“The point is that you learn how to make your work by making your work, and a great many of the pieces you make along the way will never stand out as finished art.” Pg.6
“You make good work by (among other things) making lots of work that isn’t very good, and gradually weeding out the parts that aren’t good, the parts that aren’t yours.” p. 26
1.
What work have you made that seems most yours? Why?
-At the beginning of the semester I answered that my photographs seemed to be the most "mine", but I had no idea how true that would become. I have really transformed into a "photographer" now. I really know how (and of course will continue to learn) to own my photography. It's become something very personal to me.
“Chances are that whatever theme and technique attract you, someone has already experimented in the same direction. This is unavoidable: making any art piece inevitably engages the larger themes and basic techniques that artists have used for centuries. Finding your own work is a process of distilling from each those traces that ring true to your own spirit.” p. 103
Who are artists that are making work that relates to you? Are there other influences? How are these other influences connected to your work?
-Again, I can't get away from some of my answers from the beginning. Sebastien Michel is still one of my biggest influences, but I've also discovered so many more. Stephane Fugier has seemed to become one of the biggest influences. You can go back in my blog to see other artists as well. I also really discovered throughout the semester how much I rely on music. It's almost kind of embarrassing because I've listened to some of the same bands for almost ten plus years now, but they have helped me through so much and they have really pushed me through some creative processes. I think I've discovered that almost everything is a influence to your art. Everything is connected to my work I mean, I my photography at this point kind of thrives off of everyday moments and materials, I kind of have to find inspiration in each and every little moment.
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“And while a hundred civilizations have prospered (sometimes for centuries) without computers or windmills or even the wheel, none have survived even a few generations without art.” p. 104
Discuss, in your own words, why you think this is so.
-I think art is the mind's natural way of getting ideas out. It's a form of communication, it's a form of recording, it's a creative outlet. Art serves so many different purposes, but most importantly it keeps our brains from exploding. Computers and windmills and the wheel all came to be because of art, someone had those ideas and someone drew them out. Art is what comes first. <-yeah, past me is pretty spot on. Mostly art has always been used as least as some sort of a tool in some sense. It's like our most basic tool.
“Art is something you do out in the world, or something you do about the world, or even something you do for the world. The need to make art may not stem solely from the need to express who you are, but from a need to complete a relationship with something outside of yourself.” p. 108
Which of these ideas resonates most with you? Why? If they all resonate, how do they differ?
-I think similarly to how I answered this before, all of these ideas are connected. For me personally, I think I do a little bit of each. It just depends on what you're doing, what sparked what you're doing, and who exactly you are doing it for. You can do art to express who you are and still be doing it out/about/for the world. The "relationship" that I need to complete varies pretty often with each piece, and honestly, I think sometimes my work does end up being a lot more about myself than I realize.
“Making art depends upon noticing things-things about yourself, your methods, your subject matter.” p. 109
What do you notice about yourself? What are your methods? Subject matter? The answers do not have to be limited to art related topics.
-I notice that I have become a lot more self aware and a lot more self involved as I become more involved in my art. I am a perfectionist. I like to have plans, even if they don't work out. I like working in a studio (as a method). I set aside certain time periods for everything. My paintings are based off of photographs. My subject matter is almost always of people. If it's not of people it's of things that people care deeply about.
-For comparison I'm just going to leave my old answer here. I've become probably too self aware and too self involved now that I'm incredibly involved in my art. It only becomes more and more true each day. I'm probably going to grow old in a studio full of my art, with my dog as a lonely, stubborn artist, and honestly, I've become quite happy with that image. I'm still a perfectionist. I still want to improve on my environmental photography but I certainly still prefer to work in the studio. My paintings HAVE strayed away from my photographs! Look! A change! But I also feel as though I currently have no direction in my painting and that I am drowning because of it. My subject matter is always of people. So basically I've just become a more awesome, more self-involved/art-involved version of myself! Hooray!!!
“The only work really worth doing- the only work you can do convincingly- is the work that focuses on the things you care about.” p. 116
“All this suggests a useful working approach to making art: notice the objects you notice.” Pg.101
What do you care about? The answers do not have to be limited to art related topics.
-I care about people, and this is the most obvious subject that spills into my art. I care about identities, little everyday moments, conversations, overlooked details. I care about myself, a relatively new concept, trying to grasp still. I care about music, dogs, dancing, mental illness, erasing negative stigmas about a variety of subjects! I care about things that are genuine, that are honest, that are true.
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