Leslie,
You might even want to take my way out as an option. I do both purely sculptural works and separately design and make functional and semi functional objects. I couldn't tell you which i am more proud of when I get it right. This way of working puts me in some very well known and respected company. And it totally cuts out all the confusion.
My comment was meant to...
My comment was meant to convey that art school is something of an intellectual and creative maze, its such a greenhouse environment, given that you've only recently graduated perhaps you are still affected by that. Finanacial success (or the dimensions of a piece) is no measure of worth, if you sold them all what does that mean? It doesn't make the work better or more beautiful.
The best people can be misled by it.
Whilst I admire the material constrast in your work and some of the proportions I think it fails, I feel nothing beyond a rather cold aesthetic appreciation, I can read no meaning into the tables. If you can't take even that considered comment without reacting thats your problem.
Good thread even so, thanks for getting us talking about design.
Pegboard.
Thank you for...
Pegboard.
Thank you for your feedback. It is what I was looking for, remarks about the actual pieces. I dont have a problem with my pieces being on the floor at all. I imagine that's where they are all at now. The pics may not make you uncomfortable, but as I said they dont accurately convey the show as a whole. I am a horrible photographer. Several of the tables were elevated to eye level, which to say the least is kinda wierd. A 250lb slab of concrete teatering on blocks at eye level? Another function the elevation serves is to allow the viewer to see all of the intricacies without having to kneal down.
I can see you have taken offense to my comments twords Heath. I may have been wrong, but I felt he was treating me like a child. If this is not the case then I apologize to him, you and this forum.
Generally speaking I am not a concieted person, I do not brag nor bolster. I am very friendly and helpful to all those around me. I felt attacked and I reacted. Another thing I would like to clarify is that for the most part I have not felt attacked here, and have appreciated most of the comments. Me defending my work and position is an essential element of the critiquing process.
Glassartist.
Thanks. Yes there is a great deal of pressure from peers and faculty to have my work "read" more conceptual. Like you said to hell with art school BS, most of it drives me up the wall. Some of it is practicle though, if I were a freshly graduating designer I doubt anyone would be buying my work. Art is like anything in this world, it has to be sold by someone. In this case I am selling myself just as much as the work when dealing with potential buyers. I think of my work like couture fashion, sure it is "designed", but it is still a one off piece of art (in my opinion). thus far they have been very well recieved commercially, and I consider myself very lucky for this. I just hope I will have the ability to continue making this bs for a long time to come.
I am so impressed by the...
I am so impressed by the generosity of the folks on this forum. When I saw your initial posting and pictures, Leslie, I just thought to myself "BFA show," felt a bit embarrassed for you, and then moved on to the next thread. Coming back to this and reading all the comments, it's clear to me that while you may think you came here for feedback, in reality you were fishing for compliments. People in this forum were kind enough to engage you in dialogue (far more so than the quality of your work warrants) and because they weren't simply kissing your ass, you acted like a brat in return.
Normally, if I don't have anything nice to say, I don't say anything at all. But this thread just really pisses me off.
In defense of art
General commentary here. I have long lamented that my field had no clear definition that I could find. Of all the teachers, art professionals, peers, and writings I have read, I found definitions that were confusing and contradictory and of breathtaking variety. How was I supposed to make art if it could not have an agreed definition? And how can it be judged without it? It is the only field I know of that has this problem. So I realized that part of my job as an artist, like it or not, was to function as an educator. But it all hinges on the definition. So 7 years of defining and discarding and narrowing and throwing out ideas to whoever would listen got it down to art is communication. Right or wrong I have found it to be the fundamental tool to make and explain what I do. Everything falls into place from there. It assumes that there is an audience. If you make art for your self only it is therapy by my definition. It tells me my job is to have something interesting to say and to present it in a way that gets people interested in my idea. In music you would say "a hook". Once hooked, I try to keep some of it a little more subtle so there is room for exploration on the part of the viewer. So the formula is a hopefully interesting idea presented in a way that is neither too obvious or obscure. So if someone presents something they do as art, this is my framework for evaluation. Among other things, it allows me to recognize that a work can be good, even if it does nothing for me personally. Except for some hybrid works, I don't consider most design objects art. To me they need to be communicating something more loudly than their function to qualify. These views are what have directed my commentary here. The Nail in the cabinet.
