a statement

My medium of expression, or art of choice, is film (or video) and initially I chose to pursue this medium simply because I felt more comfortable in it than other artistic avenues such as theatre or music. Ultimately, I would love to be able to film a script that brought a sense of unity to a group of people or gave people a new way of looking at an important issue that perhaps they hadn’t considered. However, at least presently, I am more concerned with just trying to figure how to use the tools of film and video (and screenwriting) to express my ideas than extensively contemplating how my work will be perceived. Once I have a better handle on the medium, I hope to enlighten people or at least (or at most, actually) make them laugh.

A statement

I am interested in using my heritage as a Native American and my life experience as a means of informing work that is based on experimentation. I work with paint, graphite, glass, and try to explore not only to capabilities of each medium, but also the boundaries of what is acceptable within each medium.

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I like to blur the lines between fiction and reality.

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In order to create authenticity and effectiviness in my work, I draw inspiration from many of my personal experiences. Each piece I make deals with an issue of some kind, whether it focuses on feelings, color, personal space, or influential change, my goal is to evoke thought and self evaluation in each viewer. Continuing my education and progressing as an art student, I have recently broken into the realm of focusing on the issues and affects of pesonal space in association with color, feeling, and emotions. I explore the connection between a viewer and my artwork while also focusing on the surroundings and feelings they experience in that space. Discovering how each individual experiences my work is almost as important as creating the work itself. I will continue to develop the issues I work with and hope to learn more about my work and the people who view it.

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As an artist I’m constantly seeking out different ways to express myself. Yes, art is expression. However, a lot of times when things get rough, or your mood takes a turn, or your excited about something there isn’t a good way to show it. I personally have a huge issue finding the right words to say sometimes. So the best way I know how to express myself is through what I create. Most times it serves as a great outlet; a buffer for my sanity, if you will.

With video specifically, if I can take a character or an object and somehow creatively portray my feelings through someone or something else, then I’ve done my job. I get an intense sense of accomplishment when people understand me just because I was able to relate to them on an emotional level through something dissimilar to my circumstance, but emotionally equivalent.

At the end of the day, if I can get it out of my head and into a project, then I can look back on it with un-bias eyes. It’s the best way for me to relieve stress and work out my problems.

A Statement

I make art because it helps me figure out and relate to my chaotic surroundings.

A Statement

I hope that my work as art will be considered art by the majority of people who see it and that includes me as well. I am an artist because I crave creativity, I practice creativity, I live in creativity. And art is the perfect form to practice creativity in.

A Statement

I want to bring back the production values and aesthetics of horror films from the 80s. I view the intricate designs of the props and special effects as well as the musical themes and storytelling techniques as special to the 80s and represents the pinnacle of the horror genre. I feel horror movies from this time period are artistic and should get more artistic credit than they receive. A lot of horror films borrow lighting techniques and use of shadows from the German expression films from the 1920s. A lot of horror films from this era also deal with issues of the subconscious and the darker side of humanity as well as our fears and desires.Movie props and spfx from the 80s also had a certain exaggerated surrealism to them that I feel is absolutely gorgeous. Most modern films opt to make spfx digitally and I find this disappointing.

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I choose to create art simply because it is one thing I know I will do the rest of my life. I
see possibility in arts that I don’t see in the usual graduates from college, such as finance or
marketing. I have a desire to pursue art unlike anything else in my life and want to dig deep into
its philosophies and problems. I want to solve these problems and come up with new solutions
that have never been thought of. The art I want to create inspires people through it beauty and
color. Lately I have found it difficult to find inspiration and struggle finding ideas to create.
Right now the most important thing to me is to discover what will give me the fuel to go on a
frenzy of creation…

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In my world, that is the world of journalism, every day there is someone new telling me the sky is falling. I'm the last cowboy on the dinosaur ranch.
But, I think these are the best times to be a journalist or an artist. So many exciting ways to tell stories and the stories have more emotion and are therefore more like art and less like reportage. I have never been a one-tick journalist and I'm happy the days of those types are over. I can't ponder the big question of the future of my profession but I can take a deep breath, relinquish control of the future and concentrate on regaining the creative edge.
It's not about technology; it's about creative flow.

