Grover Hogan

Personal Pronouns

They/Them

Describe what you do for work and how your experience with it has been.

As a lead educator, I design activities for events and tours, I guide tours for all ages and demographics, and I research and share information about the artworks on view and future exhibitions. I absolutely love this job, it feels like all the best parts of teaching while also challenging me to continue my own learning journey.

How did you get your job?

I think my love for learning was really ignited during my time at MCAD, and my engagement in the classes I took really helped pave the way for where I am now. I took genuine interest in the classes I was in, and I found a lot of love in clubs, activities, and my teaching artist practicum. Working at the learning center as a writing tutor also helped ease me into the experience of teaching, and the combination of all my interests resulted in landing a position as an arts high school painting and drawing teacher. The years of me working in a high school arts setting taught me so much in such a short amount of time, that experience was truly invaluable and irreplaceable. I'm incredibly thankful for getting to work in that setting. Once I decided it was time to take the next step in my career, I discovered the job hunting process became especially hostile, particularly since the start of the pandemic. I applied to around 30 full time positions, both in education and in the arts. Out of the dozens of cover letters and resume versions submitted, I received three phone calls, eight emailed rejections, two in person interviews, one contract position for the summer, and one call back (from the Walker). The rest had ghosted me. Which I'm thankful for, because if I had received an opportunity earlier, I might have settled for a job I didn't want. The wait was terrifying, but I'm glad it happened.

How long ago did you graduate from MCAD?

1–4 years

What was your major and how did you choose it?

Fine Art Studio - Drawing and Painting

I chose this major because it was a combination of something I loved - the fine arts - while giving me the flexibility to expand my other skills sets and interests such as comics, fiber art, and performance and installation.

Who was your favorite faculty member and why?

I have to choose two, Genevieve DeLeon and Piotr Szyhalski. I took both of their classes as many times as I was allowed to. Genevieve pushed me to engage with the community in more meaningful and responsive ways. I feel like my humanity developed more in her classes. Piotr challenged my work at every turn, and I was incredibly grateful to be taught through the questioning process. His classes refined my critique skills and gave me the critical eye necessary for me to even begin my creative process. Both professors have such a deep respect and care for art, art history, and the way the audience engages with the work. I am a better artist, person, and student for having been in their classes.

Describe your internship(s).

Funnily enough, I didn't have an internship because lockdown started right as I was about to go to fill out my internship form!

Best thing you ever found on the free shelf?

A 30"x40" screen for screen-printing and a French copy of the 2009 Elliot Page movie Whip It

What have you learned since graduating from MCAD?

I have learned that everyone should be required to be a classroom teacher at an early age. I developed so much empathy and love and care for children and young adults. This compassion is now extending to peers. I'm getting out of the mindset that people should "just know that already." I'm realizing how engrained individualism is in my psyche, and how I was taught individualism from the moment I was born. It's stained within the soil of this country. I'm learning patience and how to effectively and honestly communicate. I've learned so many of my current values from students. I think their joy and their struggles and their fears and their interests are a summary of the current culture. I have never met anyone as insightful and as blatantly observant as children are.

Did MCAD prepare you for life after graduation? In what way?

Yes, I think MCAD really showed me what my priorities and strengths were, while also helping me figure out what I want and don't want out of life. I think I gained a large sense of clarity and confidence. I didn't really understand who I was or what I was good at, and I think the connections I made and the people I gravitated towards really held a mirror up to myself. MCAD also taught me how to ask questions, which I'm now finding more valuable than having the answers. My sense of self isn't founded on what I do know, but on the foundation that I'm excited to learn, discover, and explore. I think that if my sense of self formed around what I believe to be true, then any argument against my beliefs could shatter my entire being. By learning to find the value in questions and connections, I can still feel like a whole person, regardless of what difficulties or arguments challenge me.

Is there anything you wish you knew when you were an MCAD student?

