Entry No. 7
5.3.23
#artandidentity
thinking:
For this piece I was thinking about how students incorporate their own identities into art. Art is almost impossible to create without putting yourself into it. I will go as far to say that art IS impossible to make without putting yourself into it. The hand of the artist is always there, even when artists like Andy Warhol began a more "assembly line" style, factory-like approach to creating art, hiring others to do the work. There is still the idea that came from the artist, the human touch of the assembly line worker who executed the idea.
Thinking about that, I looked at the work that my middle school students have done this semester and I see them in their art. From perfectly unmastered technical skills of blobby loads of paint and jagged linocut etches and uneven walls on ceramic goods, to the ideas of the work, beach landscapes to represent how much they do NOT want to be in school right now, scribbly sketchbooks expressing frustration and anger with a world around them that changes rapidly, yet they have no control over at just 13 years old; monkey-littered ceramics because man, that kid is OBSESSED with monkeys. I think it is so sweet to see their identities and feelings expressed in art even when they don't realize they are doing so. As a teacher I want to help them gain consciousness and control over what their work narrates, but I admire so much of what I see already. Expression of self and ideas and emotions is a huge facet of art and one of the most important ones to me.
Making:
To make this piece I took a different technical route than I have been and I utilized a thickened dye on fabric to create the piece, rather than the linocuts I have made for my last 6 journal entry artworks. I wanted to create something that operates like a poster for my students- especially if I hung it in a future classroom. It is a little reminder of integrating themselves in art, while also being a bit motivational. Is it cheesy? A little bit yeah. Is it cute? Absolutely. I played around with the mark-making and just had fun with this one, similarly to the techniques in my TAB journal entry. I played with mark making to represent myself, and there's parts that more clearly show the hand of the artist than other parts. Overalll, I think it is very cute, and successful at establishing the point I made.
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