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Every person on earth is drawn to certain types of visual and auditory aesthetics in the surrounding environment, and every person creates his or her own aesthetic in that environment. Some people claim that they engage in this creation for strictly utilitarian or functional purposes, whereas other people claim that they create for artistic purposes and thereby christen those creations as ‘Art’. I consider myself to be of the latter persuasion.
One day recently, I was walking through the metal fabrication studio, and I observed a student cutting, bending, and welding steel rods with various machines while wearing a welding mask over his face. Later that day, while walking home, I saw a construction worker on the side of the road cutting through steel rods with a gas-powered saw while wearing that same mask. He seemed to be deriving a great deal of pleasure from this activity as well. So, I thought to myself, everyone on earth creates, but we are all willing to subject ourselves to the stereotypes and connotations of very different societal labels.
For whatever reasons that be, that is, our upbringing, our financial situations, and our general outlooks on life, we label ourselves, our activities, and our creations with very different terms. In my view, a thing is ‘Art’ when, and only when, the person who created it defines it as such, and this person, therefore, also has the freedom to label him or herself as an artist.
I create sculptures, drawings, paintings, graphical and electronic pieces, as well as music to entertain, educate, and inspire others. I define these pieces as art and take my place in the art world because I feel that this position allows me the greatest freedom to express scientific, political, and spiritual views without having to confine myself to only one of those fields. Making art is what I love the most in this world, and my place as an artist is where I feel that I belong.

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My work is initially about ideation. Being able to have a thought and be inventive and determined enough to see it

through to completion and hopefully success. There is typically no specification of subject or medium, but merely

being able to fulfill and accomplish the challenges that the creativity of an idea may present.

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I am an artist because I want to find entertainment in mundanity.

A Statement

My identity as an artist and scholar is shaped by a cyclical interplay of practice and theory in creations for the stage, screen and page. Through dance as research I access, construct and share embodied episteme as it relates to other ways of knowing the world, particularly language. As an interdisciplinary artist, I utilize the specificity of meaning manifest within multiple media such as movement, language, video, sound and lighting, to investigate intimate human experiences within a communal context. I am interested in how technology transforms constructions of embodied presence/absence in space and time, for both performer and audience. In all areas of my work, I am committed to furthering dance as a critical mode of inquiry and expression in our society—one which can achieve accessibility without oversimplification, through widespread embodied education.


Via choreography I aspire to build connections with a diverse audience on an honest, vulnerable and human level. My creation process is physical from start to end, exploring the content and knowledge present in the body. I see the body as a storehouse of unconscious knowledge and memory of an individual’s life as well as generations past, which can be articulated through movement. I value approaches to training that foster vulnerability in performance, as I believe this honesty allows audience members to enter a piece, experiencing it from their own perspective. Engaging with diverse communities by teaching workshops and presenting choreography in alternative settings allows me to use dance to its full potential, as a tool for community building, healing, entertainment and artistic expression.

A statement

As an artist I hope to achieve peace in my inner self. I am only an artist to make myself a happier person. My work is not for others, just me. I am an artist because it relaxes me and helps put my mind at ease.

A Statement

My work is both an autobiography and exploration of the forms and phenomena that interest me. Much of my work explores the diseases and illnesses that, both great and small, have impacted my life. As opposed to just illustrating the condition, I synthesize my experiences with both the causes and effects of the affliction.

In addition to my medical history I use a childhood spent in rural Maine as a source of inspiration for my work. Having been raised in the woods, I was something of a child naturalist and my observations and experiments are still providing me with fodder for art.

It is always my intent to create a beautiful and disturbing image and experience. I want the work to linger. I want to challenge the way beauty is recognized within the context of my work. I want to relate my experience, to that of the viewer. For the most part, we all share a common reality and I try to remember that and use it to my advantage when creating work.

Bonnie's statement

I hope that my art video will persuade the audience that, as an artist, my body is my canvas. I want to show the expressiveness of my hair and make-up, and how they are ever-changing and reflective of my various moods and personalities. As an artist, I like to be bold, innovative, and occasionally throw caution to the wind. When it comes to my appearance, I don't care what other people think of me, nor do I try to fit-in.

I like to sh= ock people, and whether they love it, or hate it, I am never just someone in the crowd. Sometimes my colorful appearance is a good conversation starter, and sometimes it just speaks for itself.

Alicia's Statement

When I create art, I intend to express myself. Art lets me use all of my emotions and passions and put them together into a visual work. All of my pieces give off a feeling that I was trying to convey at the time of creating.

