Course Description


This interdisciplinary fine arts course results in the development of a body of work around contemporary art topics. Research, concept development and studio practice will combine to broaden your skills and ideas. Stimulating assignments together with experimentation promote analysis and understanding of contemporary art ideas, world cultures and historical periods, and other areas of visual information. Studio production and the communication of concepts visually, verbally and in written form will be combined in this thought-provoking course

Monday, October 10, 2011

Obsession


Obsession can take many forms. We see here collections of things that may be considered obsessive, also drawing, design, and installation work in which we could argue the artist is obsessive in either the technique or media used. How do you think obsession can aid and abet the artist in his/her work and how does obsession affect you as an artist?


7 comments:

  1. Obsession can aid an artists work because it can push you farther than just stopping after a certain point you designate as finished. If you are obsessed with an object, material, or repetitive pattern of working than you can make your work go much farther than you can imagine or even further than what other artist have done with the same medium. Unfortunately obsession can hinder an artists work because it may cause the artist to be unable to look past what they are doing or work past a certain area in their body of work. Obsession almost always has a negative connotation, it means your mind is so preoccupied that you cannot move beyond your object of obsession. It affects me personally as an artist because I do obsess over materials and processes until I am thoroughly disgusted with the medium and move on to the next obsession in a cyclical process.

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  2. Anne has a definite point about obsession becoming a block in the progression of ones artwork. I have felt this way too. In one way you can explore an idea, form, or method in depth. But there is also a risk of getting so involved that you can become limited. I enjoy repetition of patterns, designs, and forms in artwork and this is a way that I get obsessive with my own work. I also feel that I am a meticulous person in general and when it comes to creating art I can get caught up or obsessed with a process or image pretty easily. Most of the time this has worked to my advantage. I tend to make multiple works focused around one idea/theme and from there I can branch out. Obsession can definitely become a process in of itself. I try to embrace it while still being aware of the limitations it can create. Obsession can make a strong statement with art when it is used intelligently along with the awareness of why it is important.

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  3. I think being obsessed can be really important for an artist, it's a natural push to explore a focused territory and dig deeper with things which typically has interesting/successful results. We all are obsessed in a way, we kinda have to be as artists, some may be more than others. However, as Anne mentioned, it can be bad in the sense of being so focused on one thing that one is hindered because they can't get past their single obsession. Also, an artist may be obsessed with the idea of perfection, which is not always possible so the piece/pieces end up being overworked. For me personally, I feel like I go through spurts of being obsessed with certain subject matter more than anything, and not in a negative way.

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  4. I have to agree with all of your comments. Obsession does have a tremendous affect on out art whether that be positive or negative. If you take a broader view you might see how obsession causes us to be artists in the first place. Is that drive to create and express through our art an obsession?

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  5. The way Emily puts "..being obsesses can be really important for an artist because it is a natural push to explore.." is very true with out being obsessed then we are never pushed to explore the utmost potential in a medium or focus. Would Tara Donovan be as famous as she is if she just stopped with a few hundred straws or cups stacked instead of the thousands on thousands that she works with today? I don't think so.

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  6. I think obsession can be an excellent starting point for an artist. The things that we are obsessed with are normally things that we find deeper meaning in. The things that i am obsessed with represent or stem from the way I think, or how I see things. They are things that i think represent in me in some shape or form. So, It makes sense for me to use them in my art. Over the past few years I have collected images of things that I am obsessed and I can use them as inspiration while I'm making art.
    I think there is a slight danger of hindering yourself if you only are obsessed with one thing or idea. But i guess as long as your obsessed with a group of things it works out alright.

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  7. I think an artist's obsession with something can have a big effect on the artist's works. With specific obsession for some objects, artists could observe the things more deeply or find genuine beauty of the things. I believe to find various characters and meanings of objects is important for artists,and to be obsessive about something is one of the most advisile way of finding them. However, on the other hand,I also think that obsession can be working negative. obsession could make wrong illusion so that the artists couldn't see truthful meaning or character of the object. I think Its delusion couse of obesesion could spoil the works.

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