Final Rough Draft 1

Artist Statement-Final

Kassey Pass ‘11_Graphic Design

Unraveling Expectations

So much has changed in my surroundings and also within me, yet one element in particular remains unchanged, has persisted throughout, and links the present to my past—and that is the impulsive desire to see potential in all materials made available. Since I have acquired a sophistication in design methodologies and a greater understanding of my role as an artist, education has monumentally advanced my childhood art endeavors of popsicle sticks, construction paper, and endless hot glue. However, because my art has developed from its rudimentary beginnings, I feel that a sense of uninhibited freedom and innocent inventiveness has been lost.

Unraveling Expectations is a visual manifesto that links the unrepressed imagination of childhood to the sophisticated technical and exponential experiences of an adult. Using yarn as line, fabric patches as shape and pattern, and construction paper as color, I mimic the fundamental art systems instilled in me as a child. Concurrently, the textural malleability of these materials speaks to my impetuous childlike desire to create things. While in a gallery setting which addresses a conceptual maturity of the art, certain elements are meant to appeal to children through bright colors, soft materials, and a low-mounted monitor. Within this digital narrative, materials, patterns, and textures are captured and manipulated, conveying a fluid deconstruction and reconstruction which alludes to my evolution.

Artist Manifesto — Draft 1.5

I am defined

As the supposed sum of my experiences

A rolling snowball

Inching along or roaring downhill

The accretion and momentum of ostensible wisdom

Thickening the outside layers

Thus obscuring access to the small nucleus

Where it all began.

The ideological spright vitality of youth is fleeting

Replaced by a superficial adaptation of what it means to be mature

Where obligations, responsibilities, and burdens

Supplant the natural innocence, freedom, and autonomy

That once ordained every action, every thought

Free from the concern of external judgement

And potential failure.

Endless alternate dimensions except that of time

For hours in and out

Of imaginatively constructed realms

Absorbed in mystically impossible possibilities

If only now I could truly escape

To pretend

I’m not afraid of growing up

I know what to do with the rest of my life

I love responsibility.

But haven’t we been prepping for this all of our lives?

The bedroom in my dollhouse looks awfully similar

To your bedroom and my bedroom

And money has just as little value now

As the green pieces of paper I used to draw my face on

Can someone please inform me

Who are the puppets and who are the puppeteers?

Why take it from me when Bill Shakespeare says it better

Life is but a stage and I have been casted for all the roles

And as insurgency has always been my forte

It is only customary that my dramatization

Features characters of complete contradiction

Consistently inconsistent

Demolishing any boundaries of conformity

That might limit the inner turmoils

Bubbling and spilling out my sides

Somehow strangely keeping me at equilibrium.

Because the truth is

Watching cartoons on Saturday mornings

Climbing trees and picking scabs

Double-dipping and licking the spoon

Makes it seem

That my world isn’t changing

That I’m not changing

Even though it feels like my ball of snow is headed towards a gaping cliff

I know the little snowball inside came from my own imagination.

Interesting Artist Websites

http://basjanader.com/

Artist Lecture #2

Steve Brodner

Anita Kunz

I always enjoy the spontaneity of panel discussions, and luckily a few of the panelists had a witty sense of humor. Since this artist lecture did not include slides or visuals, I used my laptop to see each artists' work since I had no previous notion of what their illustrations looked like previous to the lecture. It was interesting to hear how their brain worked in a broad sense on their subject, and then visually understand how their brain worked on individual projects to see the connections.

They talked a lot about individual ideas and how to express them through drawing to communicate with others. They explained how the job of the artist is to combine elements to make interesting combinations and connections to help others think differently about a topic or subject matter. I felt like the overall message these panelists were sending is a very important one and is key to the success of a modern artist in our changing society. But fortunately, I felt like I had received a similar lecture just a year before in my studies in San Francisco. In San Francisco, I got a strong sense of the importance of art and design to change society and influence people. The culture out there was very politically, socioeconomically, and environmentally active and enthused. I learned a great deal about generating ideas and thinking about design differently in order to frame a contemporary issue in a way that makes people question their notions.

Although I think the lecture was a very important one for MCA students to consider, I think the panelists, unintentionally directed their efforts more towards illustration students than any of the other disciplines. Although I believe it is important for illustration students to apply what was expressed in the lecture to their own work, the same ideas are important in dealing with all the arts. In my own experiences, design especially at MCA is underestimated in its ability to make political or social commentaries.

Senior Project Preliminary Production

SP Production Part 1 from Kassey Pass on Vimeo.

SP Footage 2 from Kassey Pass on Vimeo.

Artist Statement—First Draft

The term arts and crafts denotes a style of artistic expression in a context unconnected to the meaning of Art or Craft alone. In my own experiences, arts and crafts activity time at the pre-school and elementary school level has advanced my innovative and imaginative development that has ensued into my adult life. Simplistic and malleable materials like pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, and macaroni allow children to expand their modes of thinking through interaction and art-making. For me, arts and crafts time is reminiscent of my childhood when I was free to explore my creative expression with no restraints or concern for the judgement from others. The more I grew, the more I was able to refine my technique and skill as a fine artist and applied designer in a controlled manner. Approaching the culmination of my college education, I have gained sophisticated abilities and applicable knowledge, although I fear I am slowly losing the freedom and playfulness in art that I possessed as a child.

The function of my piece is to integrate the playfulness and imagination of my childhood experiences in arts and crafts with my new maturity and sophistication in the application of design and video arts. Too often, mature audiences are lured in by formal methods and techniques to communicate contemporary or political subject matter, but my piece will resurge an appreciation for the uninhibited attitudes and processes of art making that have diminished with my childhood.

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