Portfolio Review

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-War #2, spray paint on gel texture on drawing mannequins, 11"x 22", 2014

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Artist Statement
The works showcased here represent my growth as an artist. A great amount of this work pertains to my interests in personal style and fashion, science and space, and topics from the media. Going into college, art wasn’t my first choice as a major. I was already in my second year when I realized that art is something that I wanted to do.

The collages displayed represent my earliest work. Within them I am trying to express a certain theme or idea. Many of the pieces are colorful, playful, and overall just something nice to look at, abstracted so that there is little to no meaning whatsoever. My later work has a bit more meaning, touching on subjects I may have seen in books, movies, or something that I simply imagined. Some of my artwork deals with certain movements in art history, issues between races, style and fashion interests, and some are simply basic topics that either interest me or were part of a studio course. Overall I want this display to represent my growth as an artist. The work doesn’t have to be viewed in any particular order but I want the collection to show that I made the right decision in choosing to become an artist.

  1. What motivates you to make art?
  2. How do you use color, space, form, and other dynamics in your work?
  3. How do you view your craftsmanship?
  4. What do you consider to be your strengths?
  5. Are there skills you feel need further development?
  6. How does your work relate to art historical precedents and contemporary trends?
  7. What are your expectations/goals for yourself over the next five years?

 

  1. Growing up I was the only creative person amongst my family and closest friends, they would often ask me to sketch something out for them or to help them out with what they were attempting to conceptualize. Although at this point in time I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be an artist, I enjoyed providing my talents to those who were in need of them. This enjoyment is what motivates me to make art; I ultimately wish to remain creative so that others could come to me if they are in need of my artistic capacity.

    2. I use color to give my work either a natural, stylistic, or imaginative look. I have also used color in order to convey certain themes such as motion, rhythm, and balance. In most of my drawings I do my best to get a sense of background, middle ground, and foreground within the space. My earliest work contains little to no space whatsoever. Not often but on some occasions I have used space to gain both a flat and three-dimensional look within one composition. My form is sometimes simplified, stripped down to basic geometric shapes, the best examples of this are in my human form, of course this isn’t the case with all of my work. I also use form in an effort to give my work a natural or animated style.

    3. My craftsmanship has improved over the past year or two but there is still a lot of room for improvement. Often I find myself in such a rush to complete my art that my craft suffers. Even today I am learning to slow down and pace myself when making art to get better results in my craft and a stronger work of art.

    4. I like to consider myself a decent sketch artist; I usually don’t have problems when it comes to visualizing what I want to draw so that I am easily able to put in on paper. I also have a good eye for seeing the human body as basic shapes from which I can build upon if I choose to; life drawing has helped me to develop this strength even further. Although I didn’t see it at the time, I would also say I have strength as a collage artist.

    5. I want to further develop my printmaking, sculpting, and painting skills. I believe all of these go back to either my rushing to see a finished work or being too timid and playing it safe so that the work can’t reach its full potential. In addition, I want to further develop my draftsmanship in hope of finding my own style and becoming even more natural/animated.

    6. I wasn’t aware at the time but I would say that my collages are similar to those of emerging collage artists of the Dada movement. The artist I have in mind is Kurt Shwitters, although his collages were often more political, I can see some of his spontaneity within my own work. Another work from my collection is dealing with surrealism, going back to Meret Oppenheim where she covered a bowl, saucer, and spoon with feathers. Another work in the collection has to do with events both past and present. It relates to issues between blacks and whites, be it slavery, civil rights, or police brutality. The work itself always reminded me of Ancient Greek black figure that was placed on pots and urns to tell a story.

    7. My first goal was to find my biggest strength while in undergrad, something that I truly enjoy doing and want to keep doing. I ultimately hope that drawing is that strength. As of now I am considering grad school. My hopes are to perfect my skills and become that much stronger as an artist. I later want to find some studio space where I can work or find a job in illustration. My overall main goal is that I have fun in what I choose to do.

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