Reading #4, Nothing to Lose

L-O-V-E Andy Warhol!

After I read his diary, (it wasn’t even really written by him, rather Pat Hackett), I loved him even more.  This article is by far my favorite, and I am so glad you assigned it.

Does Warhol care?  Warhol just seems so nonchalant; he says he doesn’t care, but I think deep down he does.  I relate very much to the last paragraph where he states “it would be so much easier not to care…it’s too hard to care”.  He is talking about people.

Why is this article relevant to the last project?  After our previous projects, I believe this article ‘releases’ us, the students.  I am more comfortable with my own thoughts of what I call my own creative designs.  He states he didn’t want to be a painter or famous, it just happened.  But, if I remember correctly, Warhol started drawing at an early age, then he became the commercial artist that made him successful.  I am not interested in being famous, or even if others like my work, and for me, that is freedom from thinking ‘what will others think of me?’

Personal reflection:  Yes, I become self-conscious, and then I remember I just cannot compare myself to others, in anything I do.  I learned long ago, there will be those better and those not as good as me, and that’s okay.  I can be happy for those that are better than me, it can make me work harder, but I just cannot judge my work beside anyone else.

I love Warhol’s ‘nothing to lose’ attitude.  I wish I was more like that.  Pros:  I can do whatever I want and not care if it works for others, just as long as I am happy with the outcome.  If I am happy with my result, it doesn’t matter what others think.  A nothing to lose attitude can enhance one’s creativity and performance.  Cons:  Well, if no one likes my work, and if it were my intention to become famous, I would need to care more about the end results to make sure I please others.  Thankfully, for me, in my mind I believe I am truly genius, and that is scary because what if I really am not?

 

Reading # 3, Design as Noun as Verb

I love that Plato thinks designers and artists are traitors: “Plato’s basic objection to art and technology was that they betray and distort theoretically intelligible forms (‘ideas’)”, Design and Art, edited by Alex Coles, pg 55.

He was so wrong.  In fact, I believe the complete opposite, designers, artists, manufacturers do not betray intelligible ideas, we make them.  Designers and artists improve (hopefully) our lives with their experimentation and curiosity.  Without designers/artists, we might still be in caves sitting on dirt floors in front of a burning fire.  We might still be lugging water jugs from the creek back to our cave or treehouse.  Just think of all the inventions that make our lives much easier…..

As a designer, I like to make functional pieces.  I like to sew, a lot, and that is how I practice my creative muscle.  I am definitely a beginner and need to take more time in the thinking process before I begin a project like the 1000 Objects Project for our class.  But, with every mistake I make, I am closer to not making mistakes.

Reading 2, Mad Scientist!?

I never gave thought that utility, design, and narrative were combined to make a piece of art work.  For certain, there must be an audience, but who is that in today’s modern culture?  And must the art piece speak only to one audience?

After reading the assigned pages, I feel differently.  Yes, my own decisions when producing an art piece involve substance and narrative.  When I know something is working is when I see a piece come together, not necessarily at the end, but perhaps in the beginning and the middle stages of creating.  At times, I am not trying to be narrative about a particular subject, I have been referred to the Post Modernist theme, and I like the idea very much.  I like to make something that can be wholly interpretive by the audience.  Is it political?  Functional?  Beauty?  I do not wish to make that decision for others at this time.  Maybe with more practice, I will want to influence through my art, but for now, I like to make what I like.

Currently, I am working on a tricycle drawing in Drawing II; my art piece now does not reflect anything from the original tricycle drawings.  I reworked it by marking over much of it in our soft Vine charcoal, erased most of that, then stared at the paper for inspiration wondering what was I going to do.  Then I began to see something.  Usually, when I am drawing, I will begin to see something out of seemingly nothing.  That is when I get my idea of subject.  Like Michelangelo thought a marble block had the image in it already, he only had to release it.  That is how I feel sometimes when I draw.

I am unable to look at other people’s artwork in class when working on the same project.  I compare myself and only see the progression in others’ projects and not what I am able to do.  I appreciate all art and design, but before this particular class, Foundations of Art & Design, I did not put the two together.  Now, for me, it is obvious how the two go together.

 

Circle Project by: Hailey J. Strader, Jennifer Sims, Noelle Galindo

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nkLADhRWKTI7o6kaiWTm0u2Yj3fXxcIJlFygsIrXzhg/edit?ts=58a5ebcc#slide=id.p

 

 

 

WTF is Design and Art anyway? To me, at least.

The art I create is most definitely for myself only.  Although I enjoy drawing, painting, and creating, I insist what I make is for my own pleasures only, a creative or meditative release only.  I don’t create for anyone’s pleasure but my own.  When I took a welding class a few summers ago, I created small pieces of table art, and as I welded these pieces into one object, the design of the piece began to formalize, I did not think about the end result until I was nearly 3/4 way complete.

To me, the difference between and an artist and a designer is usually black and white, but I agree that art and design can function as one.  A chair for example can be creative, beautiful, and functional all at once.  Designers that can use visual appeal to create a functioning piece of ‘something’ are not just designers but also artists.  My own opinion is this kind of functioning art is not of necessity, but of aesthetics and sensuous appeal.

