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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"Arts and Crafts" Movement

The Arts and Crafts Movement was an international design movement that originated in England^[2] and flourished between 1880 and 1910, continuing its influence up to the 1930s.^[3] Instigated by the artist and writer William Morris(1834–1896) in the 1860s^[2] and inspired by the writings of John Ruskin (1819–1900), it had its earliest and fullest development in the British Isles^[3] but spread to Europe and North America^[4] as a reaction against the impoverished state of the decorative arts and the conditions under which they were produced.^[5]

The movement advocated truth to materials and traditional craftsmanship using simple forms and often medieval, romantic or folk styles of decoration. It also proposed economic and social reform and has been seen as essentially anti-industrial.^[5][6]

Design principles

"Artichoke" wallpaper, by John Henry Dearle for William Morris & Co., circa 1897 (Victoria and Albert Museum).

The Arts and Crafts Movement started as a search for authentic design and decoration and a reaction against the styles that had developed out of machine-production.

Arts and Crafts objects were simple in form, without superfluous decoration, often showing the way they were put together. They followed the idea of "truth to material", preserving and emphasizing the qualities of the materials used. They often had patterns inspired by British flora and fauna and drew on the vernacular, or domestic, traditions of the British countryside. Several designer-makers set up workshops in rural areas and revived old techniques. They were influenced by the Gothic Revival (1830–1880) and were interested in all things medieval, using bold forms and strong colors based on medieval designs. They believed in the moral purpose of art. Truth to material, structure and function had also been advocated by A.W.N. Pugin (1812–1852), a leading exponent of the Gothic Revival.^[8]

Artist Lecture #1

Lily Wei

I had heard tonight's guest lecturer was an independent curator, which I could only assume meant she would be lecturing on techniques or concerns of someone in her position. After listening to her speak, it seems to me that anyone familiar with artists and galleries in New York could have given this lecture.

The title of the lecture was the most interesting part. Before even knowing what the Lower East Side was, I thought the pun "LES is More" would provide an interesting outlook on how contemporary American art might speculate on the influx of consumerism. I think too drastically did she jump right into her lecture. Some sort of introduction of what her goal was and what she was going to be talking about was absolutely necessary. It seemed as if she assumed that just because New York is renowned for being fresh on the art scene that we are already aware of what has been happening there. The need to seek out a new area to transform into a gallery environment is interesting in that the new area exists in relation to the old area. Therefore, new binaries are created: old vs. new, traditional vs. innovative, expensive vs. affordable all excite me in the fact that now people have the choice of what kind of art they want to go see. Unfortunately, the lecturer did not really express any of her knowledge or education on anything really. She basically went through a number of these new galleries that have sprung up in the Lower East Side and she showed slides of different artists' work that inhabit these galleries. She gave us names, locations, and titles but no insight on the area that I couldn't hear from some snooty art punk in some New York coffee shop.

Not only was the content very bland, unrehearsed, and uninteresting, but she delivered her lecture as if she had never seen a modern-aged microphone. The entire time, her head was cocked over the mike so her enunciated syllables rang abruptly and her lisp even more emphasized. At one point, she was able to arouse any snoozers by repeatedly knocking the base of the microphone with her glasses she unknowingly continued to twirl around at points. While the photos of art in the galleries were the only part of the lecture that provided the audience with any reason not leave, there were some images included that were of extremely low resolution and completely pointless to the presentation at all.

Despite the fact that I was required to attend this lecture for a couple of different classes, I have respect for this woman because I understand that she is very connected and well-versed in the tremendous art world of New York. Yet overall, her presentation seemed very unplanned and unprofessional, and although I did learn about the galleries of New York (only because I had no prior knowledge on the subject at all) I do not feel like she provided us with enough to equal the amount of money the school surely had to pay her.

