----{1}----
I do not claim to be an Artist, not yet.
This is not to discredit my work, this is said with a simple wish to preserve the integrity of the meaning of Art.
Aside from high school art class I have had no formal art training, and even if I did, in terms of technical skill and immersion, there is still a long way to go before 'art' becomes a comfortable description. Also, my career focus is in another field.
But when asked to describe what it is I do, and when freelancing or selling my work, it would be nonsensical & unprofessional to reply: "self-express" or "create".
Hence, if I have used the word 'art' to describe my work, it is for lack of a better term. Thus far, it has been a journey of invention, pushing limits, and exploration.
If a piece has touched you in some way, I am glad and sincerely Thank You for your support. I hope to be an artist someday. It is rarely ever achieved.
----{2}----
The word and idea of 'Art' in my mind, is currently shrouded with disenchantment. I can be impressed with technical skill and marvel at the creativity of a work, but am almost always left with a Feeling of longing for more. Not to say that I have clout in saying what art is or is not, but the feeling is there, and while it is possible to dispute Statement, it is implausible to argue with a Feeling.
(A favorite example is the story of an unrequited love. A jilted woman accuses her crush of being cruel. The man, having done everything in his power to gently let her know he is not interested, reasonably replies: "I can't help how you feel." Blunt, but true.)
(A favorite example is the story of an unrequited love. A jilted woman accuses her crush of being cruel. The man, having done everything in his power to gently let her know he is not interested, reasonably replies: "I can't help how you feel." Blunt, but true.)
Don't know what more it is I'm expecting, or if I'm looking for an unattainable pinnacle, but maybe this jaded feeling has to do with the cultural shift with which we label/view art. In this digital age and with technology, (1) materials are cheaper and easier to come by and (2) it is easier to share and access information. We are bombarded with words, images, ideas, facts, & numbers to wade through and make sense of, and most of it will probably have little use or relevancy in our life.
Technology and Access definitely has its benefits, but it has also resulted in an endless spew of disposable, inefficient, and meaningless ideas & objects.
In searching for what art entails, it is a Dialogue with the world, and perhaps also a physical totem that symbolizes a facet of the human spirit. Art is the physical manifestation of abstract emotion and perspective, only the tip of an iceberg.
"...for none of us can ever express the exact human measure of his needs or his thoughts or his sorrows; and human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars." - Madame Bovary, by G. Flaubert
"...for none of us can ever express the exact human measure of his needs or his thoughts or his sorrows; and human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars." - Madame Bovary, by G. Flaubert
----{3}----
No matter how well-planned and executed,
a piece of work is not always 'read' the way an artist/writer intends. All of us view & interpret the world through glasses tinted by personal experience, knowledge, and belief.
Thus, responses to a piece may differ from what the creator expects.
Hopefully, every piece I create will grow to have a life of its own. What can be controlled in a body of work, better believe, I am vigilant about - quality, and focus on the main direction of the piece.
After, whatever varied response a work provokes, is fine; I cannot mediate every individual's perspective - even my own perspective metamorphoses.
By the time a physical piece is created or written, my mind has already moved on to the next idea, and even grown to change completely.
My purpose is to put ideas out there, and to open up dialogue. The rest is up to you.
