Thesis Paper

What were some of the original expectations for your artwork within this course and how does this compare to your actual experiences this semester? When starting this course, I had wanted to produce more realistic pieces of work, mainly planning on focusing on the human figure, but as the semester progressed I noticed myself falling more into the abstract, and eventually fractal-esque works. Summarize the proposal for your intended body of work, and explain how this has been realized/altered during the course of working. At the beginning of this semester, my proposal was to work with the human figure outside of typical class figure drawings, make some space inspired pieces, and experiment more with 3D art. Instead I fell into making more abstract, meticulous pieces. Although I did do a realistic self portrait as the first assignment, I discovered my obsession with continuos, shaky lines, abstract patterns and worked in 2D with mainly watercolors and colored pencil.

Describe the pieces you have completed this semester and how you feel about the state of the work at this point. What are the main ideas behind the work and how have you tried to communicate those ideas through each piece? I was happy with the way my self portrait came out, and enjoyed adding little aspects of 3D to an otherwise 2D drawing, and with this assignment I also first realized the versatility, and my amazement, with using cardboard. Later in the semester I started what would end up being the triptych that is the main focus of my display. I originated the idea as a sketch that wasn’t going to go far beyond the ink lines in the first drawing, but I eventually became obsessed with the circular object, and also repeating colorful, fractal, background repetitions, while at the same time continuing my use of cardboard. Describe the materials you have worked with and any techniques that you have developed or expanded upon. How have techniques and materials played a role in your ideas and feeling about the work? For most of my pieces displayed, I used colored pencil or chalk pastel, which has always been one of my preferred mediums because of the variance in shading and layering of color that you can achieve with either one used on it’s own, or both together. I am drawn to the soft, vagueness of color you can achieve from either, but also the deep color. For the first time, and although not extensively, I used watercolor, and was really intrigued with the light wash that you can get with application via bamboo brushes. Both mediums work well with the airiness, and in contrast the harsh lines, that I wanted to create in the works I have displayed.

Have any comments about your work or thoughts expressed during critiques stood out in your thinking and helped to change or alter the direction of the work for the better? Over the course of the semester, the only pieces we have critiqued are the self portrait and personal belief system, and since only one of those are in my show, it is hard to say that any thoughts during a critique have helped in regards to the other pieces I am showing. There was not too much said about the self portrait that really altered the direction of it. I think the most impressive ideas expressed about that piece was that everyone seemed really impressed by my initial use of cardboard, and I think seeing everyone’s enthusiasm in the new material pushed me to use it in further pieces. Even though we didn’t critique my triptych, I’ve had a lot of conversations with people about it, and a lot of people have told me how well the fractal pattern and the ink drawings go together. People seemed really impressed by the look and colors of the fractal pattern and that has helped me to become more interested in continuing that into other pieces. For me, the hardest part of doing the fractal patterns was picking the colors to go along with them. I would say that I spent almost as much time figuring out how to color them as I took to actually draw them. For me, that aspect of my triptych proved to be the most difficult, but I feel I have a better handle on color because of it.

What artists, art movements, art historical time periods, or visual culture have you researched? What specifically has influenced you from looking at these artists? I started the semester with an interest in researching chakras and the art derived from the concept. The idea was based more off of my interest in the spiritual belief of chakras and I wasn’t very clear as to how I would portray that interest through personalized art work. While looking through various artist renditions, I became extremely attracted to the pattern repetition and the contrast of earthy/vibrant colors in artist’s work, which manifested through the organic feeling of the cardboard against the colored drawings, and also as the repetitious patterns in my triptych. I am really impacted by spiritual art, mainly because of the idea that they are visualizing something that otherwise could only be felt. I think one captivating aspect of art is that you can visually show people things you would otherwise have a difficult time even orally explaining. To me, art is a language that everyone can experience. Not everyone might understand your piece in the context that you mean it to, but it can mean something to everyone in one way or another.

From meeting and speaking with art professionals this semester, what insights did you gain about the art world and what it means to be a professional artist? Who made the biggest impression on you and why? Over the course of the semester I learned much about all different aspects of art as a profession, but just as much, if not more, about how I feel towards my own involvement in the art world. I’ve realized at although art is a great passion of mine, it is not something that I am interested in making a solidified profession out of. In recent years, my educational goal has switch from an interest in the fine arts program, to an astronomical pursuit. Although I have reached this new educational realization, that doesn’t mean that I intend to stop making art, or am not interested in perhaps selling pieces or doing commissioned works. Not making art will never be an option in my life, I feel it is the one this that can give me peace of mind. I have learned, from visiting galleries and talking to people such as Paul and Renee Laster, that the high speed, unpredictability of being a gallery selling artist or living the “New York artist’s” lifestyle is definitely not for me. If I was to take a profession like that at all, I would see myself more comfortable in an environment like The Banana factory. I thought an institution like that, where you can have your own personal studio, in the building where art is directly taught and shown, was very appealing. I was most impacted by Berris Boothe who was the first studio that we visited. Not only did he seem like an amazing person, but his attitude towards art, passion, and direction mostly impacted my personal impression of everyone we met. I loved the concepts behind his works and enthusiasm in which he discussed them. What I most enjoyed about our field trips was going to see the studio spaces that the artists worked in, I thought Emil Lukas had a beautiful studio, comparable to what I would love to have one day. I love hearing about the thought and artistic processes they would approach when making pieces.

What is the essence of your artwork put into words? All of my pieces are either mounted with a cardboard frame, or painted directly on cardboard. Early in the semester I discovered the versatility of using cardboard in artwork. Either as a flat surface, or torn to show the corrugation, cardboard is a cheap (essentially free) and interesting material. In my triptych, I tried to convey the idea that growth comes from the death of something else. Eastern religion and spiritualism was the catalyst for this symbolism, and I tried to convey it in an artistic idea that meant something to me. As the “line of vision” emitting from the front of the “eyeball” type figure dissipates, the fractal pattern is expanding, thus relating back to the idea of birth coming from death. Also in these pieces, I tried to contrast the light wash background and colorful triangles with the sketchy, uneven lines of the main figure. I wanted to show the contrast between structured vibrancy and dark unevenness. For my self portrait, I was originally going to make it solely 2D, but when reflecting on my want in the beginning of the semester to make more 3D art, I decided to add a slight 3D element. A person’s eyes can be the most telling thing about them. They are, in my opinion, the most honest physical part of a person, so in choosing to make the one eye pop out, I wanted to force people to actually look at me. The four black “drawings” are done directly on cardboard, and are made of glued down string. A lot of my sketches contain very uneven, frayed lines (much like the black drawings in my triptych) and I wanted to find a way to represent my style without actually drawing them. That is when I realized that gluing down string causes exactly the effect that I was looking for. It gives the sporadic, imperfection of my sketches while still keeping true the the original idea. With my artwork, I aim to visualize ideas I would otherwise be unable to explain. To me, art is a way of bringing forward things I am unable to put into words.