Keith Haring - Mom, 1989 acrylic on canvas 60 x 60 inches
When you look at your work do you see a defining style? Are you copying other artists? How do you find your own style... These are all questions artists should ask themselves.
So really how does one find their own artistic vocabulary? A good start is by experimentation, and lots of it. If you look back at Picasso's work, or Jackson Pollock's you will see that they did not start out painting in the iconic styles they are known for. Take Picasso, he was a strong realist. It was not though until he began his cubism, that he really became revered. Same happened with Pollock, his early abstracts were nothing near his completely deconstructed drip paintings.
Remember to stay curious, that keeps things fresh. Expand your horizons and thoughts about your process. Paint, sculpt, write, sing and be happy!
Sonia
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Perfectly stated!
ReplyDeleteOff to create! :)
Curiosity, invention, reinvention, deconstruction and a spoon full of random experimentation will lead you to unique mixtures of mediums, new techniques and maybe a couple of great surprises. If my old friend Keener had not dropped off some junk wire at my apartment in college then I would have never tried to build a pendulum and I would have never accidentally made a wire insect which would never have led me to sell them in 1996 and push the wire into the next phase. Now I rarely mess with wire but many of those lessons carry over to new styles and mediums. It's a beautiful thing when you step back from it all and get the full picture.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you.. Its about experimenting... But its also a gift. Some individuals have the gift of creating something new from what they have seen...I don't think that everyone who has a gift for drawing or working plaster can be an original. I recently saw a film called UNtitled. It talks about what is Art...one of the main characters states that there are many types of artist, some belong to museums and some others to a different audience... She also says that be in a museum is not a goal but a gift. I was really touched by that concept. I think that in this very competitive culture we as artist many times forget that being an artist shouldn't really be about building a career, but communicate something meaningful...I think that was the main struggle for the most inspiring artists.
ReplyDeleteI thought about what makes you a successful artists is it Money if that is the case Thomas Kinkade would be very successful but I don't find him to be a Master Artist like Picasso but he has sold more art and more money then Picasso. What I find to be successful is quality art that your peers accept as master pieces. As history shows some artist gain fame after their death. So in 2010 a artist has to compete with the age of the mass Digital imaginary but the ones that will succeed are the ones that have individuality from the masses. So from 1940's and 1960's artist ,vs the new age artist of 2010 has it bitter sweet, Yes they can get there art out to the masses very easy but there is a ton of crap it will have make it threw. In the 1940's threw 1960's there was not high volume like today time. In those time economy were very similar today's time so money issue I hear from other artist that you can't sale work that is not why I am a artist this all I want to do rich or poor so that is BS work hard be confident about what you create and with a little luck in time you could be individuality successful.
ReplyDeleteJohn Alexander Taylor