Currently Untitled Performance Piece

Sometimes when you're trying to make shit work you end up making shit work.

Making a Peer's Work

Making Niko's work consisted of studying motion of the human figure. For this, I used a video art piece by Candice Breitz called FACTUM JACOB to examine body language. I was very interested in showing motion through a fairly reserved conversational setting. I made the drawing based on an excerpt from the video. I wanted to see what would happen if I borrowed Niko's process, but took a more gestural approach, rather than a series of tightly refined drawings.

My process consisted of making a gestural line drawing in pencil to convey every subtle motion the figure made. After I felt that the pencil drawing was complete, I went over these pencil marks with ink to collapse the image into a single layer as Niko's paintings appear.

FACTUM JACOB

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Piece 6: currently untitled

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Reading Response 5

Reading Response 5:

Summary:

It is difficult to consider what historical context one’s work occupies. Thinking about this often helps one learn about their work. It is a good to look at your past work to learn about your personal history and development. It is also valuable to analyze what events were happening at the time the work was made as this can heavily affect the work. Lastly, it is very important to use art history to contextualize your personal work. Culturally, your mind creates infinite filters of how you view the world. It is important to identify and use these filters within your work.

Response:

I have rarely thought about my work within historical context. I often consider what historical context the state of art is in, but this article made me realize that I am currently participating in “the state of art.”

Conversely, I recently began to tap into this idea of filtration through culture. I have always had a negative connotation of the idea of “filtration” as the bulk of my exploration examines who I am at my core, on a solely human level of consciousness. The article made me contemplate how these filters can be advantageous and it made me realize that no matter my explorations, the filters will show themselves through my expression and decisions.

Unfinished Unsatisfactory

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This piece definitely had a set vision. However it seemed like no decision would work. Ultimately the piece never got resolved and I'm not sure if I will continue with it. There were points in which I felt very close to being finished but it never fully arrived. This culminated in a lot of stress and anxiety to the point where I could not show in critique. Shameful and depressing really. It is my hope to learn from this. 

Reading Response 4

Summary:

There are many issues with “art” as an academic field. Typically, either MFA grads are turned away for lack of experience, or a more veteran artist’s achievements are not appreciated. It is common for one’s art-making practice to disappear once they begin teaching at an academic level. This is an interesting paradox as the best way to teach is to be very learned in the practice, which only comes with experience.

It has been noted that there is a massive drop off of art-making once students graduate. This can be attributed to a few different reasons. For one, a school provides an institution in which one can focus almost all of their energy towards making work. Two, “making art” is not considered a “real job,” so many former art students find themselves selling their souls to profession.

What makes some art better than other art?  Art that is provocative creates a mutual interest between the artist and the viewer. “We do not long remember those artists who followed the rules more diligently than anyone else. We remember those who made the art from which the ‘rules’ inevitably follow.”

Old work is often looked upon negatively by the artists. This is not because the old work is not “good,” but rather because the work is made by a less experienced and artist.  The practice of art is the practice of asking questions and finding answers. Much art is referential to other art in some way, however all art is autobiographical. The artist should always be striving to make work that is in realization of everything the artist knows about themself and their relationship to everything else.

Interesting art has interesting ideas behind it. In the end, effective art is art that the artist cares about.

Response:

Again in this text, almost all of it rang very true to me as an artist and a person. I was interested to hear an angle on the academic side of art and many of the pitfalls of this. I find that my academic experience as an artist is different from the author’s however. It is possibly the transformative psychological phase, which college has led me through, but I also feel that I have been surrounded by a unique group of faculty artists whose art is as effective as their teaching.

At one point as I was summarizing this chapter, I reached a point which I could no longer summarize, and I could only directly quote. “We do not long remember those artists who followed the rules more diligently than anyone else. We remember those who made the art from which the ‘rules’ inevitably follow.” This two-sentence quote I could say exemplifies my largest critique with current art and one of the most essential parts of my art-making philosophy.

When I see artists working towards upholding tradition, I am appalled, but I am also instilled to set myself apart from this. The very word tradition implies a certain mimicry of those before you and a certain static frame of mind that is not willing to challenge beliefs or practice. Traditional conforms. Art should never conform and should always challenge.

When I decided to commit to being an artist as opposed to a “designer, businessman, professional, etc.” I decided to embark on a much larger journey than following rules and creating meaningless, traditional bullshit that is all too commonly seen. I decided to embark on this journey to learn about myself, reality, existence, and all of the various aspects attached. Through this act of learning, I also strive to create work that has never been seen before and will never be seen again.

My art is a manifestation of acquiring wisdom and doing whatever it takes to persist in this.

Reading Response 3

Summary:

It is common to consider either voiced or hypothetical criticisms while making art. If others do not approve of the work, it can leave one lacking affirmation. It is also worrisome to risk rejection or dismissal of work. While it can be worrisome to risk lack of acceptance, it is natural to want people to like the work. While all of these aspects support fearful art-making, it is important to fall back to the idea that the heart and soul of art lies in sincerity rather than appeasement.

