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.

I’ve noticed a growth in my artwork since the beginning of the semester. My art has gotten a bit more refined along with all of the skills I’ve acquired throughout the course. I’ve realized now that this is what I want to be doing with my future, compared to in the beginning of the semester when I wasn’t entirely sure about it. So I would say that this course has helped to bring the artist out of me.

I excelled in my use of practice times. Not only did I take the time to practice in class but I also did a lot of practice outside of class. I did quite a bit of photo taking, a few drawings and learned a bit more about the software we’ve been using throughout the semester. For example I did more practice with photoshop around the middle of the semester. I would just play with it a few hours a day both inside and outside of class. All of the practice I did helped me to get through the course, learn, and sharpen my skills.

I dealt with feedback very well. I heard what the instructors and students were saying and I acted. For instance, when Bill said my collages would’ve been better had I made them three dimensional. I listened and did what he said and my collages were even better than before.

As I mentioned before, I have found out that this is what I want to do with my future. The work I put out in this class has really helped me to see that I love art and making creative pieces. I am probably most impressed with the book I created and the architectural themed photos I took all throughout the class. So the love that I have for my work is immense, even more so after taking this course. I’m in it for the long haul.

My external expert hours are pretty impressive. I made about three or four pieces that weren’t required just for fun. Outside of class I took a few hours out of my day to become more comfortable with photoshop and indesign, especially during the middle and towards the end of the semester.

I would give myself an A in practice time because out of the five courses I took this semester, I devoted the most time to this one. I give myself a B in feedback only because there were only a few cases where I actually received feedback and acted on it. An A in the level of love I have for my work and a B in external expert hours because I did do quite a bit.

The 1st presenter, Kim, showed us her work titled Rosebud Incarnation. It was a sort of dubbed music video of an older video. It was very classical and colorful, like an MGM video. It was very upbeat.

Tammie Rubin teaches ceramics, sculpture, “Chimera”, familiar trivial, transforms ordinary objects into something mythical. She paints acrylic on the ceramic. She is very interested in reconstruction and deconstruction. Very vibrant and beautiful work.

James Shurren showed us a beautiful picture of the 1st photograph. He is interested in things people do on accident and objects of the lazy. His work includes bmx cloud scape, concentric circles, red room, and sticker Galaxies. His work is very fascinating to look at.

Part 2:

This was a very intersting course and I enjoyed every minute of it. Hollis, Bill and Tuan are really great professors and excellent artists.

Beginning with Tuan, he does a lot of work for his family, especially his father’s restaurant, tea, and organic rice business. He also did some designing for certain elections. He does a lot of fun projects such as intermediate coloring books, bags, gift cards, and postcards. Tuan’s work is very well made and I find it quite enjoyable to look at.

Moving on to Hollis. Her work was one of my favorites to look at. Her graphic novel that she is currently working on was magnificent. She likes to reconstruct images of natural disasters and images on personal memories. Her art is very delicate, yet there is a certain harsh reality to it which I really like.

Concluding with Bill, he showed us some of his earliest work, the Texas Prison Rodeo. These photos were very classic as well as professional, which is always the case in Bill’s work. He moved on to show us some beautiful self portraits he had taken before he moved to commercial work. His commercial work was mainly taking portraits for some important figures. He became bored with this and wanted to shoot photos of something that would interest people. I really admire Bill for choosing this major change in his career. He shot outdoor black and white photos and polaroids of moving water. The moving water photos led to a shift to more abstract forms within his work.

Part 2: My 5 Year Plan

2016: In the year of 2016 I hope to become an even stronger artist. I want to accomplish this by studying my craft as much as i can on my own personal time. 2016 is going to be a huge year for me, I think it will be the year that I decide if I want to become the type of artist that works for themselves and goes to gallery openings and things like that, or if I want to be the type of artist that works for a particular studio and has a steady payroll.

2017: Once again 2017 will be a huge year. The plan is to graduate and hopefully have a career that I can be proud of and have fun at. I’m going to do my best to accomplish finishing up my final year with good grades and have an impressive resume and portfolio.

2018: Once I am doing what I want to do, I want to be able to travel and get to know more people who come from different backgrounds and traditions. I can do this by making enough money and networking to become well-versed with others.

2019: This will be a year to just go with the flow, whatever happens will happen. Maybe I make a career change, maybe I stay where I’m at.

2020: Hopefully I will be settled in well enough in what I’m doing with my life to have found a girl that cares for me. I would like to eventually by a house and start a family. I want to accomplish this by having done so well for myself, all while still in my early twenties that I am seen as an accomplished bachelor.

No title, acrylic paint on foam board.

I created this piece purely for fun. I really just wanted to illustrate some interesting shapes and see how it would turn out. I’m pretty happy with the outcome.

Legato, magazine clippings on black paper.

This piece is all about music. It’s titled “Legato” because it illustrates a smooth, undulating rhythm.

The first alumni speaker, Lynne Bowman Crevens presented us with some very fascinating artwork. She showed us everything from classic car photos to photos of hair. Miranda Pertrosky gave everyone insight on what graphic design majors would be doing with their degrees. She was very informative and helpful. Lastly, Dustin Meyer told us about his life as a wedding photographer. His work was very beautiful and it was nice to see that he made a successful business out of something he enjoys doing.

