words...

wow.

The project that I am currently working on is going to be really interesting. As most of you know, I am having people record themselves saying things that have hurt them in the past. For example, one person said, "I couldn't deal with you everyday"... another said, "You're life is worthless". 

While some of the quotes I have gotten have been more surface level, the majority of people have really opened up. Even a few guys have been able to step up and say something that has stuck with them for a while. This really makes people step back and think "Wow. What I say really can hurt someone else." I even had someone tell me while listening to a few of these recordings, "I told that person (who had just given their quote to me) that last week. I feel bad because I didn't mean for it to come across like that." 

I'm excited to continue getting quotes from people and seeing where the narrative will lead. 

Mark Rothko, who I am continually liking more and more, said, "One does not paint for design students or historians but for human beings, and the reaction in human terms is the only thing that is really satisfactory to the artist." This is exactly how I feel. I am already excited to see how people will react to this piece. I want to see them take it in. I want to watch their faces and listen to how they will respond to it. I want this piece to convey something that every person will be able to relate with individually. That is why I want a wide range of quotes. I want people in all walks of life and from all different backgrounds to be able to relate to this piece and the people behind it. 

how I feel thus far.

This piece has some unplanned qualities to it. First, I have no idea what people will reveal to me through their quotes. Also, I don't truly know where this is going in the long run. I am going to try and change the narrative in the end so that the story takes a more positive turn; however, I have no idea how I will do that. I like the idea of not knowing where this will go, yet I personally have a tendency to want everything planned out. I am very much a planner, so this project is stretching that part of me out of my comfort zone. I feel kinda nervous about how this will turn out, how I will make it happen, how all of it will come together ... but I am just gonna go for it and see where it takes me. 

Agnes de Mille, famous choreographer and dancer, once said, "The artist never entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark." This is kind of how I am going about this project. I am incorporating chance into my art and letting it go where it goes. Hopefully, something beautiful will come of this in the end. 

what I'm hoping to accomplish.

I hope that through this piece, all audiences will be able to relate. I want everyone that walks up to listen to it to say "wow. I remember the time when (so-and-so) said something hurtful to me when I was younger and how much it affects me to this day" or "wow. It's amazing how these people really opened up for this piece." or "wow. I didn't realize just how much words hurt until now." I'm hoping to appeal to the emotions of all different types of people and convey in them a respect for how what they say can affect someone tremendously. 

“Art attracts us only by what it reveals of our most secret self.” ~Jean-Luc Godard

I am still looking for more quotes (from girls and guys) if anyone has something that they are willing to share!! 

where will I go from here?

After going back and studying Mark Rothko, who (although he is considered to be part of the abstract expressionism movement) really didn't identify with any movement at all, I've been thinking about my own work. Like Rothko, I like to experiment with more literal ideas as well as conveying certain ideas in abstract ways. I am excited about being able to incorporate both aspects of this by showing the literal side of my ideas yet leaving some imagination and depth to be read into the piece by the audience. 

I have been thinking about some things that our art teacher suggested. 

Why do I want to create? 

What compels me? 

Is it the society in which we live? 

What questions do I have about this culture? 

I very much want to incoroporate and work with different people in my next few projects. I like hearing other peoples' perspectives about the culture that we live in and what has affected them the most in their lives. I would like to work with this topic more and use other people's lives in my pieces. 

Many people have told me that several of my pieces have really appealed to them because of the subject matter. It hits home with most people. I want to deal with the global human experience. 

What does that mean exactly? 

Right now, I am working on something that incorporates men and women of all stages and walks of life, each with different backgrounds and emotional connections to their past. 

How will I connect to my audience? 

I plan to make this next project very universally personal by using many different subjects and topics; therefore, I will be able to reach people of all audiences. 

I'm excited to get working on what is to come and see how this piece is able to connect with each person individually. 

the first of many...

I'm excited for this new year in art! Although I don't really know where I am headed, I am looking forward to finding out. I have many different interests that I am excited about exploring. I am mainly interested in 3D pieces and was able to work on some different ones last year in Advanced Art and Sculpture/Mixed Media. 

Last year, one of the artists that I studied was Mark Rothko. 

here are a few examples of his work : 

Through his work, he conveys meaning and a large range of emotion. Before I knew about his work, I honestly didn't like him. However, I have grown to appreciate his work more and more as I see the meaning come through. After studying him, I realized that I too wanted to incorporate meaning and emotion into my work. 

Here are 2 views of one of my favorite pieces that I did last year after studying Rothko. 

                         I titled this piece "Shattered Reflection". 
This piece dealt with the issue of self-worth and inner beauty. The doll on the left represents someone who has money, outward value, and friends yet sees themselves as having nothing. Whereas, the doll on the right see herself as beautiful even though she is tattered and torn and has nothing of material worth. She has an inner beauty that is not just skin deep. 

I loved working with this subject and conveying these concepts through my work. I also loved being able to stand by as people saw this piece and hearing what they had to say about it. 

 I hope to work with things like this more this year as I figure out what my main focus / objective will be. 




source: 
markrothko.org