So I've been thinking, and I really don't like my artist statement. It's just... dry and boring, if you ask me. Here it is:
Stories are eternal. They connect us to the past and give enlightenment to the future. Every time one picks up a book and begins to read, the book comes to life. Yet people keep losing the relevancy of reading. Through my work, I want to modernize the idea of literature and show its importance even in an age which changes with every new upgrade of the smartphone. By first grabbing my audience’s attention by making William Shakespeare shirtless, I wish to then pose the question: who was he? After closer inspection, he is not only a man who lived hundreds of years ago, but someone who struggled with similar issues which still exist today. Literature has always held the answers for me, and through my work, I hope that others can see why.
My style shows my technique by loose brushstrokes because I prefer to see the process as well as the art. Photography can create a perfect image, but the imperfections show how a human created the piece. I also use everyday objects for mediums, such as thermal paper as seen here, to symbolize accessibility and I like the challenge of using ordinary mediums to make extraordinary works of art. With using receipt or thermal paper, most people throw it away, but I give it a new purpose through my art. I acquire multiple shades of darkness by either burning the paper, which turns it black because of a chemical on it, or spray hair spray on to the burned material to make it turn gray. Juan Francisco Casas uses ballpoint pens to make his realistic images, and has inspired me, as well as Ceal Floyer who makes receipts which create an image in the viewer’s mind as they read the list. This idea draws me not only by the use of thermal paper, but by showing how the simple parts of life can create art. My art differs from them because of how I am mixing in the history as well as how I am burning the thermal paper to make an image. The burning technique is based off of sfumato, which is used on oil painting, and I use it to contrast the hard lines on the receipts with soft contours that flow into seductive images of the writers.
I first found interest in the thermal paper while I studied abroad last year in London, England. While there, I saw another girl in my art class had tacked up a few burned pieces of thermal paper, but did not know what to do with them. They sparkled in the light because of the chemical and I found the material fascinating. When I came back to the States, I decided to accept the challenge of the burned paper and use it in my own way.
My goal is to place an idea in people’s minds and give them the opportunity to think in a different way or form a different point of view. I never wish to make a person think like me or change their own ideas, but to simply suggest an alternative perspective and allow their imagination to grow. If at first you only see a person lying in a suggestive pose, what does it mean if it is also William Shakespeare? He was once a living, breathing person who made mistakes, had troubles, and fought to do his best. If you only read his poems or watch his plays, you are only getting a part of the story.
Blah, blah, blah, artsy fartsy nonsense. It just doesn't sound like me and really doesn't feel like it connects to my art. Therefore, I've written a new version which I'm hoping is better:
The gray skies of London may not seem very inspiring, but I found all of my inspiration squished on the damp streets of the busy city. It involved two ideas merging into one: a subject and a material. Every day I walked the five minutes to my flat from the Old Street Underground Station. Right before I turned down the street, I always noticed a billboard which seemed to change every month or so. This time, it read “secs sells,” with a picture of a car on it. I felt amused by the pun, but also wished that sex could sell literature as well as cars. My five months in London revolved around finding the homes of literary artists like Charles Dickens, John Keats, and William Shakespeare. I loved their stories and ideas so much that I wanted to spend my college career gaining an English degree to learn more. In the least, I wanted to open other people’s eyes to the magic of reading, and allow them to see its intrigue and temptation as I do.
As for the material, I studied at the University of Westminster, which had an individual campus for art. I seemed odd to the British art students because of my double major, and I nervously tried to fit in amongst them. One day while doing critiques, one of the girls had burned receipts tacked to the wall of the studio. They were black and sparkled in the florescent lights because of the chemical on them. She did not know what to do with it, but I did. From there, I learned this paper was known as thermal paper. Although mainly used for receipts, it is unique for the chemical adhered to it so that when a certain amount of heat is applied, the chemical turns black. Later, I also learned the chemical could be destroyed by spraying hair spray or other adhesives onto the paper, changing it back to its original white.
To me, writers are people who lived, suffered and died instead of simply connected to famous literary works. With minds full of imagination and vocabulary, they wrote what others feared to say. Through characters with drastic flaws or humorous attributes, writers create events which allow readers to escape and explore new worlds full of mystery and magic. They tempt us, tease us, and transport us. As the words of the famous writers such as William Shakespeare, Lord Byron, Jane Austen, and Edgar Allen Poe have hypnotized millions with their words, let my art before you entice your senses and become lost in the imperfections of thermal paper. Although I used no words within my pieces, I created sensual poses of the mentioned writers as a way to indulge and inspire. These writers were never only names, but people with faces and characteristics of their own. Through my art I hope to revive those who have past, and allow them to do all the talking.
My display is based off of what I have learned in the Art History Museum Practices class, which has taught me how to present exhibits, write didactics, and how to organize stored objects. I also wish to thank the entire Art Department faculty and my capstone class for their support.
Now, this one sounds more like me. I like how it explains my inspiration, but also focuses on the artwork. Granted, it doesn't talk about any of my research I did, but I don't feel it's terribly necessary. I also really like the last paragraph because it does explain my interest in working in a museum (or library, whatever floats my boat).
