Design Space

I think artistic attitude is where the artist expresses thoughts or ideas in a visual form. These thoughts or ideas don’t have to be those of the artist, but can be those of whoever the work is made for, such is the case with things like advertisements. The art doesn’t even need to have an intended audience. It can be simply made by the artist to get their thoughts and feelings in a physical, visual form. People with an artistic attitude look at things differently. They see works as ideas in a visual instead of just seeing it as strictly a visual. I think I express my own artistic attitude by creating work that expresses who I am as a maker. Even when I create work for others, like clients for example, I make sure to give the work my spin while expressing the ideas of the client. In the example I attached, I made the poster into something that I myself found visually appealing as well as something the client wanted and would portray the idea to the audience.

The location of works of art dictates the way the viewer sees the art and the feeling they get while looking at it. For example, in the Madison Museum of Contemporary art, the art was placed in galleries with work with similar subject matter. Even more specifically, they were placed within those galleries with works that had a similar feel or style. This is done to show relationships between works, to be more aesthetically pleasing, or to evoke a more powerful emotion from the viewer. Looking at one painting wont have the same effect as being in a room of similar paintings with the same emotion attached to them. If two or more works are placed closely together, the audience is more likely to find connections between them, but this also may take away from the individual art. The viewers perspective is also modified by their location. For example, us as Americans may look at a painting about WWII and side with the Allies, while Germans might not.

While at the symposium I was able to speak with various artists and designers about their work and experiences. From the people I talked to, I learned about the difficulties that they faced over their careers and how they overcame them. I learned that the art world can be very hard financially and sometimes demanding as far as deadlines go. I also learned that though freelancing is fun, its best to get an internship as soon as you can. While talking to Chip Kidd, I learned that once you do enough of one type of art or design, people start to see you specifically as just that type of artist or designer. It surprised me how many of the artists and designers had to have other jobs. I was also surprised at how many hardships they had to go through to get to where they are today. I now have a goal of getting an internship as soon as I can as well as doing everything I can to prevent myself from having a hard time. My ideas about my future were a little shaken. I started second guessing if I was good enough to succeed in the design world. In the end though, I decided that even though I have my doubts, things will work out in the end even if I have to give it my all.

This is the work of art that I chose to critique while at the Milwaukee Art Museum. It is titled Midgard and was created by a German artist by the name of Anselm Kiefer. My initial reaction to the work was a negative one. I didn’t like the dark and scary and chaotic feel of the work. The disorganization and my inability to figure out what it was irritated me. I decided to read the description of the work and found that it was supposed to tell the legend of middle earth. I realized that in addition to the abstract nature of the work itself, there was a cultural barrier that was keeping me from fully understanding the work. I also realized that the artist tried to convey a feeling of chaos and darkness in the work, which he definitely succeeded in doing. My reaction turned into a more positive one because I saw that the artist had gotten across his point and conveyed the feeling that he was going for to his audience or at least to me.

Obvious Influences:

-My likes

-Music

-My surroundings

Influences that are told to you by others:

-D-face

-Jeff Soto

Influences that you only know/find valuable—not always readily apparent to others:

Influences you want to uncover/ideas you want to explore further about your work:

Is there a process you use, whether analytical or emotional, when considering unfamiliar or new works of art?

Even though I have never contemplated this before, I guess I do have a process when I consider works of art. I first begin by looking at the art from a strictly esthetic perspective. I look at the work and either find it visually appealing to me or not. I then think about my skills as an artist so I can better appreciate the work and skill that went into the work of art. Some pieces that grab my interest sometimes make me wonder about the artist; what they were thinking or feeling when they made the artwork, why they created it, or how they created it. I know my process of considering new works of art is simple and not well thought out, but that is just the way I am and the way I think. I’m a very visual person and not insanely analytical, so naturally I focus most on the visual appeal of the work of art. I find myself enjoying a lot of things in life because of their beauty. I am one of those people that can spend hours watching a sunset or looking at clouds just because I enjoy it and it calms me and gets my mind wandering. I would say some of what I come up with while looking at art or nature or anything I find visually appealing is random and sometimes out there, but its who I am and I wouldn’t change it for the world. So while a lot of people, especially other artists and designers look at things very analytically and wonder about the work on a deep level, I look at the beauty of it.

I feel that success of a work of art or an artist as a whole is measured by what the artist believes is success. Some artists may believe that success is measured by how famous they are or their artwork is or how much money they have or their art is worth. Other artists may measure success by how well they reach their audience or how well their work comes out and if they’re proud of their work. I personally believe that success depends on if you are proud of what you’ve accomplished with your art, whether it be superficial such as money and fame, or simple and personal like reaching your audience or simply being happy with the art you put out. I would measure success as a combination of both viewpoints. I would say I was successful if I liked the quality of the work I put out as well as I appreciated the art myself and put effort into it. Anything in addition to that would only further the success of my work. As an artist and designer, I feel that I am a personally successful if I do what I love and love what I create. So far, I have people that like my work and I get paid to make it. I love creating my work and how it comes out, and the fact that people like it and are willing to pay me to create it just adds to my feeling of success. I do believe that I am a successful artist even though i’m not famous and don’t get paid a lot of money because i just have fun making art that i’m proud of and personally appreciate.