I don't like to define myself as an artist based on on single medium. I have been mixing digital media, performance, painting, collage and anything else I can get my hands on or try. I was told that I would eventually choose 1 or 2 mediums. That prospect seems suffocating to me. It may mean I never master any one technique or medium, but I also don't believe in the concept of mastery. I think once you call yourself a master your practice then stagnates, because you believe you are at the pinnacle with nothing left to learn or explore. The word I use for my practice is "Wuulhu." which comes from the Wuikila language meaning "to fuse together." Traditionally this word may have been used for tool making or painting, or perhaps it had spiritual connotations - fusing to the supernatural. I use this word today to wrap my methods, ideas, symbols and actions into one process. I feel the message and the media can interact equally and the chosen medium can in turn be fused with others...continially remixed, re-fused and recombined and subtracted.
https://vimeo.com/57101918 Here is a link to a piece I am working on. Sala = Patience is a short video that has been used as part of a live audio visual performance and as a digital installation.
Wow, who told you that you'd eventually choose one or two mediums?! I can't imagine ever being completely happy with that kind of limitation. I find that everything I do, no matter how seemingly disconnected, tends to intertwine in unexpected ways. I think it's great that you've named your practice in a way that guides without constricting.
ReplyDeleteWatching Sala was really great. I just learned how to draw ovoids last semester - such a headache to make but so powerful when done right. I'm excited to see where you go from here!
I know, crazy right? I've had a few art teachers and other "working artists" say that eventually you just fall into one thing that you are best at or get paid for the most. And I have had numerous people tell me explicitly what specific area I should be working in and to forget the others. When I have worked on bigger collaborative multimedia productions I have found it is good to know specialists...I like being able to dabble in many areas though. It makes me feel less blocked by limitations and fears.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback. Ovoids....It's still something I keep working on. Sometimes they come out nice and sometimes they look awful....even following the same steps...Patience is paramount.
I very much empathize with your struggle to balance a multitude of interests and practices. I suffer the same dilemma myself and have been journeying through the abyss of chaotic possibility and uncertainty for some time now. Haha, ok maybe I’m making it sound a little gloomier and more daunting than it has to be. I like how you “don’t believe in the concept of mastery.” It’s an interesting line of thinking because you have to ask: which authority decides what constitutes a master? You could just go ahead and call yourself a master, but then there’s that risk of self-imposed limits that you brought up. On the other hand you could just call yourself a master artist or a master of pluralisms or other such jargon and the haters can be damned. Actually this “master” business is something of a semantics game. The reality is every artist struggles towards a similar goal, to create “good” art and be recognized as somebody who is a reliable provider of “good” art. On the other hand, if one day people start calling you a master are you really going to complain? It’s also important to remember that making good art is a lot harder than being a master because making good art is a mission that never ends, when you’re a master you can just flex your masterful muscles and vapid people will swoon over you.
ReplyDeleteIf you think about prominent historical figures who have been dubbed as masters you will find that many of them were polymaths. Michelangelo and Leonardo are obvious examples. Leonardo is generally considered a master painter despite having completed very few paintings in his entire lifetime; but his paintings were great and recognized as such. That may be an extreme example but the point is that the focus should be on creating great work, regardless of the medium or field. Creativity is still the most highly prized human quality; so let’s be as creative as possible before the computers overtake us in that department as well!
I don't know why that last comment listed me as "Anonymous." I used my wordpress profile which indeed has a name. Anyways, this is Alex Boiesan.
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