Sadly, however, it seems like this "artistic freedom" made young artists lazy. They focus on the result, but not really on the process. Once they have a vision of something, how they approach it isn't very important. They spend more time sitting around thinking about their art, rather than physically practicing their skill and craftsmanship. Therefore, art became very self-centered and abstract where viewers have no room to enjoy art.
As current art students, we do have to think about where art is going. Art is something that brings out viewers' emotion and have them look back on themselves. This connection or "linkage" between the artists and audiences must happen. And I believe a sophisticated art work comes from the artists' honest emotion, experienced skill, and thoughtful concept; it doesn't come for just being clever. When no experimental arts are shocking anymore, I think it's about time for us to go back to basic. We have to think about what the medium really does and we have to meditate through practicing the skill with patience. It's now our homework to find out how to make this "back to basic" idea contemporary.
I feel like that's why Rebecca always says "play" is important. Spending time with your medium, experimenting, just making stuff is going to benefit your work as much or more than only thinking about concept. THINKING is important, but so is DOING--it's a balance.
ReplyDeleteBack in the day (like, way back) it seems to me that art was more readable to the general public; it used religious and cultural symbols that pretty much anyone would recognize. In later years it seems like artists started making art for the art world, not for the world in general. Which is kind of a shame, but at the same time both have their merits. I guess there's room for both.
Personally, I really enjoy pieces that work, to some capacity, on both levels. It may appeal to a general viewer aesthetically, emotionally, or culturally, but at the same time it can also reference things that a more educated viewer, artist, or art historian, would pick up.
For example, I brought my friend (who has pretty much zero art education) into the department today and she really liked the two photos of the vases, one whole and one broken, that hang near the digital labs. She had an aesthetic/emotional reaction that was more visceral, which is great, but at the same time I, because of my education, look at that diptych and immediately relate it to Ai Weiwei's work, among other things. I also happen to simply like it visually. In my opinion that marks a pretty successful piece.