Art, created for art’s sake, is pure in it’s meaning and creativity.  I cannot overlook, however, the sometimes political meanings in some art, for example, Picasso’s Guernica, that states a clear message of fascism and destruction of heart and people.  Artists like Picasso, that can create a message other than pure beauty are what makes art meaningful and desirable to see or own.

I like it all.  I appreciate simple beauty in a Monet painting or the storytelling in a Van Gogh, but I also love to own an Ansel chair to sit in or look at just for it’s visual appeal that takes up functioning space.

 

Blog #12

Reflecting on this course, I learned to write blogs and to make sure I turn them in before the end of semester.  As anxiety would overtake me, I had to remain as calm as possible, even though I was reduced to tears many times because of my own misunderstanding of things I believed I should know.

VISU 1100 was a really good refresher course on time management and study habits.  Although I didn’t follow them all the time, if I apply these habits in the future, I could conquer the world, well, maybe not.

The people that came and went during lecture were interesting for the most part, giving insight of the hard life of not getting paid by clients who commissioned their work; insight into only belief in oneself can sometimes be one’s only asset besides their talents.

I learned some people are really patient and understanding while some others are not so, just like the real world.  Although that is really disappointing, I met some people here I hope I can follow for years to come.

Blog # 11 Faculty Presentations

  1.  Bill Kennedy: Pictures manipulated from original to something unidentifiable from the original image.  I liked his use of vibrant colors very much.
  2. Hollis Hammonds:  Wow, if I could put onto paper my perceptions of my feelings and thoughts like she does, who knows what would be the final product!  And her installations amaze me most.  I think the on-site installations are the best…but then she is my professor, and she gets asked around the country to install her art and have murals of it put in different cities.
  3. Alex Robinson:  I think Alex’s work can be fluffy with one of her installations reminding me of cotton or of an oversized bridal gown.  I liked the images of Florida landscape next to the Wyoming landscape, it works well together, even if she didn’t intend to make them work when she took each photo.
  4. Tammie Rubin:  Not such a fan of the cones, except when they are dressed with prettier/happier colors.  The blues made me feel depressed, and although, that may be her intent, to be thought provoking, and it was for sure!  I have always preferred happier colors, and try to avoid depressing images and thoughts.
  5. Joe Vitone:  One of my favorite photographers, I enjoyed his black and white use of the West, he called Valentine.

My five year plan includes finishing my degree at all costs, finding a job selling art or appraising art, if it takes a while, my backup is to do what I need to do to get there.  If I move to another country, then I am happy to do it.

Blog #9 Matt Lankes

Matt Lankes, St. Edward’s Alumni

I appreciate his attitude on enjoying his craft rather than chasing the almighty dollar.  I can dig that.

His photos are really good, and I especially liked listening to him discuss how he has been able to get his business on a referral basis, either through his sister, a producer, his being at the right place at the right time, and taking advantage of these opportunities.

Three internships I have looked into:

  1.  Working for the City of Austin’s Airport Art installation process.  I have applied and am waiting for the end of January 2017 to hear from them.  I am a current employee with them (lifeguard), so maybe that can help me get an interview.
  2. I would love the opportunity to intern at The Blanton, it is my favorite museum in Austin, and I was one of the founding members, whether or not that matters.  I would love to be a docent and show visitors visiting shows.  I am really good interacting with people when I am ‘on’.
  3. My third option would be to actually work/intern at a fine arts gallery.  Here I can learn about different art and what a future client wants when deciding on a purchase.

 

Blog #8 My future….causes anxiety sometimes

How planned is my future, and is it customized for me?

I would like to say I have a plan, and after switching majors from Economics to Fine Arts (which I consider a crazy 180 degree turn!), I plan to sell and appraise art, of what kind, that is to be determined.  I know how to sell, that has been my career for 25 years, whether it is fine jewelry and timepieces or financial services and forecasting the future of economics.  I do not want someone I need to continue with a business degree in order to sell art.

I want to learn art; I want to learn the different parts of it, from drawing, painting, and building.  I believe with this background, I can better serve my future employer and clients.

I love travel, and yes, I will travel again and again.  If there was a place I had to choose to settle, it would be Europe, and to narrow it down, I would choose between France and Italy.  These two places have multi-cultural cities as well as countrysides to enjoy.  I am tired of the United States and the hypocrisy that exists, could it exist everywhere?

Being a social introvert, I am not a part of any student group here on campus, but I am working on it.  I enjoyed going to two art openings and listening to the artists presented.

Alumni Presentations 10.17.16

Who do I relate to most?  Camille Dollins.  She was the alumni I found most interesting.  Actually, I found her ideas and products so amazing.  I was able to ask her questions on her designs, and because she was using the ‘box’ method of shipping items, I was able to relate her products to products already in the market place, such as Bark Box and Blue Apron.

Who surprised me and why?  Camille Dollins again.  At the beginning of here presentation, I wasn’t that interested in her printmaking, even though I was impressed with her own application developments, like The Dime Club, it was her product development I related to most.

Most valuable information received:  Camille’s drive and determination to begin her business from her own apartment using her own ideas and equipment (printers for labels, placing the labels herself).  Her energy inspired me, and I haven’t forgotten her since that day.

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