Art
I do not consider myself an artist. I do not know much about art.
I CAN create art.
What is art?
Said best by Krzysztof Wodiczko in Critical Vehicles Writings, Projects, Interviews, “design can be called interrogative when it takes a risk, explores, articulates, and responds to the questionable conditions of life in today’s world and does so in a questioning manner.”
To me art is a question and will remain a question in every sense. Art is what you make and how you interpret it. At the same time when you make art the question continues. When art is created there is always an infinite amount of questions.
What was the artist thinking at the moment?
What could be done differently?
To whom does the piece pertain?
The answers to these questions are also infinite. Which to me is art. Each time I have created a form of art I always look back and reflect on what I could have done differently.
During the course of the semester I have chosen to do art in a manner that was formulated around me as an individual and my views on life.
Wodiczko says “Art could be geographically specific, formally and visually specific, or socially specific.” Meaning art is the intentions of the artist.
I want to use art in a way which I can help others and open peoples eyes to different social issue that are forming around the world. For my project of Social Intervention I chose to go canning for the Embrace the Kids Foundation. By collecting money from others I was able to help for a better cause. What was the most important was to catch people’s attention and receive donations for children with blood disorders. Many people may have not donated to the foundation if it was not for someone pressuring them to do so. I feel art can be a great way to grasp the attention of others. This can be used to address problems the world is facing today. In the article Clearing the Ground Henri Lefebrve states, “ The aim of the critique of everyday life is a question of discovering what must and can change can be transformed in people’s life.” I want to use art in a way that will express the answers to the changes that need to be made in everyday life, to help society and attack the issues that need to fixed.
I believe artists respond to the events of their time through art and by doing so can influence or help shape their societies by the imagery and other art they produce. In other words, art reflects society but can also help change it. To help change society through art is greater than art itself.
When I first thought of art I thought strictly visual. Art is much more than visual.
I learned the best way I can help society through art is by thinking outside of the box and stepping outside of my comfort zone. I tend I do things in a conformed manner. I find it difficult to think outside of the confined objective, without seeing other ways of going about it first. I admire the creativity of John Cage in the Article Signal to Noise, to take that first step and decide to use a bathtub, table, electric hot plate, and toy fish, grand piano, and pressure cooker, blender, and Chinese gong as an instrument. I now know I can learn from my own art. By articulating my expressions I can create my greatest artwork.
I need to fearless, when it comes to creating art. Like Wodiczko mentioned in the article Creating Democracy: A Dialogue with Krzysztof Wodiczko “fearless speaking”. To be a fearless speaker one must not be afraid of what others think or may perceive. I can also learn to be fearless when it comes to creating artwork. I will not be afraid of the outcome or what others think of my artwork. I feel it is fear that can conquer a person and hold back one’s full potential.
Avant-garde- to push the boundaries of what is accepted as normal; to do so is to be free of fear itself.
