I come to art from a world of standards and protocols. Information and organization dominate the landscape. In this world color, tone, shape and perspective have no meaning. This world is hidden by wrappers, boxes, buttons and knobs; all helping to mask the dirty details. Creativity and technique exist, but generally go unrecognized and unappreciated.
Despite their drastic differences, I am starting to see similarities between my world and the world of art. Experimentation, iteration, practice, calculation, processing and improvisation all work in both worlds. Both worlds also seem to have limitless possibilities, directions and methods of implementation.
I am not a complete foreigner to the world of art; something more like a tourist. For years I have been exposed to the works of many artists of all different levels, but never have taken an active roll in making art. It's strange for everything you make to be right there in the open, no wrappers, no boxes, no disguises, no cover. It's a bit uncomfortable to have your ideas criticized, defend your methodology and justify your decisions. These are the lessons that I hope to take from my foray into the world of art.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
a statement
I am interested in this, that and everything in between. I wonder why that guy is wearing two different socks? Who kicked over that port-o-potty? Was there someone in it? Why did they use two different types of pavement to build that new road? I always want to understand more about the decisions people make in this world which in turn affect everyone in one way or another.
My day job is a photojournalist, so my instincts as a photographer is to document the daily life of people. It is hard to push away from that at times. In my art photographs I try my best to break away from my standards of a photojournalist by at the very least looking for something that is not normally covered for a newspaper. Many of my art projects are still a documentation of daily life (like photojournalism), but I tend to focus in on the small topics of life that go without notice.
I am in the middle of documenting tip jars and the personalization of them. Some places have simple jars, while others have large tubs with cute or dumb sayings on them to entice the customer to toss in their spare change. Another project is the documentation of what is very close to most people but goes unseen: underground tunnels, area's above ceiling tiles, etc.
Artists Statements seem to be hand in hand with art in general. Always changing, always staying the same. I could look back on this artist statement in 10, 5, 2 years and be somewhere else completely in my mindset as an artists, but to me, that is such a big part of art. Some artists can go about doing the same style and be successful for a lifetime, while other artists always have to adapt and re-think themselves to propel their creativity. I don't know which mentality I will follow, but I doubt many other artists know either.
My day job is a photojournalist, so my instincts as a photographer is to document the daily life of people. It is hard to push away from that at times. In my art photographs I try my best to break away from my standards of a photojournalist by at the very least looking for something that is not normally covered for a newspaper. Many of my art projects are still a documentation of daily life (like photojournalism), but I tend to focus in on the small topics of life that go without notice.
I am in the middle of documenting tip jars and the personalization of them. Some places have simple jars, while others have large tubs with cute or dumb sayings on them to entice the customer to toss in their spare change. Another project is the documentation of what is very close to most people but goes unseen: underground tunnels, area's above ceiling tiles, etc.
Artists Statements seem to be hand in hand with art in general. Always changing, always staying the same. I could look back on this artist statement in 10, 5, 2 years and be somewhere else completely in my mindset as an artists, but to me, that is such a big part of art. Some artists can go about doing the same style and be successful for a lifetime, while other artists always have to adapt and re-think themselves to propel their creativity. I don't know which mentality I will follow, but I doubt many other artists know either.
a statement
It is true that 2-D artworks are objects, but they have traditionally been noted less for their flat qualities and more as a window into an illusionistic world. For this reason, 2-D work has always been of more interest to me than 3-D work. 2-D works present spaces and things that are both there and not there. While 3-D works also present representations, they share the same physical space as our bodies. 3-D works can also be regarded as bodies or subjects in our space. Audience members cannot enter into a 2-D space in the same way. While our bodies can share the space of a 2-D work, we cannot physically enter the spaces that are also represented or implied.
I have also been drawn to 4-D video practice. Video documentation has the ability to capture moments and events. Once captured, these framed moments can be relived from the cameraperson’s viewpoint. While videos share our space on a television or screen, the people and places captured are not actually there. As with 2-D work, we cannot enter into the represented space. It is only an illusion of movement through a progression of still frames.
This complex relationship between real/representation has been a persistent thread in my artistic explorations. My current artistic practice involves documenting how people interact with and relate to spaces using mapping tools. My work is also interested in interaction between the past and present in spaces. Ephemeral interactions are marked, traced and mapped. I want to imply absence and accentuate space through the dashed line, and yet accomplish this using a very physical, non-precious thing. I hope to highlight and also collapse perceived space using 2-D drawing strategies in a real space. I aim to facilitate drawings in and on the space, the objects and subjects.
I have also been drawn to 4-D video practice. Video documentation has the ability to capture moments and events. Once captured, these framed moments can be relived from the cameraperson’s viewpoint. While videos share our space on a television or screen, the people and places captured are not actually there. As with 2-D work, we cannot enter into the represented space. It is only an illusion of movement through a progression of still frames.
