Artist Reference or Not?
Lately I have been looking towards other artists for inspiration and ideas. This is something that we have all done throughout the course and something I have always struggled with, because to me it fundamentally doesn’t make sense.
I have no problem with looking at and taking inspiration from artists in an aesthetic sense. It can be very beneficial for an artist to see how another has constructed a sculpture or achieved a certain effect in a painting- in this sense it is like learning a trade by watching and imitating a carpenter or plumber for example. But to look to another artist for conceptual inspiration, is to me close-minded and futile.
Surely when making decisions like these the artist expresses what is paramount to his or herself, looking to another artist to tell you what is most important to you is like going to a restaurant and asking the chef to tell you which dish you will enjoy the most.
In my opinion the best conceptual research is curiosity, if you are curious you will find what it is you want to make art about just through living. I’m sure solely relying on artist research for conceptual context will be more deleterious to an artists practice than indulging on curiosity whether through books, television, news, internet, friends, family or just being alive. The majority of my art is based around things that I read for example, I’ve never been interested in looking to another artist to find out what he’s or she is trying to express.
However there are certain things that can be expressed in art that don’t fit into any of the categories above that are achieved by critically questioning a technique, medium or trend that is previously thought of (or overlooked) as a given. An example being Kathaina Grosse who uses painted colour to highlight the boundaries imposed on it by canvas or the like. However I imagine this didn’t come about by copying someone who already did it.
I am aware however that looking at things the way I do has an impact on my art and how I work in a way that might not have otherwise have been there. The most notable being my inability to stick to a single topic for more than a month- due to me being influenced by so many things.
I think there are lots of reasons for this some of which I have addressed in previous posts others I have not, either way I think it’s a topic for another time.