American Makers

Thumbnails

Materials

paper • fabric • yarn • rope • string • wire • pipe cleaners • candy wrappers • ribbon • glitter • beads • sculpe • woodgrain • pencils • crayons • paint • glue • tape • feathers • leaves • popsicle sticks • pom poms • beads • cheerios • macaroni • scissors • cellophane • tin foil • stuffing/batting

DEFINING CRAFT

CRAFT — noun

1. an art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill, esp. manual skill

2. skill; dexterity

3. skill or ability used for bad purposes

4. the members of a trade or profession collectively; guild

5. ship or other vessel

CRAFT — verb

9. to make or manufacture (an object, objects, product, etc.) with skill and careful attention to detail

CREATIVE

1. having the quality or power of creating

2. resulting from originality of thought, expression, etc.; imaginative

3. originative; productive

CREATIVITY

1. the state or quality of being creative

2. the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, etc.

Len Lye

Oskar Fischinger & so on & so forth

two very different approaches of translating circles and squares

Practice with Materials

This small example not only provides an idea of some of the things I intend to do, but also many things that I do not intend to do. Do: use of materials, colors, shapes moving on a background. Don't: poorly lit, unsteady camera shots.

Project Proposal

My senior piece will use film and video editing in a way that fuses film, design, and craft while redefining the boundaries that separate them. Conceptually, the film will explore the creative process and the impulsive desires to express freely and visually without fear of judgement and by any means necessary. The film will explore all kinds of patterns, textures, and materials while including typography, sound, and puppets. The film’s aesthetics will be brightly colorful, playful, and inspirational.

Three major components will comprise the overall show installation. A looped recording of my film, burned to a dvd, will be playing on a flat television screen, presumably provided by the school, attached to the wall and accompanied by a set of headphones. The second component of the installation involves a small stand or pedestal placed against the wall below the television displaying some informative business cards. Lastly, I will arrange an array of colorful yarn bunched up and billowing out of the crevice where the gallery wall and ceiling meet. Just as my film will overwhelm the screen with color, pattern, and texture, the gallery wall itself will be taken over by craft.

Pitch

To explore my uninhibited creative freedom by using inexpensive collected materials, I hope to create a visual collage that combines my child’s sense of freedom and fearlessness with my adult sophistication and maturity in design.

New Brief

Consider a tabletop covered with art supplies and crafting materials: pipe cleaners, puff balls, glitter glue, crayons, markers, paint, pencils, paper, fabric, string and yarn, and surrounding the table are several separately placed blank sheets of colored paper in front of several separately placed eager and creatively charged children. Imagine the expanse of artistic outcomes and visionary masterpieces still dripping wet with paint and glitter glue that would be produced by this epic exertion. In my practice as a graphic designer, this unreserved attitude and impulsive desire to express visually is much more oppressed and regimented. Drawing inspiration from children’s craft materials and the uninhibited decisions in their artistic creativity, I will demonstrate how combining these rudimentary techniques with a sophisticatedly designed framework will allow me to advance my own development in video design and graphic animation while retaining my early creative processes in childhood crafts.

In more technical terms, the focus of my senior piece will be a 3-5 minute video montage that will deal primarily with textural imagery and experimental typography. Using some stop animation and live footage, the film’s content will relay the act of creative process and inventiveness in dealing with everyday materials. I will explore materials and textures and how they translate to video. Most shots will be established by a fixed focus length and thoroughly lit subject matter. To explore my uninhibited creative freedom by using inexpensive collected materials, I hope to create a visual collage that combines my child’s sense of freedom and fearlessness with my adult sophistication and maturity in design.

Inspiration for Technique

Analog Digital from Guro Kåsa on Vimeo.

Colours KIP405 Final Assessment. from Danny Quinn on Vimeo.

Wild Places from Bent Image Lab on Vimeo.

What Is Peter Pan Syndrome?

Written by Evan Bailyn on 06/20 at 12:36 PM

Peter Pan syndrome is a deep-seated belief that one will never, and must never, grow up. It is named after the legendary character of the same name who lived in Neverland, a place where kids are immune to aging.