This complex relationship between real/representation has been a persistent thread in my artistic explorations. My current artistic practice involves documenting how people interact with and relate to spaces using mapping tools. My work is also interested in interaction between the past and present in spaces. Ephemeral interactions are marked, traced and mapped. I want to imply absence and accentuate space through the dashed line, and yet accomplish this using a very physical, non-precious thing. I hope to highlight and also collapse perceived space using 2-D drawing strategies in a real space. I aim to facilitate drawings in and on the space, the objects and subjects.
a statement
I make art in order to explore and communicate about the nature of reality. Art allows me to make visible, tangible traces of strange moments of confusion, awe, and speechlessness. It creates the opportunity to engage in criticism of the severe disconnectedness of modern life. I am interested in art that creates the opportunity connect the mind to the sweating, substantial presence of the human body and the earth's natural processes of synthesis and decay.
a statement
My intent for the quarter was to create a fully interactive presentation of panoramic photographs taken within the Knowlton School of Architecture. I would classify the results of this project as only partially successful. If the goal of interactive media is full immersion of the user, a user interface should offer self-directed exploration across the appropriate topics as well as self-directed immersion in these topics at a depth decided by the user. If one school of motion picture editing emphasizes the invisibility of the editor, one school of interactive design similarly emphasizes the content and tone of the information while de-emphasizing the method needed to navigate across information.
I was able to achieve some degree of interactivity, including bi-directional scanning across the panoramic photos as well as the ability to choose from two magnification levels; however, this type of interactivity is far simpler to create using Quicktime VR technology while offer far more robust user control and feedback. The use of DVD Studio Pro to accomplish a similar level of interactivity required the creation of nearly five hundred programable menus, each with three to five hypertextual links. A more transparent and convincing navigation and visual feedback system would have required the addition of video tracks resulting in greatly increased programming, bandwidth, and storage requirements.
It is my belief that interactive technology affords an opportunity to create learning, entertainment, and art environments that allow users to engage in media in more effective, and for the moment, less traditional ways. The hope is to allow users to synthesize information in novel, unpredictable ways. Perhaps in this respect my project reached modest levels of success. I approached the creation of the photographs in a manner similar perhaps to that of axonometric drawings—that is, I attempted to create graphics rich in visual information (in this case spatial, lighting, and material) without introducing author-imposed bias, tone, or direction. In other words, my intent was to provide the user with enough information-rich data to come to their own conclusions.
I was able to achieve some degree of interactivity, including bi-directional scanning across the panoramic photos as well as the ability to choose from two magnification levels; however, this type of interactivity is far simpler to create using Quicktime VR technology while offer far more robust user control and feedback. The use of DVD Studio Pro to accomplish a similar level of interactivity required the creation of nearly five hundred programable menus, each with three to five hypertextual links. A more transparent and convincing navigation and visual feedback system would have required the addition of video tracks resulting in greatly increased programming, bandwidth, and storage requirements.
It is my belief that interactive technology affords an opportunity to create learning, entertainment, and art environments that allow users to engage in media in more effective, and for the moment, less traditional ways. The hope is to allow users to synthesize information in novel, unpredictable ways. Perhaps in this respect my project reached modest levels of success. I approached the creation of the photographs in a manner similar perhaps to that of axonometric drawings—that is, I attempted to create graphics rich in visual information (in this case spatial, lighting, and material) without introducing author-imposed bias, tone, or direction. In other words, my intent was to provide the user with enough information-rich data to come to their own conclusions.
a statement
The basis of the portfolio was to try and related all of the artwork that I have done over the years to the overall interface and style of the DVD. What all of my work trails back to is the concept of basic character analysis. Video Games, Comic Books, and various styles of Animation, (which are my influences when it comes to making artwork) all have one thing in common, iconic characters.
Whenever a genre of art is being recognize, there is always some sort of character or figure that best represents the genre as a whole whether some might believe it or not. Depending on the experience of art exposure to an individual, audiences may generalize painting the Mona Lisa, or generalize painting to the Old Rococo paintings of France. For video games, it could be Mario from Super Mario Brothers, for Comic Books, it could be Spider-man, and for Animation, it could be something from Pixar or Japanese Anime. In all of my artwork, I have a certain character that stands front and center out of everything else in the image or video. The character is relative the environment he, she, or it resides, it has a certain personality that can be shown by gestures lines, shadows, and placement or perspective. The purpose for my artwork is to entertain and enlighten the viewer to character-based situations that’s abstract and sometimes random to the overall influences I have as a developing artist. It may derived from a video game or comic book, but I try to stay as abstract to my own experimental ideas as possible.
The reason for the loose-beatbox DVD formula is to show randomness, but simple entertainment to my audience. My beatbox has a character of its own; it’s just as improvised and character-developed as Kirk Whalum on saxophone or Stevie Wonder on piano. I wanted my Image and Video buttons to move in the menu to show that they individually had personalities to relate to my own thought process of creating art in the first place. The overall choice of the dvd is to make sure the viewer understands that I am a person that has a range of ideas and character-based thought processes, whether it be completely random or not.
