Reading Response #4

  1. Do you become self-conscious of your ideas?

In a short answer, yes. If something isn’t working out in my head or if it isn’t pleasing in some way (visually, aesthetically, etc), then I’m going to get self-conscious.  What this leads to usually is a driven effort to improve the idea or piece, and in the end it makes the piece something that actually works. There’s nothing wrong with being self-conscious in my mind, because the only way that you can move forward to make something “better” is to realize that it could be.

2. What do you think of the nothing-to-lose attitude? What are it’s pros and cons?

I think when one works with a nothing-to-lose attitude it can create something much different from normal pieces, whether it’s art or design. This goes against what I just said in reference to being self-conscious about your ideas, but there are some real positives to working this way. The biggest one that I can think of is that it can give your pieces a very “raw” feeling. All of the things that work will be evident, but sometimes the things that don’t work will be seen too. If you feel like you have nothing-to-lose though, negative criticism isn’t going to affect you as much as when you’re self-conscious of your ideas.

 

As an afterthought, I think that these two different ways of approaching art/design can work by themselves. Perhaps if one could use the positive aspects of both then they could create a portfolio that is something quite unique.

Reading Response #3

  1. How do you suppose you could better prepare yourself as a maker of aesthetic objects/ideas?

First off, I guess the biggest thing would be to try and appreciate other pieces of work. Whether it’s art, music, movies, or writing, there are plenty of avenues one could go down to try and learn more about successful aesthetic objects. Secondly, once you know what others have done, I guess it’s time to put your learning to practice. Write a poem, draw something, etc. I hate myself for using a cliche such as this, but practice makes perfect (or at least it would help a little). Thirdly, you could bounce your objects/ideas off of others and try to get feedback. Whether it’s positive or negative doesn’t really matter, as long as you’re learning what people like/don’t like. Finally, you should probably reflect on it yourself, because at the end of the day (unless it’s a paid commission piece) it’s usually important to be happy with your work.

2. What are things you currently do to practice your creative muscle?

One of my biggest outlets is this class honestly. I’m not a very artistic person and I’m not usually pleased with my work. Some people have a knack for these things and others don’t. I enjoy the process sometimes as I love working with my hands in any setting (one of my favorite job was working a shitty gig in an Italian restaurant’s kitchen), but I don’t just go and work on a piece out of my own accord. What I do use to practice my creative muscle (if you want to call it that), is through music and film. These are some of favorite things in life, and I just enjoy appreciating them. Music and film often have some deeper meaning to them and I enjoy trying to figure that out. Not for anyone else, it’s just pleasing to me when I get to think about these things. For example, my girlfriend hates me because I go to the movies alone 75% of the time. I just enjoy being immersed and then reflecting on the film after the fact to see what I think about it or how it affects me (also I hate when people talk in movies). So yeah, I think that’s my biggest practice of creative muscle. I know I’m not really creating anything on my own, but I get to take something that someone else made and turn it into something unique for myself.

 

ARTS-1311-03 Reading Response #2

  1. How do you make decisions? Are they based upon anything substantial? Why or why not?

First off, it depends if there are guidelines for the project. If there is a clear direction that I should be going, I think I approach things the way a designer does. If the project lacks a set path, then I approach it as an artist does. However, as I talked about in my last blog post, these approaches can often overlap. Even if I am approaching something as a designer, I still get to give my own creative (artistic) take on it, and vice versa if I am approaching it as an artist. The decisions I actually make when completing the project can vary as a result of those approaches, as well as whether I feel the project is working.

2. How do you know when something is “good” or working?

When looking at my work, I am often over critical, as I doubt myself as an artist. As a result of this, I rarely think of something as “good,” but when I eventually present it to a critique, I receive positive feedback. This is something I should work on. In the uncommon case where I actually think something is working, I still think that feedback is important. Whether the feedback is negative or positive makes no difference, as the whole point is to make the viewer feel some way, and then grow as an artist.

3. How do you rework projects to make them work?

To use the cliche, I just take a step back. Often in my work, if something just is not cooperating, I try to flip my brain around and look at it at a difference angle. The reasoning behind this is that I often have the core idea which works quite well, but I take it in the wrong direction. After trying one or two different attempts, I usually find something that pleases me. One thing I try to stray away from (unless the piece is actually just that bad) is completely starting over from scratch.

 

ARTS-1311-03 First Reading Assignment Reflection

1. What is your personal view of the difference between the designer and the
artist?

In a short sentence: an artist expands thoughts while a designer answers thoughts. When an artist shows a piece that they have created, the general reaction is thoughts by the viewer. These thoughts can range from “What was their purpose behind this,” to “This makes me feel like _______,” among many more. Most pieces of art speak to the viewer in some way and cause them to feel a single/series of emotions. On the other end of the spectrum, when a designer shows a piece that they have created, the general reaction is a single thought by the viewer, so to speak. This thought is usually the purpose of the piece, which is the goal of most designers. The piece answers a question or shows what the viewer should think/do/know.

2. Which are you, why?

While I do not consider myself an artist or a designer, I suppose this class has turned me into a bit of both. On one side I am a designer following a direction provided by the professor, trying to answer/meet expectations for her questions/projects. On the other side I am an artist that places my own unique flair on the project, thus creating art and allowing the professor to expand her thoughts when viewing it.

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