BA in Art History

Tori Sechrest, 2020

How did you decide on the art history major? 

Since I was little I have always been drawn to the arts. Throughout middle school I found myself more interested in staying home to practice drawing than going out and playing games or sports. This followed into high school, where I signed up for every art course and attended every art event I possibly could. My high school art teacher was passionate about his work and pushed the boundaries of my artistic skills to their limits. I am thankful for his inspiration every time I go to make my own art. Like most high schools, it is mandatory to take several history courses, and in my case those were American history and world history. Every day during those courses my curiosity for the world and interest in the subject grew more and more. As a teenager whenever I was asked “Enjoying school? What’s your favorite subject?” I would immediately answer with art and history. Looking back, although it seems obvious now it didn’t occur to me to pursue these subjects in college. I instead went for a degree in automotive technology at NTI.  

After graduating from NTI, I decided that I still wanted to further my education and completed my associates at Craven Community College. A few months later, Spring of 2017, I began my academic journey here at George Mason, pursuing a degree in business management. Although I enjoyed the education and my instructors, that path only lasted for a year – because I took my first art history elective with Professor Bauman. I instantly fell in love with art history and was reminded of all my teenage curiosity for the world and my love for the arts. Within the first few weeks of the course I knew I needed to switch my major. It’s been almost two years since that decision and I have not regretted a single moment, even during those long nights of studying and researching for papers.

Art history is such a fulfilling and beautiful subject to study and offers no boundaries in subject matter. Almost every society throughout history has created some form of art and these works can be a mirror to the artists’ society and time. Just as today, many artists create work that they deem important for their own expression and use their creativity to communicate what they want to say. The study of art history in many ways is the study of this silent language and I wish to explore this language as far as I can.   

What have you learned in an art history class that really surprised you/changed your perspective?

This is a very difficult question, because I could easily give an example of something surprising that I’ve learned from every art history course I’ve taken to date. However, I think the one I bring up the most in conversations would have to be from my “Buddhist Art in Asia” course with Prof. Robert DeCaroli.

This was one of the first courses I took as an art history student and it really put in perspective the concept of how an image can change in different societies over time. The course follows the image of Buddha from its origins in India and how its image visually changes throughout the spread of the religion to China, Southeast Asia, Japan and the Himalayas. It’s remarkably fascinating how a single image can be molded to fit different influences over time. When comparing the original Buddha images from ancient India to ones created in China or Japan, the stylistic differences become very apparent and, in some cases, images of the same subject don’t seem to be connected at all. However, it’s those changing features that represent the countries’ own artistic style and even show how the original religion and stories have been interpreted differently.    

Tell us about your dream occupation…

I would love to be able to explore different departments of a museum or gallery, whether working in an educational department, helping with curatorial work, or serving on an archive management team. I have also dreamed of owning and curating my own contemporary art gallery that showcases hidden gem artists from across the United States. However, out of all my dream occupations, the one I plan to work towards later in my career would be becoming an art history professor. Many of my former high school teachers and college professors have greatly impacted my life, in a countless number of ways, and I want to be able to carry that impact on to future students.    

Have you had any internships? Or interesting jobs or volunteer experience? Tell us about it/them.

Unfortunately, I have not done an internship yet. However, I have been meeting with the internship advisor for art history and am currently finishing my applications for several internship positions available in Spring 2020. I have also been actively searching and preparing for part-time positions at various auction houses and museums.

Any accomplishments you’re proud of? Opportunities you’ve taken advantage of? Brag a little!

The accomplishment I feel most proud of during my time here at George Mason circles back around to when I switched my degree from business to art history. College should be challenging and push the boundaries of a student’s abilities to reach a higher level of education, but my first year at George Mason was very difficult. I was not meeting my normal standards in school and started to develop the habit of the notorious grade killer, procrastination. After I switched, I promised myself I would rework my habits, hone my skills and give this degree my all. Two years have passed, and I am proud of how far I’ve come academically. Studying a subject you love does in fact make the work easier, but it also has made me want to study harder and work towards more in my degree and field.  I am also grateful to recently have been selected as one of the art history ambassadors for the department here at GMU and am proud to be able to help with undergraduate events and meet with many other students who share a love for history and art history.

Tell us something people would be surprised to know about you.

I assume most people would be surprised to know that I have a passion for cars and graduated from NTI in 2015 with a degree in automotive technology and training in welding and fabrication. I also still practice art, whenever I get the chance, and love to work with charcoal and graphite. I have recently started to practice with the combination of watercolor and colored pencil, in hopes to later be able to push the medium further. I also love to cook and try to set aside one night a week to attempt a new and more challenging recipe.