Whenever a genre of art is being recognize, there is always some sort of character or figure that best represents the genre as a whole whether some might believe it or not. Depending on the experience of art exposure to an individual, audiences may generalize painting the Mona Lisa, or generalize painting to the Old Rococo paintings of France. For video games, it could be Mario from Super Mario Brothers, for Comic Books, it could be Spider-man, and for Animation, it could be something from Pixar or Japanese Anime. In all of my artwork, I have a certain character that stands front and center out of everything else in the image or video. The character is relative the environment he, she, or it resides, it has a certain personality that can be shown by gestures lines, shadows, and placement or perspective. The purpose for my artwork is to entertain and enlighten the viewer to character-based situations that’s abstract and sometimes random to the overall influences I have as a developing artist. It may derived from a video game or comic book, but I try to stay as abstract to my own experimental ideas as possible.
The reason for the loose-beatbox DVD formula is to show randomness, but simple entertainment to my audience. My beatbox has a character of its own; it’s just as improvised and character-developed as Kirk Whalum on saxophone or Stevie Wonder on piano. I wanted my Image and Video buttons to move in the menu to show that they individually had personalities to relate to my own thought process of creating art in the first place. The overall choice of the dvd is to make sure the viewer understands that I am a person that has a range of ideas and character-based thought processes, whether it be completely random or not.
a statement
Eight Sentences
1. My work engages visual difference through the physical building
and juxtaposition of paint surface.
2. The techniques by which I generate these surfaces are only
important insofar as they can be deduced from a specific painting.
3. I employ a variety of techniques with no goal in mind and no end
in sight.
4. The paintings that interest me most have irreducible structures
that are arbitrary and complex.
5. My work forces no images. The arrival of the image, however, is
unavoidable.
6. Whatever is unadvoidable is also an end.
7. Work takes place within the physical and mental limits of my
humanity.
8. Painting's time, limitations and doubt make it appear outdated
to many people. These are in fact painting's assets.
1. My work engages visual difference through the physical building
and juxtaposition of paint surface.
2. The techniques by which I generate these surfaces are only
important insofar as they can be deduced from a specific painting.
3. I employ a variety of techniques with no goal in mind and no end
in sight.
4. The paintings that interest me most have irreducible structures
that are arbitrary and complex.
5. My work forces no images. The arrival of the image, however, is
unavoidable.
6. Whatever is unadvoidable is also an end.
7. Work takes place within the physical and mental limits of my
humanity.
8. Painting's time, limitations and doubt make it appear outdated
to many people. These are in fact painting's assets.
a statement
As an artist, I hope capture any ideas that come to my mind: good or bad. I believe that art is a reflection of us and others. I hope that the art will speak to at least one person. If I have done that, then I have I have accomplished my goal. I will not be limited to the conditioning of the experience of my life and my past. I shall embrace the thoughts and ideas that come before. I think that part of being an artist is to not be biased of what in my work. I want to capture what exactly comes from my mind and even from others. In the past, I have limited myself to the art that can speak to all person. I believe that I must be happy in the things I create and that is the only way to produce the best work. As an artist, I will also try to understand the work of other artist to participate in the circle of creativity.
On this day this is my artist and I accept that my views as an artist may change and hopefully evolve into something greater than it has become.
On this day this is my artist and I accept that my views as an artist may change and hopefully evolve into something greater than it has become.
a statement
To be honest I don’t feel very creative this quarter. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like I’m in a rut. There’s just, so much going on out in the art world that it overwhelms and belittles me because I’m scared. Scared that one day all my creative juices will cease and I’ll never be able to make work that will get people to stop and look. I know that it’s just part of being an artist by questioning your work and accepting the fact that you’re not always going to have fantastic ideas pouring out of you at every waking moment and that there will be times when you feel like this. I also know that I will overcome this road block and realize that what I need to do is just relax and breathe. It’s like what I’ve said in most of my other art statements about stopping and enjoying the simple pleasures in life and to not let the negative vibes get me down. I want to create something, even though I might not know what it is yet, but just the passion there in my bones gives me the motivation and hope to know that I will achieve what I intend to do and that is create.
a statement
“If I don’t create, I cease to exist.”
+ Ingmar Bergman
Perhaps my most influential filmmaker couldn’t have said it any better. Existentialism is by far an area of philosophical study that I’ve given the most attention to in the last couple years of my life. Who are we? What makes us human? What makes me individual? These are the questions at the core of my existential quest. What I’ve discovered there has led me to the path of an artist.
The most fundamental truth that I’ve learned is that what makes us both human and individual is creativity. When we are being creative, we are being both original and individual. If we are not being creative, we are being robotic and mechanistic, just operating off of rehearsed input/output functions. Throughout the course of history, cultures and populations have thrived and ultimately perished. However, the art that they’ve left behind has survived the longest. This is a clear example to me of the power of art. Within each artifact is encoded information about the culture and the individual who created. For me, this is the blending of the two modes of existence in life, the individual and society. It is incredibly important for me to express my existence in this society. It is of existential necessity that I pursue art.