Three Possible internships that would interest me:

http://www.internships.com/art/Arts-Administration-Internship-Spring-Season

http://www.internships.com/art/Arts-Marketing-Social-Media-Intern

http://www.internships.com/graphic-design/Graphic-ArtsDesign

The artist, Fr. Martin Nguyen was born in Vietnam but came to the states in 1979. He joined the department of Art History and design at the University of Notre Dame in 1995. He created large-scale works in drawing and other media. His works are site-specific installations and provide a contemplative space for viewers to examine people and their past life events. This piece, TIME, is made by using portraits and it is in the student gallery. His works have been installed in galleries all throughout the country.

My first interpretation of the piece was that the artist wanted to capture humanity within the piece. The art looks like several human figures, particularly their heads. You can recognize each figure, some are in color and some are black and white. The subject seems to capture humanity. The texture looks smooth; some colors include vibrant flesh tones as well as black and white. The shapes are essentially circles, given they are all heads. There is some soft line within each character, around their hair and facial features. They figures are spaced equally and symmetrically throughout the piece.

What stands out for me is the way the artist chose to depict some of the characters in color while depicting others in black and white. There are commonalities within the entire piece. The soft line around the hair is shared among majority of the figures as well as the lines in all of their facial features. The figures are also common in space and organization given that they’re all parallel and perpendicular of one another. We also see some contrast between the figures in color and the figure in black and white. Although some head are slightly larger than others or maybe facing a different direction, the piece still is balanced and well proportioned. Given all of the different sizes and shapes of the heads this piece offers plenty of variety.

I think this piece is about the differences and also similarities within humanity. Maybe the artist is trying to say that although we may be different we are all alike in that we are all human beings. I would like to think that the purpose of the artwork is to teach man to look past their differences and see what we have in common. I get a feeling of compassion and love when I look at this artwork. This piece doesn’t remind me of anything in particular, it’s actually pretty unique and unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. In my opinion I think the artist is trying to make a point in that we are all different but at the same time we are all the same.

My interpretation didn’t change much, I previously believed that the artist was trying to capture humanity but I now believe the artist wants to capture the differences and commonalities in humanity. I think the artwork is very successful at trying to convey personalities, differences, similarities. I would say that the piece is very unique. I’m not entirely sure how far the skill set of the artist goes but I say that this piece is an accurate depiction of his skills. Rather or not I can do better is entirely up to the viewer, some people like what they like so it’s hard to say if something I produced would be better than the aforementioned artwork. The design elements are what helped me the most in understanding the subject matter of the piece. This is a well-planned piece of art, the symmetrical figures and the arrangement of the figures help to do so and it looks well made. I would buy this art. I could definitely see a smaller scale of the work hanging in the living room or kitchen of my apartment. I’ve learned that it’s ok to work on a larger scale like this artist has done; none of my work is too big as I like to work on a smaller scale but I think the artist has made me want to work larger. The artwork most definitely inspires me, as I said before it has given me the desire to work on a grander scale but it also inspires me with its beauty. The piece is an excellent representation of the category of art, given that it is about time and human events.

I have put a great deal of expert hours and practice time, both inside and outside of class. Sometimes I might work on one or two projects outside of class just for fun. I’ve done my best to challenge myself in everything I do. One thing i’ve noticed is that I am putting more time working in visual studies than I am in all of my other classes. I have definitely seen a change within my art and within myself

I would give myself an A in practice time. I stayed up until 4 am working on the latest collages because after hours of working on them, I just wasn’t satisfied, so I’m definitely exceeding in practice. I also give myself an A in dealing with feedback. When Bill and Tuan said that my latest collages could be improved by giving them something extra, I listened. I gave the collages a 3D aspect and became much more satisfied with them.

I give myself a B in challenging myself just because as hard as I think I might’ve worked on something it would’ve probably been better to keep pushing myself. For instance when we did the first batch of collages I was told my work could be improved had I given them some kind of added dimension to them. I should’ve done this prior to critiquing the collages but I didn’t, even though I went back and did as instructed for the final.

Finally, I give myself a B in expert experience. I visited some museums, did two or three extra projects that were just for practice or for fun. I wouldn’t say I did a tremendous amount of extra stuff but I did do a few extra things that weren’t required. Rather it’s for class or not, I try to have as much fun as possible when working on new projects.

I think I mostly related to the first speaker Nick Swift. Mainly because I’m an artist at heart but I have a businessman type of mentality. He also surprised me the most because I didn’t tend to think that an art major could turn what he does into a business, I think that’s pretty cool. The most valuable piece of information I took from the alumni is to be persistent when it comes to internships and to make yourself available when another intern can’t.

My greatest skills in visual studies include:

Knowledge of basic art principles, photo editing, creativeness

Computer skills: Photoshop, Image capture, iphoto, I still need to learn more about all of these applications.

Research and writing skills: I’m a decent researcher and writer but I need to work on my impatience when it comes to researching, I learn best and accomplish most when I’m in a relaxed environment and have plenty of time to think on what I want to write.

For greater success in this course I need to: Continue developing in knowledge, editing, and become even more creative.

My greatest skills in computer science include:

Basic HTML and CSS coding, typing, listening, and writing notes

Computer skills: TextEdit, basic coding

Research and writing skills: Typing or writing notes, I accomplish the most when the professor doesn’t rush us to take notes in lecture.

For greater success in this course I need to: Further improve my HTML and CSS coding abilities

ACTION PLAN: Art History

10 ways I could improve my performance:

1. Read ahead

2. Don’t wait until the last minute

3. Make flash cards to study weeks ahead of the exam

4. Study way more often than I currently do

5. Practice repetition and memorization

6. Read one chapter of textbook each night before bed

7. Get plenty of rest before lecture

8. Watch required videos the day before lecture

9. Become better at analyzing images

10. Worry less