By 8 years of age in rural Kansas, Bruce Helander knew he wanted to be an artist. Severely dyslexic, (as are more than half of all male artists), his visual skills were acute. So at 18 he went off to art school in 1969 at Rhode Island School of Design.



Living in rural Kansas, how did you hear of Rhode Island School of Design?
Actually it was happenstance. I told my mother that I was determined to apply to art schools in America. She promptly responded. "I attended Rhode Island School of Design as a hat designer myself. Why don't you include them?" 

What was crucial in your consideration of which school to attend?
I had demonstrated basic skills, but had no real art education in high school. I realized that I should attend a school with a very strong freshman year program. RISD was just the ticket. 

Is an art school's location still important today for an aspiring artist?
In today's world of the internet, school location is not as important as it was the past. But the ideal geographic locations after college are the metropolitan areas of New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. To a lesser degree, Seattle, Boston, and San Francisco. Very few artists or theater actors for example have achieved successful careers without spending some time in New York City. 

Describe a typical weekday during your undergraduate student years in the 1970s.
I worked and studied daily. I cleaned dormitory floors from 6:30 am to 8:30 Monday through Friday. I worked with building and groundspeople after classes in the late afternoon. On weekends I was a lunch line server. Classes and independent study filled all the hours that I wasn't sleeping or working. I became a drummer in a rock-and-roll band, and we gained local popularity on Saturday nights at Brown University. Later in graduate school at RISD I joined the admissions office staff with a salary. 

Would such a schedule of activity be beneficial to an aspiring working artist today?
The most successful artists I know, from David Hockney to the late Robert Rauschenberg, were over-the-top workhorses. Work seems to harness creative energy and creative talent for ultimate success.

What decision matrix did you face upon undergraduate graduation?
Do I have enough experience, skill and talent to become a working artist? Or do I need more teaching? Concluding the latter, I then had to choose between extending my comfortable stay at RISD, or to pitch a tent in the New York art world, or accept a one-time White House fellowship offered me by the National Endowment for the Arts. I chose the fellowship, just about the time the Watergate scandal broke.

After the White House you chose art school administrator as your next career path. Why?
Actually I worked on my art in the evening every day. I often worked until I dropped. However, I needed a day job to pay the bills. 

"Rodeo Rider" oil on canvas 60" X 50", 2009

Describe your working career at Rhode Island School of design.
As an artist-administrator I served RISD as Admissions Officer, Assistant Director of Admissions, Director of Summer Programs, Associate Provost, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President for Student Affairs. It began at age 22. At age 34 I retired from RISD to launch an art magazine called Art Express. 

Whose careers did you have the opportunity to influence while working at RISD?
Over the years literally hundreds of former students have approached me to tell me that my enthusiasm and advice changed their lives. My favorite story about former students was discovering that I had given a high score in an admissions evaluation to David Byrne who later formed the legendary rock band, "Talking Heads".

Yet you're an accomplished working artist yourself. How accomplished are you?
I'm happy to say that my work is exhibited regularly, most recently at the Basel Art Fair in Miami. I also have work for sale in the O'Melveny Gallery in Los Angeles and currently on display for sale in Dubai. My work is presently in 6o permanent museum collections, including the Whitney, Guggenheim, and Metropolitan in New York. 

How and when did you achieve a living wage as a working artist?
I was always on my guard to have a financial safety net nearby no matter what studio activities I was involved in. I usually had a day job and a salary, so 'starving artist' didn't become a reality in my life. 

How and when did you achieve prosperity as a working artist?
By 1990, at age 43, I shed my two galleries and all other sideline businesses, because I had achieved prosperity from my art. Twenty years later I spend most of my time creating art on commissions, including collage illustrations for The New Yorker. I even dabble in necktie designs for Nicole Miller. On the side, I'm a writer, biographer, art critic and museum curator. 

Who or what caused your change of art from painter to collage artist?
There's a parallel among musicians, many of whom learn the piano first. Fine artists usually learn to paint on canvas first.  As an artist or musician matures, choices become available. I visited a flea market with Dale Chihuly one day and discovered vintage paper. I had an immediate appreciation for the material, and chose it as my substitute for oil paints. It's flattering to hear myself called one of today's top collage artists. 

Where are there more opportunities for talented young Americans? Working artist? Or in the business of art?
Both. Andy Warhol made no bones about combining his artwork with his business. Today Jeff Koons does the same. In the long run it's probably better to be a gallery owner or manager than a frustrated art teacher.