The greatest work of art I produced this semester was that one my teammates and I made in Raquette Lake. Being assigned the project to construct a “flotilla” out of the organic materials that could be found in the environment was intimidating, mostly because I had never made sculpture out of anything before this. I knew this was going to be a difficult task and was relieved when I found out that we would be working in groups. During the first day our group went out to survey the area and find a good spot for our work of art. As we walked through the brush we brainstormed our thoughts on the concept for the piece and creative ways we could represent it. Being inspired by the growing land around us we ended up reflecting on ourselves and in this mid-life “growing up process”. We thought it would be a good idea to show our perspective on the progression of life and its stages. In essences we wanted to portray the chaotic and carefree life of a child and its development into the settled down and the expected “well organized” life of an adult. We thought that the best place to really show the childish part of the piece would be through the use of water. Water has a unsteady surface that changes with the wind, constantly moving about. Placing colorful leaves on the water would represent the fun times of childhood and also draw attention to the natural motion of the water. We strung the leaves up to the dry surface of the land in the shape of an arch made of branches and grass. This funnel shape represented knowledge and stability that seems to be gained as we age. We made the leaves at the top all the same color and weaved an additional piece of string, horizontally, through them in order to illuminate the mundane and orderly aspects of the mature adult, in comparison to the child.
The impacts of my classmates began with my first project of the semester in Raquette Lake. I am sure each of the girls in my group, like I, had an original idea of what we thought would be the best “flotilla”. Working with them and hearing their thoughts made me realize how important it is to take what other think into account. Often they see things differently and can give constructive criticism that will ultimately enhance the look and success of the piece. Bringing these ideas back to class, I began to openly take the ideas of others into account; I asked what other people thought of my ideas and tried to incorporate their constructive criticism into the piece. Talking to others also helped me gain a better understanding of what message I was trying to get across and the most effective way of doing so. My classmates also introduced different artist of the week, one person showed the work of
I think my best critique moment was one given to our group by Lori, she gave her opinion of the piece from the first moment she paddled up to the piece and as she got closer. Lori gave a completely different idea of what the piece meant to her, she said that she saw the piece as a sort of next coming from the ocean, the fish’s way of keeping the humans out. This was the best moment because It also changes the way if viewed art. I realized that art is what you make it, everyone can be affected by art in a different way, no matter how hard the artist tries to portray their concept the creative mind of someone else is something rather uncontrollable. However the acceptance of the piece is often based on how the artist explains their concept, you can create beautiful pieces but with the wrong words may make in unsuccessful. I think this is a delicate balance of how much you say and how much you want to leave up the too the imagination of others.
This semester I went to go see the show Fax and the Girl exhibition in the DOWD Gallery, it featured a few artist I didn’t know, but more interestingly some the Art departments faculty at SUNY Cortland. It was nice to see the work of the professors who are teaching you, it gives you a better understanding of who they are outside of the classroom. In addition I had the opportunity go to First Friday in Binghamton; there I saw a few different shows that I can’t remember the names two, the quality of the work ranged from place to place, some even showed the work of high schools which was a pleasant surprise.
Reflecting on all that had happened within this semester made me realize that there no particular moment that could be labeled “the best learning moment”. The entire semester was a learning experience each day adding on to the next, aiding in my growth as an artist and as a student.
Next semester I look forward to studying art in Italy! I want to learn about the Italian culture and the trends within their art, with the hopes of gaining a new type of perspective on life and what it means to be an artist. I am also excited about meeting other artist from different schools, learning from them like I did with my group in Raquette Lake. Lastly, I can’t wait to be able to see firsthand, the inspirational works of art from so many famous renaissance artists