by Ali (again)
I wanted to make something, and I couldn’t. But in the process of attempting to make that thing, I made some other things. And I feel that, despite their original intent as practices for the piece I was planning, they carry artistic validity in their own right.
What I had originally had been planning was this:final project
But there were a bevy of sketches and paintings that lead up to this; more specifically, 4 pen sketches, 2 watercolors and 2 graphite painting/drawing hybrids. So in this particular discussion of the creative process I’m going to talk about the piece which I thought came out best. (cue my initial post)->http://eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu/jablonka10/2010/12/19/creative-final-project/
The prospect of giving this presentation was a nightmare for me; I’ve always been very guarded about my artistic process. I think part of what I wanted to do with my original project was to delve into my own experiences, if not making a literal self-portrait at least exploring the surroundings in which I was raised. While in no way nostalgic for the tedium and conformity associated with suburbia, living in New York City has made me miss things I had not though I would miss: open spaces, unoccupied places, ungroomed vegetation. I mean, Central Park is beautiful but it’s primary function is still as a habitat for humans. As I mentioned in my Chelsea response, I think there’s a beauty and a sickness to isolated natural environments. It was even worse when my piece did not pan out; part of what I have always found solace in with regards to the visual arts is that a piece can often speak for itself, allowing you to not speak. With this, not only was a I required to speak, but I had to speak about my own process, and my own artistic failures and triumphs.
