Time Place

If, as an artist, I could wake up each day thinking about the thing I care most about as it relates to my artwork, what would that thing be? 
You can provide an answer in writing, in images, or both.

 


I think about where I stand in time and place in relation to things that were in the past. I think a lot about history and where I stand in the scheme of history. I think about time. Time and place changes the way things look, and time and place changes the way we look at things.
How do I relate to my surroundings? How can I comment on something that has not yet been said? Or can I comment on it in a way that has not been done? Both are valid questions that I try to ask myself...

If, as an artist, I could wake up each day thinking about the thing I care most about as it relates to my artwork, what would that thing be? 
You can provide an answer in writing, in images, or both.

I feel like this question, in a sense, is asking me to talk about the thematic elements of my artwork and/or influences and references, and I am not sure if what I am trying to do is that well-defined or cohesive (yet?). I use painting as a visual representation of personal, subjective anxieties that stem from a particular obsession I am not entirely comfortable articulating here on our course blog. I want to leave my paintings open to interpretation and not let my particular, immediate intention directly affect that. However, I think my preoccupation with arbitrary rules, patterns, and limitations that I impose on my paintings does permeate a larger cultural space, especially in terms of (1) the philosophy of perfectionism and (2) the extent (or, even the existence) of individuality. I am hesitant to say I care most about this, but I do care a great deal about these two aforementioned ideas. I have yet to reach a definite opinion on the matter, but I am also really interested in the legacy of humankind, for the sake of it, even at the cost of human happiness—things like time-travel, genetic engineering, etc. (Of course, I am not saying my artwork articulates this in any way, but it is something I am beginning to think about in terms of how it relates to fine art, in general.) I suppose a general answer to this prompt would be, I want to wake up and think about the representation of philosophical ideas in visual art. But, really, I just wake up and obsess about the same things and try to find different ways to bring them to life visually, in hopes that their externalization gives them a purpose that is not destructive.

Laughter

 

If, as an artist, I could wake up each day thinking about the thing I care most about as it relates to my artwork, what would that thing be? 

Laughter. Laughter! LAUGHTER! I write comedy to, well, make people laugh, and forget about the trappings of this crazy world for a while. When I am able to wake up with a comedic situation and dialogue on my mind that immediately produces a laugh, or two, out loud, then I know I’m off to a great start.

 

 

 

 

Architecture

strong structure, soft lines

Prompt 5

Every morning when I wake up
If, as an artist, I could wake up each day thinking about the thing I care most about as it relates to my artwork, what would that thing be? 

Exhibit A:
Me, aged 15, visiting my sister in France.
Vineyard, sun, warm, squidgy piles of damp, fertile soil.
Bare toes.

Exhibit B:
Footage taken on my phone on an overnight bus from Mendoza, Argentina, to Santiago de Chile.
We drove over the Andes just as the dawn was breaking.
Audio is taken from a train trip to West Virginia to see one of my best friends.
The voices and instruments are him and his sister singing, taken as a voicememo on my phone.

I want to be woken to:

Memories of profoundly simple pleasures.

Marveling at natural beauty.

Marveling at the beauty and talent of others.

Memories of traveling slow.

I think before falling a sleep, not in the morning.

I think about my art work in the night before falling asleep, not in the morning. In the morning I don't think at all. I act from feelings that were created during the night shaped by visions or thoughts about work I already have done or are going to do. Thus, previous work may lead to new work or a discovery about a certain medium can contribute to new work. However, another crux is that once I start working something totally different from what I felt in the morning may appear.