Hergenroether

Self-Assessment

            Over the course of my foundations year at MIAD I have really discovered my interests and myself as an artist. I feel that being an artist is something that makes an individual person happy and allows them to be fully creative. My dad told me that if you can find a career doing something you love, don’t even think twice just do it. All of us here at MIAD are extremely fortunate and blessed to have the education that we are receiving. The teachers that we have been exposed to and the other students are something you cant find at most schools.

            When I first started off the year I was really negative and didn’t enjoy all the classes I was taking. Also a lot of the people at the school annoyed me, which brought down my level of work. The start of my second semester I finally got to take a class that had something to do with my major. Having this class really helped me open my view on things. I found myself trying to incorporate the things that I enjoyed into my other classes. This really helped me and made doing work so much more enjoyable.

            Although I feel this year was a huge success for me, I struggled so much with my work. The level that some of the other artists are at is incredible and very motivating. One of my best friends Kyle Putney really inspires me to do my best with everything I do. He helps me see the bigger picture of what each assignment is really for. Even though an assignment might seem boring or irrelevant each one builds up skills that we will use later on in our career. I have found that I really love to draw with micron pens and sharpies. I feel I can do my best when it comes to drawing something when I am using pens and sharpies instead of paint or other supplies. Second semester I really found my love for pointillism and for drawing tattoo like flash. Also I have found that I really enjoy started with a single image such as a face or rose and then expanding off that and just going wild. Doing these kind of drawings is when I really feel free to do what ever comes to mind. I feel that this is my best work, with out limitations and restrictions. My other favorite thing to do is work on the computer. I love creating page layouts for my CD class and trying to get peoples eyes to go where I want them to. I really enjoy making things clash and flow.

            I had two teachers this semester that really helped me change my perspective on my artwork and my attitude. Dale and Jan taught my favorite two classes which I feel I did my best in. I hate to say it but you can really tell the difference between my effort for those classes and my effort for other classes. The reason those were my favorite teachers is because they really got on a personal level with me, which helped me feel like the work I was doing was important. The classes that they taught really allowed me to do things I love and incorporate things that I wasn’t able to do in other classes.

            Overall, this year was absolutely amazing for me as an artist. I feel like I have grown so much and have opened my view on things. I am back to the feeling of enjoyment when doing my homework assignments. Coming from no artistic background I feel that I have learned a lot and can stand with the best when I put forth my best effort. For me as an artist/ designer I feel that this year has really set me up for great things next year. I cannot wait to start my major and surround myself with communication design work.

In the Art world, I feel that success cannot be measured. Success to an artist is different from every other artist. Success to one could be money and to another could be the reaction of the viewers. To me success in the art world is having something to show in the end. You could spend your whole life doing something but when you die, if nothing remains of you then what was the point. That is part of the reason that I want to do more than tattooing. I love tattooing and it is my favorite thing to do but once I die and once the people that I have tattooed die what is left. Tim Hendriks said this in an interview and he makes an amazing point. So it comes to the point where I want to do something that will last. For instance Tim builds hand made tattoo machines that will last for a very very long time. I want to create art that people will remember. I don’t want to be famous, just acknowledged and remembered. So for me Success is creating something that will be remembered long after I am gone.  

I really enjoyed the first paragraph of the introduction because it really does seem true that art doesn’t actually serve a purpose. You can say it makes people feel good and is for entertainment but thats not what it really is about. To me personally art is for the artist and the viewer. That doesn’t mean that is will make you or someone happy but it can change the way they think or how they feel. Art is meant to inspire and intrigue. Art can be whatever it wants to be and can do whatever it wants. There are no limits for art and you can’t stop people from creating art that appeals to them. I believe that this is true even though I might not like all art, it is still art to someone. Every artist has a mission or a goal for their future or career. It just kinda comes when the time is right.

I think Thomas Joshua Cooper is a great lead in to Crafting an Artistic Self because he is just an interesting artist that seems to have a lot figured out about himself. In the intro to his Pages it says that, “Some sources of inspiration excite his intellect, while others increase his visual acuity, arouse his sensual engagement with the setting, and awaken his visionary perceptions” (pg.. 182).The reason I like this statement is because it never says that anything impacts him negatively. I like the idea that when you learn or experience something that doesn’t always appeal to you that you can make something good out of it or at least learn from it.

Jan Harrison Vs. Julian LaVerdiere

One main difference between these two artists is the face that Jan is a graphic designer and Julian is a Sculpture. Jans work seems to be more natural/ organic and very soft. Where as Julians work seems to be sharp and confident. It is kind of funny because they both live in New York but are very different at the same time. Also it is interesting that even though Jan is a Graphic designer she still does some sculpture and other things just like Julian does and vise verse. You dont find many graphic designers that work with crayons and clay but I think it is pretty awesome.

The artists work that I did not enjoy the most was Rev. Ethan Acres. His piece, “The Highway Chapel” to me looks so terrible and just not my style. It really looks like trailer trash which might have been the point but it still looks bad. His work to me seems really lame and unprofessional, almost childlike. His art is what i would see in a museum and say this shouldn’t be in here. I dont really like to be a critic but this is fucking awful and I dont get how it is considered art.

I really enjoyed reading this section because a lot of the time I feel like I didn’t have any inspiration for a piece but then someone will point it out and then it will all seem clear. Its interesting how people can influence the way you look at things and the way you develop your ideas. I don’t really have much else to say about this except for that it was interesting to see where the artists got their inspiration from.

Out of the five artists in the reading, I enjoyed Marcia Lyons, Yukinori Yanagi, Marco Maggi. The reasons I liked these three artists are because of their unique style and originality. To be honest the other artists were boring to me and I do not really have much more to say about them. My favorite artist out of the whole group was Yukinori Yanagi because of his one piece, “Asia Pacific Ant Farm.” This piece was really interesting to me because basically it is just an ant farm with a red Japanese sun in the back ground. But that’s what I love about it, the simpleness is what makes the piece. I would forsure base one of my projects off of Yukinori Yanagi.