|
My summer artwork was made to prompt a discussion of what is right or wrong in our society. Each piece, ironically, was inspired by something that stood out to me as wrong.
The rope and balloon pieces were inspired by the empty promises given to us by politicians. The balloons represent the empty promises. My goal was not to inspire change for healthy politics - that is a pitifully futile mission. It was rather to argue that politics are corrupt to the point where it is almost useless to even keep up with them.
The clown-nosed television was inspired by the lies and manipulations of various T.V. shows. Television's main goal is to entertain, just like a clown's. My goal with this piece was to argue that we should treat the majority of television just like we would treat a clown.
The rope and balloon pieces were inspired by the empty promises given to us by politicians. The balloons represent the empty promises. My goal was not to inspire change for healthy politics - that is a pitifully futile mission. It was rather to argue that politics are corrupt to the point where it is almost useless to even keep up with them.
The clown-nosed television was inspired by the lies and manipulations of various T.V. shows. Television's main goal is to entertain, just like a clown's. My goal with this piece was to argue that we should treat the majority of television just like we would treat a clown.
Reflection
I had a difficult time coming up with ideas for this summer work. The first month and a half of summer was burnt on brainstorming. My goal, in the beginning, was to be original. Predictably, I couldn't come up with any ideas. I Googled my problems and clicked on an article that listed five fears that could destroy an artist. The article quoted Salvador Dalí,
“Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.”
That was the first lesson I learned through my summer work.
At some point over the summer, I decided that I wanted to be more in-touch with the art world. I went on reddit and subscribed to /r/contemporaryart, /r/contemporaryartists, and /r/artsphere. It was through these subreddits that I found an article and video exploring a contemporary art gallery in Afghanistan. The gallery displayed work after work that featured balloons, which symbolized empty promises and corrupt politics. Inspired by the symbol, I decided to use it in my work. I added rope to suggest that we need to restrain the empty promises and minimize their impact on us.
On a more simple note, the idea for the clown nosed TV came to me when I was watching TV.
There were a couple challenges I stumbled upon in making these pieces. The first challenge was working with papier-mâché: the balloons broke and dented very easily. When the balloons ripped, which happened too often, I had to fix them and make the most of their blemishes. The second challenge came from VHS player built into the TV. I decided to take advantage of the VHS player by making a mash-up of TV clips and recording them onto a VHS tape. Because the VHS system is so outdated, I had no other way of recording onto a VHS tape besides recording the screen of my computer with a camcorder and streaming to a VHS player.
Now that I’ve made the work, I can look back and evaluate what I could have done better. My craftsmanship is one of those things. When I was making the work I would tell myself, "It's abstract, so I don't have to be meticulous with it." I was really just giving myself an excuse to be lazy.
Cutting corners definitely cut quality. One example rests in the inconsistent audio levels on the TV mash-up. Some clips are too loud, while some others are almost inaudible. I was too lazy to go back and fix them. Another example lies in the bar that holds up the first rope and balloon piece; if you ever get a chance to look at it from the side, notice how it leans forward.
Never, never, ever cut corners. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s disgusting.
My time management could have been better as well. I ended up doing the smaller balloon piece on the last day of summer break. Its poor display reflects the lack of thought I put into it.
On a positive note, my art did make me realize that I want to continue in the direction of commenting on society. To take it to the next level, I'd like to make art that starts a discussion. I’d like to make people argue, passionately, right in the middle of critiques.
How would I grade myself? I didn’t make B work, but I could have done better. The work is more conceptual than ever before, but there is an undeniable deficiency of quality and design. I will work hard to do better in the future.
“Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.”
That was the first lesson I learned through my summer work.
At some point over the summer, I decided that I wanted to be more in-touch with the art world. I went on reddit and subscribed to /r/contemporaryart, /r/contemporaryartists, and /r/artsphere. It was through these subreddits that I found an article and video exploring a contemporary art gallery in Afghanistan. The gallery displayed work after work that featured balloons, which symbolized empty promises and corrupt politics. Inspired by the symbol, I decided to use it in my work. I added rope to suggest that we need to restrain the empty promises and minimize their impact on us.
On a more simple note, the idea for the clown nosed TV came to me when I was watching TV.
There were a couple challenges I stumbled upon in making these pieces. The first challenge was working with papier-mâché: the balloons broke and dented very easily. When the balloons ripped, which happened too often, I had to fix them and make the most of their blemishes. The second challenge came from VHS player built into the TV. I decided to take advantage of the VHS player by making a mash-up of TV clips and recording them onto a VHS tape. Because the VHS system is so outdated, I had no other way of recording onto a VHS tape besides recording the screen of my computer with a camcorder and streaming to a VHS player.
Now that I’ve made the work, I can look back and evaluate what I could have done better. My craftsmanship is one of those things. When I was making the work I would tell myself, "It's abstract, so I don't have to be meticulous with it." I was really just giving myself an excuse to be lazy.
Cutting corners definitely cut quality. One example rests in the inconsistent audio levels on the TV mash-up. Some clips are too loud, while some others are almost inaudible. I was too lazy to go back and fix them. Another example lies in the bar that holds up the first rope and balloon piece; if you ever get a chance to look at it from the side, notice how it leans forward.
Never, never, ever cut corners. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s disgusting.
My time management could have been better as well. I ended up doing the smaller balloon piece on the last day of summer break. Its poor display reflects the lack of thought I put into it.
On a positive note, my art did make me realize that I want to continue in the direction of commenting on society. To take it to the next level, I'd like to make art that starts a discussion. I’d like to make people argue, passionately, right in the middle of critiques.
How would I grade myself? I didn’t make B work, but I could have done better. The work is more conceptual than ever before, but there is an undeniable deficiency of quality and design. I will work hard to do better in the future.