- This topic has 3 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 8 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
It was such a privilege to have Ursula come talk with us. It was so cool to see her in the documentary and then get to talk to her in an even more personal way, and of course, it would have been better if we could see her in person. Her sculptures were unique and monumental, and from the documentary and from her gallery, I often wonder what inspired Ursula to create these works and whether these works were just spontaneously made. Ursula was very generous to explain that she often has an image and vision before marking a piece, even if the final product is very different from what she had intended. She was also very generous to share with us that we shouldn’t try to please others in our artwork. Being understood and pleasing others should be the last thing, according to Ursula, because the artwork should be made to express oneself.
I also found her answer to someone’s question about how she titles her work interesting. She reminded me of another guest visitor who said the same thing about how they avoid trying to title the work or give away too much through the title of the work, hoping to open the artwork for interpretation to the audience. Ursula even mentioned that an artwork today can be seen differently tomorrow and so to avoid influencing an audience’s perspective and interpretation of her work, Ursula tries to hide behind a Polish title, giving her more freedom as not many people know Polish. And Ursula even tells us that the first thing we should do is not look at the title of an artwork, but instead, we should probably come up with a title and interpretation ourselves.
I was quite surprised and glad when several others asked Ursula about working in a team because watching the documentary, I felt a similar fascination that she can direct a team in such an enormous project. Watching the documentary, I definitely felt that Ursula was such an experienced artist to the extent that she can trust and direct others to help cut or glue and handle part of the project for her. I believe it’s already hard enough to do an artwork yourself, but being able to direct others to do it the way you imagined it definitely requires and demonstrates expertise and experience in the field.
I wholeheartedly agree with most of your post, Cory. What interests me most is your comment about how Ursula titles her sculptures, as I similarly remarked about this subject in our posts for Tara Sabharwal’s presentation. I think there are many similarities between what we have heard from Tara and Ursula throughout these visits, such as the process, or lack thereof, in making a title for an art piece. The comment about directing others in making her art was something that I felt didn’t need too much explaining, in my opinion. Ursula von Rydingsvard is a highly accomplished artist with an incredible skill set, so it makes sense to me that her team would consist of similarly talented people that she would have no problem entrusting the cutting of her works to.
Cory, I agree with you on so many different points. I definitely appreciated her perspective on how we shouldn’t make art to please others. I think this applies to all aspects of life and not just art. I found her to have lots of wisdom, rightfully so, as she’s experienced so many different aspects of life. I definitely think all of her life experiences impacted the way she creates her art, and I find that beautiful. It gives the art a deeper meaning even if there wasn’t meant to be one. Again, it’s all up to how the viewer wants to perceive it, which is another point of hers that I appreciated.
I also thought the relationship with her team was extraordinary. It was clear through the documentary that she had the perfect amount of leadership and friendship qualities with her team. She gave them her vision and trusted them to follow through with it. It was really inspiring to see her have so much fun working with her team members. I found it ironic that she said it’s so fun and easy to work around such heavy equipment and tools all day because it’s the team that helps her through it all. It was clear that they had mutual respect for each other all throughout the team, and that is probably a strong reason why they all worked so well together. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed your analysis, Cory!
I like that you highlighted the point about making art for one’s self rather to please others, Cory. I found this to be very important advice from Ursula’s presentation, since art should be made to express one’s self. Conforming to societal norms or expectations can prevent artistic growth and progress. Many of Ursula’s works were not particularly appealing to me, however I respect the dedicated efforts of Ursula and her team as well as her unique artistic vision. I think her ideas about art are good, and they apply to many artistic forms outside of just sculpture. It is also clear that Ursula has spent many hours practicing her craft, and this is evident in her well finished, if not always clear in meaning or form, cedar sculptures. Of course, this is seen in any practice, but Ursula’s pieces are a testament to the saying “practice makes, if not perfect, very good”.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
