Friday, January 28, 2011
the world at large
Where else (excluding the specific world of visual art / design) do you draw inspiration from? Politics, Science, Culture, Religion, Psychology, etc.
Oh boy. Where don't I draw inspiration from?
To be perfectly honest, I'd say that the vast majority of my inspiration comes from sources other than visual art and design. Sure, I have photographers and other graphic artists that I admire and may know by name, but I rarely (if ever) consult them for reference in the creation of my own work.
Instead, I look to writers, poets, activists, politicians, specific cultures, and the every day human being. Oh, and did I mention musicians? I don't believe I did. Allow me to do so now:
MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC.
I could break it down into percentage of inspiration, but that'd be tedious for me and boring for you. Just know that music would be off the charts and visual artists would be barely perceptible.
Being a photographer, I see. Every day sights morph into photographs for me. Constantly.
Being a writer, I think. Every day thoughts and events find themselves intertwined in some new vignette or story idea. Again, constantly. It does get exhausting, at times. Turning off your brain is harder than the anti-drug commercials make it seem.
And being an extreme music connoisseur, it's a rare occasion that I don't have some sort of music playing. Sometimes softer background songs, more often louder forefront tunage. In fact, as I typed in this sentence I recieved an email warning me of reaching my free Pandora listening limit. (Fffuuuuucckkkkk...!)
Anyway, all of this noise - visial, audio, internal... ALL of it is then put forth into writings, ideas, photos, etc. It all swirls together and I pick out the pieces that would be best suited for a creative story or a weird poem or a staged photo. And when it gets to be too much I go out on a photo-loaded walk and blow off some steam. Sort things out. Create my own therapy, and hopefully some interesting photographs while I'm at it.
It's a process that's taken me a long time and a lot of pot to work out, but it's developing slowly but surely.
Oh boy. Where don't I draw inspiration from?
To be perfectly honest, I'd say that the vast majority of my inspiration comes from sources other than visual art and design. Sure, I have photographers and other graphic artists that I admire and may know by name, but I rarely (if ever) consult them for reference in the creation of my own work.
Instead, I look to writers, poets, activists, politicians, specific cultures, and the every day human being. Oh, and did I mention musicians? I don't believe I did. Allow me to do so now:
MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC.
I could break it down into percentage of inspiration, but that'd be tedious for me and boring for you. Just know that music would be off the charts and visual artists would be barely perceptible.
Being a photographer, I see. Every day sights morph into photographs for me. Constantly.
Being a writer, I think. Every day thoughts and events find themselves intertwined in some new vignette or story idea. Again, constantly. It does get exhausting, at times. Turning off your brain is harder than the anti-drug commercials make it seem.
And being an extreme music connoisseur, it's a rare occasion that I don't have some sort of music playing. Sometimes softer background songs, more often louder forefront tunage. In fact, as I typed in this sentence I recieved an email warning me of reaching my free Pandora listening limit. (Fffuuuuucckkkkk...!)
Anyway, all of this noise - visial, audio, internal... ALL of it is then put forth into writings, ideas, photos, etc. It all swirls together and I pick out the pieces that would be best suited for a creative story or a weird poem or a staged photo. And when it gets to be too much I go out on a photo-loaded walk and blow off some steam. Sort things out. Create my own therapy, and hopefully some interesting photographs while I'm at it.
It's a process that's taken me a long time and a lot of pot to work out, but it's developing slowly but surely.
to my audience:
What is your desired direction with your intended audience; Emotional, Intellectual, Intuitive, Sensual, Neutral or other? Expound.
Emotional. Intellectual. Intuitive.
Emotional because I believe that's what any form of art is - emotion put into a certain medium or mediums and presented to an audience. That's what makes art so controversial and so sensitive; emotions are being criticized, judged, accepted.
I've heard various instructors at MIAD speak about how a critique is nothing personal -- "we're just judging your artwork, not you as a person." Well me, as a person, not me as a backpack or as a table, put my own hard work and sadness and joy and anger and expression into this crappy piece of cut out paper and paint because that's what I do. That's what I'm here for. And hopefully the crappy pieces will eventually evolve into masterpieces, since that's also what I'm here for.
So please, don't sit there and tell me you're not judging me personally. Don't tell me you expect your own audiences to look at your work and not make speculations about you as an artist or as a person or as a person who IS an artist, whether they know you or they don't. No one's buying it, and as instructors of wildly opinionated and angsty individuals this should be common sense.
Intellectual because to put it bluntly, I don't care for close-minded, easily offended pricks looking at my work. They don't deserve to.
Pick apart my photography and my writing as much as you'd like. Tear it up, shred it to pieces, by all means! Be aware that I'm going to expect reasons, and valid ones at that. It's the name of the game and those are the rules you have to play by if you want to be a part of it.
