Response to Camnitzer and Influences

Like many artists, Camnitzer is probably not alone in his identity crisis between "art and craft." I will say it was refreshing to have someone acknowledge that art is meant to "make us think" and that, although printers have exceptional skill, there aren't, in his opinion, many "good printmakers' prints." In my opinion, art becomes art when concept gets introduced. Not consistent design aesthetics, but concept. Thank you, Duchamp.

He also commented on how artists classify themselves by medium. Even printmakers get so specific in terms of etching or lithography. I just believe this is hugely outdated. If we want to be artists now, we should be making work that somehow responds to a contemporary context. I think we make it much harder on ourselves if we limit ourselves to one medium.

In terms of my influences for the week, my artist is Jelena Berenc. Berenc's drawings, which always contain repetition, are the result of, essentially, prompts that she gives herself which test patience and focus. The process of making the drawings correlate with her desire to better understand her own physical presence in the world. Again, definite Buddhist influences at work. For my 10,000 dots piece, I've been keeping her process in mind. Here is an example:


I also realized that I am always interested in road signs with text however, I couldn't figure out why until this week. Looking at a box of stuffing (long story), I was amused by a line on the box:

"Refrigerate in container when done eating."

Thanks for reminding me, box. But then it hit me. Like those road signs, it feels like your having an exchange with a person, although it's an inanimate object. It's like a mysterious person that's pointing you in the correct direction, but that you'll never fully know.

The road signs are also quick, simple ways to make drivers/people aware of important things when you're likely trying to pay attention to a lot at once. This idea of making people aware is definitely important to my work.

Finally, I also realized why I am so inclined to work with materials that already exist in the world. I tend to get easily overwhelmed with all the chaos of the world around me. As a result, I tend to look for ways to understand my life and the things around me. When possible, I prefer to work as much as possible with what already exists because I feel like it helps me understand what's already here better, rather than adding to the chaos.