Week 3- Discussion

What do you see? 

Torn Pieces or Waves This piece was initially called “Torn Pieces” but would soon take on the title “Waves.” This piece is a collage that began as a failure on both an artistic and personal level. The piece comprises multiple failed printed photographs of one of my landscape paintings on vellum paper, and multiple overexposed cyanotype paper that resulted from a light leak. The execution of the collage was fast and furious. I ripped the failed photos, which were supposed to be part of a weaving project, which helped me release my tensions and frustration with the project and my personal life. The ripping mimicked the sound of waves from a sound machine. The most cathartic act was placing the torn pieces on the canvas. Layering the pieces to show depth and a sense of deepness helped me deal with the frustration of my son’s health. I did my version of Marshall and Vashe's process of “mining, bridging, and making.” 

 The title changed after I showed it to my husband and the general public. My husband expressed that “Torn Pieces” was a little harsh since he saw a sense of calm and tranquility in the piece. My husband understood and witnessed my frustrations. He made me stop and recognize that the cathartic process of ripping and layering was part of my journey and that the result was a work that others found serene. After his conversation with me, I stopped telling viewers of my work what the original title was because my perception of the piece took away from the experience of others. I was not being mindful nor was I showing my social-emotional intelligence but I was being honest. I learned that angry or angsty art has a place. 

 This piece challenged me in many ways. First, I have always been an advocate for my students to title all of the work they create but now I question the validity of this. I understand the power of a word, but this experience went deep. I realized that when I create my work, I express my emotions but should not try to control other's emotions. Making and titling this piece made me aware of an implicit or unconscious bias of wanting to control the viewer’s experience through words, not images. Second, I tell my students they must have a client or audience in mind when they make work. I did my work for myself but shared it with others. I need to be mindful of this so when I share my work with a general audience, I need to recognize that they will bring to my art what they need. I truly believe that Art Intelligence and Visual Literacy can be created and synthesized with the viewer's comprehension independent of the artist. Ultimately, I can only hope their experience with my work will be profound or leave a lasting impression.