Another secret I’ve discovered lying in art is it’s evolutionary capabilities. Throughout history, the people who have progressed the mental capabilities of their society have been philosophers and artists. In today’s world this has not changed. So with this in mind, I have dedicated my life to the blending of both art and philosophy. Both have proven to be excellent investigatory mediums for the discovery of reality and existence.
In conclusion, I have discovered what Ingmar Bergman discovered. If we are not creating, our identity ceases to be known. So, for me, my outlet for creating takes the form of video. This has proven to be the medium that I gravity mostly towards. I’m still exploring the possibilities with film, and when one is in a constant state of exploration, one is also in a constant state of discovery.
+ Ingmar Bergman
Perhaps my most influential filmmaker couldn’t have said it any better. Existentialism is by far an area of philosophical study that I’ve given the most attention to in the last couple years of my life. Who are we? What makes us human? What makes me individual? These are the questions at the core of my existential quest. What I’ve discovered there has led me to the path of an artist.
The most fundamental truth that I’ve learned is that what makes us both human and individual is creativity. When we are being creative, we are being both original and individual. If we are not being creative, we are being robotic and mechanistic, just operating off of rehearsed input/output functions. Throughout the course of history, cultures and populations have thrived and ultimately perished. However, the art that they’ve left behind has survived the longest. This is a clear example to me of the power of art. Within each artifact is encoded information about the culture and the individual who created. For me, this is the blending of the two modes of existence in life, the individual and society. It is incredibly important for me to express my existence in this society. It is of existential necessity that I pursue art.
Another secret I’ve discovered lying in art is it’s evolutionary capabilities. Throughout history, the people who have progressed the mental capabilities of their society have been philosophers and artists. In today’s world this has not changed. So with this in mind, I have dedicated my life to the blending of both art and philosophy. Both have proven to be excellent investigatory mediums for the discovery of reality and existence.
In conclusion, I have discovered what Ingmar Bergman discovered. If we are not creating, our identity ceases to be known. So, for me, my outlet for creating takes the form of video. This has proven to be the medium that I gravity mostly towards. I’m still exploring the possibilities with film, and when one is in a constant state of exploration, one is also in a constant state of discovery.
a statement
In this video, as in my work in general, I play with images and concepts of power, sexuality, and identity. My work is an effort to stand outside the traditional boundaries of gender and family to create visual experiences which empower through self-definition, personal narrative, and re-imagining the worlds within. I use the figure as an anchor to re-channel emotion, to illustrate internal conflict, and to connect the viewer viscerally with changing experiential states.
I hope to construct a kind of springboard for personal mythology, embracing an internal struggle often set in or represented by abandoned or decomposing environments. This embodied collection of emotional memory lives somewhere between the figurative, the symbolist, and the surreal, and reflects influences such as Sally Mann, Bill Viola, and Robert Parke Harrison. The images are a catalogue of states, feelings, and histories skeptical of all personal and societal meta-narratives, even themselves.
I hope to construct a kind of springboard for personal mythology, embracing an internal struggle often set in or represented by abandoned or decomposing environments. This embodied collection of emotional memory lives somewhere between the figurative, the symbolist, and the surreal, and reflects influences such as Sally Mann, Bill Viola, and Robert Parke Harrison. The images are a catalogue of states, feelings, and histories skeptical of all personal and societal meta-narratives, even themselves.
A Statement
Statement
Attitude affects the perception of our surroundings. I investigate the attitudes that are the desire to change the landscape, and the understanding of a particular place. My work combines images of contemporary urban areas on the verge of redevelopment as a point of comparison to romanticized representations of the American landscape, topography, and historic ideals. Though the images document areas of American on the verge of disappearing, the finished work is not a direct homage to landscape before or after industrialization; rather, it is an assessment of the nation's seemingly limitless potential. Ambiguous in tone, the works can be read as a glorification of development or as a reminder of the price of idealized progress.
Attitude affects the perception of our surroundings. I investigate the attitudes that are the desire to change the landscape, and the understanding of a particular place. My work combines images of contemporary urban areas on the verge of redevelopment as a point of comparison to romanticized representations of the American landscape, topography, and historic ideals. Though the images document areas of American on the verge of disappearing, the finished work is not a direct homage to landscape before or after industrialization; rather, it is an assessment of the nation's seemingly limitless potential. Ambiguous in tone, the works can be read as a glorification of development or as a reminder of the price of idealized progress.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
a statement
When I was younger I was told that I was smart enough to do pretty much whatever I wanted. I forgot about that for a long time, or rather I mistook that piece of information as meaning that I was meant to take on the most difficult educational path and follow it to the end. Not quite halfway down that road I realized that I wasn't taking the path I wanted. I wanted to create, to produce things that make people feel something. I wanted to inspire. I wanted to use both sides of my brain. Art gives me the opportunity to do this and with a smile. When I was younger I was told that I was smart enough to do pretty much whatever I wanted...so I choose art.
a statement
As an artist I hope that my work achieves the ultimate goal of aesthetic viewing pleasure. In other words, I would like the people that are viewing my work to take something more than just a visual of the work being displayed. I want the audience to be shocked or surprised and I would like them to generate their own feelings about the work itself. I am a typical artist; I rarely think that my work is sufficient at all. With final cut pro being provided in this class, this will be the tool to make my works of art into hopeful masterpieces. I am a tireless worker and will stay up to the bitter end to accomplish what needs to be done to make the final piece. Hopefully, my hard work and the dedication to the audience will be enough for me to raise to some eyebrows.
