Today is the last day of this project.
Today is the last official day of my first semester of graduate school at Ohio State.
Today is a Tuesday and I do not like Tuesdays.
Today I hated Tuesdays.
Today I wonder what is art?
Why am I making art?
For what purpose?
What is art?
Why is it art?
What can be art?
Who is art?
Is art a thing? Is art a person? Is art a body?
Is my life art?
Was my life art before I called it art?
When does something become art?
Who decided what art is?
Is there a place for art?
Can art be everywhere?
Is it possible to be art?
What if making art is my life and my life is art. How can I tell the difference?
What if it were my life and not art, then what would it be?
Is it art because I made it?
What makes it art?
Is it art because it was video tapped?
Would it be art if it was not documented?
What if I spun myself dizzy at the bus stop today, is that art?
Is it art if someone saw me do it?
Would it be art if no one saw me do it?
Who decides if it is art?
What if the spinning made me dizzy and sick and I had to sit down, is that art?
What if I got off the bus early because I couldn't take it any more.
What if I crossed the street and got myself one chocolate covered strawberry and I cut it in four pieces and ate it, is that art?
Does the viewer matter in art?
If I make something and no one ever sees it but I made it is it art?
What if I do something and no one ever sees it is that still art?
Does the viewer make it art? Or does the artist make it art? Or does that art make it art?
Today I decided I would make art like I did everyday for the past 30 days but today I will not document it. I want to know if it is still art. And to be honest I am not sure. All these things I have done the past 30 days these explorations and experiments. I would never have done them if not for this project. So now I am trying to connect what I have done with these explorations and find my own studio practice. I know I can not go back to where I started but where do I go. What do I make? Do I make anything? Am I the art? Is my body the art? And what will its purpose be?
If I know one thing I know that I have always lived to make a difference in the lives of others. I was drawn to a profession of teaching because I love people and there is something really significant to me in making connections with people. I also love ceramics. I love clay and I have since childhood. Clay has the ability to transform, to move, to bend, and it connects me with the earth. It only seemed natural for me to follow this love for people and clay. I think with out knowing it my choice to be a vessel maker comes from my desire to connect with people. I always envision my pieces used and in the home. Until last year, I do not think I ever considered them anywhere else. I also love movement and I think movement and clay have always been connected but how can I make that connection even more direct now that I have discovered so much about movement and my own body. Oh, where to begin.
I am clearly as ever, confused.
I am going to end this 30 days project with these ceramic vessels.
Congratulations on finishing your 30 day project -- I had no idea you were doing this! :-) (TradeMark G)
ReplyDeleteAll good questions. What is creativity, how do we study it? A great question that Michael Mcdevitt asked was, "is you work fiction or non fiction?" I think we question because we are artists. I think being creative every chance we get is important whether someone is watching or not. Here is a great article about someone I went to undergrad with and I think she hits on some of your questions.
ReplyDeletehttp://bushwickdaily.com/2012/12/working-hard-can-make-you-sexier-angela-washko/