Sorry blogglettes, its been a wee while!
Here's whats actually been in my head:
Deadlines, David Shrigley, jokes, recipes, learning, teaching, flats, family, relationships, flowers, language, wine, money, gambling, fractions, holidays, sunshine, rain, scared about uni, beauty, future, understanding research, cleaning, dancing, music, art, upcoming exhibition, 4th year, essays and other things.
Sometimes it's nice just to write things down. One of the best pieces of advice I have ever been given was from a tutor when I was in second year, who said that I shouldnt care what I write in my sketchbook, don't think of it as something which will be assessed, instead use it as a diary. And ever since then I've been writing in my sketchbook with great ease and it helps so much just to get all your ideas onto a page and thats them there and you dont forget them.
Now, im about to get all opionated here (shock horror). Here goes...
I don't really care that much about reasearching loads of artists. Now, hear me out before you shun me completely. I know that researching artists is vital to our practice and I do research them because its nice to look at other people's work. I just think, however, that knowing loads of things about different artists isn't going to necessarily make you know loads of things about yourself and your practice. Research for me isnt about printing images and information about artists, its about finding something which I am genuinely interested in and enjoying learning about. I could easily fill a ringbinder with notes about Cindy Sherman, Barbra Kruger and blah blah blah but I genuinly dont want to. Not because I dont like them or dont understand things about their work... I just dont feel the need to act as though they are the soul reason I am motivated. I hear people talk about artists with such enthusiasm, maybe I'm jealous, I dont know, but I've never really felt that way about an artist. I get more enthused about going out and seeing things for myself, knowing that my ideas are developing and I am enjoying what I'm doing. I will never sit in a library and learn about all of the influential photographers of all time because I don't agree that because people have made some nice art that they will be my motivation. I motivate myself just now, maybe because I haven't found an artist who has blown me away yet... or maybe because it just who I am.
Some may feel that not being enthusiastic about artists is a bad thing but thats not to say that I'm a bad student and I wont do well... or maybe it does, I wont know that until I finish University, but I'm tired of proving to people that I am motivated. I think about things, I make decisions, I make work. I'm no less an art student than anybody else just because I dont spend my free time in galleries.
Interesting thoughts Alison. What would you make of a cook who never went to restaurants and had little interest in other peoples food? Would that be a wise way to become better do you think? Not impossible I guess, but perhaps harder no?
ReplyDeleteon a slightly different subject, check this out (and watch the video) - I recon you'll love it:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/02/you_can_crtainly_draw_better_t.html
What you say makes sense, and I know that. Maybe in hindsight this blog is a bit vague. I think it could be the bombardment of people giving me hundreds of different artists to look at that freaks me out more than the artists themselves. I'm obviously interested in artists but thats not what research is all about, I'd rather climb up a hill and take a photo than look at an artist who already did it before me. Does that make sense?
ReplyDeletealso, link didnt work!
ReplyDelete