Colin Lapasky
I continually search for new and unexplored software and technologies to learn. My training as an artist never ceases, and there is at all times, something new to study and apply to my works. The technology of art constantly advances, creating limitless possibilities and reason to be continually learning. I am compelled to seek mediums that I am not comfortable with, constantly pushing what I know to achieve innovative compositions. I have an infatuation with numerous mediums of technology, allowing me to capture precise, accurate moments in time, and through conceptually driven ideas, tools permit me to alter them. I use everyday scenarios and customs to reinterpret the common notions in what they represent.
Mary Anne Benson
I am an artist because I live in a world saturated with images and I want to create my own and contribute my own view to that world. I am far less concerned than I should be about finished products—to me they are just residue of the real art, which lies in the process. My process involves mostly experimentation and play. Accidents and mistakes often take me in exciting new directions. In video, this takes the form of the evolution of my ideas, which always morph into something completely different along the way. In photography, my process is finding new ways to see something—the beauty in trash, the grotesque side of what is considered beautiful, the humor and surreal nature of mundane things. I like to work in places I walk by everyday, breaking out of the beeline of routine to discover something new to connect with. I love when people see me making images, because they sometimes stop and look where I was looking. To me it doesn’t matter if they see the same thing I saw, it’s probably best if they see something else or nothing at all. What matters is that they took a brief moment to break out and look for themselves. Finished works of art invite someone to see your point of view, your story, your take on the world. I revel in encountering the art of others, and am so happy that with digital technologies many more people can explore this sort of looking and self- expression. The world needs more stories and more points of view.
Adam Frizzell
Art is a unique medium of communication. Unlike text, speech or physical interaction, art possesses the ability to hold a viewer’s attention before any translation has occurred. The visual dynamics offered by a piece of art intrigue or disgust the viewer, forcing them to continue their witnessing until their curiosity is appeased and they have came to some conclusion or other about the meaning behind the work.
Focusing on this ability I choose to make art which has something to inform the viewer about. Aesthetic beauty, in my opinion, is secondary (and occasionally involuntary) to the potential communicative powers of art. My intention is to create works that inform or enlighten the viewer. The subject matter often addresses issues that I feel the general population should be more aware of – making my artwork into a kind of mirror to society. I tend to focus on the habits and choices that our collective species make and illuminate them in a way that becomes entertaining or offensive with less hope to cause an instance of change and more hope that I can foster a contemplation of one’s own behavior.
Focusing on this ability I choose to make art which has something to inform the viewer about. Aesthetic beauty, in my opinion, is secondary (and occasionally involuntary) to the potential communicative powers of art. My intention is to create works that inform or enlighten the viewer. The subject matter often addresses issues that I feel the general population should be more aware of – making my artwork into a kind of mirror to society. I tend to focus on the habits and choices that our collective species make and illuminate them in a way that becomes entertaining or offensive with less hope to cause an instance of change and more hope that I can foster a contemplation of one’s own behavior.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
a statement
Why do I make art? I don’t really know. It is something that I have always done. Even as a child, I had a compulsion to draw or otherwise make whatever image was swirling around in my mind. It is very personal to me, my works are like my children and I am reluctant to share them with the world. Maybe because I am afraid of what other people might say about them, that is mistreat my “children”. Or maybe I don’t really care how other people think, I just want to do what I want to do. As a young adult, I suppressed this compulsion to be “practical” and got a job in the business world so I could support myself, because everybody said nobody can support themselves as an artist. Recent life changing events have altered my thinking and I am pursuing what I want to do, not what is sensible or practical. Even if I have to go back into the business world, I will not give up making art again.
a statement
I am trying to show others the two halves of my duality. My two halves are made up of “things that I perceive as normal” and “things that I internally label as abnormal”. I usually accept my physical and emotional separation from other people and the existence of duality as normal. I have internally labeled my and other people’s malleable sexuality and gender as abnormal. I see this malleability as a “frightening impulse” which I usually react against (again internally) violently. Although I have conflicts with my duality, I create my artwork as part of a process that reflects my attempt to create a balance between my two halves.
I am exploring methods outside of making personal artwork to reflect the balance that I am trying to create between my two halves. To begin my search, I pose a question: “Do other people relate to the concepts that I am trying to show in my work?” I then create artwork in a variety of mediums based on people’s verbal and written responses to this question.
