Artistic influence of the week: Patrick Martinez. Well, I can't say that I'm really in to too much of his work, but I did happen to come across some of it in a Juxtapoz magazine a few years ago. "F-ck Love" has been stuck inside of my brain since. I enjoy humor in art. It caught my attention mainly because it wasn't what I expected to see. I also felt like Martinez and I had an inside joke or connecting point going. I myself have had some harmless-five-year-old-temper-tantrums in my day (the latest one involved trying to throw small pieces of terrible bristol board sculpture into the trash and across my studio) where I've felt about as silly as trying to beat up a balloon.
I love the process of problem solving. I love and hate the challenge of a failed print, especially after weeks and countless hours of work. The love comes from being able to see what went wrong-registration, layers done in the wrong order, bad/mediocre design, and so on. The hate comes from being able to see what went right and not being able to keep it-so close to what I had envisioned but not close at all. If you can manage to look at those two elements and restart the process to make something better, it's even more exciting. I have not been so excited to make art in a long time. I have not been in a printmaking studio in a long time. I don't say that lightly, I have outright detested my transfer here, dreaded class, and considered many times quitting school and getting an internship at AIR.
My third influence comes from a pretty bad experience I had with a professor at another school. While I can't get into a great deal of detail, I can give a few specific examples of my encounters with this guy:
1. Had me throw out hundreds of pots I threw on the wheel in ceramics in front of the entire class while he told me what "lumps of crap" I made.
2. Told me if I was successful it would be because of work ethic and not talent.
3. Acted as if my "failures" as an "artist" were personal vendettas against him, as well as making it very clear that my value as a human being was close to non-existent if I couldn't make good work.
That's the tip of the iceberg. Let's just say it was a nightmare that endured for a little less than two years, because I had both ceramics and printmaking with him. He did not influence me, per se, as much as surviving through two years of abusive behavior from a professor did (I'm not talking harsh critiques-there is a difference. I'm talking abuse). I learned how not to treat other people. I learned what happens when you completely squash someone's hope and constantly insult them. I watched other students with a considerable amount of passion/work/talent for art drop their major. Or quit school. I learned how not to critique, and I refused to give another person the power to destroy what I love and enjoy.
So against that backdrop, correcting failed prints isn't that difficult. Having a sense of humor helps, too.
Has anyone watched Beautiful Losers yet?
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