My goal in art making is to bring back to the surface the hidden beauty that surrounds us. We are stuck in a world ruled by the media and superficial obsessions. This hidden beauty may be found in our physical world, fantasy world, or in one’s emotional complex. This specific short film was a new experiment for myself. I wanted to give off a weird sense of eeriness to engage the audience and keep them intrigued.

My inspiration comes mostly from the minimalist artists. I am a complete advocate for “less is more”. My interest in past work also extends to those eccentric individuals, such as Dali, who are willing to take risks. I like to stir things up and create something different to provoke a new thought or feeling in someone. I focus on sparking a new interest or idea in someone just by one look.

Faustine's Statement

I like the idea of being a creator, and with art, it’s all about creating. For me, the process and the result are both important. The result is what people see, but the process is everything it takes to get to the result. There’s something therapeutic about going through the process and getting the result. It’s a sort of satisfaction that I can’t get from anything else in life. Also, art-making is partially my way of showing people who I am. I like the idea of people learning about who I am through my art without them explicitly knowing it. I hope my work entertains and engages my viewers.

George's Statement

How to make my favorite casserole

by George T. Gregory Jr.


Mexi-Cali Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey

1 8 oz. can of tomato sauce

1 sm. onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves of minced garlic

1 8 oz. can of corn (or half a bag of frozen corn)

1 package of taco seasoning

1 large can of dark kidney beans (rinsed and drained)

Topping:

2 packages of Jiffy Cornbread Mix

2 eggs (needed for Mix)

1 cup of milk (needed for Mix)

Directions:

Brown the ground turkey in a skillet and drain; add chopped onion and garlic during the browning process. Add remaining ingredients and spread into a 13 x 17 inch casserole pan. Follow the directions on the boxes of Jiffy Cornbread Mix and spread the mix on top of the casserole. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy.

a statement

As a future Art Educator, I feel that it is necessary to incorporate elements of learning into my artwork and to take opportunities, where possible, to create works that communicate some sort of knowledge to the viewer. In this way I attempt to develop my identity as an Art Educator into my artwork, creating a piece that can be both informative and expressive while still representing myself as an artist.

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I was born at the end of an era of typewriters, letters, and rotary phones: methods of communication that demand a physical and tactile presence. Growing up in Pennsylvania’s coal regions led me to investigate the Industrial Revolution and its demise. I document what is lost in transition and question our blind faith in progress.

While wandering through abandoned factories, mines and ghost towns, I became fascinated with the empty spaces inside, heavy with the weight of abandoned technology. The typewriter (an “individualized press”) as well as Taylorism’s “Time and Motion Studies” ironically standardized the motions and communications of every operator. I have found a direct connection to these actions through the historically commercial use of printmaking.

In response to the anxieties of separation from the physical world, I render the fading remnants of industry through outdated forms of media and communication

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Right now I am very interested in exploring different materials or ways of creating artwork. I have found that whatever I am doing in other classes or areas of of my life always informs the artwork or vice versa. I would almost call myself flighty when it comes to art...I run with one thing until something new steals me away. My favorite aspect about art is communication or the dialogue that can accompany it or thinking through the idea or concept. I'm really excited in my own path to take this aspect of my own art thinking into the classroom and work with students. I'm not sure I believe in "inspiring" others...I hope I can just give my students the tools to inspire themselves and become passionate about something, anything.

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What I do…or attempt to do is make art. I don’t make art just for me but I make art for other people around me. Someone else telling me that they liked my work is more satisfying to me than just liking it myself, even though I am probably my toughest critic. I think that because of my want to appeal to the masses I find myself more drawn to commercial art. I want to eventually use art “in” my career rather than “as” my career. I want to be successful and have a steady income therefore I want to use my art to get a job in possibly the gaming or movie industry. I’m not saying that one cannot make lots of money being a studio artist but I feel that it is just harder to be successful going that route.

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I make art because I’m not big on math. Or science. Sometimes I like to read, but I hate sci-fi and fantasy. I like books about real events and real people. People who made an effort to create and promote change in the world for the betterment of society. Activists and protesters who stood up to the leaders, politicians, and governments who’s actions and policies they did not agree with. Art is a voice; through which I can encourage people to think critically about emotions, thoughts and ideas concerning their lives.