I am adjusting my work to help others respond to it more easily. Part of this process involves continuing to experiment with my artwork by looking at a person’s connection to art objects, and by exploring an individual’s connections to other people. I continue to build on my successful experiments by creating new works that exploit my artwork’s connections to others.
I am exploring methods outside of making personal artwork to reflect the balance that I am trying to create between my two halves. To begin my search, I pose a question: “Do other people relate to the concepts that I am trying to show in my work?” I then create artwork in a variety of mediums based on people’s verbal and written responses to this question.
I am adjusting my work to help others respond to it more easily. Part of this process involves continuing to experiment with my artwork by looking at a person’s connection to art objects, and by exploring an individual’s connections to other people. I continue to build on my successful experiments by creating new works that exploit my artwork’s connections to others.
a statement
Emotionally driven conceptual art has always been something I have been interested in. Emotion is something I feel everyone can relate to so building a concept around it makes sense to me. Making art that will make the viewer think about what they are looking at or why it is made in the first place it usually the kind of result I am trying to achieve. Paying attention to the aesthetics is a very important characteristic when it comes to the overall appearance and presentation of the piece. Intentional detail is something I have constantly included in just about everything I have ever made. Details can range from a moth flying around a lamp in the background to the how well everything is rendered in the environment itself. This has always helped aesthetically improve the visual aspects of a particular piece. In addition, the aesthetics of the piece may also help with layering the work given that viewers might be interested only in the appearance, and must observe it once more to fully appreciate the meaning of the work. I am not normally against works that thrive purely on aesthetics, but including a well thought out concept can do nothing but strengthen the piece. Also, my concepts are typically not as direct or straight forward as they may appear. Keeping some of the narrative hidden along with trying to layer it with subplots can make for a very fascinating result. Viewers should be able to return to the piece and notice something entirely new when they view it yet again.
a statement
When Brewster from Brewster’s Millions was finally able to reveal that he had spent the $30 million in order to get the $300 million, I thought about art. Art is like that, you know—like spending $30 million to get $300 million. But did you ever wonder what Brewster did with the $300 million after he got it? And did the conspirators who tried to obstruct Brewster’s attempts to gain his full inheritance really go to jail? Or did they just have attorneys who got them off the hook? Seriously, maybe Brewster forgave them because he was a nice guy. He seemed like a nice guy, when he and John Candy weren’t out philandering. It doesn’t seem, however, like Brewster was ever going to get to play for the Yankees. But, just because the sun comes up today, doesn’t mean it will come up tomorrow, so perhaps he did play for the Yankees eventually. He could get anybody out for three innings. But that’s the thing that escapes us, I guess, is we just don’t know what Brewster did after the movie. Hell, we don’t even know what he was up to for much of the period in which the movie was set. It would be impossible to document every minute of Brewster’s life for a month. I mean, I’m talking about something a bunch of people made: they spliced it together from take after take, probably out of sequence, into what should seem like a random series of scenes, but it somehow adheres into a linear narrative. It’s nearly magic, and I’m still not satisfied. And I keep mixing in that scene from the first—or maybe the second—episode of Quantum Leap when Sam was a ball player, and he talks to his dad who, in Sam’s day, or in the linearality of his own life—I mean, it’s time travel, so it gets confusing—is dead. His dad is dead, you see, but Sam has gone back in time, so he gets his dad on the phone. It’s pretty neat. So when I fill the lacunae—the anti-narrative space—left after Brewster’s big game—following his team’s humiliating defeat and his big speech to the assembled crowd—I insert that scene from Quantum Leap. It’s poignant. Anyway, I draw from another piece of work altogether to craft my own story, and I somehow associate those scenes with my own feelings of loss, reminiscences about time with my folks, imaginings of how it will feel when they die, sympathy for all those people who have lost parents—in short, the experience of the scenes becomes interwoven with everything that has contributed to the constitution of the feelings that are mine, that feel so personal and spontaneous, even though they are an inheritance, simulacra of authenticity. It all gets mixed in together with a presentation that I make for myself from an amalgam of Quantum Leap and Brewster’s Millions—two programs to which I had access originally only because of a confluence of resources and materials available to the artists (if you’ll grant the makers of Brewster’s Millions and the Leap—my pet name for Quantum Leap—that status), the color TV I had in my own home growing up, and myriad other conditions within and beyond my control. But when I make art, when I’m called to make something that may or may not be constituted as art, or when I’m called by art to make it, or when I am called an artist (which has never happened), I can’t help but wonder what Brewster did with that $300 million and how he lived his life after he was awarded it. I don’t think it was the intention of the people who made that film to inspire speculations regarding Brewster’s dying words or to establish any desire within viewers to splice scenes from Quantum Leap into the narrative of the movie. So, in a way, it doesn’t matter what I intend with or for my "art." Furthermore, it doesn’t matter whether I think my stuff is art or artsy or artistic; attributions are, ultimately, beyond my control. Personally, I am not trying to participate in some field of power in which my specific investment in the term “art” has a bearing on the symbolic, social, and material resources that are available for the production, distribution, and interpretation of…whatever. I don’t have positive material or symbolic investments in the term “art”--I don't ascribe the label to my work. Doing so would be to appropriate a term with which I would prefer to have a minimal association. But, again, ultimately, I have little control over such attributions. Honestly, I just want to know what Brewster did with that $300 million.
