"Please use this statement to discuss the issues and concerns that inform your artmaking practice, your reasons for applying to CalArts and your artistic goals"
One of my favorite forms of art is graffiti. I don’t just mean the big colorful pieces that we envision when we think of graffiti in our minds. I mean all aspects of it, from the simple black tags that line the streets of a city to throw-ups, pieces, and legal works. There is something about the type of people who do graffiti that makes me really respect them as artists. To be a graffiti artist you must devote your entire self to what you do, it must become your life and who you are. To be respected in the graffiti world, you must be willing to draw outside the lines and go where no one has before. You must be original on top of your dedication. This is why I love graffiti.
I try to apply these principles to my own art making. I feel if I work as hard as they do, and I give it as much thought and practice, I may be lucky enough to find myself creating work as beautiful as theirs. I value their passion, and I wish I could be like them. Unfortunately seeing as I grew up in a suburban community, I was never really given the opportunity to be a graffiti artist. But I found that there was an alternative practice that required the same values as a graffiti artist needs, and that was animation. Animators work incredibly hard to complete their “pieces,” and only a truly gifted and thoughtful animator who works this hard will come out on top. I respect animators just as I do graffiti artists, they are artisans unlike an others.
I lack a strong voice in real life, often mumbling and stuttering over words, but hopefully I can develop one that people will listen to with their eyes, and hopefully it will truly affect them. I am drawn to any expressive media or subject matter. I believe the more I delve into my art the more I will be able to convey on paper. I want people to stop in the middle of their busy lives and take a moment to look at what I create, just as they do with graffiti on the streets.
Meredith Burgess
Character Animation
I felt I could have replaced "graffiti artist" and "animator" with any kind of artist, and the message would have been the same. That doesn't make for a thought provoking statement. All great art work that's worth respecting was made because of the artist's dedication. Although an artist's statement is no where near as important the the artist's portfolio, I don't see a very innovative or knowledgeable piece of writing here. It's seems sort of generic, perhaps mad-lib fill-in-the-blank ish.
ReplyDelete"To be AN ARTIST you must devote your entire self to what you do, it must become your life and who you are. To be respected in the ART world, you must be willing to draw (WORK?) outside the lines and go where no one has before. You must be original on top of your dedication. This is why I love ART."
Just look through your artist's statement as I have, and notice these instances. Granted, the ending paragraph helps capture what the rest of your artist's statement lacks. A strong conclusion!
Now, I've only read through it once or twice, so I probably missed something, but hopefully my critique might help narrow in on what you're trying to say. I admire graffiti art too, and honestly ... I doubt I'd be able to rationally explain why, which is why I think it's cool that you've chosen to focus on its aesthetic aspects as opposed to how it's usually viewed as a defacement.