March 2009 - Visual Arts Featured Content - Part 2 of 2

Why Are You Making Something? Part 2 of 2

By Nathan Sapio

It should be clear by now that at the heart of the question, “Why are you making something?”, lies an inquest that seeks to find Value. Investing time and effort in the production of something (like a piece of art) certainly necessitates that some expectation of reward or compensation exist for such an act.

Should the expected Value of a piece of art be based in what you can have and hold, what you can see and own, then the nature of such an item is purely physical. The answer to the proposed question in this case is, “For remuneration ($$$$$).” For those that prize art for what they can place in their homes (or in the homes of others, as the case may be), art is purely a luxury object. The most rational thing to do, in the case of those that create art as a business and/or career choice, is to stop making objects like paintings or sculpture (which people are able to talk themselves out of buying) and become furniture designers or architects. You’ll make beautiful, high dollar objects that people need. Or – you can just become a graphic designer.

Additionally, many expect to find Value in the “self-expression” found in art. Value based in “self-expression” can take several forms: one may produce art because they want others to know what they think, one could also produce art in order to make it known how “unique” or “different” they can be, or an observer could like a piece of art simply because they know (or know of, rather) the artist. Regardless of the specific situation, if the answer to the proposed question is, “In order to express myself”, the Value of such art can be found somewhere between one of two things: 1) at best, providing a therapeutic function for the maker, or 2) at worst, satisfying an artist’s underlying self-absorption. There is an inherent selfishness to both, which means that such Value is merely subjective. That type of Value carries no weight, and varies from person to person. It follows that all art based on such Value is equal; one piece of art cannot be called better than any other, for such art are all as equally “self-expressive” by definition. If you’re not also getting emolument ($$$$$) for your what you are producing, it would seem rather difficult for a rational person currently working in such a vein to find any reason to continue producing art indefinitely.

If it’s unlikely that numismatic compensation ($$$$$) or purely internal gratification are able to provide a sound source of Value, is there a satisfactory answer to the question, “Why are you making something”? As it happens, I think that there is no one specific answer. However, I maintain that all valid answers have a common, underlying element: a valid answer understands that there is inherent cultural and intellectual value in art. In the purest sense, artistic motivations that have substance and are sustainable are founded on the search for truth.

Put simply, good art has an element of truth to it. This statement doesn’t have to have theistic or philosophical overtones, though it can be well understood in that sense; truth that is absolute and encompassing is inherently vast and cannot be grasped as a whole by rationality and logical propositions. Since truth is then inexpressible (by language, at least), art becomes well suited to undertake propositions of truth, since art has the ability to be non-rational, fluid, and poetic.

In a very practical sense though, a Value relationship can be seen between art and truth. The Value of a work of art is directly related to how many other people also recognize its worth. All things being equal, if two works of art have an equal amount of exposure to the public, the piece that the most people are attracted to is the best. As critic Dave Hickey puts it, “The works of art that deliver the most stuff to the most people and serve the most complex constituencies for the longest time are the very best ones. Period.” What else can run between a diverse collection of individuals and bypass identity and personal bias to form a collective unity? Sounds suspiciously like something called truth…

Why would a person make something? If instead of a product or personal statement, a person decides to make art, a well-founded answer will have something to do with exploring or expressing something in a way that results in an experience or object that provides a little more meaning than what one started with.

March 2009 Submissions

Re-memorie Investigation.

2009,

Sam Sullivan.

Digital Print, Sharpie, Tracing Paper, Tape, 16 x 20.

March 2009 Submissions

Untitled.

2009,

Quinn Hagood.

Graphite on Paper.

March 2009 - Visual Arts Featured Content - Part 1 of 2

Why Are You Making Something? Part 1 of 2

By Nathan Sapio

In a few months, another academic year will end, and many students in the art department will begin working on final projects. A voyeuristic walk around any art class in progress will often and easily arouse the question, “What are you making?” Believe it or not, that is hardly the most pertinent question to ask. Before any more time is spent in artistic creation, I think it is appropriate to ask the question, “Why are you making something at all?”

Many will reply, “I’m in an art class, I am being made to.” Though honest, this response lacks a certain sustainable attitude.

Maybe the question should be rephrased, “Why choose to be involved with art?” The essential question, however, still boils down to: why, of all things, spend innumerable hours making something that, for all intents and purposes, has no immediate or direct benefit or value to anybody else in existence.

The fact is that, indeed, art has no such value or significance. Only the most traditional and historical art (jewelry, pottery, architecture, even pre-Modern painting and sculpture to some extent) has any function: any way to directly benefit from it. The essence of such function, though, remains tied to decoration. So it remains, as of yet, that art is something ancillary and unnecessary.