a statement
I've always been fascinated by (and jealous of) artists. I have a lot of creativity in my mind, but translating it into reality has always been difficult for me. I never put much effort into finding the artist in me- until now. Going down this personal road less traveled has unveiled new insights for me. I'm enjoying finding new ways to channel my inner feelings without any pre-established boundaries or methodology. I'm going down this road not knowing where it's going, but enjoying myself nonetheless. I just stick my hands in art and make whatever I feel like making. Sometimes, I let other people take a look at the inner me.
a statement
“Great art picks up where nature ends” Marc Chagall
One could argue that all design is a copy of something done before. I
would argue that the source of all design originated in nature and
there began the plagiarism. The structure of a spider’s web or the
replicating pattern of a seashell are both examples of concentric
design tools found in art as are the triangular models used by Winslow
and the Renaissance artists. Where would we be without the rule of
thirds? What feels most natural, most organic and appeals to our
senses is that which originated from nature.
One morning years ago I was running very early in the morning in
southern Arizona. As I approached the top of the mountain the night
stars merged with daylight. Just then a meteor shower began. It was
truly the most amazing thing I’ve ever witnessed. How could I ever
replicate that? Why would I try? Yet the experience impacted me.
Great design and art does impact me the same way that a work of nature
does. I do believe I carry those images with me in the same way. As
these images stimulate me, interest me they also influence my art. I
plagiarize them without meaning to.. replicating art, replicating
nature.
One could argue that all design is a copy of something done before. I
would argue that the source of all design originated in nature and
there began the plagiarism. The structure of a spider’s web or the
replicating pattern of a seashell are both examples of concentric
design tools found in art as are the triangular models used by Winslow
and the Renaissance artists. Where would we be without the rule of
thirds? What feels most natural, most organic and appeals to our
senses is that which originated from nature.
One morning years ago I was running very early in the morning in
southern Arizona. As I approached the top of the mountain the night
stars merged with daylight. Just then a meteor shower began. It was
truly the most amazing thing I’ve ever witnessed. How could I ever
replicate that? Why would I try? Yet the experience impacted me.
Great design and art does impact me the same way that a work of nature
does. I do believe I carry those images with me in the same way. As
these images stimulate me, interest me they also influence my art. I
plagiarize them without meaning to.. replicating art, replicating
nature.
a statement
My approach to creating artwork has gone through several changes in the past few years. Although this string of changes has in some way brought me to what I am working on in my current life, I have also begun to come to terms with the idea that my work is continually evolving. I will likely not find the answers I am looking for in my work; rather, I will continue to experiment with ideas and techniques, and evaluate my decisions as I work. Working with an intuitive approach, rather than a rigid, planned approach, has lent itself well to my concept of evolving artistic style.
Regarding subject, I am interested in sequencing events, be they personal histories, memories, stories, etc. I find perpetual curiosity in the way specific events relate to each other on an intimate and personal level.
Aesthetically, I am drawn toward abstract art and the ways in which some abstract artists are able to create moments of unique intimacy between the artwork and the viewer. For me, the absence of a direct narrative makes room for the viewer to contribute to the piece, thus enhancing its personal nature.
Regarding subject, I am interested in sequencing events, be they personal histories, memories, stories, etc. I find perpetual curiosity in the way specific events relate to each other on an intimate and personal level.
Aesthetically, I am drawn toward abstract art and the ways in which some abstract artists are able to create moments of unique intimacy between the artwork and the viewer. For me, the absence of a direct narrative makes room for the viewer to contribute to the piece, thus enhancing its personal nature.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
a statement
I think about making art as meditation and a way of finding my Identity. I struggle to find my Identity because all living organisms, including humans, are born without their consent. Existing in this world was not our decision, but here we are, breathing. For me, Identity is something that is not granted, but something that needs to be established. That is why it is extremely important to ask ourselves who we are. Therefore, I choose to walk backwards—it is better to live my life looking back than to feel anxious about my unknown future. In this way I can establish my Identity so I do not feel empty. I look at life as a linear path towards death. As we walk along the path, we encounter the Future. I walk this linear path with my eyes looking back at my trails, to find a piece of my Identity. To me, the Past is something more rigid and solid than the Future because the Past is known to me already, but the Future remains unknown all the time. My artworks are reflections of my past. The Past makes us who we are today.
