I am currently rereading a a book from my former class which gives advice on being an artist. The book is called
art/work, which was a class about art studio practices taught by Lisa Solomon. I appreciated her class, but I knew once I graduated I would need to reread the book and assess what it had to offer me. I decided to answer a little questionnaire in the book on this blog:
What kind of artist are you?
I think of myself as a painter, one who reinterprets his surroundings, and displays them on a surface of which is available. I find myself becoming more interested on using found objects to do works upon and care less about canvas and stretcher bars. I think my artistry combines an element of blue collar workmanship with torn blue collar process. In this, I mean I don't try to convey a work done on cheap materials as a cheap work, but rather a readily available surface of which I had to immediately place my idea upon. I don't see myself as an elitist intellectual or even classically trained artist, but rather a simple artist who doesn't see or care about differences in a bronze sculpture or a paper mache scupture.
I think this is important to the explanation of what kind of artist I am. I am a constantly working artist with many ways in which I work and how I make work.
What subjects does your art relate to?
My subjects are a mixture of art historical elements. Figure and landscape play a prominent place in most of my works regardless of how abstract they may come across. Beyond the classical references, my works mostly relate to things involved in my personal life. subjects such as a homeless man Ive come across on my way to work, a landmark Im familiar with ect... I also like to make past references to former artists or works of art. I feel a conversation between works is just as engaging as a written analysis. My subject matter is a great vessel for me to be observant, humorous, opinionated, angry, confused, confusing, confused, and happy.
what are you trying to accomplish with your art?
My art is trying to reach a standard in which art is accepted as readily as an article of clothing or a nice meal. I want art to go beyond the rich collectors and be bought by anyone. This goal allows the perspective flung upon us artists to be switched to merely another person working. The idea would be to make a decent living as an artist and show that art is a necessary function of human development, another way to convey meaning without words or gestures.
who is your audience?
My audience is mainly art lovers. Though my goals are to accomplish a wide spectrum of viewers, my art is not yet at a place that is accessible to anybody. It requires a bit of art history, maybe some knowledge on art process. I feel that at this stage of my art practices, my work is more important than reaching a wide audience. Explanations are merely stalling points to the main focus, which is the work the viewer sees.
What effect do you want your art to have on your audience?
I want my art to cause people to stop and think. this may seem cliche, but not all art can make someone stop and analyze the work. A
Rothko work would have a tough time garnering attention from today's modern audience. Instead I use elements of color, texture and subject matter to try to grasp at least ten seconds of attention. after that, I want my art to be viewed as a timeline of where art is going and where it should be in the modern era. I am trying to tie ends of history combined with self-expression while having the audience understand and interpret what I am unable to articulate in words.
part 2 coming up later....