A common, almost clichéd, point of view is that the value in art lies in its self-expression. The cold facts of the matter are certainly in conflict with such a view. Where in life is it not the case that what you have to say is unimportant unless it is true for everybody else, or at minimum, anybody else. Clearly, a researcher studying quantum theory does not report how he feels as he observes electrons change states, but when and why they do it, and what other situations such facts are applicable to. Similarly, you may smear a canvas with dark grey paint and call it Your Mood On The Morning Of October 15th, and as powerful as that painting may be, the reason someone (besides your mother) buys it will not be because they have an interest to how you felt that morning.

Ironically, the self-expression answer is not at all an elevating or ennobling answer. It merely concedes the fact that the nature of art is supplementary and gratuitous. Self-expression is a component and symptom of self-actualization (which, if one should remember the thoughts of Mr. Maslow from any introductory psychology course, can only occur after all other survival-oriented needs are met). It is unfortunate that many associate the act of art-making solely with self-expression, because it does not adequately answer the question, “Why are you making something?”- though the distinction must be made that it does answer the question fully. It is regretfully the case that discussion often ends with such an answer, because one can have no reply to the assertion of another’s personal tastes. When another claims, “I like apples”, you can do nothing but accept it.

Though it may be easy enough to make the idea of self-expression sound vaguely fascist, bourgeoisie, or even narcissistic, the important point needs to be made that there is, of course, something significant about art made in earnest and in good faith. It is a very Materialistic (read: matter not money) error to look for value in function and direct benefit, so the answer to the question, “Why are you making something?” must be rooted in something more immaterial.

Regardless, if the answer to the question doesn’t come quickly to you, are you wasting your time in pointless creation?

New March Issue - Out Monday, Mar. 2, 2009!

New month, new ADMIX! The magazine keeps on growing, it's now double the size, 8.5" x 11"! Check out the new calendars and content for March with this beauty of an issue.

Cover art: Elizabeth. 2009, Ashley Ward. Acrylic and Ink.

February 2009 - Submissions

Untitled
2009
Silver Gelatin Print
Daniel Becker

February 2009 - Visual Arts Featured Content

Faculty Spotlight: Interview with Martin Amorous
by Sarah Wisnoskie

SW: How many faculty shows have you entered? Has there been a shift from the pieces you chose to enter in earlier faculty shows to the piece which you've chosen to enter in this year’s faculty show?

MA: Each University I've taught at has had Faculty Shows and I've always put something in them. One doesn't 'enter' them like one would enter a juried competition. A Faculty Show is really more about Service than Research and everyone gets at least one piece in. It's a way of letting the students know what the professors do. And it's an easy exhibition for any Gallery Committee... no negotiating with outside artists, shipping back and forth, contracts and such. It's an inexpensive show to put on.
Since Thanksgiving break I've completed four paintings and decided to put the smallest one in the show for two reasons: We have a lot of faculty and this saves space AND it fit easily on my wife's car so I didn't have to rent a truck. Besides, if you can only show one piece, then it hardly matters which one as no one will 'get' what your research is anyway. One needs to see several works by an artist to even begin to understand what it is all about. No painting can say it all. Each work by an artist is just a little slice of the big picture. I used to try to show something in each of the mediums I was teaching that year; painting, drawing, watercolor or digital painting and animation, but now that we have grown larger as a department and can only fit one piece in the show I just pick an easy one to transport.

SW: How do you think faculty shows benefit students? How do they benefit faculty?

MA: The main thing that's different from a student seeing a show in a commercial gallery or a museum is that in a faculty show the artists are available and accessible. Students might have a better understanding of the relationship between an artist and their work through knowing the professors that did the work. We get to see a lot of art in life but not so many chances to know the artists. Besides, it's fun to see what the supposed experts do themselves. The benefit to the Faculty is the same... seeing one’s art enriches the understanding of the person and knowing the person enriches the experience of their art. An annual Faculty Show at any institution also keeps some professors making art when otherwise, they might not.

SW: What impact has your employment as a professor had upon your art?

MA: University teaching is really a gift of time. Professors are expected to continue their research and the job is set up to allow for TIME to do that research.In the Visual and Performing Arts one’s art is the research (in most cases). If I wasn't teaching at a University I might be managing a movie theater or working construction and not have the luxury of TIME to explore my enthusiastic questioning of the universe. The money is good too and allows me to acquire most of the resources I need for that exploration. There are some theorists that contend that struggle is necessary for quality art to be made and equate struggle with how much money one has. They'd say that one needs to be poor to make good art but I disagree- THE STRUGGLE can and does take many forms and is different for each person. I think I have the perfect job for what I'm interested in.

New February Issue- out Monday, Feb. 2, 2009!

ADMIX has a new format! Through the support of SHSU's Program Council, the magazine will now be printed on quality glossy paper and with color. Get the latest on-campus arts news, issues, events, and student work. Available on Monday, February 2, 2009!