Art is a manifestation of what the artist puts into it. In this, art is fulfillment of the maker not the viewer. An artist and subsequently their art is always evolving. When a creative block comes, there are many possible resolutions. One of the best remedies is to remove your own limits.

Often, problems that the artist runs into are not only a personal struggle within the work, but external “every-day” struggles. One such example is the idea of censorship. Over the course of history, humans have set up certain ideas and ideals that essentially force certain characteristics. It is the artist’s job to challenge these views, add to them, or try to change them. Competition is inevitable, as society has weighed success on comparison. This can be detrimental as it can cause self-doubt, but by the same token, it can cause the artist to rise to the top.

Response:

This reading definitely rang true to many thoughts I have had. I often find myself trying to perfect my personal attitude towards making art, but there are still certain aspects that the text led me deeper into. One of these is the idea that the artist should not fear dismissal. As I have grown in my conceptual capacity, it has become easier to validate my work personally, but I find myself still falling into the fear that someone may not appreciate my effort –or worse disregard my purpose because of what I produce. I feel that I have started to see through the layers of cultural dependence and I have that my most sincere method of existence lies in creation. It is frustrating to me to think that some may dismiss this.

I think the other part of this text that impacted me most is the self-fulfillment element to art-making. I have worked up to this point to divorce my work from the expectations of others so I can tap into a more personal sincerity. As a result the content of my work is very investigative of ideas concerning sincerity and cultural expectations.

Piece 4 Progress and Statement: Currently Untitled

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Artist Statement:
Anthropology is the study of humankind, typically put in terms of societies and cultures. As an artist I think that by investigating consciousness I am also investigating the human experience. I am attracted to appropriating broad anthropological methodologies. The anthropology of cultures differs from history in that, rather than focusing on chronology, it focuses on the harmony of layers and behaviors in a society. This is useful to me as it propels me to further explore the idea of juxtaposition and layering in terms of a more multifaceted investigative body of work.

A major theme I chose to investigate is shamanism and trance. Trance is characterized by a lower functioning external state which overwhelmingly emphasizes artificial and constructed barriers. This piece is a response to scratching the surface of reality vs. cultural filtration that is trained into individuals through societal normality.

Reading Response 2

Art and Fear Chapters 1-3 Summary:

It is a common uncertainty to question when art is finished or resolved. This can easily create self-doubts and assumptions. Some of these assumptions include the ability to learn art, and the idea that “good” art is decided by a viewer. Rather, “good art” is simply art that is meaningful to the creator, and anyone can be the creator.

There are many compelling reasons for an artist to quit. Often, success can be the cancer. For students, “graduation” is often the stopping point. Other roadblocks in the process include fear of the future, and translating imagination into execution successfully. Uncertainty is also a potential hazard to effective work. Many people hold on to cultural standards or control to try and retain a certain element of predictability of how the work will go. In reality, the work is a genuine discussion between the artist and an idea.

The act of fear may often destroy the work. Artist may fear that they do not have proper credentials, or they may fear criticism. Many also fear lack of talent. However, talent is hardly significant at all in the grand scheme. Talented individuals will often try to rely solely on their talent and not develop their skills and this is a much larger issue than “lack of talent.” Perfection is a cliff, as perfect art is no longer human. Artists must also not be trapped by expectations, and rather they must have a genuine discussion with their work.

Response:

I find that these few chapters largely spoke on my journey as an artist up to this point. I was able to empathize with almost every one of the fears and doubts expressed in the text. I think that the point I have reached now is closest to self-actualization I have achieved through my art.

Although I could understand almost all points covered in the text, I think I most empathized with the text when it discussed making art for a viewer. Before I had fully delved into my philosophy of art making, all of my decisions were based on hollow and contrived visual trends. As this habitual practice began to wear on my psyche, I came to the big question: “what is successful art?”

Once I began to investigate this question, I realized a commonality in all art I considered “good:” it expressed themes that could not made for a third party. I began to deprioritize “the viewer.” I feel that now my art is an action of learning and understanding. My work is no longer focused on commodity and culture, but rather what I find important to dwell on. I find that this has not only opened up my art, but my consciousness and sense of purpose.

Asylum Progress: Unresolved/ Unfinished

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An exercise in frustration. Still haven't figured this one out.

Piece 2 Progress: Currently Untitled

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This piece is a more stylistically minimal response to another overworked, unfinished piece. The content of this piece is deeply meaningful to me on a personal level, but I have left it ambiguous so the viewer may craft his or her own personal ideas in regard to the piece.

Nobody: Progress and Statement

Zeitgeist - the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era.

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Statement: The defeat of morality, value, and meaning leaves us with nothing but sincerity.

This piece consists of many layers. What began as a charcoal drawing finally morphed into a figurative work representing one facet of a string of thoughts that have inspired my current series.