered around the human form. Apart from her studies, DiSandro works two jobs on campus as an art history research assistant and in collections and registration at the Colby Museum of Art. 

Having grown up in a household that fostered her creative aspirations, DiSandro knew at a very young age that she wanted to be an artist.

“When I was really little, my grandmother was an artist and that’s always kind of been in my life, and I’ve never been an athletic kid, neither has my family, my parents, or my brother, so it was just kind of a more creative household than others,” DiSandro said.

Artists Henri Matisse and Claude Monet have served DiSandro as lifelong artistic inspirations, influencing her work in a variety of ways. 

“I really like color, so Matisse probably has been, for a while, one of my favorite artists just because he is the father of color theory. And actually, in painting, we’re studying a master’s painting so we’re recreating the color in the piece, so I’m doing that with Matisse’s painting.” DiSandro said, “When I was a kid, I was really obsessed with Monet, when I was like eight, and that was kind of the beginning of everything,” she added.

Some college students shy away from taking art classes because they feel that learning the technicalities of the subject can be frustrating and impede on the creative process. However, DiSandro believes that adding different artistic skills to one’s belt can only open up doors that help the artist more effectively execute their creative vision. For her, understanding the different techniques and skills that artists use does not feel like work because she values the information she learns in class.

“I’m a huge art nerd, so I really enjoy doing the homework. I think it’s super important to know that stuff. Like for painting, for example, it’s annoying doing all of that technical stuff, but I know that it will help me in the future and it already has been helping me, like just learning all of the color theory and everything,” DiSandro explained. 

Outside of the classroom, DiSandro’s love of art bleeds into her daily life, even shaping her overall perception of the world. 

“Say I’m painting for a while, I’ll walk outside and I will notice colors so much more than I think anybody else does. I will see things in color blocks, or just light and shadows, and I’ll be like ‘that’s super cool,’ and ‘that’s making a really cool shadow right now.’” DiSandro said, “Even with things that people would be like ‘oh, that’s ugly,’ or like an object, I’m like, ‘no, like look at that, that is so cool.’”

Though common art major stereotypes would convince one otherwise, DiSandro feels that there are so many different career paths available to those with artistic ambitions, several of which the College facilitates.  

“There are so many jobs in that field, and I’m learning that here. Colby’s given me so many opportunities, like I already have two different jobs in the art department,” DiSandro said. “But the stigma! Especially here, I get so self conscious and the people here are like ‘oh, like you’re not ever going to make any money,’ ‘you have a fake major,’ ‘you don’t need to work as hard,’ but I’m still double majoring in something at Colby.” 

Excited to explore different career paths, DiSandro has already thought a lot about attending graduate school for art history. 

In working at the museum and coming to develop an appreciation for the history of some of the art on display, DiSandro said, “I want to go to grad school for art history and maybe work at a museum or in that field in some way.” 

She feels that the stigma around being an art major drives her to excel in this field and actively work against the false notion that art majors are doomed after college.

“I’m doing what I love, and I’m so happy that I’m doing what I love, and I can do what I love at this school,” DiSandro said.

DiSandro is living proof that deciding to major in what you are passionate about does not mean you have a poor work ethic or a future of financial instability. Every day, she proves that doing what you love and working hard as a sophomore in college, in whatever subject that may be, is an entirely possible and satisfying pursuit.

~ Jenna Boling `24