Intuitive because not a whole lot of explaining is typical or expected in the art world. Make up your own stories to fill in my gaps and believe whatever you'd like to believe. If it helps you sleep at night and makes you a happier or sadder person that's on you. I just provide the context.
Isn't that what art's about anyways? Making people think, raising questions, causing revolutions, making a difference. I want my work to be true and pure -- not clogged up with modern-day cliche.
I promise, I won't intentionally mislead you.
Emotional. Intellectual. Intuitive.
Emotional because I believe that's what any form of art is - emotion put into a certain medium or mediums and presented to an audience. That's what makes art so controversial and so sensitive; emotions are being criticized, judged, accepted.
I've heard various instructors at MIAD speak about how a critique is nothing personal -- "we're just judging your artwork, not you as a person." Well me, as a person, not me as a backpack or as a table, put my own hard work and sadness and joy and anger and expression into this crappy piece of cut out paper and paint because that's what I do. That's what I'm here for. And hopefully the crappy pieces will eventually evolve into masterpieces, since that's also what I'm here for.
So please, don't sit there and tell me you're not judging me personally. Don't tell me you expect your own audiences to look at your work and not make speculations about you as an artist or as a person or as a person who IS an artist, whether they know you or they don't. No one's buying it, and as instructors of wildly opinionated and angsty individuals this should be common sense.
Intellectual because to put it bluntly, I don't care for close-minded, easily offended pricks looking at my work. They don't deserve to.
Pick apart my photography and my writing as much as you'd like. Tear it up, shred it to pieces, by all means! Be aware that I'm going to expect reasons, and valid ones at that. It's the name of the game and those are the rules you have to play by if you want to be a part of it.
Intuitive because not a whole lot of explaining is typical or expected in the art world. Make up your own stories to fill in my gaps and believe whatever you'd like to believe. If it helps you sleep at night and makes you a happier or sadder person that's on you. I just provide the context.
Isn't that what art's about anyways? Making people think, raising questions, causing revolutions, making a difference. I want my work to be true and pure -- not clogged up with modern-day cliche.
I promise, I won't intentionally mislead you.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
who is me
- who am i as an artist / designer?
I'm still me! Just a slightly more nonconforming, "apathetic", caffeinated version of me.
I still have the same bucket list, those red socks are still my favorite, and Winnie the Pooh will always have a very special place in my heart.
Me; art student, aspiring human being.
Me; art student, aspiring human being.
It's a work in progress, but I'll be the first to let you know when I find out.
-who is my audience?
Publicists, Editors, Good Looking Men.
Humanists, Activists, Leaders.
Subjects, Peers.
-how do i communicate with this audience?
The thing about artists is that they bare all through their work, whether it's obvious or not. But more specifically, through my thoughts, through my eyes, and slowly but surely through my words.
And as I embark on my quest to throw my shit out into the world, I'm starting to realize something: I. don't. need. to. tell. everything. It's totally up to me! This may seem like common sense, but for some reason it's just hitting me now. Whatever.
Anyway, the world loves mysticism and evasiveness. The chase is more fun than the catch, right? So I'll be elusive. You want something nitty gritty that leaves you salivating for more? Oh, I'll weave a tangled web of mystery, my friend. Never fear.
The thing about artists is that they bare all through their work, whether it's obvious or not. But more specifically, through my thoughts, through my eyes, and slowly but surely through my words.
And as I embark on my quest to throw my shit out into the world, I'm starting to realize something: I. don't. need. to. tell. everything. It's totally up to me! This may seem like common sense, but for some reason it's just hitting me now. Whatever.
Anyway, the world loves mysticism and evasiveness. The chase is more fun than the catch, right? So I'll be elusive. You want something nitty gritty that leaves you salivating for more? Oh, I'll weave a tangled web of mystery, my friend. Never fear.
-how does my creative work function in society?
It helps me to function in a society. It breaks the awkward silences, it is the common ground for small talk, and hopefully will be so fucking controversial it'll cause a rowdy brawl. (I've always wanted to be in a bar fight at any rate...)
-reflect on your embrace or disagreement with Weintraub's preface regarding Pluralism, Free-Radicals and the Breakdown of the Guild
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say I embrace Weintraub's preface, but I certainly don't disagree with it. Her metaphor of the Free Radicals made sense to me after a while, and after even longer, it made me laugh.
Her words were written to distinguish the difference between all three of the above mentioned BIG ideas, but they instead helped me to see how interrelated each one was to its' counterparts.
These are new concepts to me; things my brain still has to work on. Hopefully this course will help.
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say I embrace Weintraub's preface, but I certainly don't disagree with it. Her metaphor of the Free Radicals made sense to me after a while, and after even longer, it made me laugh.
Her words were written to distinguish the difference between all three of the above mentioned BIG ideas, but they instead helped me to see how interrelated each one was to its' counterparts.
These are new concepts to me; things my brain still has to work on. Hopefully this course will help.
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