- When looking back over what you’ve produced this semester, what themes or topics repeatedly stand out?
Looking back at this semester I see a few repeated themes within the body of work I’ve produced. The main theme that seems to be consistently factored into each of my pieces is the idea of home. Whether this be a visual representation or conceptually based, the idea of home and family, essentially where I come from, has been a big subject I’ve been exploring this semester. More specifically, I’ve been using familiar objects and my personal family history in conjunction with my recent stylistic approaches as an artist to make sense of how my past, as far reaching as my great grandparents, informs my practice and influences today. Tangentially, archival practices have been another tool and theme within my work. I’ve been thinking about personal context and visual motifs I’ve been repeatedly exposed to growing up. Recognizing which images carry weight to me and what images I respond to has informed the way I visualize and execute concepts as an artist. Using an archival organization system has helped me to reign in and narrow down all of the information my research has uncovered. The second main theme I’ve noticed is the comic-style narrative of many of my pieces. Using cells and isolated images to create a narrative, chronologically or thematically, lends itself to the style and flow I tend to lean into with my work. Some of my influences are graphic novelists, exploring the intersection of written narrative and visual narrative. I have been very interested in the abstraction of this more traditional format and practice.
- What was your greatest challenge as an artist this semester?
The greatest challenge I’ve had as an artist this semester is finding a place within the fine arts world where I feel my work is relevant and recognized. I’ve tended to box myself into the illustrative side of fine arts, mainly working with (as fore-mentioned) comics and more traditionally illustrative imagery in my pieces. I’ve been trying not only to expand my comfort zone as an artist in order to explore other mediums and processes, but also to learn to see my work within the context of fine art and what that means for me as an artist moving forward and into the world of fine arts.
- What are you most excited about going forward?
Moving forward, I am excited to push the boundaries I have set for myself as an artist, while also finding more specificity in my style, concept, and ways of thinking and making. This could look like an exploration of different mediums and seeing how they lend themselves to the things I am interested in so far. I am also excited to explore and take advantage of process, doing more research and learning more about craft in order to accomplish an effective final product.
- Please prepare an introductory statement that will help to frame your work for your reviewers. You may choose to read it to the review committee or simply discuss it briefly. It should not be more than one paragraph. Each student will present for 25 minutes. You are required to sit in on all reviews within your Section group.
My body of work so far has been based on the idea of home. I’ve explored this idea through a myriad of different processes and have produced a variety of visual representations of this idea. I’ve been thinking about personal context and the visual motifs I’ve been repeatedly exposed to growing up. Recognizing which images carry weight to me and what images I respond to has informed the way I visualize and execute concepts as an artist. Each of my pieces are either tide to my personal family history, or tangentially informed by the concept of home, and the various forms “home” can take. The pieces I have here today are explorations of this idea.
