In our conversation in Thesis, Bruce and I came up with the following 5 questions for each other.
MIKE: What kind of artwork appeals to you, as a viewer?
BRUCE: Graphic Novels, because all the compositions of all the panels in the story by themselves stand alone and are a narrative (alone they can tell a story) also people don't see the real skill it takes to master or how to deliver panel to panel in a smooth way to tell the story/help move it. Animation similar to graphic novels but to me it brings a simple picture to life and gives it more depth than a normal painting and its another way to tell a story. Paintings, just to see the skill and the brush work and the painter's way of how they express whatever he or she paints is amazing to see. Graffiti too.
MIKE: Maybe it's because I'm a designer, but I like artwork to be clear, carefully considered, and understandable. Not to say that artwork can't be subtle or nuanced, but I get very frustrated if I spend a lot of time looking at a piece and I still can't figure out what the art is about. I like artwork that challenges me to consider things in a new way, dynamic and relatable. That's why illustration, comic art, and animation really appeal to my tastes, especially when they're interactive. Animation is so time-consuming but there is such satisfaction in being able to bring a character or a graphic to life-- and after enough time you really do begin to love your subject as if it were real. I definitely agree with your love of graphic novels, telling a story visually is a labor of love, in comics just as much as in film. Except that comic artists don't have a camera to point-- they have to pull it from their own imagination. I also like the collaborative quality of comic books, that each story is built by different artists with different talents: writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letter... etc. And each one is essential in its own way to the final product.
MIKE: Do you find anything difficult/frustrating about the art world?
BRUCE: Sometimes deadlines and getting started on a new project can be slow.
MIKE: For me, it's the pretentiousnees of art. I joke with my friends about the fact that a lot of the time I feel like an artist who doesn't always like art. I've taken so many Art History courses, I know the different styles and movements and periods and artists. I understand art theory and I can appreciate the deeper motivation for all different approaches and mediums. I love good ideas. But a lot of the time, when I see professional art out in the world, I don't connect with it. I find that the most frustrating. Many times the work just seems so convoluted, so high-minded, that it goes completely over my head. I look at a piece and I really want to feel something, and all I feel is that I'm missing something. It's so satisfying for me when I actually do see something I connect with.
MIKE: When did you know you wanted to make visual arts your profession?
BRUCE: When I was 14, people around me (all sorts fellow teachers, adults, friends, students, etc.) said I should continue and pursue it further my talent.
BRUCE: How about you? How did you start in doing art? What inspired you to pursue it as a future career? What compels/inspires to come up with new ideas and to continue your future/career in Art?
MIKE: It's funny, I've been drawing stuff in the margins of my notebooks for as long as I can remember, but I didn't really consider myself an artist. That is, I never considered it as a career, I never had that ambition to present my work in galleries or sell it. Even after I was voted Most Artistic in High School, I went to college in Ithaca to study film. A year into the program, I looked at what I was doing and was so unhappy and so unimpressed. Then I looked into all my notebooks and saw what I REALLY enjoyed doing-- drawing. So I decided then and there that I should spend my time doing what I never ever tire of, and that was art. At that point I didn't even know what graphic design was. That I didn't find until Rutgers. I much prefer the compulsory, client-based work environment that graphic design provides over traditional art forms. I absolutely hate to be idle, and I like people to come to me and say "Hey, I need something that looks like this" and then I can be creative and find a way to do it that looks awesome. And I would be perfectly happy to do that forever, I like the ongoing challenge, it keeps me sharp.
MIKE: If you had an unlimited budget and no distractions, what would be the ultimate project you'd like to work on?
BRUCE: My ultimate project would be to design my comic, and to later produce an animated show based on it and a website that would help promote the comic and show and my business (RAD Productions).
MIKE: My passion is Animation. Some kind of huge animated film on a massive scale. I love Disney movies; there's something about putting so much time and effort into what is essentially an extremely slow, methodical craft. One drawing at a time, one frame at a time, 24 drawings per second, 60 seconds per minute, 90 minutes per movie. To be able to see it all come together at the end, that would be the most satisfying thing in the world.
MIKE: Do you have any ideas yet for what you want to create/accomplish with your Thesis Exhibit? Is the class helping you develop your ideas so far, and how?
BRUCE: Yea I have some ideas, still working out how I want to approach it, its not final and glad its not. Probably going to make some changes and add some other ideas for some other pieces, for now its under wraps, lol. Yea class is helping somewhat so far, at least thinking about the approach of developing my idea and thinking of the space I might get to display the work or works. As of the Gallery Visits, they've been hit and miss, from time to time. During the Chelsea visit, found the galleries that I visited by accident or found by accident to be of more help, did like a few that were listed.
BRUCE: Do you have any ideas for your Thesis project?
MIKE: I do. I've been putting a lot of thought into it over the summer, and I'm forming ideas that I'm really getting excited about. Like you, I'm keeping it under wraps for now because I want to stay open-minded and really take advantage of the Thesis process to refine my ideas. The gallery visits, so far, haven't really done much to move me forward, but I think it's good to be exposed to this stuff even if I don't necessarily like all of it. At the very least, I'll learn what I don't like, and respond to that. What I do like so far about Thesis and my Senior-Level courses is collecting images and annotated bibliography. Even this far into the semester, I'm already noticing patterns and motivating elements that reflect on the kind of artist I am, that I haven't really though about before. I also like keeping the blog, it's stimulating and developing my ability to think critically about artwork, which will definitely be a good skill to have once I actually start composing my own exhibit. Basically, I'm staying open-minded and just letting the course take me where it wants to go.
very short, no follow ups just a series of questions. OK as far as it goes.
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