.
Its ok really, I had forgotten that even though there are cranky threads and jokes there are quality people here, even from the start fastfwd fixed the pictures.
Reading through most of it makes me very happy to be a DAer.
I'll have a crack and make a general comment too.
A few years ago Koen mentioned 'being able to look the customer in the eye' which maybe really means being honest with yourself. I could not look the customer in the eye for a long time because I knew I was (pardon the rudeness) doing not a great deal more than masturbating, of all the things I have made just a few have been worthwhile.
A sort of Noblesse oblige is another important thing I think. To be middle class and have had the oppurtunity to learn and the time to ponder things obliges a person to alleviate or in some way comment upon what is wanting in his society. It could be many things in any medium but taking that attitude helps make your work purposeful and gives it value and integrity (two things which a lot of contemporary creative work lacks) on a level totally different to the financial one.
And now to the point..... no really
Leslie, Here is the sum of things. Since I consider myself a defender of art (and craft and design for that matter) I am motivated to ask your consideration. You have stated that your work is largely craft, and is perceived as such. You have also said that you doubt your success in the market if you do not overlay it with that art sheen. The problems as I see it are three. One, you are selling yourself short by thinking that your work will not stand on it's own without the art designation. There are scads of successful designer/ craftspeople out there. Second, I feel that you do a disservice to both craft and art by muddying the definitional waters for sales. And third you commentary says to me that you have bought into the art school notion that art is better than craft. Nonsense. In the long run, I think you would be better served by owning what you are and not trying to put an unwarranted art spin on it. People appreciate someone not trying to add something that is not there to make a sale. When I am hawking my craft items, it is more than enough to say, "I love my materials and process and the act of creation". People rightly love and respect that. They really only ask that you be excited about what you do. I would ask that just because the ideas about art are routinely appropriated for commercial purposes That you consider a more straight forward approach. The constant muddying of the waters makes it more difficult for any of us who are artists, craftspeople or both, to have folks understand what we do. It is a damaging crutch that you and your work don't need. This issue I bring up is precisely what happens when someone who wants to be a crafts person goes to art school. All the best.
As people of culture,
co-existing in a society of our peers, we don't usually feel it appropriate to discuss the most intimate parts of our personal existence. Nevertheless, cutting to the quick, isn't it true that Makers (of art, design, craft, etc) Make because they are moved so to do, and then, having Made, wish both self-approval and the approval of their peers ?
In the service of this most basic human urge -- I liken it to the parenting experience -- don't we inevitably risk all in exposing our "children" to the rest of the world ? We hope for approval and for a life of their own for these offspring, knowing that it's risky to let them out of the house but knowing that they have to stand on their own.
Inside, somewhere, we know that it was our own creative urge that resulted in these "works" -- the world didn't ask for our input/output. Naming our work, claiming various attributes or seeking to define it with words, all of these are secondary to the thing itself. Volumes could be written about what it "means." The thing itself is the answer to all criticisms, all praise, all interpretation -- whether these be appropriate and to the point, or not.
Back to the cinder blocks...
...I think why they don't work is because there is too much pattern. The voids in each block and the joint lines between them end up being quite a lot of pattern, and many of your pieces are highly detailed. The pattern in the pedestals draws the eye away from the tables.
Additionally, the pedestals are mostly not much wider or deeper than the tables themselves. That gives them a visual weight that is not much in contrast with the tables. They need to be more generous in size if you want to set the table apart from its surroundings.
I get the desire to have a contrast in materials between the tables and the pedestals. I also understand the need to keep costs down (though you didn't mention this specifically, but given that you are---or were, until last Friday---a student, I'm guessing it was). The cinder blocks just look cheap and thrown together, though. Pedestals made of 2x4 framing covered with cement backerboard would have not cost much much more and could be made in sizes and dimensions that would compliment the tables. You would still have that raw, industrial look that you're going for, though it would have been a bit more work. Just something to consider.
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com