It is commonly known that we learn from everyday experience, train ourselves to adapt to the environment that surrounds us, and sometimes gain knowledge from the process of adaptation. Past experience plays a major role in forming an individual’s identity. Furthermore, if the individual is an artist, past experience is more likely to be reflected on pieces of art that are produced by the individual. That is basically the reason why having as various types of experiences as an individual can, making observations and analyzing the surroundings, and putting oneself in the suitable environment for learning are crucial. Today, for visual artists, learning from the surroundings has become more important, because art is everywhere, and it is changing rapidly. Visual art alone can take many different forms. It is in books, magazines, motion pictures, music, and it is on TV and the internet.
In a person’s life, complex emotions are present at all times. I state that due to my exceedingly emotional nature, and also my experience in South Korea, Canada, and the United States, my life is filled with emotions and different types of experiences. I had to live and survive alone in foreign countries since the age of 16, served in the Korean army as a member of Special Guard Team, as a military prison guard, and as a squad leader. I had at least one family member hospitalized for 15 long years of my life, and lost my mother in 2004. As an art student, I also have experience in producing various types of visual art such as painting, drawing, sculpture, hologram, robotics, photography, and 3D animation. Past years have turned my life into a library of various emotions and experiences, which is good for an artist.
In composition, I believe in diversity, unity, and balance. I start by deciding what colors to use, and then decide what type of emotion that the piece is going to evoke. After that, I look back at my personal experiences to remind myself of the time when I had that emotion. My personal emotions are expressed in order to visually establish my identity in the pieces. Color is one of the primary factors that I am greatly concerned about, regardless of the medium.
As a humanist, I am greatly fascinated by the fact that in many religious texts such as the Bible and Greek mythologies, humans are created to resemble gods. What do gods do? They create. We are not all sure if our ‘creator’ exists or not in reality, but we all know that religions are made by humans. Then, why would humans in those days come up with such religious texts telling us that humans resemble gods? I personally believe that it is because of the fact that we have an ability to create. We call ourselves the lord of all creation. Therefore, for me, creation is the most beautiful and humanistic thing to do. It is a way to be who we are.
I chose animation as my primary medium because of its expressive possibilities and inherent characteristics. Animation is an art form with infinite possibilities. It allows me to create an alternative world in a virtual space involving time. Through expression of emotions derived from my personal experience, and through use of editing, coloring and compositing, I seek to establish a unique and solid identity as an artist, and also, as an individual. In dictionaries, “to animate” means to give life. Through production of animation, we give life to something, just like gods in many religious texts do. Creating and giving life is the greatest thing a human can ever do.
It is commonly known that we learn from everyday experience, train ourselves to adapt to the environment that surrounds us, and sometimes gain knowledge from the process of adaptation. Past experience plays a major role in forming an individual’s identity. Furthermore, if the individual is an artist, past experience is more likely to be reflected on pieces of art that are produced by the individual. That is basically the reason why having as various types of experiences as an individual can, making observations and analyzing the surroundings, and putting oneself in the suitable environment for learning are crucial. Today, for visual artists, learning from the surroundings has become more important, because art is everywhere, and it is changing rapidly. Visual art alone can take many different forms. It is in books, magazines, motion pictures, music, and it is on TV and the internet.
In a person’s life, complex emotions are present at all times. I state that due to my exceedingly emotional nature, and also my experience in South Korea, Canada, and the United States, my life is filled with emotions and different types of experiences. I had to live and survive alone in foreign countries since the age of 16, served in the Korean army as a member of Special Guard Team, as a military prison guard, and as a squad leader. I had at least one family member hospitalized for 15 long years of my life, and lost my mother in 2004. As an art student, I also have experience in producing various types of visual art such as painting, drawing, sculpture, hologram, robotics, photography, and 3D animation. Past years have turned my life into a library of various emotions and experiences, which is good for an artist.
In composition, I believe in diversity, unity, and balance. I start by deciding what colors to use, and then decide what type of emotion that the piece is going to evoke. After that, I look back at my personal experiences to remind myself of the time when I had that emotion. My personal emotions are expressed in order to visually establish my identity in the pieces. Color is one of the primary factors that I am greatly concerned about, regardless of the medium.
As a humanist, I am greatly fascinated by the fact that in many religious texts such as the Bible and Greek mythologies, humans are created to resemble gods. What do gods do? They create. We are not all sure if our ‘creator’ exists or not in reality, but we all know that religions are made by humans. Then, why would humans in those days come up with such religious texts telling us that humans resemble gods? I personally believe that it is because of the fact that we have an ability to create. We call ourselves the lord of all creation. Therefore, for me, creation is the most beautiful and humanistic thing to do. It is a way to be who we are.
I chose animation as my primary medium because of its expressive possibilities and inherent characteristics. Animation is an art form with infinite possibilities. It allows me to create an alternative world in a virtual space involving time. Through expression of emotions derived from my personal experience, and through use of editing, coloring and compositing, I seek to establish a unique and solid identity as an artist, and also, as an individual. In dictionaries, “to animate” means to give life. Through production of animation, we give life to something, just like gods in many religious texts do. Creating and giving life is the greatest thing a human can ever do.
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