I wish I knew to let go of fear. I wouldn't admit it then, but I was afraid a lot. I was scared that if I took up too much time asking questions, people would judge me, I was afraid that I was being embarrassing by talking so much during critique. I was afraid to be earnest because I thought people would find me cringey. I was afraid I would be alone if I didn't mask my autism. Even when I did things outside of my comfort zone, I still had the fear that people were judging me. Well at least, that their judgements would leave me completely isolated from the community. I wish I knew that those judgements don't really have an effect on my life outside of a few awkward conversations or maybe a shady post online. But it's not really something a 19 year old me could have been told. It's something I'd have to figure out over various experiences and a long stretch of time. It's something I'm still figuring out.

Your biggest takeaway from MCAD?

If you're not having a fantastic time and you feel like no one else cares about making your time more enjoyable, what can you do to make this more fulfilling? What do you find fulfilling? Why? What's the difference between fulfillment and something you enjoy? If you don't know, what are some new things that you can discover? If you've never tried something, how do you know you won't like it? Are you sure? Can you be sure about anything? How do you know? Have you given this an honest chance? Have you given that person an honest chance? Have you given yourself an honest chance? Why not? Why not start today?

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

I am most proud of being a teacher

What inspires you/your work?

I am inspired by things that won't leave my mind. The things I ruminate on. Sometimes it's a fear, a feeling, a situation, or a movie I didn't really like but I can't stop thinking about. I find a lot in the precarious. I love tension and spectacle. Superstition, self doubt, and bad miracles. Then I love to pick it all apart. My brother once yelled at me "Why do you always have to push shit?" That question has held such an important grey space in my mind. It hurts me and also brings slight serenity. I think taboos, things we don't want to talk about but can't stop thinking about, the shit I always have to push, they're just too seductive. I have to put them on full display.

How do you network yourself and your art?

I wish I was able to use social media but the basis of it is just antithetical to my process. It's overwhelming. So I do most of my networking through trying to connect with people outside of the art world. I didn't grow up with close friendships with other artists, so the art world often feels a little too... outside of my social scope. I like to talk to people with a range of passions, and they HAVE to be passionate. My networking is based mostly on me being able to be genuine, and I like being around passionate people as they're less afraid of nerding-out about what they love. I try to update my website frequently, hang out with coworkers, and I've been trying to show up to social events more. I also prefer to apply to art opportunities over self marketing. Making art is more enjoyable for me than promoting it.

What was your experience living in the Twin Cities? Any hidden treasures?

The Twin Cities is an environment mostly based on experience. As in, there are very few ways to look up where to go and actually find a good place. Places I actually like are usually hard to find, and people I connect with are even harder to find. To really get a good experience here, you have to be willing to constantly grow your openness. One of my favorite places to shop is Groovy's on Cedar Ave. The owners are really amazing and so sweet, and they have an amazing selection of vintage finds. They've basically furnished my apartment and added necessary staples to my wardrobe.

If you had to redo your college experience, what is something you would do again?

I would minor in Teaching Art again and I would retake the following classes: Advanced Web and Multimedia Seminar, Art and Community, and Readings in Contemporary Art. Something to make you critical, something to make you connect, something to make you understand. Teaching encapsulates all three.

What do you miss about being a student at MCAD?

I miss being in constant community. I miss having the energy to do a billion extra curriculars and the constant access to art and other artists.

What advice do you have for current MCAD students and/or artists at the beginning of their creative careers?

Find someone who is living a life you wish you could live. Someone who is experiencing what you want to experience, someone who embodies the kind of person you want to be. This should be someone you see in real life, not a celebrity or online personality. Someone you can connect with and see as a human. Then ask them every question you have. This can be an email or a letter or a coffee meet up. What do they feel passionate about? What do they struggle with? What do they wish they could do? What have they done to get here? Often times, it's not even about the art, it's not about the recognition or notoriety. It's so much more complex than that. We have to learn to live in the nuances, we have to find the value in every messy and unclear situation. I think if I focused on what I "know"- that I want to be a great artist- I would have missed all the messy little questions that actually form a great artist.