10 February 2013

Taste

A couple of weeks ago I was directed to this by another blog.




This really got me thinking...

Many people out there believe that having a good eye for appreciating other peoples stuff will make them a good artist. Its not about taste. Your good taste will only get you so far, and by that I mean maybe a toe in the door of being creative.

The work out there that's really great comes from within the individual who made it. 

At art school, in lieu of any critical analysis, some tutors would look at my work and then suggest I go to the library and look at 2 or 3 artists that they deemed similar to me. I tried to ignore what other people were doing. It can actually be quite dispiriting to see someone who is in a similar territory as you and has resolved the things that you have not. And very difficult to find your own individual solution once you've seen theirs.

Look at your own experience rather than your taste. Work inspired by someone else's will be just a dilute version of their work. 

Show people how you see the world. You have an opportunity to make something new, that no one else has seen yet! 

If you want what you make to live up to your ambitions, then work out what those ambitions are. What are you trying to say? How do you want people to feel when they look at your work? Keep this in the forefront of your mind and ask yourself time and again, what percentage of this are you acheiving? This way you stay aware of heading down a blind alley of churning stuff out for the sake of it. If you lose sight of what you are doing then just keep working and you will find a new ambition. 

The bit about making a great volume of work is very true. You move forward through doing, not thinking.  
It takes forever and if you're lucky you'll never quite get there. Its all in the chase!

1 comment:

  1. I love this - thanks! Also thanks for finding and following your blog. I love your mobiles and other cut paper work! Rachel x

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