Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
It's ok. I'm an artist now, but it's a very strange place to be.
In my last post I said I didn't feel like an artist. Lately, I have felt like more of an artist than a person.Is a person an artist or an artist a person? This my be the cause of my current migraine.
People that I grew up with have started thinking of me as more of a photographer than as someone they have been friends with since the sixth grade. I've focused on my career more than my actual school work. I have been hired for weddings, done photo shoots, and have had people volunteer to be a model. I am in the process of setting up some shadowing positions for photographers in my home town. I am only in my second year of college, so is this really necessary yet? My twentieth birthday is in a few weeks and what I have asked for is more photo equipment.
Let's talk for a second about audience. Who is my audience? I'm not really sure, actually. My art blog, IntegArt, reached 2,000 pageviews yesterday. I started it in March of this year and in the past few months it has really taken off. I post new projects or themes on it weekly and then post the link to Facebook. I know my mother cannot have been all 2,000 views. So who is looking at my art? One of the referring sites that has popped up is a website that is very exclusive and the link is posted in the "private boards" of the site. Not having been a "good member" of the site, I cannot view those boards, so I have no idea who posted the link and what kind of people have clicked on it. It bothers me some, but I have no shame in my art and I know it is appropriate for anyone to see.
Why is my art gaining popularity? I'm just a kid with a camera, and not even a really nice one at that. Ever since I started, my parents have told me that I have a gift, but what makes me different from everyone else? I've done this for about seven years now, but I haven't had any formal photo training. Based on the evidence, I should be a nobody, but according to the numbers, people like my art.
So. What now?
People that I grew up with have started thinking of me as more of a photographer than as someone they have been friends with since the sixth grade. I've focused on my career more than my actual school work. I have been hired for weddings, done photo shoots, and have had people volunteer to be a model. I am in the process of setting up some shadowing positions for photographers in my home town. I am only in my second year of college, so is this really necessary yet? My twentieth birthday is in a few weeks and what I have asked for is more photo equipment.
Let's talk for a second about audience. Who is my audience? I'm not really sure, actually. My art blog, IntegArt, reached 2,000 pageviews yesterday. I started it in March of this year and in the past few months it has really taken off. I post new projects or themes on it weekly and then post the link to Facebook. I know my mother cannot have been all 2,000 views. So who is looking at my art? One of the referring sites that has popped up is a website that is very exclusive and the link is posted in the "private boards" of the site. Not having been a "good member" of the site, I cannot view those boards, so I have no idea who posted the link and what kind of people have clicked on it. It bothers me some, but I have no shame in my art and I know it is appropriate for anyone to see.
Why is my art gaining popularity? I'm just a kid with a camera, and not even a really nice one at that. Ever since I started, my parents have told me that I have a gift, but what makes me different from everyone else? I've done this for about seven years now, but I haven't had any formal photo training. Based on the evidence, I should be a nobody, but according to the numbers, people like my art.
So. What now?
Monday, November 7, 2011
A few thoughts for today...
I'm not an artist.
I don't feel like it anyway. I've always wanted to be an artist. I'm finally here, so what's wrong?
I don't paint. I can't really draw. My art vocabulary extends to words that I can count on one hand.I take pictures. What am I doing here? What do I want to do? I have so many questions.
What counts as an artist? Are musicians performance/sound artists? Can you paint with words? What about writers who provide such imagery that may be more powerful than any visual representation could ever be? Most of all: What is the point?
Art is only for art people. Everyone can look at it, but how many people actually care? Art people. Let's do a little experiment. What do you see?
This is Georgie O'Keefe's Ram's Head White Hollyhock and Little Hills.
Normal Person: I see a skull. With a flower. And some sky. Pretty cool.
Art Person: I see fallopian tubes. A female reproductive painting. This work is all about femininity and embracing the power of woman.
Art has messed me up.
I don't feel like it anyway. I've always wanted to be an artist. I'm finally here, so what's wrong?
I don't paint. I can't really draw. My art vocabulary extends to words that I can count on one hand.I take pictures. What am I doing here? What do I want to do? I have so many questions.
What counts as an artist? Are musicians performance/sound artists? Can you paint with words? What about writers who provide such imagery that may be more powerful than any visual representation could ever be? Most of all: What is the point?
Art is only for art people. Everyone can look at it, but how many people actually care? Art people. Let's do a little experiment. What do you see?
This is Georgie O'Keefe's Ram's Head White Hollyhock and Little Hills.
Normal Person: I see a skull. With a flower. And some sky. Pretty cool.
Art Person: I see fallopian tubes. A female reproductive painting. This work is all about femininity and embracing the power of woman.
Art has messed me up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)