The story of Peter Pan fascinated me as early as five years old, way before I knew what it was like to feel like an adult. I still keep an image in my mind of a particular moment in the play, when Peter Pan flew into the children’s window while they were sleeping and brought them off to Neverland. I think that scene delighted me because I, like other kids, had fears associated with sleeping - probably some combination of darkness, robbers, and dying. The act of sleeping itself is such a mystery to me even now that I can understand why my young mind would see it as fertile ground for something mystical and unknown to happen.

The very idea that one could be saved from the creepiness of sleep, from the powerless grasp of unconsciousness, was not only plausible, it was too wonderful not to believe. In that protected, naive state that characterizes children, I hazily imagined the eternal playground where Peter Pan lived, with its lush flora, children swinging on vines, parties, dancing, laughter, and complete removal from that other dimension known as everyday life.

That picture in my mind is still there. It has been weathered by the army of adults who have politely tried to tear it up with their rules and reminders about “the real world,” but the stubborn five year-old inside of me has resisted. In truth, I don’t believe that we are damned to honest Christian work ethics and middle class toil. I believe that I could be walking through the streets of New York City, turn a corner, and enter a jungle with raging rivers, sparkling waterfalls, and fairies swooping through the sky.

I am in love with childhood and with Neverland. I only wish I could find a way to bring back the vividness of that magical place that I knew best when I was five. If I could re-build Neverland exactly as I remember it, I would - anything to reclaim the hope of living forever as a child.

This is Peter Pan Syndrome. Those who don’t have it are missing something vital. After all, as Peter Pan said, “Fairies only exist if you believe in them.”

Personality Traits of Creativity

Article on Affect and Creativity

Tim Brown on "Play"

Write-up #1

After today's critique, I realize now I was on a slightly veered path of constructing this concept, statement, summary, or whatever I'm supposed to call it. I guess I thought it was appropriate for me to explain myself, but now I understand that since my concept is so broad right now, I need to construct a more concrete idea of how this project will visually appear. I need to reconstruct this statement to explain exactly what techniques I intend to employ how they deconstruct film, design, and craft. I intend to dive into more specific examples of specific materials, shots, editing techniques, filming techniques, and text. I will lean less towards specific personal connections and more towards the general idea and message of the piece in its literal context.

Artist Statement

With almost seven years between each of three sisters, it has been relatively natural for me to retain my child induced mindset. Just as my interest in Santa Claus, snow forts, and Mousetrap persists, I also find myself still mesmerized by bright colors, plush characters, and shiny things that glisten and gleam. As the eldest, I have always been intrigued by my ability to influence my little sisters in terms of creativity through the arts. For instance, when I first discovered Sculpe and its creative possibilities, I shared it with my sister and realized how much we could teach each other despite our tremendous skill and age difference. It was refreshing for me to see her creative processes that may or may not have been loosely interpreted from my own artistic approach. But no matter how hard I may try to scribble outside the lines, my art will never express the same immaculate innocence of a child’s creative expression.

Based on this idea of process and how it relates to creative expression, my senior piece will deconstruct “crafting” in its magnitude of form and materials in an attempt to elicit crafting as an art form, especially in relevance to childhood crafts that use popsicle sticks and macaroni for example. The thought of using rudimentary techniques as a form of self expression takes the focus away from both the formal intentions constructed by the artist as well as the finished outcome, and instead focuses on the impulsive desires to create and be creative using any available means necessary. It is this implicit freedom from reservations and desire to express visually without fear of judgement that makes crafting for little kids so different from crafting for adults.

As a way of demonstrating the compelling outcomes of combining childhood crafting with sophisticated style, my film for my senior show piece will blend an array of materials, techniques, and processes in an attempt to encourage a resurface of creativity and playfulness in the act of crafting. Everyday objects like blankets, tin foil, wall surfaces, wood grain, paperclips, bottle caps, transform and move to create images and patterns to insinuate inventiveness and resourcefulness to express creative thinking. Yarn in particular will come to life taking different forms, spelling words, making patterns, and moving with a mind of its own. Using experimental techniques of filming and editing, I will utilize video and its ability to translate time to underline the creative process in order to stretch the boundaries between film, design, and craft in a way that mimics the freedom to scribble beyond the lines.

Inspiration