The Act of Making Art
This post reflects on the process of making art. It features my art experiments. The article is written in two parts, about a month apart, because I devoted the majority my time to job search. Prospects are positive.
April 30, 2016
This is the first time in a long time since I opened a box of watercolors, picked up a brush, and smeared pigment on paper. I used fresh, fleshy mulberries to color pieces of paper. This simple act brought me great pleasure, as I have not created hands-on in a long time due to the intensive job application process.
A process started. Pigments smeared and dabbed onto paper.
To make art is to make choices. Bold choices. To create art is to explore endless possibilities. The process of art production is as important as, if not more than the end result. Art creation is also about solutions. It requires one to identify methods to achieve a vision and to acquire the technique to materialize the artwork. In art-making, one has to allow for flexibility. The paradoxical "beautiful accidents" do happen. Art encourages multiple perspectives. It calls for the ability to see from varied vantage points. Art rests above normative evaluative frameworks.
June 3, 2016
As I organized my art records, I revisited images of my experiments. Some date to 2004, while others record "more recent" processes in 2008. Dedicated, consistent time for art creation becomes minimal for one who has to work for an education and a living. I have numerous ideas in my head, and some are jotted down in my notebook. Yet with energy and time constraint, I wonder how many will blossom into fruition.
Below are selected old experiment records to honor the theme, "process," and "the act of making art." My resonance with these images differ from my response to photographs of the finished works. These pieces of test results glimmer with the potential to become more. Sometimes, alone they are enough.
Take a look at the "behind the scenes" that culminated in the Let There Be Light show. Most of the experiments did not make into the final show. However, these valuable building blocks created a road map that pointed to the final destination. As I look back to twelve years go, when I enjoyed the privilege of undivided attention to art creation, I savor the free and consistent exploration of science and art.
The next post will showcase photography from 2012 to 2016. Be on the lookout!
Chemical solutions required to make the blueprint wash.
One of the perks of creating cyanotype is to outdoors, in the land, under the sun.
Process as art.
Blueprint on cloth.
Butterfly effect.
Play. Moving image projection on paper. Clothing pins secured the piece of paper to the wall.
Play. Projection onto sculpture, projection onto wall.
Moving light on layered wax. Texture on texture.
