A Checklist Conclusion (Part 1)
Finals are this week for my first semester of college, and my Ideation and Interpretation class is taking ours in a way I think fits perfectly with the class, and I might as well talk about it:
We were given three questions to prepare for a one-on-one 30 minute conversation between the professor and each pupil. There is no final essay or big test (the professor said he didn’t even know what he could put on a test) that wouldn’t make sense. Instead—because IWU is a small enough school it’s doable—Prof Soderstrom will conduct an official dialogue with each of us reflecting on the semester and how we have learned and grown as artists and people. We also will construct a detailed portfolio and answer a question regarding the joining of creativity and the kingdom of God throughout, but as a Human Communications Major the conversation is the portion I’m most excited about. (I will post the portfolio pdf on this website following its completion)
I’m writing this post in two parts: The first part (what you’re reading right now) is my form of preparation for the conversation. I am going through and answering the questions how I expect I may answer them in a couple days. I can go in-depth here, outlining my ideal response, and perhaps even reference the post when I answer him in person. The second part (what you’ll be able to read in a week or so) will be my reflection on the conversation after it has taken place. Prof Soderstorm always has this way of sparking ideas I’ve never even considered, so no matter how thorough I am in my preliminary thoughts and organization, I know his input will add more to consider.
Without further ado, here are my preparatory remarks to the following questions:
How have you grown in your sense of form this semester?
Okay, this is the least exciting one for me, as it’s quite practical. As an art class, they are supposed to give us more tools to use as artists to then do the exciting thing: make stuff with meaning. That’s what a “sense of form” entails: an understanding of how to use tools to best communicate an idea. Whether an artist wants to believe it or not, there are sets of rules that can make a piece “work” better. Those rules can include color theory (which I know little about) , intentional shapes, a slew of symbolism, materials, linework, texture… if I sat here for fifteen minutes just thinking of all the methods of creating “form” I might think up a whopping 1% of the list. And I’d be impressed with myself. “Form” is incredibly broad, and that’s why the question is asking for “improvement” and not “mastery”. You can always improve your use and understanding of form.
One of the things I learned about throughout the ART-101 course was massing variation (clumps of little things in contrast to large blank spaces) which showed up the most in my Amazon project and my photography of the diptych. In the Amazon project I used massing to highlight the “A” by intentionally adding more small layers around it; and in the photographs I left a vast expanse of black in the bottom of one, to draw the viewer's eye up to the small sculpture set atop it.
Another tool I learned more about was the visual rhythm gained from using a pattern. Both from a typeface in the Amazon project (which showed up more in my preliminary shoebox than my wall hanging) and from golden ratio exercises. Sometimes young artists like myself can get stuck in the “I have to make something new and unique and awesome” phase and then never really create. These patterns give some structure to the projects, and insure the result will have some kind of order to it.
There are surely several other ways I learned “form” throughout the course, but those (along with the “meaning in materials” I’ve written about) are the standouts.
How have you grown in your sense of concept this semester?
Well this question is thoroughly answered in my latter two projects: the diptych and the spaceship. Neither was just a “this would look cool” idea, but instead had layers and layers of meaning behind them. The diptych was quite personal, and I wrote extensively about my choice of mediums and the impact of autobiographical art in a blog post. And the spaceship boasted the visualization of childhood creativity, fulfilling a dream of mine in which every refrigerator box magically transforms into a spaceship or car or fort of some sort. I wrote about it and the runway show it was a part of in another recent blog post.
Generally, I learned (or at least it has been effectively restated) that art is a way of looking at the world. The skills in concept creation assist in finding new ways to convey an idea in the physical space (as I am primarily a sculpture artist).
This, as a college-level course, taught me about using art to mean something to the viewer–using it to prompt thoughts from an audience–similar to my AP 3D class in highschool. In that class, I had a whole year to think of and create a portfolio that drew from how “Fudged-Up” this world is to inspire a heart of reflection and change in the viewers. The dark subject matter was portrayed in an in-your-face diorama blatantly pointing out flaws in daily life. Suicide, overdosage, drunk driving, body dismorphia, child trafficking, and political deception were all visualized in a fairy-tale format to juxtapose our distance from the make-believe to the very real truth in front of us. While Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage isn’t real, some vehicles look worse than a smashed vegetable after a moment of irresponsibility.
While we had less time and fewer projects to grow a sense of concept in this 4 month course as opposed to my year-long AP class, the diptych and spaceship show my continued growth well.
What are your goals for next semester in the studio?
Well, I will not be in the studio next semester–at least not the school-provided space. As I dropped my Studio Arts Major earlier in the semester, I will just be taking the occasional art class as my schedule allows. To answer this question I expect to talk about my new personal studio I hope to be working on over winter break and prepping for use in the spring. While it will not be for specifically school-oriented projects, it will be for creative use, and I hope to make some epic stuff in the space. The floor will be Cheerios boxes and the walls the color of cheerios. And I will be the cheeriest guy in the world when I’m in that space, creating, unbothered by the abundance of worry education can happily provide.
I hope to visit others in the Center Hall studios to encourage their works, and provide my limited insight and ideas occasionally, but will need to bring pictures of my work to share as opposed to dragging friends into a nearby studio to see what I’m up to.
As I continue to work in a studio I hope to grow in my practical sculptural skills, learn new tools and methods for working with cardboard, and make more connections in the art world through media and events. I hope to bring work to a show this coming summer, and network with fellow midwest artists, hopefully planning and executing some collaborations! Due to my schedule, I will need to plan out time to work in the studio if I am to get anything done. Because of the slightly increased distance, I will need to be more intentional with my art time, but I believe it will be to my benefit. Having a very personal, official, more permanent studio space will allow for my creativity to flourish in larger, more complex projects, and I couldn’t be more excited for it!
In preliminary conclusion, I love that the final includes this conversation. Reflection is such an important part of the artistic process, and being given the chance to formally reflect with an instructor sounds invaluable. I will be completing the additional portfolio assignment throughout the week, and reflecting on my conversation in a second post. If you aren’t also a college student, try answering these questions by replacing “studio” with “year”. I think you’ll find more of an answer than you may expect! After all, humans are awesome in that
we can only experience more than we already have, never less.
