Stephani Stephenson on thu 8 feb 01
I will pick up on part of the thread that seems to wonder
what your work says...to others
1. I have never thought about what work will say or mean to others,
before or during the making. That would definitely confound the
process. Don't fuss over how it will speak. Some will sing, some will
squawk. Just work at your instrument.
2. The best experience I ever had , hearing uncensored feedback AFTER
the fact, was as an eavesdropper! Yes I admit it. I was gallery sitting
during a college student show, as a student. Two boys, maybe 10 -12
years old were in the gallery and they stopped by one of my sculptures
and began to discuss it. They didn't know I was the artist or that I
could hear them. One thought the piece was unsettling , even violent.
The other thought it peaceful. The two began to figure it out ;
thoughtfully scrutinizing it, discussing visual elements and impact,
and reasoning it out. They did not have a clue what I may have meant by
the piece in my own mind or in my own making, or even if there was
meaning to be had , let alone communicated. I was so surprised and
impressed by the unpretentious, straightforward , sincere way they did
it.
3. I remember how self conscious I was as a student during the first
group critiques. I felt EXPOSED.
People sat around expounding on what they saw and what they thought it
meant or how they felt . Soon the time came to view and discuss my work.
I had the overwhelming vision that I was sitting there with my
underwear draped over my head. HORRORS! Then I realized we were ALL
sitting around with our underwear draped over our heads. VIOLENT URGE TO
LAUGH! Furthermore, when it came time to discuss , review and
understand MY underwear, I realized that everyone was pretty much
describing THEIR OWN! So after that, it wasn't so bad. Unless of course,
you forgot to wear a pair.
Stephani Stephenson
Leucadia CA
Paul Taylor on fri 9 feb 01
Dear Stephani
You have just brought to mind the critiques my work received at art
collage. I was always put through a ringer I used to defend my self and the
work hotheadidly but I still lost confidence. one day I decided to say
nothing in the future. To see if it was my reaction that caused the fuss I
kept "stumm" . However the tutors and studets went through the crit saying
the usual nice things about every body's work untill they got to my pieces
and as usual the tone changed every body let rip . I said nothing . After
the crit I confided in my friend, who I still think is more talented than I
will ever be - his work was always praised. He said that my work always
caused a stir because it was interesting - you had to have an opinion and it
also was assessable so you could be confident about expressing that opinion.
And that I should be encouraged that my work caused a stir.
Thirty years later you have reminded me of that. I have had to make a
living and I have tamed myself too much. But now I am settled and its time
to stir. Thanks for the post . I love this list.
Regards from Paul Taylor
http://www.anu.ie/westportpottery
Alchemy is the proof that economics is not a science.
> From: Stephani Stephenson
> Reply-To: mudmistress@earthlink.net
> Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2001 06:20:06 -0800
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: Re: what your work says
>
> I will pick up on part of the thread that seems to wonder
> what your work says...to others
> 3. I remember how self conscious I was as a student during the first
> group critiques. I felt EXPOSED.
> People sat around expounding on what they saw and what they thought it
> meant or how they felt . Soon the time came to view and discuss my work.
> I had the overwhelming vision that I was sitting there with my
> underwear draped over my head. HORRORS! Then I realized we were ALL
> sitting around with our underwear draped over our heads. VIOLENT URGE TO
> LAUGH! Furthermore, when it came time to discuss , review and
> understand MY underwear, I realized that everyone was pretty much
> describing THEIR OWN! So after that, it wasn't so bad. Unless of course,
> you forgot to wear a pair.
>
>
> Stephani Stephenson
> Leucadia CA
Karin Abromaitis on tue 13 feb 01
Having each foot firmly buried in two very different "art" forms, pottery
and theatre, here's something that some fellow theatre artists and I came up
with while confoundedly (is that a word?) trying to define what it was/is
that we were attempting to do.
Art reveals something within us that cannot be expressed in words. An
artist is someone who struggles to create something for which there are no
words.
Otherwise we'd just say it or write about it, there would be no need for the
expression in any other form.
Please don't get hung up on the words art and artists. Its not intended
here to start off another entire thread on that.
Kabromaitis@msn.com
"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that
we are powerful beyond measure." Nelson Mandela
Dwiggins, Sandra (NCI) on tue 13 feb 01
Karen Abramaitis wrote:
Art reveals something within us that cannot be expressed in words. An
artist is someone who struggles to create something for which there are no
words.
Karen:
This is definitely true for music and the visual arts. Perhaps that's why
many professional critics have such a difficult time convincing visual and
musical artists that criticism may have something profound to say about art.
Sandy
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